i need to introduce rats and the rat cant live with the current rat left and they are the cheapest thing ive found.
P.S. I dont have enough money to get a really big cage for a rat to live in for a month
Answers:
It's not ideal. But given that I remember answering your question about introducing a rat to your 5 month old rat earlier, I understand why you'd want to.
Short-term, it's okay. Not great, but okay. Of utmost importance... make sure the rat has plenty of air at all times. That aquarium's going to need a cleaning every few days, minimum, because that's a small space. Keep enough food and water in there. And most importantly, handle him daily. The little guy is going to need continued socialization, and it'll help him tolerate being in that small space.
If the introductions don't go well, which again I don't think will be the case with a gradual introduction like I described in my other answer, then the aquarium is out for a long-term home. Really, any more than a month in that thing is just too confining. Short-term... okay.
Best of luck. Feel free to ask if you hit any snags along the way.
ya the fish tank should be fine
but make sure you have a lid
and soem food in a food bowl and water bowl
and he/she should be just fine
Good Luck!
Yes tanks for rats, hamsters, gerbils, e.t.c are totally fine. They actually work better than cages because those little rodents tend to chew on the rails.
Best of luck 鈾?Hope I helped 鈾?
~GPSapphire鈾?
Should be fine. Just put in the extra effort to keep it clean since it's such a small space, and let the little guy out as much as you can so he doesn't get neurotic or out-of-shape.
a 10 gallon shoul be fine for a rat ull have to kepp it clean for the most part but aslong as u have a lid and its waited down so he wont get out wich they tend to do if the lids not on properly youll be fine
yes i used to keep my hamsters in fish tanks until the dogs decided that they were hungry for something new
yeah, it'll be fine for a month, you'll just have to put more effort into cleaning the tank because it's fairly small. and you'll need to take the rat out so it can have exercise more often since it will have less room to run around in the 10 gallon tank.
good luck!!
Ten gallon? That seems kind of small. I suppose if you have the rat out and played with a lot it won't matter, but rats need at least 2' x 2' space (per rat if in a multi-rat cage) not to get stressed. New rat quarantine only needs to be for 2 weeks for disease concerns.
Speaking of disease concerns, tanks are NOT the way to go for long-term rodent housing. There's zero air circulation in a tank. Your rat's health is directly related to the cleanliness of their environment, and air circulation is a big key.
with your user name you shouldnt really need telling this = -)
nope it is not ok to keep a rat in a 10g tank for a day let alone a month, it is far to small[whatever age the rat is] it will be living in a layer of ammonia as there is inadequate ventilation and however much you socialise with it that will be for a minimum of 10 hours a day of breathing in fumes that are damaging its lungs with every breath
youve not said why you cant intro the rats right away so im gonna take a leap in the dark and guess quarantine, slow intro or neutur
quarantine:
unless you can guarantee to keep the rats in a totally seperate air space, not just seperate cages or rooms on the same floor but differrent rooms/different floor[ideally different house] AND guarantee to completely shower between any contact between them [ however small] and keep different sets of clothes for each air space for 3 weeks then quarantine is pretty much a waste of time
do you do all that between touching a friends/patennt rat/after going to the petstore? if not your exposing your rat each and every time anyway so quarantine is pretty much useless
slow intros:
there is no proof that slow intros wrk any better than the fast method i was taught and have used ever since
pop resident rat into a holding pen
thoroughly clean every bit of cage, solid toys tubes etc, use laundry powder, hot water a scrubbing brush and a very very little dilute bleach, remove any housing as they MAY become territorial areas
wipe cage and all solid toys with a rag soaked in vanilla essence
refurnish and rearrange with freshly laundered hammocks[ or new ones] and fresh bedding/toys 2 water bottles and two food pots, theory being 1 rat cant be guarding two bowls
DO NOT replace any housing or anything that one rat could trap another in, leave all sleeping/lounging areas as open as possible
using a neautral area, bath with towels in the bottom is a favourite introduce them together and leave them to it, under supervision, remembering the golden rule of no blood no foul, feed them treats and yoggies while theyre in there
when all the huffing puffing and pinning has subsided and they appear comfortable with each other wipe them each over with the same vanilla rag you used for the cage and pop them in the cage together
by the time all the sniffing and investigating has subsided they should be the best of friends
keep a spray bottle ofwater near the cage just in case though, any MAJOR squabbles [ rather than just noise] can be quickly broken by a quick light spray of water in the face causing them to break and wash
Neutur:
obviously you have to keep the M/F rat seperate for 4-6 weeks to allow all the little swimmers to swim their last
could i please suggest you beg/borrow a cage from friends/uni/work/ local shelter/vet even some pet shops will have emergancy cages they loan/rent out for a nominal amount
where ever
but
please not a 10g tank
ever never
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