Dutch rats are easy to raise and extensively managed. It feeds on weeds and likes eating grass and leaves. With some concentrate, your weight will increase by half. In winter, corn straw, wheat straw, rice straw and peanut seedlings can be crushed and added with bran to meet the growth needs.
Dutch rat, English name Guinea pig. Usually called guinea pig, Dutch pig, guinea pig, Dutch rabbit, pika and so on. Originated in Peru, South America, the natural food is grass, plant roots and fruit seeds, and it is an absolute vegetarian.
Dutch rats are vegetarians, have no special requirements for food, are strong and are not easy to get sick. It's very clever. If you are kind to it, it will recognize you and play with you. The size is moderate, not too small like a mouse or too big like a rabbit, and it is more suitable for playing in the hand (15 ~ 20 cm or so). It's clumsy and cute, unlike a squirrel. Once it escapes, it can't be caught. Very suitable for children or the elderly. Its price is not high, and it doesn't need professional feeding equipment. As long as a cage of the right size is prepared, fresh water and food are supplied every day, and it is often played with and its nest is cleaned regularly, it can grow healthily and happily. When it is ripe, it will come out to meet you when you come home from school, and it will run to you to ask for food.
The life span of Dutch rats can be as long as 10 years, so you must be mentally prepared before raising them. Water and food must be supplied every day, and its excrement will stink, and sometimes it will make a noise and bite. If you can accept this, let's learn about guinea pigs.
Teeth: There are two upper and lower teeth (front teeth) in front of the mouth, which are mainly used to cut off food. The front teeth grow very fast, so you must chew food with high fiber content often, otherwise you will not be able to eat because the front teeth grow too long.
Feeding box: if it is too late to prepare a nest for it, you can find a box (wood or plastic or even a carton) and put some clean rags in it. Because newspaper ink is not good for small animals, it is best not to use it. This box is only temporary, because when it adapts to the environment and gets bolder, it will start grinding its teeth with the box and maybe even slip out. So you must prepare a suitable strong box to make a nest for it. You can buy boxes for keeping small animals or special boxes for keeping Dutch rats in the market. In the past, the feeding box was divided into two layers, with a tray at the bottom and barbed wire in the middle. The advantage is that it is convenient to clean, but the disadvantage is that the feet of Dutch rats are easily entangled in iron wires and cause injuries. However, the feeding box of the Dutch rat has only one floor, which is slightly larger and has an opening at the top. When feeding with it, the inside must be covered with sawdust. , so that the activities of rats are convenient. The disadvantage is that the excrement is not easy to clean, and the padding must be cleaned and replaced frequently. Pay attention to the feeding box as large as possible, otherwise you will get fat because you don't get enough exercise, and even cause mental stress and other problems. This is especially true when multiple animals are raised. Store away from cats and dogs, avoid direct sunlight, wind and rain, and pay attention to ventilation.
Food basin: avoid choosing plastic or other materials that will be chewed. Should choose ceramic or stainless steel texture, a certain weight is not easy to be knocked over.
Drinking water: In order to keep the feeding box dry, it is recommended to use a licker-type water feeder.
Mat: The function of mat is to absorb the moisture and smell of excrement and make the Dutch rats feel comfortable. You can choose sawdust, sawdust, hay, rags, etc. Cat litter is also a good choice, and paper chopped with a shredder is also a good choice.
Disease: The most common disease of Dutch rats is scurvy. Because Dutch rats can't synthesize vitamin C by themselves, if vitamin C is lacking in food, they will get this disease. Symptoms are joint swelling, accompanied by pain and limping. If you don't pay attention, you are in danger of death. The best treatment is to take vitamin C orally until the symptoms disappear. Adding vitamin C to drinking water has a good preventive effect.
Variety difference: The common short-haired Dutch rat is a famous experimental animal, and almost all of them have become synonymous with experimental animals. Therefore, it is more common in the pet market and the price is cheaper. The long-haired Dutch mouse, also known as the satin mouse, is not only large in size, but also silky soft and beautiful, making it a good pet for the family. In some places, there is even a beauty contest for curly-haired Dutch rats.
Matters needing attention in raising Dutch rats
It is not easy to find a suitable doctor when a small animal like the Dutch rat is ill, so it is mainly for prevention and treatment. Caution is better than carelessness. Summarize some things that should be paid attention to when raising Dutch rats.
1. Rats are generally fat and generally don't stand up. Many people sometimes like to lure them to stand up with food. Dutch mice will stand on their backs to get enough food, and sometimes even fall on their backs, but I don't recommend this, at least don't let them fall on their backs. It may not be a big problem when I was a child, but after half a year, I became fat and choked easily. I've had such a thing myself, and it almost scared me to death, so be careful not to let their heads fall back when feeding them.
How do Dutch rats bathe?
Generally speaking, because the epidermis of animals has oil to protect the skin, taking a bath often will damage the health of animals; Moreover, the Dutch mouse can clean itself, so the owner had better be diligent in cleaning the living environment of the Dutch mouse, protect the health of the Dutch mouse, and don't take a bath often. What should I do if I have to take a bath?
Local cleaning:
Some people will take the method of local cleaning. Local skin infection is common in Dutch rats, and doctors prescribe lotions and other drugs. At this time, there is no need to wash all over. You can dip it with a cotton swab, wipe it with water and try to clean it.
Whole body cleaning:
1. The scientific cleaning method is to find a container, usually a washbasin, and put warm water in it, about 2 or 3 centimeters deep, depending on the size of the Dutch rat. Generally speaking, it is good to have some, and then wet the body of the guinea pig with water, because the hair of the guinea pig is very thick, so be careful not to dry it after washing.
2. Then use small animal shampoo. You must buy something nice and formal. Don't choose something too strong. The main raw materials are natural. When you buy it, you must go to a regular place and buy it from a regular manufacturer. If it is poisonous, it will be in trouble. Because it's not easy to buy a shampoo specially for Dutch rats in the market, try to choose a natural and green shampoo. Apply a small amount of shampoo to Dutch mice and rub gently.
3. It's almost ready. You can continue to wash the Dutch rats with the water in the basin, so that there is shampoo in the water, or you can wash it under the Dutch rats.
4. Then put the Dutch mouse in another pot. You can find a large coke bottle filled with warm water in advance and then wash it clean. Don't forget to wash the Dutch rat's ass. How much water you need depends on yourself, so maybe you need two coke bottles.
5. After washing, dry it with a dry towel prepared in advance and try to dry it. Then you can dry it with a hair dryer. Master the temperature.
Precautions:
1. The water temperature must be appropriate, neither too cold nor too hot;
2. The bathing environment and the place where the Dutch rats stay after bathing should not be too ventilated to prevent the Dutch rats from catching a cold.
3. When taking a bath, if the Dutch mouse is afraid, you should pay attention to touching it and talking to it to relieve the tension of the Dutch mouse; Dutch rats may crawl out in the bath, so the edge of the panel should not be too short;
4. Don't wash your hair and ears. Never let water enter the eyes of the Dutch rat when washing;
It is not advisable to take a bath in winter, because Dutch rats are afraid of cold.
The diet of Dutch mice
Dutch mice like food best! Dutch rats are rodents and herbivores. If they don't eat, they are sleeping! If they eat too much, don't get enough exercise, or they are fed the wrong food, all these will lead to their satiety and obesity.
Dutch rats only need three basic foods: high-quality granular staple food, a lot of ladder grass and water containing vitamin C.
You can also add some oats and wheat germ to the staple food.
The following is the breeder's recipe on SweetWheekers website:
2 parts of Oxbow Cavy Cuisine and 1 part of Mazuri guinea pig granules. This feed is for Dutch mice over 6 months old. Each adult Dutch mouse was fed a cup and a half of this staple food.
From birth to less than 6 months, young rats were treated with 50-50 Oxbow guinea pigs (mainly alfalfa) and Mazuri guinea pig granules. During the feeding period, the food intake of mother rats and young rats was out of control. Once weaned, young rats do not need breastfeeding or other milk substitutes.
In about 4 months, it is necessary to gradually add the food of young rats to the food of rats. Let them adapt slowly.
water
Dutch mice need fresh water every day. Water containing chlorine and fluorine is toxic to Dutch rat food.
Fruits and vegetables
Dutch mice like fruits very much. If you feed grapes, you need to cut them in half to make sure there are no seeds in them.
Never feed bananas to Dutch mice! Because bananas contain too much potassium, it will lead to urinary tract diseases in rats.
The Dutch rat is a herbivore, feeding on all kinds of weeds, vegetable leaves, plant stems and leaves and crop straws, and a small amount of concentrated feed grows faster. Dutch rats are easier to reproduce and more adaptable than rabbits. It will feed after birth and grow into a commercial pig in about 60 days. A pair of Dutch rats can breed more than 80 pairs a year, and the market price is around 30 yuan. Breeding Dutch pigs has the characteristics of fast slaughter and high efficiency, which is worth choosing by farmers.
Some vegetables that Dutch rats like to eat are: long leaf lettuce or red leaf lettuce, wrinkled coriander (celery), headless cabbage, green edamame, carrot, eggplant, dandelion leaves, chicory, green pepper (not spicy), tomato and so on. In addition, fresh lotus leaves are also delicious food for Dutch rats.
Wash the vegetables before feeding.
Vegetables that should be avoided are: spinach, onion, leek, potato, cabbage, cauliflower and lettuce (rolled lettuce)! ! These foods can cause diarrhea, bloating and poisoning in guinea pigs.
snack
You can give some alfalfa and berry snacks and oil-free raw sunflower seeds. These things are very oily. Be careful not to give too much at a time.