A few questions

[Colleen]

Jul 17, 2008 18:36:53 GMT 10 Kim said:

In fact I believe that garlic is good for their immune system and for keeping some bugs and internal parasites away.

that is exactly what i have heard too.

[cassandra]

i've heard the same. i know we give garlic to our cats occasionally, to prevent fleas if we don't have the time or products to do it. not certain about it for rats though

[ceara]

When I've had rats, they never developed any issues from eating garlic that I could see - although they didn't like it much, it was an occasional ingredient (along with onion) if we gave them any leftovers as treats.

Has anyone ever used vanilla for deoderizing a cage? I haven't before, but I can imagine that a vanilla spray would not be harmful, if the type used in fridges, or vanilla essence with a little water. Has anyone tried this?

[wulfyskingdom]

Aug 13, 2008 13:27:10 GMT 10 ceara said:

Has anyone ever used vanilla for deoderizing a cage? I haven't before, but I can imagine that a vanilla spray would not be harmful, if the type used in fridges, or vanilla essence with a little water. Has anyone tried this?

Hi Ceara! Welcome to the forum

I've heard vanilla essence is used when introducing new rats to each other, usually a dab on the nose and bum I think, and also for cages so their scent is masked from each other. So using it as a cage deoderizer should be fine (I've never used it myself though)

[ceara]

Thanks for the welcome, Wulfy!

I didn't think vanilla would possibly be harmful, although I do also wonder how effective it will be. I'm living in rental accomodation and the landlord has just given me permission to have rats - but since she's scared they might escape and breed and case a rat plague (lol), I want to make sure that I keep things smelling as fresh as possible, especially for inspections. Cleaning regularly and litter training will be the best ways of course, but a bit of extra deoderizing would be handy too from time to time!

[wulfyskingdom]

I know what you mean. After a while we get used to the rat cage type of smells, so even though they're cleaned regularly people new to your place will notice.

There is a product you can buy which is 'kitty litter deoderiser'. Its like a fragrant talcum powder you put in kitty litter to keep it smelling nice. I dont put this directly in my rats cage and the powder would probably make them sneeze and im not sure if its 100% safe to them, but some of my cages with wire in the bottom i'll sprinkle some in the tray.

Or i found those ambipure plug in frangrance thingys are really good for when guests are over. You can adjust how strong the frangrance is and even on a low setting they can be fairly strong if its a smallish room lol

[Leeann]

I use vanilla essence straight, and wipe over all the walls of the cage after a full wash down.
Just tip some onto paper towel and wipe over.

I also use it for introducing new rats to the group, but I wipe the whole rat and do all the rats.
Occassionally I have to do this a few times, but most of the time twice is all that is needed.

My gang love garlic bread, and some garlic in their diets will not hurt them.

[Kim]

Leeann that reminds me I need to put a warning up -

I just want to warm people to watch their rats when you give them bread.

So if you can always try and moisten the bread with olive oil or milk or something like that so that it cant expand and become sticky in the rats mouth.

This happened to me recently......

On August 8th my husband gave some garlic bread to some of my rats and I had just put my girl Jigsaw in with my bot Captain Jack for breeding and they started to eat the garlic bread together.

Within a few minutes Jack was trying to dry reach and was finding it hard to breath and was just laying down not really moving much.

I grabbed him out and wrapped him in my shirt, which he didnt like, and noticed some soggy stuff in his mouth, I tried to get it out without success, so I put him back in with Jigsaw while I got some toothpicks.

I then wrapped him again and then used the flat end of the toothpick to try and snag the soggy stuff.

I managed to snag it a little, Jack make a squeak, I turned him over and put him down and the blockage came out.

The bread had become soggy and sticky and formed a sticky mass that he couldnt get down or up.

So bread can be dangerous to rats.

It probably doesnt happen often but it does happen, and if it happens during the night or when no one is around you could come home or wake up to find a rat has passed away and you dont know why.

[wulfyskingdom]

I had a piece of cheddar (just the Kraft Cheddar Cheese) which i was eating my self, i wasnt watching my boy and he grabbed a big mouthful before i could say 'hey!' and he chewed it, then swallowed but it obviously didnt go down. I monitored him for a few seconds, he was putting his ears back like he was trying hard to push it down. Lucky though, he stopped after about 30 seconds and i kept him close by for about half an hour and he was fine, but it was a bit scary.

Im also wary about cooked rice - if its gone really sticky/claggy i dont give it to them. Oh and seaweed - ive heard you can give rats avocado sushi rolls, but then i heard somewhere else to be careful of the seaweed/nori around the outside as they can get it stuck in their throats.

and obviously there is the peanut butter or nutella spreads that are sticky and can cause problems

[Kim]

I tend to rinse my cooked rice before I give it to my rats so that its not so sticky.

I do give my rats peanut butter but I always thin it down with olive oil or sometimes a bit of jam. The olive oil is better though as it helps to keep the rats coats shiny and healthy looking.

[wulfyskingdom]

Thats what I do too... the brand we last brought is really gluggy though, even after rinsing.

I have grape seed oil for cooking, would that be just as healthy to use?

[aquaman38]

Aug 13, 2008 22:35:47 GMT 10 Kim said:

Leeann that reminds me I need to put a warning up -

I just want to warm people to watch their rats when you give them bread.

So if you can always try and moisten the bread with olive oil or milk or something like that so that it cant expand and become sticky in the rats mouth.

This happened to me recently......

On August 8th my husband gave some garlic bread to some of my rats and I had just put my girl Jigsaw in with my bot Captain Jack for breeding and they started to eat the garlic bread together.

Within a few minutes Jack was trying to dry reach and was finding it hard to breath and was just laying down not really moving much.

I grabbed him out and wrapped him in my shirt, which he didnt like, and noticed some soggy stuff in his mouth, I tried to get it out without success, so I put him back in with Jigsaw while I got some toothpicks.

I then wrapped him again and then used the flat end of the toothpick to try and snag the soggy stuff.

I managed to snag it a little, Jack make a squeak, I turned him over and put him down and the blockage came out.

The bread had become soggy and sticky and formed a sticky mass that he couldnt get down or up.

So bread can be dangerous to rats.

It probably doesnt happen often but it does happen, and if it happens during the night or when no one is around you could come home or wake up to find a rat has passed away and you dont know why.

I lost my 12 month old boy Ben back in march due to him choking on bread, so yes please be very careful.

[Leeann]

Good warning Kim

I personally have never had a problem but as seen by 2 members posts, yes it is possible for a problem to happen with bread,so as Kim has suggested make sure it is moistened first, if in doubt then do not feed bread the diet.

[Colleen]

Thanks for the warning guys.

I would never have thought that bread could be so dangerous!

[tassiebetty]

HI, I give my rats garlic too, its good for them, i just make sure its only in small quantities, and diluted and then I mix it with their vegies or on a little piece of garlic bread! THey love it.. ;D