Her toes are all swolen. My rats are both females and they are young. I'm not sure how young though. They have a three level cage, lots of room for them to run around. I feed them Nutraphase Gold. One of the rats (the smaller one) is a hairless dumbo and the bigger one is a rex. I have noticed that the only time the big one bites the little ones toes is when she is on one of the upper levels and the big one crawls up under where she is standing and bites her toes that are stcking through. They seem to get along fine. I would also like to know what kind of things to put on the wounds.
2007-11-11 13:41:00 · 7 answers · asked by Becky 3 in Pets ➔ Rodents
Hmm that's odd, I've never heard about rats doing that before. The only solution I could see would be to put clear plexy glass over the bared areas of the cage. This will prevent your other rat from bitting the other through the bars and it will be earier on the feet then the bars. If you can't find plexy glass you could also use face cloths... just buy a pack at walmart of something and put them over the bars... change and wash them every few days tho because they will become stinky.
Hope it helps.
2007-11-11 13:44:56 · answer #1 · answered by Lambkins 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I suggest covering the Bars
there is a condition known as "bumble foot" that rats can get from walking on bare bars. A rat we had a 4-5 yrs ago got it though his cage mate didn't. Both his hind feet got swelling on them from walking on the bars. (it can be confused with tumours) This condition takes quite a while to develop. I think our rat was approx. 2 yr old when we realised he had it.
So covering the bars will eliminate the potential for bumble foot developing and your problem with toe biting.
I used lino cut to size at one stage until i got a ratty that loved chewing it.
We've also used wooden shelves, however it has problems; it must NOT be treated wood - it's toxic ; pee soaking in - You can't really seal it as anything you put on it will be ingested by chewing ratties. We painted ours with cooking oil and allowed it to soak in, not 100% effective though and you have to re-coat it every so often.
What we use now and have for the last couple of years is 4 to 5 layers of newspaper. Replacing it whenever necessary.
+ That plexi glass idea sounds good.
+ It's tricky with wounds on rats. Anything you put on wounds can potentially mean that the ratty would pay more attention to the wounds than it would otherwise. Most ratty wounds seem to heal okay by themselves. Keep an eye on them though.
2007-11-11 22:24:18 · answer #2 · answered by Book_Princess 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
you need to separate the 2 of them. the large one has staked claim on the upper level of the cage. it probably has a small house, wheel, or some extra benefit to it. this can be due to the difference in size, or difference in breeds. females can be just as dominate as males.
2007-11-11 21:50:55 · answer #3 · answered by Barbara L 6 · 0⤊ 3⤋
What your rats are doing is normal sometimes they do that in the wild, when you cage them there's no warranty they will get along. you need to seperate them because one will kill the other
2007-11-11 21:46:29 · answer #4 · answered by ren p 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
That is like a baby spiders eating its mother.
2007-11-11 21:43:59 · answer #5 · answered by Logan F 2 · 0⤊ 5⤋
you should get a cat instead
2007-11-11 21:48:14 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 4⤋
do you have a cat???? that can solve your problem easily
2007-11-11 21:44:00 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 5⤋