Blog Categories
The Ethics of Rescuing and Releasing Wild Rats
If you find a wild rat, what should you do?
In this blog post, Vollie Lydia gives a bite sized introduction to the ethics of rearing, releasing or rescuing wild rats. This is a difficult topic, but one that the rescue believes is important to understand.
- #VollieLydia, RRH Writing Team
Rat Feeding Series: Part 2
Now that we have covered the two main types of base diets, let's discuss how you can introduce or increase feeding enrichment for your mischief. These are approaches to feeding and ways to feed that you can do regardless of base diet.
As we learned in the Enrichment Series (written by Alison Campbell), the bedrock of enrichment is natural behaviours, this means that facilitating naturalistic enrichment is one of the most important tasks a rat parent should undertake. Below I will be quoting directly from Enrichment for Rats Part 5 - Seeking, Pleasure, and Reward.
“…rats (in common with all mammals) have four top-level emotional systems as described by Panksepp. These are Fear, Rage, Panic, and Seeking…
Rat Feeding Series: Part 1
We have a new blog post that begins a 3-part series all about feeding your rats!
If you want to read about base diet types, methods of feeding and diversifying your food offerings - make sure you tune in over the next three blog posts to find out everything you can about feeding your rats for health and enrichment!
Part 1 is live now, all you could want to know about types of rat diets!
Written by #VollieLydia, edited by #VollieJas
Help! I think my rats’ eyes and nose are bleeding!
We have a new blog post all about porphyrin!
Porphyrin is some red gunkies that can build up around a rats nose and eyes that can scare new rat owners, who mistake it for blood.
If you want to know more, come give the new blog post by #VollieLydia a squiz!
Keeping Rats Cool in Summer
It's hot over here in the rescue, and we're doing our best to keep our rats cool and comfortable. Over on the blog, we have written a handy guide to keep your rats cool during the summer, and what to do in heat emergencies! Go take a squizz, while it's still hot.
The Social Rat #7: Factors that Impact Lifelong Sociability in the Rat
The Social Rat #5: Ways in which rats are known to be social
The Social Rat #4: Ways in which rats are known to be social
The Social Rat (3) – How Are Rats Social?
The Social Rat (2) – Motivation – Why Are Rats Social?
The Social Rat (1) – Social Learning
Enrichment For Rats Part 6 - How it works in practice
Enrichment For Rats Part 5 - Seeking, Pleasure, and Reward
Enrichment For Rats Part 4 - Brain Function and Wellbeing
Enrichment for Rats Part 3 - Safety
Patchwork rats and Entropion
Enrichment for Rats Part 2 - Natural behaviours: the bedrock of enrichment
Enrichment for Rats part 1 - Introduction
Dispelling the "Rats can't eat Citrus" myth
Minimum Requirements for the Ethical Housing of Mice
Bare minimums for ethical housing of mice.
Written as an ABSOLUTE MINIMUM of what is recommended in a lab setting, the standard expected for pet owners is much higher.