The golden hamster is large in size, about 12-20cm in length and 80-150g in weight, and is a nocturnal animal. And from the size, we can deduce a series of different points. Let's start with the advantages: in small animals, the larger the body size, representing his brain capacity, that is, the more intelligent, the more understanding; and rodents in nature is the grassroots of the food chain, that is, as food predators, and the larger the size of the rat, the relatively fewer predators, for the owner will not be wary. Golden mouse for people's trust, can be from many netizens, as long as you give him food, it is very easy to obtain the letter recognized, often also in your hands to sleep, and willing to sleep in your hands, that means he felt there is very safe, the other rats are often not able to be so close to the owner, so although in the pet market has been appearing for a long time, the price is also very low, but there are still many rat friends still love the golden mouse.
Golden rats are not picky eaters, but they should not be fed citrus fruits. Golden rats love to stuff food inside their cheek pouches, and suitable foods are bananas, apples, nuts, rice, bean sprouts, chicken, eggs, and golden rat chow. On the downside, golden rats are larger and have more relative food, space, and feces. It is important to note that the golden rat is a solitary animal, as a child will live together, grow up will be due to the turf and fight, even if a male and a female will fight, only when the female rats are in heat, may accept the male rats, in the store sold by the young rats, so you can be together, and many people do not know that the golden rats is a solitary, want to say to look for a companion, or after the big, but the rat bites the dead rats of the incident!
The amount of excretion is considered to be the reason why many people do not like to keep the golden rat, in the rat, urine is the most important source of odor, the golden rat urine is relatively large, but this is not a solution; we have said before, the yellow rat is more intelligent, relatively easy to teach him to go to the toilet in the same place, so more than prepare a rat toilet, put some rat sand, cats, sand, will be the urine odor to the package up, clear up! It's also much easier.
Many people think that golden rats are only yellow and white in color, but this is actually a wrong concept. There are many colors of golden rat fur, and you can now find more than thirty colors of golden rats, ranging from yellowish, light brown to chocolate, and there are also a variety of different markings.
How do I pick a healthy rat pup?
Rats are less active during the day, and more accurate in the afternoon or at dusk. To choose a healthy rat, you can pick a rat with strong activity, observe the lower body part, and there is no unusual dampness, of course, male or female, color, number, and it is up to your personal preference. It is recommended that you pick a black-eyed one, because red-eyed ones are inbred, and the white ones.
If you can't tell the difference between male and female, you can pick your favorite mice first, then let the store sort out the males and females, and finally choose your favorite mouse. If there are two pendulous things (testicles), it is male, and vice versa, there is no female, it is not easy to distinguish young rats, two points teach close to the male, can not observe the hand to press the stomach that the two will be protruding. Two female, it does not matter, but two male will fight, a male and a female, female rats will occasionally bully the male.
Before you buy a rat, ask your friends and choose a pet store with a good credit rating. Golden rats are cheaper in Taiwan, at around HK$100 or less, while the so-called maple rats or short-tailed squirrels, which are graded by their fur color, are around HK$600 to HK$1,500, which is a bit more expensive, and the females are not easy to come by.
How to prepare the cage environment?
Before you buy a baby squirrel, you should prepare a cage, which can be DIY, but you should refer to the materials used by experienced people for safety and durability. There are also bird cages that can be used as a substitute, but they do not provide enough warmth in the winter, so if your budget permits, we recommend that you use a commercially available golden rat cage as your mainstay.
The cage should be decided by the actual product, and the principle is to make it big, because the golden rat is very active, even if we can't provide a big cage, we should still provide a lot of equipment such as water pipes, wheels and other equipment to increase the space inside
Inside the cage, the bottom is covered with a matting material, about 0.5mm. The bottom of the bedding material, about 0.5cm can be (such as safe wood chips, corn more bedding) feed tray, set up a good water dispenser, water dispenser around the net empty, feed tray should be far away from the water dispenser, so that the setup is not easy to contact with the mouth of the bottle, water will not ooze out, the water will lead to the emission of odors, become a source of disease, and even can be structured rodent toilets, the inside of the paved cat sand, the golden rodent will be rolled as a sand bath, mineral stones (or gnawed wood), salt blocks! Place them in a suitable place, prepare them properly, and then choose a place where they will not be exposed to direct sunlight. In winter, it is advisable to add a small light bulb to keep warm. The golden mouse is very active, can walk about 6 kilometers a day, if the cage is too small, it is appropriate to use the mouse ball forced movement.
Golden rat feeding taboos?
Golden rats are omnivores, but acidity is not suitable for citrus fruits, such as lemons, willows, etc., and do not feed raw meat, it is best to sell special feed for golden rats, such as cereals, fruit slices, a small amount of bread and sunflower seeds. However, if you eat too much sunflower seeds and other high-protein food, you will have a large body, it is advisable to control.
Feeding vegetables and fruits should be done with care, as golden rats like to hide their food, and vegetables and fruits are perishable, so they must be thrown away before they spoil to avoid getting sick due to the harsh environment. Commercially available Salt blocks (rock salt not sea salt) are a must to prevent hair loss and for health.
How do I clean my Golden Rat and organize its environment?
Golden rats love to be clean, so don't be afraid that they are dirty or smelly. You don't need to bathe them on weekdays, but if they accidentally get dirty and can't take care of themselves, you can rinse them off with lukewarm water, then use a towel and a hair dryer and blow them with lukewarm air until their fur dries. You can also use commercially available Golden Rat dry cleaning spray or cat-specific SHAMPOO to gently scrub. There are also special combs for golden rats, which can be used for combing, and the effect is like a sand bath, which he will squint and enjoy. Golden rats are born with body odor, owners do not have to worry too much, the female rats are in heat once every 4 days and have a slightly heavier body odor.
The environment should be cleaned once a week, and if you use newspaper or shredded paper as bedding, you need to be more diligent and change it every day to avoid overflowing odors. Bedding material is recommended to be wood shavings, corn bedding or cat litter (fine sand). Occasionally, non-hazardous and water-based disinfectants or deodorant sprays (non-fragrance) should be used to treat the environment, such as the commercially available TriGene series. It is recommended to spread a thin layer of cat litter in the bottom of the litter box and add wood shavings to make the litter box easier to clean and drier for golden rats.
When a female rat is in her reproductive period, she will emit an odor that can be easily smelled. The pregnancy period is about two weeks to three weeks. When you see a pregnant female rat, it is best to find a quiet place where there will be no interference, such as a corner or a place where few people move around, or you can also use a black cloth to surround the cage.
Pregnant female rats should be kept singly. Do not store two ****. The mother will give birth on her own without any help. For each litter, she will lick the baby mice clean and feed them milk, and the owner should not feed the baby mice.
The mother will become neurotic after giving birth to mice, and is very protective of the mice. If she feels insecure or the owner has to reach out and grab them, she will swallow the mice into her cheek pouch or bite the mice to death, and during the breastfeeding period, there can't be any other adult mice in the same cage, so as to avoid the mice becoming food, and the owner has to remember not to touch the mice to prevent them from being stained with the odor and biting the mice to death. It is appropriate to wear clean gloves, remember to give him enough food after birth, so as not to be undernourished, remember to give enough food, nothing, do not go to see them.
When the mice are born, they live on the mother's milk and are about the size of a finger, so it is very easy for them to fall out of the cage. Therefore, breeders should have foresight in choosing cages, such as specialized cages, or wire cages, which should be surrounded by hard materials to prevent the mice from falling out.
After a week, the pups will start to grow fur, but they will still be unable to bite. When they see that they will eat the mother's food, they will almost open their eyes, and their limbs will gradually become strong enough to crawl. After the eyes open, the mother will not breastfeed again, to send people to raise, this time is also the best, if no one around, you can try to send a pet store or the Internet to send people, but do not let the love of the mouse pregnant, be careful of the rat is full of trouble, the mice weaned two months after the mother mouse will have the ability to reproduce again.
What if I get sick?
When a golden rat has a stuffy nose, breathes audibly, has tears in its eyes, and sneezes, it is important to see a veterinarian if you see any of these signs and to avoid self-medication. In addition to colds, WET TALL is also the most common disease, symptoms of loss of appetite, lethargy and wetness around the tail, the same to see a veterinarian. Don't let the cheap price of the golden mouse not to seek medical attention, this point is due to keep before should be cognizant of, because the pet's greatest happiness is the owner.