Hi im new and i have just gotten three rats...help!

[~*~Perfection~*~]

Hey i've heard some pretty good stuff about this place, I'm tori and the proud mom of three ratties. I'm not sure of the age, can you tell age by behavior??
Well i have some info about my rats.
BEAR, Female Sabel Dumbo, Young, still does the splits. Presious but so Crazy. Got about 3 weeks ago
TWISTER, Female aguti hooded dumbo, Young, has stopped the split behaivors, :p And eats anything. got 2-3 months ago
TORPEDO, Female Cream Berkshire dumbo, Squish , Is the darnest cutest thing you'll eva see. Got the same day as TWISTER. TORPEDO is the oldest, my baby!

And me, female, standerd ear, white, too skinny , 17 years, best thing in my life : Rats and Drums.
Well nice meeting you all.

[JessieGirl]

Welcome to the forum! You'll find lots of useful info here! I'm not sure how to tell age, but I'm sure someone else can help you out! 

[brandy]

Do you have any photos? That would probably be the easiest way for us to tell the age.  Also, where did you get them? I notice they're all dumbo - did you get them from a breeder (who should know their age), or do you have pet stores with dumbos where you are?

And besides, photos are a requirement of membership to this forum. 

[Sunilata]

I second the welcome to the forum! One of the best rat care resources on the web, IMO. 

[~*~Perfection~*~]

I got Twister and torpedo from a pet store, they were going to be snake food. I know Torpedo is older because she is alot bigger, and I got bear from a breeder of dumbos. She was the runt, but she is way to fluffy, i washed here and she shrank to half her size, talk about fur lol. She is the softest thouh.

And I could tel lthey were dumbo for one the ppl said they were and for to their ears are huge!

[~*~Perfection~*~]

oh yeah, Bith Twister and Bear fir in my hand but Torpedo is so big and sqishy. And the bedding they are on is :pet cetra natural pine wood cat litter. It was recomened and they said only pine/cedar shaving were bad cause the rats can suck em in. this is like chunks of wood.

[brandy]

If they can fit in your hand, they're still probably pretty young, although females often don't get more than 6" long (plus tail).  I still want to see pictures - especially of Bear, her fur sounds really interesting!

As has been pointed out in your other thread, the pine is bad - it's not the wood that's a danger, it's the fumes coming off of it.

[~*~Perfection~*~]

The stuff i got has no fumeage. Its scent free it just smells like well wood, any kind. Bear looks starndard but i dunno how shes got so much fur, so i have to refrain from taking her in the sun she starts to sweat.

0Its like Chunks Ill find a pic.

[~*~Perfection~*~]

[Kendra]

Both pine and cedar contain phenols which damage rats' lungs. 

Here's  a link:  http://www.ratsrule.com/cedar.html

[~*~Perfection~*~]

"Both these softwood shavings give off aromatic hydrocarbons" Its not soft its hard! and clumpy not shavings. Im confuzzled.

[Marybelle]

Softwood is just what it's called.  It's still pretty hard, or they wouldn't be able to make 2 x 4's out of it.   

I would still be of the mind that if it says "pine", I won't use it.  I'd hate to discover too late that something I'd done contributed to the early death of one of my rat kids...

[~*~Perfection~*~]

it doesnt smell like pine either. I'll write here what the bag says ....
Pet Cetera ELITE
Natural pine wood cat litter
biodegratible, odor controll, dust free, more abosorbent then any cat litter
100% pine wood
(On the front it has pine cones, and needles. The thing doesnt smell like pine, it sorta smells like w2ood playdough.)

[Marybelle]

Just because it doesn't smell like pine doesn't mean the phenols aren't still there, unfortunately. 

[knuckles]

its pine whether it smells like it or not.  And ratties are much more sensative respitory systems than we do.  Pine and cedar are not good for them to be on.  You could put them on old towels for now until you can get something else.  I use shaved/shredded aspen.  

[~*~Perfection~*~]

shaved ahredded stuff makes my allergies beserk, i dont know where to get  any other pellets. or anything.

[Calviness]

At Petsmart you can buy Yesterday's News.  It's in pelleted form so it will be very similar in texture to what you are using. 

Here's a tip for buying YN though...don't buy it in the small animal section.  If you go look at the cat litter section, it's also sold their, and you get a much bigger bag for less money.

[~*~Perfection~*~]

ok does it smell ??
Because i have  more sensitive nose then my rats lol

[Calviness]

I couldn't notice any smell when I used it.

You can also use unprinted paper towel as bedding.

[~*~Perfection~*~]

with paper towel my rats tear it up and nest....ill try Yesterdays news or something. tomorrow im changing back to Carefresh ASAP!

[Calviness]

That's great to hear!