Community Profile

WELCOME TO THE RAT HEALTH COMMUNITY!

This community was originally created soley for rat health topics, but is presently much more of a general rat related community minus the drama and utter idiocy seen in many other rat related communities on Live journal today.

We here at rat_health greatly encourage educating rather than lecturing. We also advocate responsibility and proper care of our pet rats at all times. As with any type of pet, our rats require proper care, lots of love, and much attention in order to live a healthy and happy long life. As a community full of all different types of pet rat owners near and far, we love to educate, inform, and leave members feeling as if they've reached answers to their personal questions and concerns. We are here to help you no matter what level of experience you may have acheived thus far. All information and advice given to you should be discussed with your veterinarian. The members of the community will never ever attempt to treat or diagnose your pet(s). That is what your vet is for.

The moderators and more than half of the members in our community have many years of experience with having rats as pets. Many rat related Live journal communities out there have moderators and members that have very little experience with rats, and often give out incorrect or even risky advice and information. In joining this community you should feel confident that the information given to you is accurate and up-to-date at all times.

Please do take a moment of your time to read through the guidelines before you join to ensure that you understand how the community operates. Please feel free to check out our very extensive and informative links section below. There you will find information to just about everything related to pet rats! When in doubt, post your questions to the community and they will be addressed by the members as soon as possible. You may also contact the moderators via the above e-mail. We thank you for choosing rat_health, and we do hope you enjoy being a member here.

COMMUNITY GUIDELINES

1. Please stay on topic of rats as pets when posting to the community. Anything pet rat related is highly encouraged and welcomed. This is not a community for rats as feeders. If you are looking for a community like that then you should check out feeder_breeders.

2. No comments or posts will be tolerated under ANY circumstances that use racist, homophobic, sexist, or religious ephiphets. Personal attacks in the community will not be tolerated whether it is against a member or their rats. Please understand that all members are not on the same page when it comes to rat related knowledge. Do keep that in mind when you are commenting. It is more than okay to be firm in your comments without sugarcoating, just don't be a jerk about it. If personal attacks extend to your personal journal, you may wish to contact LJ Abuse for further action as we can only warn/ban members that violate the rules of the community.

3. Please utilize the lj-cut when you are posting very lengthy entries as well as when posting large photographs.

4. Advertisement(s) are welcome but must ONLY be rat related, and must be under a cut.

5. "Goodbye, cruel community" posts of any kind are not permitted within the community. If you have a problem with another member or something else community related, please contact the moderators at the e-mail given above. Do NOT contact us via our personal journals without prior permission.

6. We reserve the right to remove any problem member at anytime for any reason.

7. The rules of the community may be altered with or without prior notice.

8. Please do not use our community to attempt to diagnose or treat your pet(s). Your veterinarian is the best source of health related advice. The community should be used to become better informed, and more educated on topics concerning pet rats.

9. We are not veterinarians, and no information or advice obtained from within or outside of the community should ever replace care by your veterinarian. When in doubt, get to your vet immediately as it may mean the life or death of your pet(s). The advice and information obtained from the community is not intended to treat or diagnose, and neither the moderators nor the members are responsible for any problems that should result from information received from within the community. Use your best judgement at all times.

10. Please do not screen, delete, or disable comments to your posts. This will get you banned from posting within the community.

11. Entries may either be friend's locked or public. That is up to you.

INFORMATIONAL RESOURCES

♥ ALL ABOUT THE PET RAT ♥

About the pet rat
Brief history of the pet rat
Colors and markings
Aspects of the pet rat
Female rat names
Male rat names

♥ THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW BEFORE YOU ADOPT ♥

Are rats the right pet for you?
How many rats should you get?
Things to consider before you adopt
Rats with other rats
Rats need company
Choosing your new rats

♥ HEALTHY DIETS AND NUTRITION ♥

Healthy homemade rat foods
The complete forbidden foods listing
Harlan Teklad lab blocks
The Suebee's diet
Safe treats for rats
Meeting your rat's nutritional requirements
Healthy diet information
Chocolate and rats
Cuisine Des Rats
More healthy recipes
Corn in the rat diet

♥ ILLNESSES AND INJURIES ♥

Zuckers
Mites, lice, and other parasites
Tumor information
Tamoxifen helps treat and prevent tumors
A study on tumors
Spaying helps prevent tumors
The different types of tumors
Respiratory illnesses
Treating respiratory illnesses
Mycoplasmosis
Facts about Mycoplasmosis
Sialodacryoadenitis Virus (SDA)
SDA information
Skin problems
Abcesses
Megacolon
Porphyrin
Spaying
Neutering
Surgery
Scabs and itching
Skin irritation and hair loss
Recognizing illness
Bumblefoot
Cataracts
Tail degloving
Choking
Misaligned teeth
Cilia-associated respiratory bacillus or CAR
Sendai Virus - Not Just a Mouse Disease
Head tilt
Plants that are poisonous to small pets
Common things that are hazardous to small animals
What to do if you cannot get to a vet immediately

♥ FIRST AID AND GENERAL CARE ♥

First aid
Medication usage chart
Care for older rats
Nursing care
Orphaned rats
Caring for orphaned rats
Caring for older paralyzed rats
Weakness and paralysis in older rats
Arthritis in rats
Getting your rat to sucessfully take their meds
Keeping rats cool during the summer months
Keeping rats warm during the winter months
Nail clipping
Pet rat informational packets
Free ranging
Trust training

♥ PROPER QUARANTINE PROCEDURES ♥

Quarantine information
Additional quarantine information
Quarantine protection and proper methods
Quarantine for illness

♥ INTRODUCTIONS, SOCIALIZATION, AND BEHAVIOR ♥

How to successfully introduce rats
Properly handling your rats
Introductions information
The social behaviors of rats and the meanings behind them
Introducing rats to new companions
Getting acquainted with your rats
Rats with other animals
Biting
Aggression
Rat behavior, Anatomy, and biology
Bruxing and boggling
Scent marking behavior
Norway Rat Behavior Repertoire - An informal description of rat behavior

♥ CAGES, BEDDING, AND TOYS ♥

The cage calculator (not always approximate)
Proper caging
Martin's cages
Coast Cages
Quality Cages
KW Cages
Cages by Design
Create your own cages
Proper bedding vs dangerous bedding
The dangers of pine and cedar beddings
More information on why pine and cedar beddings are not to be used
Cage bedding and litter
Safe bedding alternatives
Wodent Wheels
Create a spare cage right at home
Rat toys
Hammocks
More rat toy ideas
Cage hygiene
Safe and effective disinfectants
Cage accessories

♥ LITTER TRAINING AND BATHING TECHNIQUES ♥

Litter training techniques
Bathing your rats
A clean rat is a happy rat

♥ TRAVELING AND RELOCATING WITH PET RATS ♥

Traveling with your rats
Moving with your rats
Information regarding moving with your rats
Travel and transportation information
Continental Airlines animal policy
The list of arlines that will allow you to fly with your rat

♥ BREEDING, PREGNANCY, AND REPRODUCTION ♥

Pregnancy
Rat reproduction
Breeding
Can you handle the outcome and the responsibility?
Ethics when it comes to breeding rats
Playing God
Rat pregnancy, and birth
Orphan rats
Caring for orphaned rats
Developmental stages of rats

♥ SEXING AND GENETICS ♥

Properly sexing rats
Rat genetics information
Reading and using genetic codes
Markings
Colors
Varieties
Dumo rats
Himalayan
PEW rats (Albino)
Rex rats
Siamese

♥ VETS AND REPUTABLE BREEDERS BY LOCATION ♥

Locate a vet for your ratties
Top veterinary recommendations
Recommended Rat Vets for the Midwest, and Eastern U.S.
Rat lovers' Association for Southern California
Locate a breeder

♥ WHEN IT IS TIME TO SAY GOODBYE ♥

Euthanasia - When it's time to say good bye
Humane euthanasia
The pet loss website
Information on pet loss and grief
The Rainbow Bridge poem
The Right to Live
Memory Jewels - High quality and affordable pet cremains jewlery
Pet urns

♥ MISCELLANEOUS ♥