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Small pets

rats- not pet ones!

8 replies

987flowers · 11/05/2016 20:52

I keep seeing a rat by the pig hutch and today after I had cleaned them out I saw one on the wheel barrow full of straw and poo (I hadn't got round to disposing of it).

Should I be worried? Should I do anything or is this just something that I should expect when you keep guinea pigs?

Thanks

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70isaLimitNotaTarget · 12/05/2016 22:10

I have only ever seen two rats in the garden (one that my neighbours cat killed ^in the middle of my DDs birthday party ) and one deposited on the lawn.

Plenty of mice though, little tiny field mice that can get through the teeniest space.

I think as long you you take up any leftover food and clear up round the hutch , it should keep them away. Make sure your huttch is secure, I wouldn't want a rat in the Pigs House, mice though I can't control.

Have you got fine gauze mesh on the cage(it needs to be fox safe too so you might need a double layer?)
Use a good hutch cleaner, (I use a steamer to deep cleanse and Virkon S if I'm introducing a new piggie or when we deep cleanse the empty Pighouse if they're on holiday)

Rats wee does carry the risk of weils Disease to humans, and I am not 100% sure what killed off our young boar last year but there's a bacteria in wild rodents pee that can cause diarrhoea in cavies which is what he had but none of the others affected, so I'm .

I reckon in my garden the foxes would eat the rats ( so they are useful for that I s'pose)

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987flowers · 12/05/2016 22:44

Thanks, I've been saying to dh that we need to put the hutch on slabs so it's easier to clean!

I don't think a rat would be able to get into the hutch but I will double check!

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BeauGlacons · 12/05/2016 22:51

Ummmm. We used to live by the river and a tube line and had the occasional rat. After an incursion by a particular large and has bastard just as we were to get guinea pigs for dd, the nice man from rentokil told me things like guinea pigs ate rat magnets and not to do it in our location. Breaking I to dd was more unpleasant than the rat I can hear the howls now. She got kittens though x. And we never had another rat. Kittens ate now elderly cats.

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70isaLimitNotaTarget · 12/05/2016 23:23

D'you know what Beau , I;m now going to change my guinea-pigs collective nickname from LardyHogs to RatMagnets.

"Oi, Rat Magnets, get your grubby paws out of the food dish"

They'll be and Judgey in equal measure

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BeauGlacons · 13/05/2016 06:51

I really didn't mean that to be judgey.

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onlyconnect · 13/05/2016 06:54

I would certainly do something about it. You don't have to expect to have rats in your garden!

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70isaLimitNotaTarget · 13/05/2016 07:43

it's the guineas that are judgey Beau (they reckon it's my fault if it rains and the Himmy blames me if the sun is too bright for her ruby eyes..............)

They are Riff Raff

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987flowers · 14/05/2016 08:59

We also have decking which apparently is also a rat magnet! We had been keeping their hutch open when they were in the run but we now shut it so the cheeky things won't get in (don't know if they have but not worth the risk).

We live edging a field so it's not surprising that we have rats and not entirely sure how possible it is to eradicate them!

Sorry to all you pet rat owners, feel bad writing this!