supplement to mellow out my rat?
Marlo
I remember reading somewhere about some kind of supplement or herb to
give a rat to mellow him out. Bernard is extremely aggressive, and I
think unhappy bc of his bad attitude. Does anyone have a link to that
information?
I've had Bernard since January, adopted from the Humane Society. I
believe this rat will never be able to live with my other rats.
Tonight, he actually bit the end of a toe off of Little Bear, bc LB must
have been on top of Bernard's cage. For some reason, my husband let the
boys out to play in the rat room and didn't remove Bernard's cage. It
was like a rat horror movie, poor Little Bear walked all over the place
and bled. I feel like a terrible parent.
I also wonder about the merit of putting him to sleep. He has bit me
when I stupidly broke up a fight. Can't feel the end of my finger
still. But that was my fault. But he is aggressive, will just come up
and bite for no reason during play time, although he is biting less. If
I try to pick him up during play time, he gets very aggressive. But
then I can call to him and say "Let's go for a ride" and he'll jump into
my lap and allow me to put him on my shoulder. So maybe that's progress?
I don't know. I'm really frustrated.
Advice? Thanks so much,
Marlo
Jackie
"Marlo" <marlolo...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:_cqdnTmhgpEEEhzV...@utma.com...
> Hi everyone.
> I remember reading somewhere about some kind of supplement or herb to
> give a rat to mellow him out.
I have heard that some people have used Bach Rescue Remedy/other Bach
Flower remedies (http://www.bachremedies.co.uk) or their equivalents to
calm their rats.
Personally I wonder if it is the remedy or the brandy the tinctures are
made with chilling out the rats.
HTH
--
Ratty Kisses
Jackie
Ably Hindered by The Buck House Crew
"Behavioral psychology is the science of pulling habits out of rats."
Dr. Douglas Busch
Marlo
Petalive. Rescue Remedy is less expensive, Petalive is pretty pricey.
Hopefully Rescue Remedy will work, if it doesn't I'll try the Petalive.
Thanks for the suggestion Jackie. I'll let you all know how it works out.
Any other suggestions on dealing with Bernard's aggression would be most
appreciated. I played with him tonight, I was lying on the floor, and he
was fine for awhile, crawling in my shirt and on me. Then he started
going after my fingers, light bites at first, and then they got harder.
The last one was too much so I put him back in his cage. Ugh.
-Marlo
Rosemary
> I just ordered some Rescue Remedy. I also found information on
> Petalive. Rescue Remedy is less expensive, Petalive is pretty pricey.
> Hopefully Rescue Remedy will work, if it doesn't I'll try the
> Petalive. Thanks for the suggestion Jackie. I'll let you all know how
> it works out.
>
> Any other suggestions on dealing with Bernard's aggression would be
> most appreciated. I played with him tonight, I was lying on the floor,
> and he was fine for awhile, crawling in my shirt and on me. Then he
> started going after my fingers, light bites at first, and then they
> got harder. The last one was too much so I put him back in his cage.
> Ugh.
Have you tried yelling really loudly when he bites you? Or is that
happening as an involuntary response anyway? :-)
Rosemary
Jackie
>I just ordered some Rescue Remedy. I also found information on
>Petalive. Rescue Remedy is less expensive, Petalive is pretty pricey.
>Hopefully Rescue Remedy will work, if it doesn't I'll try the Petalive.
> Thanks for the suggestion Jackie. I'll let you all know how it works
> out.
Anytime, but it is 40% by volume or something like that so be careful he
doesn't get drunk.
> Any other suggestions on dealing with Bernard's aggression would be
> most appreciated.
The only other thing I can think of is a nadectomy but I honestly don't
think it will work as Bernard's aggression does not sound hormonal.
You could ask your vet for Tardak - a chemical castration.
I've used it on three rats but it was when they were going through the
terrible teens and were suffering from excess testosterone. It worked
on two as a testosterone supressant but not on the third.
The third had a full nadectomy but he was always a bit iffy aftwards.
Marlo
I guess I forgot to mention that Bernard is neutered. We were hoping
that would cure the aggression, but it is the same pre- and post-nads.
Maybe Bernard would be happier if he was drunk!!!
Marlo
drops in the evening on a piece of bread. I can't seem to find what the
right dose for him might be. I've read if I put it in water, that's
good.... but how much per ounce? So far I haven't seen that he is any
more relaxed than usual. I sure hope this works.
Any ideas on dosage or time it takes to take effect?
Thanks,
Marlo
The Rat Lord
"Marlo" <marlolo...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:SIGdnfgtkJBfXRLV...@utma.com...
Jackie
> Maybe Bernard would be happier if he was drunk!!!
How is Bernard? Has the Rescue Remedy helped?
Marlo
He's still cranky. Oh well. It was worth a try. We'll just keep going
as we're going and accept him as he is. Unless anyone has other ideas,
or a suggestion about the dosage.