Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I love putting my rat on my shoulders and having her crawl on me.

I am a newbie and I haven't looked through all the posts. But do you guys generally put them on your shoulders and let them crawl all over you? What do you do with the fecal matter? Are your rats trained to not poop on you or do you just learn to deal with it?

My rat sometimes poops on me and sometimes she pees on my shirt. It is a nuisance. What can I do? Just deal with it?

Please excuse the newbie nature of my questions.

sincerely.

(also, what about the sharp nails? I haven't found an easy way to trim them. I am worried about getting scratched and having feces scratched into my wound. In cats there is a cat scratch disease that can be pretty bad for humans)
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Longtang. I like snakes and rats.

Some rats just don't poop on you that much. Some are very tame. Especially those handled a lot early on. I have far too many rats at this point to hand tame them. But they aren't so bad, some are quite friendly and intelligent. I rarely put them on my shoulder, but I do carry them at times to weigh them and so forth. Of course, if I'm weighing a rat then it is possible the rat won't return to its enclosure.

I've never heard of rats causing a similar problem to Cat Scratch fever. Not to mention, if you rinse any scratches out and treat them with antiseptic spray or ointment, neither should be a problem... I've been scratched, bitten and clawed enough times now that I'm fairly practiced at it. I just pour rubbing alcohol over every scratch or cut or bite I get. Stings like crazy but its effective. One of my females whelped and I didn't realize it when I went to clean and feed.. the pinks were probably a day old... and she nailed my hand pretty bad.... no stitches but looked bad... that one got betadine immersed though. For a rats claws.. if they'll let you hold them, no clippers but an emery board or nail file to file down the tips a bit should help... You could easily snip into the quick with clippers and those things are hard to get to stop bleeding without a stitptic pencil or powder.

I've never heard of rats causing a similar problem to Cat Scratch fever. Not to mention, if you rinse any scratches out and treat them with antiseptic spray or ointment, neither should be a problem... I've been scratched, bitten and clawed enough times now that I'm fairly practiced at it. I just pour rubbing alcohol over every scratch or cut or bite I get. Stings like crazy but its effective. One of my females whelped and I didn't realize it when I went to clean and feed.. the pinks were probably a day old... and she nailed my hand pretty bad.... no stitches but looked bad... that one got betadine immersed though. For a rats claws.. if they'll let you hold them, no clippers but an emery board or nail file to file down the tips a bit should help... You could easily snip into the quick with clippers and those things are hard to get to stop bleeding without a stiptic pencil or powder.

>>I love putting my rat on my shoulders and having her crawl on me.
>>
>>I am a newbie and I haven't looked through all the posts. But do you guys generally put them on your shoulders and let them crawl all over you? What do you do with the fecal matter? Are your rats trained to not poop on you or do you just learn to deal with it?
>>
>>My rat sometimes poops on me and sometimes she pees on my shirt. It is a nuisance. What can I do? Just deal with it?
>>also, what about the sharp nails? I haven't found an easy way to trim them. I am worried about getting scratched and having feces scratched into my wound. In cats there is a cat scratch disease that can be pretty bad for humans)

Yeah, generally rats will mark you all the time and there really isn't a lot you can do about it. Males tend to do it more than girls.....but that is all I can tell you.
Sharp nails can be trimmed and with my own rats it is usually easier than many of my other animals. You can also try the trick of putting a rough brick or paving stone under the water bottle and have that wear down nails. With feeders it is harder to deal with due to sheer numbers. But if there is a particular bunch that you carry more you could just nip the tips off their nails with a human nail clipper.
I have not ever heard of serious 'scratch fever' sort of things from rats. BUT, many folks have a allergic sort of reaction to rat scratches. Usually it amounts to welting and itching. Washing after handling will reduce it. But that is all.
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Sonya

Clean them right away. It is mostly swelling and itching. I have found that if I rinse my arms and hands with peroxide right after handling my animals they don't cause any problems. Using alcohol, hand sanitizer, or anit-bacterial soap doesn't stop the reaction for me.

Marcia

Who wants to hold their rats? They are food not pets.

>>Who wants to hold their rats? They are food not pets.

Rats are not just food! They are so much more. Don't you love your rats?

how about this rat?

If you do not bond with your rats, You are missing out on a lot of love. . . a love that will also bring you a lot of food for your snakes. Come on. Go love them and they will lvoe you back!

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Longtang. I like snakes and rats.