This rat saved a coalminers life...

Myths and Legends: "There was an elderly man in West Virginia who was a coal miner. He owned the mine he worked in, but he often noticed that he was sharing the dark tunnel with another creature-a rat. This was a unique rat that would always seem to stay near him as he worked. It was as if the rat was keeping him company-and vise versa.

Over a period of several months, the two became quite content with each other. They had established some patterns that worked well, and one might even say they had a kind of bonding with each other.

When the miner would sit down to eat from his lunch box, he would always feed the rat some scraps from his own meal. When it came time to fire the shots that would bring down a coal face, the miner made sure to chase the rat away so it would not be injured in the blast.

One day, while the miner was working alone in the mine, the rat appeared to be unduly agitated. It scurried back and forth, running up to the miner, then running off. It repeated this behavior so often that the miner began to get the feeling that the little rat was trying to tell him something.

Intrigued as to what in the world this was about, the miner put down his drill and followed the rat around the corner to see if he could find out what was bothering the little creature. The miner had just barely moved away from the mining face of the coal mine when the roof collapsed. The cave in of the roof had occurred exactly in the spot the miner had been standing in! ~Ian Currie, University of Toronto lecturer"

Rat legend...the truth is out there...Believe it! Or Not!

Rat myths dispelled...

Myths and Legends: "Rats have recived a lot of pad press over the years, mostly through misinformation and misunderstanding. Lots of people say they hate rats, they think they're gross and evil and eat babies. That's plainly stupid. Rats are not gross, they groom themselves many times a day like a cat. The even groom their rattie friends. Evil? Not really. Rats almost never bite, unlike hamsters. This is because hamsters in the wild live alone, all they want is to go sleep under a rock. They dont want to be held or loved. Wild rats, however, live in groups and need to socilize a lot. Baby eaters? Ha!!! 'But rats carried the Black Death,' you say. The wild Black rat, Rattus Rattus, carried fleas that carried the Black Death. Please remember that you had to be bitten by a flea, not a rat to get the Black Death. DOMESTICATED rats, are decended from the Brown rat, Rattus Norvegicus, which actually helped drive the Black rat away. Even if you dont like wild rats, you sould not hate pet rats, they didn't do anything to anyone! No domesticated rat carries the Black Death, and I have never heard of a pet rat with rabies. "

Someone has a very vivid imagination...urban myth I think not...

Is your rat overweight?

Always consult with your Vet before using herbal remedies with other, prescribed, medications.

What actually is it?
Ginseng is the most famous herb to come out of China and has been used in medicine for the past 7000 years! Several different species are now grown around the world and although each one has some special property of its own, they are all considered to be an active overall rejuvenator.

Ginseng is also used for many other things, including reducing the effects of stress, boosting energy levels, enhancing memory, and stimulating the immune system. It is said to remove both mental and bodily fatigue, cure pulmonary complaints, dissolve tumours and reduce the effects of age.

Uses in rats
Infections, weight loss and wounds, colon cancer, certain types of rat pneumonia.

Dosages
If in liquid form, one to two drops a day mixed in food.

Is your rat overweight and fat like a sumo wrestler and doesn’t really like his exercise ball? Then try this to help him lose weight...

Woo! watch out for the garlic breath

What actually is Garlic?
Garlic originally came from Asia, but is now found throughout the world and is considered one of the most important herbs, being used in foods and medicines. It was found that Egyptian pyramids construction workers ate large amounts of garlic to protect themselves from diseases. Gravediggers in early 18th Century in France drank garlic crushed up in wine to prevent the plague that killed so many people in Europe. And during both World Wars, soldiers were given garlic to prevent gangrene.

Garlic is antiviral, anti-fungal and antibacterial and has been prized since the first records of civilization for its uses in treating wounds, infections, tumours, and intestinal parasites.

Modern scientists in numerous clinical trials have concluded that garlic lowers cholesterol and blood pressure, thins the blood (which reduces your risk of heart attack and stroke by preventing hardening of the arteries) and fights bacteria like an antibiotic, some viruses and fungal infections, in ailments such as colds, coughs, bronchitis, gastrointestinal problems, and menstrual pain. Garlic is reported to actually be even more effective than penicillin against certain diseases like typhus, and works quite well against strep, staph bacteria, cholera, dysentery and enteritis. And even more! Garlic increases the activity of white blood cells (the cells central to the activity of the entire immune system) thus building the immune system up. But the biggest draw in this day and age is that garlic is thought to have properties that may help prevent cancer.

Uses in rats

* Respiratory problems - can open up lungs and bronchial tubes.
* Tumours - may possibly inhibit tumour cell formation (research is currently being carried out by the NCI into this).
* General Immune System builder.
* Rat high blood pressure (!)

Dosages
Try giving it in capsule form or pour the oil over the rat food. Your rat may take it in raw form, but going from the reaction mine had with this, it doesn't seem likely!

Toxicity
Large quantities may lead to stomach upset! However, in a recent study, it was found that you would need to give the average rat (approx. 350g in weight) 10.5ml(!) of garlic extract before any signs of side-effects show. So, giving even 1ml should not show any harmful side-effects.

Would you like some parmesean cheese with that?

Gnawers

housing

Rats chew to keep their teeth down.

Do i have to take my rattie to visit the dentist?

Rat bedding and litter

bedding
Pine and Cedar - Never use softwood beddings such as pine or cedar. The aromatic oils (phenols) destroy lung tissue in small animals especially because their faces are always close to their bedding—and particularly mice and rats because of their delicate lungs.

So why do petsores sell it? Do tobacco producers care about the damage cigarettes do to human lungs? The answer is business. How else could lumber companies make a profit off the millions of tons of wood scraps that are unfit for much else? Many individual workers in the pet department do care about their animals’ conditions, or will not keep them on poor bedding for other reasons (who wants to buy a bunch of sneezing animals, right?). But that doesn’t stop them from selling it. This appeals to that portion of pet owners that are either ignorant of the needs of their new small pet, or are unwilling/unable to spend money on their needs.

Aspen - One safe wood bedding is aspen, a hardwood and my favourite. It comes in either chips, or a shredded state. I buy it in large 2.5-foot high bales from a feed and supply store for $11.

Carefresh is a bedding made from recycled wood pulp, but I find it very dusty, and very expensive for a recycled product.

Cloth – This does nothing for odor, and there’s always the danger of a baby getting its legs fatally caught in the threads. Adult rats are capable of quickly chewing themselves free in this situation, but fabric should always be discarded when it becomes holey and chewed down anyway.

Yesterday’s News, Scoops and other newspaper pelleted litter do a good job of reducing odor, as well as keeping bedding inside the cage, but apparently there’s the odd rat in a million that eats it and becomes very sick. Most rats don’t, and certainly none of mine. Because it’s somewhat expensive for my number of rats, I mainly use it their litter pans. If it’s used as bedding, it must be changed when it breaks down and becomes dusty.

Rabbit Pellets - an alfalfa pelleted litter intended for rabbit food, but also as cage bedding or litter among rat owners. It's quite safe, since rats don't eat alfalfa, but like other pelleted litters must be changed when it breaks down and becomes dusty. Sometimes it bothers certain rats or humans if it's high in protein and very green. It's obtained very cheaply at a feed store.

More on Litter Pans - Rats can be trained to more or less use a litter pan. While they will pee everywhere, they will prefer to poop in a litter pan or two on the levels of the cage. If they don’t automatically use it, put any stray poops inside, and physically show them what you’re doing if necessary. Litter pans can also be transferred from their cage to the area they will play in (eg. sofa).

Better to be safe than sorry...

some folk lore for you....

Rat Facts:

Soda does not make rats explode.

Another bedtime story with those urban myths...

did you know that Rats have bellybuttons...

Rat Facts: "
Rats have bellybuttons.

Rats don't have gallbladders.

Rats don't have tonsils.

A rat's fur smells like grape soda.

...grape soda...do they come in chocolate an vanilla too?

Where does the therometer go?

Rat Facts: "A rat's temperature is regulated though its tail (assuming it has one). A really hot rat will lay on its back so that it can 'sweat' through the soles of its feet."

You stick the therometer where?