Need Help Desperately!
I have 2 male rats. Brothers, they are aproximately 5 months old and are both fab! HOWEVER. . one of them (Frankie-Fuzz) wees everytime you get him out of the cage.
If he touches your skin - he wees.
If he touches plastic - he wees.
He is not timid therefore he is not weeing from fear.
The other rat (Sir Rufus)does not do this and is a joy to handle...It would be nice to handle Frankie but it is a major turn off when you keep getting wee'd on!
HELP!!!!
What can i do to stop this...anyone know "Why" he does this OR "How" to make it stop??
Cheers Rat Fanzzz ;-)
2007-07-26 13:45:14 · 15 answers · asked by jopiejo 2 in Pets ➔ Rodents
PS>>>> I did try the training thing as i have previously kept rats.....these two were having none of it! Stubborn wee b*ggers!
2007-07-26 15:03:56 · update #1
Firstly I'd like to reply to the posters who have negative comments about pet rats - if you actually did your homework you would know the pet rat is a different breed to the sewer rat and are actually the CLEANEST and most interactive rodent you could possibly own. It's like having a tiny dog.
That said, the urinating is a downfall. The rat is marking his territory. I don't believe it is true about them being incontinent because female rats I have had are entirely different in this habit to male ones.
There is nothing you can do about the marking except get used to it. It can create a smell in the cage if you have a plastic shelf there, so try to keep some dry bedding there such as sawdust or shredded tissue on the shelf for good hygiene.
There's nothing unusual about the amount the rat wees, my boyfriend currently has one that also urinates a lot. A good way to deal with it (that avoids expense of neutering) would be to leave the rat to wonder around the room for 10 minutes (if you have hard flooring place him there) and let him pee until his heart's content, cleaning after him as he goes. When you think his bladder can't throw anymore at you pick him up and give him the same attention as you give the other rat.
Try not to avoid him because of the peeing - that will create jealousy (yes they are very smart animals) and perhaps cause him to wee MORE to show he is the dominant boss.
2007-07-26 22:51:59 · answer #1 · answered by immie123 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Rats mark their territory sometimes, and apparently Frankie-Fuzz wants to own a lot of your stuff- including you.
Usually, they will stop after a while, especially once they're older. If they don't, however, you may want to try litter box training them (you would train them the same way you would train a kitten).
2007-07-26 14:50:53 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Definitely not normal rat behavior. If the behavior started recently, the rat is either ill or it is showing the other rat you are his territory. If it is a territory (dominance issue), neutering the rat should benefit. Perfectly safe to neuter a rat, just ask around to find the most experienced small animal vet in your area. Contrary to what others are stating, rats will not urinate just anywhere. When a rat becomes squirmy in your hand, or whoever is holding it, that means, time to return him to the cage to pee. They do poo anywhere though. A mother rat will keep poo out of the nest area though.
2007-07-26 14:33:40 · answer #3 · answered by kriend 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
We have Ratticus Maximus (Max for short), and he does the exact same thing - kind of like marking his territory. We did some research and talked to other rattie owners, as well as a veterinarian, and they all suggested having him neutered. We looked into it and it's about a 50$ procedure (probably pretty variable depending on the vet), so we're going to do it at the end of the summer.
Best of luck!
2007-07-26 16:19:15 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
USE RATOINCONTINENTO PAD the new pad developed for small rodents and fish that have those little accidents around the house (or tank) hygienic easy to fit and promote dignity allowing your pet to lead a perfectly normal life.
available from most crap pet stores £5000.000 for a pack of ten!
2007-07-27 09:32:40 · answer #5 · answered by madmalooney 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sorry to tell you but rats are totally incontinent that's just the way they are they wee all the time without even knowing they are doing it .
2007-07-26 13:53:33 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Rats are so brill, but they just wee! It's normal, natural stuff for em. You can't stop it, sorry. Just wash a lot.
2007-07-26 13:50:09 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
my dad has house trained rats. they just wander around the house and go back in the tanks to do their business. to train them, he used to let them out and as soon as they started to pee or poo, he'd (gently) drop them in to the tank/cage (only a couple of inches from the ground) and kept doing that so they learn that they shouldn't do it outside it. rats are very very intelligent and learn quickly. it sounds horrible they way i've said he use drop them but it wasn't from any great height that would hurt them! he loves animals and would never hurt them!
hope this helps!
2007-07-26 14:00:18 · answer #8 · answered by wee_reenie 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I thought rats peed all the time any way, may be he is just very excitable.
2007-07-28 22:22:07 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
this hapens when the feel intimadated just live with it for a while and if it doesnt stop, take him to a vet, he could have a bladdar problem.
2007-07-26 15:37:23 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋