| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| eyeball |
Posted - 25/01/2013 : 14:05:25
Hi all,
Noodle has been munching rat fuzzies for about six weeks now and has gone from 104g when we got him to 140g although he still hasn't presented us with a poo yet (it's gonna be a monster when he does!) and he's around 4 inches in diameter at his widest point.
He takes the fuzzies very easily and they slip down pretty quickly. I'm happy to keep feeding him them if he's not ready to go up, obviously, but I was wondering what you all think. Is it worth trying him with a small rat pup or sticking with fuzzies till he gets a bit bigger?
Thanks! |
| 7 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| BlueDragon |
Posted - 27/01/2013 : 08:50:03
To be honest, that's what I did as well. Even if just 'cause I can't understand weights very well. It always seemed to work out fine.
If you choose Rats that look the right size then they should be fine 'cause after they've thawed they tend to shrink down a bit. |
| Lotabob |
Posted - 26/01/2013 : 18:23:21
I just go on the size of the rat being no thicker than the snake. That tends to work out weight size too. |
| eyeball |
Posted - 26/01/2013 : 16:46:04
Excellent, thanks richard!
I popped into the reptile shop today and we settled on feeding a couple of fuzzies for a while as the pups he had in stock were a bit on the large size.
Just cleaned the viv out and we have been presented with our first poo!
He wasn't best pleased with being taken out of his hide (I think he was having a kip) as he gave me a little hiss but was good as gold really!! |
| BlueDragon |
Posted - 26/01/2013 : 09:20:40
As a Rat owner I might be able to help clear up the confusion on Rat sizes and their names. I'll try anyway.
Pinkies are new born Rats (or Mice) and have no fur. They're usually anything from a day to a week old. So don't tend to vary much in size.
Fuzzies (in Rats and Mice) are usually about two to four weeks old-ish and have a thin layer of fluff over their skin. The size varies with age 'cause they'll be growing really fast at this age, so you can get small fuzzies and bigger ones.
Rat pups (and Mouse pups) are young Rats that are considered past baby stage but not yet full grown. So they could be seen as small adults. They have all their fur, all fur colours/patterns will be fully developed and they will be bigger than fuzzies. They come in a variety of sizes, from 'small' through to 'medium' and 'large'. But at this age they're still isn't a great deal of difference in size between sexes.
Adult Rats (and Mice) are full grown Rats. Same rule aplies with sizes but this time you'll see a difference in size and bulk between sexes. Males in Rats are much bigger that females. So if you need a smaller, slender Rat look for the girls and if you need a bigger and bulkier Rat look for the boys... and there is no mistaking the boys!
Hope that helps a bit?
|
| Leucistic |
Posted - 25/01/2013 : 16:27:54
I go on weight mostly using the 10-15% of body weight rule. If the rat is alittle over it doesnt really matter too much as in the wild they wont be eating uniform weights 
I would be inclined to move him on to small/medium rat fluffs going by his current weight.
Dont worry about the poop, you will know when it comes haha |
| eyeball |
Posted - 25/01/2013 : 16:02:24
That's what's confused me to be honest. The chap in the reptile shop showed be what he called rat fuzzies/fluffs which were little new born rats maybe 4-5 cm long. What he called rat pups were bigger and covered in fur... |
| richard v |
Posted - 25/01/2013 : 15:35:20
I always get confused with rat sizes , as far as I'm aware it goes rat pups the biggest they get to us around 8-9 gms then fuzzies or fluffs these go from 10gms to 25gms these are the ones I would use. Or you could always feed two pups until he is large enough to take a whole fuzzie or fluff that's what I did with my royal. Hope that makes sense. |
