General Update

After trying to see if the Syrian hamsters would do well in the old style Ware cages I've decided to revert back to the Quality Cages.  The Ware cages are just too small for them.  I'm also getting them flying saucers so no need to worry about the wheel issue.  I had ordered pans for the Ware cages from Martins Cages but I'm going to get rid of the Ware cages with their original pans and hang onto the Martin pans for the last 4 mouse cages that will be ordered.

I was able to get 225 pounds of rolled grain in the 55 gallon drum.  It's sealed away from anything that might get into it!  This is a food grade barrel and this is human grade grain.  I pull grain from here to mix the food for the rats.  (The gerbils, hamsters and mice eat other food although they do get a bit of this with their normal diet.)

I took the remains of the 9 critters that had passed since the last run, to the Oregon Humane Society for cremation.  Hopefully the freezer (we have a designated freezer for remains) will remain empty for some time! The urn should be ready for pick up next week or so.

I'm still trying to find a piece of the cage that got lost somehow.  The cage is slated to go to the Oregon Humane Society but I don't want to bring it without the final piece.

I ordered 2 42" shelves and casters for the room to replace one 36" and one 48" shelf.  This will allow me to get 2 BC-7 cages to expand 2 rat cages to hold up to 12 rats per group.  We often take in entire accidental litters so this allows us to keep all of the, same gender, together.

The cage configuration will be 10 shelves slated for ratties and 5 shelves slated for gerbils, Syrian hamsters, and/or mice.  Currently there are 8 shelves for ratties and 7 shelves for gerbils, Syrian hamstes, and/or mice.  (There are 12 shelves for storage.)  The critters also have their own refrigerator.

I think that is about it on the updates.  Next week we will pick up the remains, and go to Quality Cages to pay for an order and then to ConcentratesNW to pick up more rice hulls for bedding.

Chip Is Helped to the Bridge

Chip, a little Golden Syrian hamster was helped to the bridge tonight.  My neighbor was looking after him for over a year as she can't afford pets and I had a little guy that needed some more individual attention.  He thrived in her care and was very gregarious.  He apparently started to feel poorly last night and tonight he just couldn't really stand up on his own and she said he was very cold.  Attempts to warm him were not helping and he was gasping for breath.

Just his brother Dip remains of the 5 hamsters my friend Cindy and her family and I adopted.  (She took 2 babies, I took the mother and 2 other babies.)  Dip has slowed down but seems to still be in good overall health.

Chip will be brought for private cremation at the Oregon Humane Society on Saturday.  Rest in peace little Chip.

Mimzi..Admire My Cute Plumpness

My name is Mimzi...and this is my ramp!  And no you may not run on my Silent Spinner!  I highly recommend silent spinners for us gerbils because we are LOUD.  You need to get the large one.  (The small one is too small and the giant one, well, it is ok too.)

I live in a really cool cage.  It's 32" wide x 16" deep x 16" tall.  I have a high balcony so my wheel doesn't get caught in my tunneling.  I have a low balcony so my water bottles also don't get affected by my tunneling.  I have cardboard tunnels and tunnels that I make myself in my paper palace.  Mom puts 2 water bottles on all of her cages for safety reasons.  If one fails, I have a back-up.  My cage was made to my mother's specifications by Quality Cages.  It is fully collapsible and lays in the pan when not in use.  The pan is silver veined powder coated but the cage itself is not.

I like to run on my wheel but you really can't tell because I'm a little on the plump side!

Rodent Diet

I've adjusted the diet again, mainly the frozen one.  I also added information on the meat and fish offerings.  With the exception of the dog food and some treats, such as Itty Bitty Cloud Biscuits, everything is human grade food.

The current basic dry mix is:

Regular or Thick Cut Rolled Oats (100 pounds) www.azurestandard.com
Rolled 9 Grain Flakes+ (50 pounds) www.azurestandard.com
Triticale Flakes (50 pounds) www.azurestandard.com
Rolled Barley (25 pounds) www.azurestandard.com
Rolled Rye (25 pounds) www.azurestandard.com
Kirkland Low Fat Dog Food (Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul, Light formula or Diamond Lowfat Dog Food also work for this mix) (40 pounds) Costco
Dried Carrots (10 pounds) http://www.northbaytrading.com/air-dried-carrots/
Total Cereal (12 boxes) Online or grocery store
Dried Cranberries (4 pounds) Winco Bulk Bins
Raisins (4 pounds) Winco Bulk Bins
Banana Chips (4 pounds) Winco Bulk Bins

*I do sometimes add another cereal like Cheerios, for variety.
+Hard Red Wheat, Oat Groats, Triticale Berries, Rye Berries, Dehulled Barley, Soft White Wheat, Spelt Berries, Hard White Wheat, Flax.
Baby rats and pregnant mothers (should any ever come here pregnant) are fed additional food such as Innova kitten food.

Frozen mix is (with amounts listed):

Frozen Broccoli (small pieces) 5 pounds (Cash and Carry)
Frozen Peas 5 pounds (Costco)
Frozen Kale 5 pounds (Whole Foods)
Sweet Potatoes 5 pounds (cooked, purchased raw from Winco or Costco)
Beans 10 cups (cooked mixed beans purchased from bulk bins at Winco--1 cup dry  = 2.25 cups cooked)
Basmatti Brown Rice 12 cups (cooked, purchased from bulk bins at Winco-- 1 cup dry = 3 cups cooked)
Quinoa 12 cups (cooked, purchased from bulk bins at Winco -- 1 cup dry = 4 cups cooked)

I steam the rice and quinoa the day before combining my mix. I also cook the beans. I boil them for 3 minutes then let simmer for 3 hours. I cook the sweet potatoes. I put the rice and quinoa in the freezer overnight and the beans and sweet potatoes in the refrigerator overnight. The next day I cut up the sweet potatoes into cubes and mix everything together. I then divide into freezer baggies for me to pull out and heat up daily for the critters.

Again, these diets are their BASIC diet. They do eat other foods. I mix in additional items in their frozen mix, for example bok choy, apples, canned mandarin oranges, et cetera. Just watch the items on the forbidden food list.

I do feed meat and fish to the critters. They get it at least once a week, the day before cage cleaning. They get lamb, chicken, smelt, beef liver, tilapia, just to name a few.

The Dapper Rat http://www.dapper.com.au/articles.htm#diet
Dream Mountain Rattery http://www.dreammtnfarm.com/rattery/about.htm
RatFanClub http://www.ratfanclub.org/nutreq.html
Rattie Rascals Rattery http://www.boardmanweb.com/rattery/nutrition.htm
Shunamite Diet: http://www.fancy-rats.co.uk/information/guides.php?subject=shunamite

Pimp and Pong Pass & Bamboo is helped to the bridge

I am thinking Pimp actually was older than the other boys I adopted him with.  He started getting cataract in both eyes a few months ago and then went downhill real fast, he wasn't really agile and walked around with an odd gait these past few days.  I went in and found the other little boys laying on top of him, probably trying to keep him warm. :(

Pong passed last night sometime.  He was battling respiratory illness for some time so it was not a surprise that he passed, but it wasn't like he went downhill or anything.  I can only suspect he might have choked on something too. :(

Bamboo had head tilt for over a year and today when I went in, one side of his face really bulged out and his eye was pushing out of his socket.  I helped him to the bridge.  I've never seen anything like that in all of my time with ratties.

These boys are survived by their cage mates Sprout, Sprat, Mr. Buttons, Blink, Ping, and Rollo.

Rest in peace gentle giants.

Spud Slips Away

Spud was one of the ratatatoes.  He had been fighting a respiratory issue for some time.  He is survived by Tator and Harper.  He wasn't very cuddly but he did love his buddies and he tolerated being held.  Rest in peace little Spud.

:*(