Finally Rats! Advice please...

mymo

So after 20 (omg I am old:o) years since my last pet rat, my daughter talked me into getting her some, one for now, looking for breeder to get another one or two.(asap, any one wants to pm breeders you know it would be welcome)
But just wondering what do people use for bedding these days? I grew up in London, paper bedding was common place, wood pellet cat litter for toilet area. Toilet roll or kitchen roll for snuggling, is this still acceptable? And where can I get the paper stuff?
Anyone recommend a good feed?
Have a small temp cage sorted for now, she's only tiny, 8 weeks, but gorgeous and very friendly, already running up my daughters arm and into her hair!
Any other general tips please post... feeling a bit unsure, its been too long!

Silverfish

I use the Petlife Safebed paper for my mouse, it's really soft but really absorbent, she has great fun rearranging everything and building nests out of it.
It's also dust-free so no little sneezes and very easy to clean out.

I got mine in Maxizoo in Waterford, and I've ordered it online as well.

mymo

Thanks, was in maxi zoo waterford yesterday but didn't see it

She's settled in well and so far has eaten a pea, tiny bit of broccoli, dried banana chip, 3 slivers of Almond, bit of chicken, a baby spinach leaf and some apple and carrot.
Just been giving her a nibble of everything, Almonds seem to go down well, as did the dried banana, cheeky bugger chucked other stuff back at us until she realized no more sweeties coming.

She's not keen on the rat mix, so far she picked out the oats and flaked peas and not much else.

Adiboo

Sorry for hijacking the thread, but does anybody know of any reputable rat breeders in Ireland? A Google search has found only one, the Bongo Fury Rattery. I'm looking for a pair of rats, and don't want to go down the pet shop route.

Zapperzy

I know hamsters are a bit different but what I used to use for mine was a very thin layer of wood shavings on the bottom in the areas they usually pee, a thicker layer of carefresh all over and then finally a few layers of cheap toilet paper sometimes shredded up and sometimes just put down in layers for them to shred. Just toilet paper in their bed. On another forum I'm on rat owners use some sort of horse bedding, il have a look see if I can find the name of it. From what iv read rats are more prone to respiratory infections so probably best to avoid the wood shavings.

mymo

Adiboo, Bongo fury seems to be the only one I can find. :mad:

Silverfish

I just ordered the paper bedding stuff from here, where I finally managed to get it delivered to Ireland.

Zapperzy

Silverfish wrote: »

I just ordered the paper bedding stuff from here, where I finally managed to get it delivered to Ireland.

Have a look in tesco, back a few years ago when I had 2 dwarves I used to get something similar there, from what I remember though the reason I started using toilet paper was because they stopped supplying it, worth a look though to see have they had a change of mind. Maybe it was just the stores near me that stopped it.

Silverfish

Zapperzy wrote: »

Have a look in tesco, back a few years ago when I had 2 dwarves I used to get something similar there, from what I remember though the reason I started using toilet paper was because they stopped supplying it, worth a look though to see have they had a change of mind. Maybe it was just the stores near me that stopped it.

The reason I started using this stuff was because my little mousey was flying through the kitchen towel, it was working out fairly expensive :pac:

Will try a few Tescos and see what they have.

mymo

Silverfish I had a look at that link, postage is €15!:eek::eek::eek:
How big is the bag? it doesn't say, if its small I can order a few bags to get moneys worth from postage as it stays the same even when I order 10 bags.
Found it on Amazon but its much more expensive, though postage is less.

Zapperzy I'll try Tesco too, thanks.


She's a developing a special K habit, daughter has been coaxing her out and onto her arm by offering special K, she only needs to get a whiff of it and she's all over you!
I'll post a pic later.

Silverfish

mymo wrote: »

Silverfish I had a look at that link, postage is €15!:eek::eek::eek:
How big is the bag? it doesn't say, if its small I can order a few bags to get moneys worth from postage as it stays the same even when I order 10 bags.
Found it on Amazon but its much more expensive, though postage is less.

Zapperzy I'll try Tesco too, thanks.


She's a developing a special K habit, daughter has been coaxing her out and onto her arm by offering special K, she only needs to get a whiff of it and she's all over you!
I'll post a pic later.

Oh, I bought the 10kg bag, it was 44 euro inc shipping. Uh, now that you mention it, that was a bit expensive! However I'm sitting here with my nose and eyes streaming from the rabbit's straw so I'm willing to give it a shot!

I also use Carefresh Ultra, the white stuff seems to be the best, not sure where's best to get that. Mouse was unimpressed with the brown stuff, spent two days pushing it all into a corner and used the bare floor instead.