So! How devoted are you?

[Feithline]

I'm just curious. I have the opportunity to live the life of the early 1800's for a few months, and I argued with my mom that I was not going unless I could take my rats. She doesn't get that, of course, but I argued that she would never care for them like I do.

So how DO I care for them, she asks.

Every day I pick up the thrown food and do poop patrol . I wipe down any badly peed bars and corners. They get play time, treats, and loving every day (I think this needs little to no elaboration).

Every Friday I do a complete scrub-down. I can't STAND having my girls live in a pee-dribbled cage. I put the girls in their play area, put the old bedding in the laundry basket, and toss the litter pan contents. All their soakable items go into the tub for cleaning. Then the base and pull out tray (bird cage) go in for a soaking and I scrub everything down. I take it out, wipe it off, and then I put the cage top in the tub and spray it down with cleaning solution. I let that stand while I go wipe down the stand their cage rests on, and the wall (they're talented at peeing down the wall). Then I scrub and clean the cage bars, making sure I get -everything-. It gets dried off (a chore, I tell you) and the cage is reassembled. Then the girls get a bath! They dry off with me on my bed, and then they get back in their cage for food and water and bathroom stuffs. While they're in their cage I take care of the laundry and clean the tub since my family is so weird about my girls being in the tub.

Total cleaning time: 1-2, maybe 3 hours.

[Sunilata]

Oh god...your cleaning routine sounds quite a bit like mine, except mine is twice a week. And I have to drag the RUUD outside, rain or shine or snow or wind, to scrub it down each time. They are just too messy for me to merely change the litterpan, linens, and wipe down bars.

[Feithline]

I only have four girls... since you have a RUUD I assume you have more. 

*EDIT* Durr... I should look at Siggys more often!

[angelratgirl]

say... could i hire you to help me clean my room?

you sound like you would fit right in to the hard work routines of the 1800's... no lap of luxury, for sure. i hope you get to take your girls with you. especially since it will be for a few months. that is a looooong time to be apart. just make sure you would have access to a good vet if the need arose.

[Feithline]

say... could i hire you to help me clean my room?

you sound like you would fit right in to the hard work routines of the 1800's... no lap of luxury, for sure. i hope you get to take your girls with you. especially since it will be for a few months. that is a looooong time to be apart. just make sure you would have access to a good vet if the need arose.

Oh yeah! I would have died and gone to heaven if I get a chance to commit to the backbreaking work of the 1820's. lol, I was born in the entirely wrong era. I'm waiting to get word back on the whole shebang, when I can ask questions. I'd be living on the Daniel Boone site in Missouri. Sooo much fun!

[AllisonLeigh]

Is it a PBS "House" thing?

[Feithline]

Is it a PBS "House" thing?

Nope, which is part of the reason I really hope I can do it. The local university has a campus down there, and it's a "challenge semester", in which I live and work as if in the 1820's, but I can also take college courses in art and management, and some others. I reeaaally hope they'll let me take my girls, but I am very skeptical.


Now, this thread wasn't about me! LOL. It was about devotion! I was always curious about how much everyone goes through for these little critters.

[critterkeeper]

Oh, boy. All of my ratties currently have Superpet cages, but I am switching them all to Martins. I don't have one special cleaning day, it's pretty much on an "as needed" basis. Usually on Tuesdays, though, I clean the most. I scrub, disinfect, and clean all toys, cages, waterbottles, and food bowls whenever I need to. I feed them Suebees, bottled water, and I am going to start to feed them "little meals" of oatmeal, veggies, etc. I put away $50 a week for cage toys and cages, what I don't use every month goes toward vet bills. Water bottles, food, and food bowls, etc. I just pay for out of my pocket when I need to. I don't bathe my rats, unless I can smell a little something-something on them (or I smell something I know I wouldn't want to lick off ). I am renovating MY living space to give them more/better standards. You see, I have decided to change the standard in my house from "incredibly incredibly spoiled" to "incredibly incredibly incredibly spoiled". I am giving them more than 3/4 of my bedroom with a HUGE play area complete with a Martins' Playpen. Weekly cleaning averages 7-10 hours. Weekly playtime averages- well- a WHOLE LOT. Bottom line, my life revolves around these guys!

[Scubbs]

I completely clean everything every other day for my 6 boys, and pick up droppings or strewn-about food throughout the day.  I'm not a real big fan of uncleanliness. 

[critterkeeper]

I completely clean everything every other day for my 6 boys, and pick up droppings or strewn-about food throughout the day.  I'm not a real big fan of uncleanliness. 

Whoever saw that BEAUTIFUL (and I mean BEAUTIFUL) cabinet cage SuccubusOfAngels, know that that is one DEVOTED rat lover! Oooooooooo, I see, you're trying to be modest

[Ratwings]

That is AWESOME, I hope you get to do the !800s house thingy!  That would be really interesting if you got to take your rats with you... I can't imagine cleaning my cages without modern cleaners and stuff.  Although I don't know... I guess they had vinegar back then (okay duh, I know I'm stupid!) but what about bleach?  Anywho, good luck.

[RKEM]

I spend between 1 and 2 hours a night cleaning up after the monkeys every night

Every night I remove all poop and soiled litter from the pans, put in more new YN, add food, clean all houses, tubes and floors, add new shredded paper, put in new carpets and change the water. I also prepare their daily rattie salad.

I think I'm a bit OCD about it but I like to be able to stick my head in the cage and not smell rat pee or poo. The Monkey Motel is about 3 feet from my bed so I definately don'T want any rat cage smell.

[Zuki]

I only just got my Rat Charlie two months ago, So I'm very new at the whole taking care of rats thing. I've had plenty of other pets but I have to say that Charlie is my absolute favourite! My Aunt thinks I'm weird to think he's cute, But he is!
Anyways Everyday I Talk to him and let him out to play and I'm currently trying to train him to go to the bathroom in this litter box I made for him...Its going good so far, I think he's getting the point. He's pretty nervous being anywhere without me...So I'm trying to make him less jittery. I give him treats whenever we have a breakthrough in his trainging (lol) and I make sure everyday that his cage is clean and he has enough food and water, and about once a week I check him over to make sure he's adjusting well to the new environment. Also whenever a friend comes over to my house I make sure to point out to be gentle and not to pick him up by the tail. I wouldn't want him to get hurt.