# rats dead



## ShAdY12 (Jan 13, 2009)

Just went outside to check on my rats and top up there water and found nearly all dead. My 2 breeding pairs and 1 large female were alive and drenched so we took them inside. But Lost 30 small to medium rats, all that time and effort into handling them so we could get more breeding pairs!!! Nearly cried


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## SlothHead (Jan 13, 2009)

What from? Heat i assume?


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## buffy (Jan 13, 2009)

Heat will do this every time 
unless you can cool your rats down.
I hope U put them in the freezer - they are all good food.


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## dragon170 (Jan 13, 2009)

Yeah know the feeling but have only lost 1 mouse today.


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## KaaTom (Jan 13, 2009)

Thats happened to me a few times... they went in the freezer for feed as long as they werent frothing from the mouth or stiff...
Thats so sad though


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## LauraM (Jan 13, 2009)

Such a shame  bet the snakes think there tasty tho :/ sorry for your loss


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## buttss66 (Jan 13, 2009)

Don't know about rats but mice die if the air temp. reaches 37 deg. I've been checking our mice (pets not food!) regularly today even though their inside. You need to bring the survivors inside. It's going to be a scorcher in Geelong again tomorrow. You can also freeze a bottle of water to put in with them to help keep the temperature down a bit.


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## megrim (Jan 13, 2009)

ShAdY12 said:


> My 2 breeding pairs and 1 large female were alive and drenched



I was once at a firend's place on a scorcher of a day when they discovered their two adult rats dead from the heat. Both were similarily drenched, at the time it was kind of confusing.


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## ShAdY12 (Jan 13, 2009)

SlothHead said:


> What from? Heat i assume?


 
yep the heat got to them, harsh lesson learnt beleive me. When it cools down im converting the small lane on the side of the house into an area to keep them, its shaded 3/4 of the day and get little rain over winter, rats will be fine as i converted some rabbit hutches into rat cages. Just need to put a gate up to keep our rotweiler out of there, she has a small rat obsession


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## FAY (Jan 13, 2009)

They really can't handle anything over 35c.


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## rockman (Jan 13, 2009)

buffy said:


> Heat will do this every time
> unless you can cool your rats down.
> I hope U put them in the freezer - they are all good food.



Good way to kill your snakes , feed them dead crap that has started to rot .
How much bacteria do you think when in them BEFORE you froze them for food , LOL .

Cheers


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## fraser1980 (Jan 13, 2009)

same here got home one cage of breeders was dead thats with too fans on them all day
so i moved my 3 uther breeding cages in to my bath tub with the bath room fan on and anuther fan hope that works for tomorro


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## beeman (Jan 13, 2009)

ShAdY12 said:


> yep the heat got to them, harsh lesson learnt beleive me. When it cools down im converting the small lane on the side of the house into an area to keep them, its shaded 3/4 of the day and get little rain over winter, rats will be fine as i converted some rabbit hutches into rat cages. Just need to put a gate up to keep our rotweiler out of there, she has a small rat obsession


 
You have good intentions, but moving them to another exterior location wont help
as its the air temp thats doing the damage and will continue to do so outside.
It for this reason those of us that breed large numbers use airconditioned sheds
to produce rodents as it gives us complete control over temp ranges


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## Crazy_Snake08 (Jan 13, 2009)

Here's some info from a rat care information page: [FONT=Verdana, Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif]_*In hot weather*_[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif] it is important to protect rats from heat exhaustion and dehydration. rats regulate their temperature mainly through the tail and foot-pads, so if you provide a bowl of cold water a hot rat can cool herself down by paddling in it. A fan placed near to the cage will provide a cooling breeze. You can also give your rats frozen vegetables (e.g. peas) as ice-lollies, and ice cubes can be added to their water-dish. Make sure that the cage is not in direct sunlight in hot weather. [/FONT]

-settle


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## Crazy_Snake08 (Jan 13, 2009)

Here's another link there for cooling them off, don't konw if it works or not, but you don't know if you don't try. The only loss is more rats!!!! It's the second heading down: *Fishing for peas*

May spark other bright ideas for other people whom breed rats as well: http://www.dapper.com.au/toys.htm#peafishing

-settle


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## Scleropages (Jan 13, 2009)

Thats weird as , even tho the air temp here gets over 35c ( 39c the other week) we never loose rats or mice , but they are under cover outside with good airflow and not in the sun.


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## No-two (Jan 13, 2009)

We put blocks of ice (wraped up in a tea towel) into all our tubs today, they all "huddled" around it for a while and all are fine. Thoguht for sure the pinks that were born last night would die (allmost took them to the freezer), but all still seem fine.


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## ShAdY12 (Jan 13, 2009)

beeman said:


> You have good intentions, but moving them to another exterior location wont help
> as its the air temp thats doing the damage and will continue to do so outside.
> It for this reason those of us that breed large numbers use airconditioned sheds
> to produce rodents as it gives us complete control over temp ranges


 
Not being smart but the problem is i had them in a small tin shed wouldnt be more than 1m x 1m and there is no ventilation, so outdoors in the shade should be alright (i hope), i eventually want a better set up in a aircon shed but we rent atm so its the best we can do for now, i will keep a keen eye on them tomorow and hope for better results


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## Wild_Storm (Jan 13, 2009)

I am so sorry for your loss. I almost lost mine on Christmas Day... Even with the frozen bottles, so I really feel for you.


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## OdessaStud (Jan 14, 2009)

Sorry for your loss also, but in a 1m x 1m shed with no ventilation, even the spiders would move out on a really hot day.We live in SE Qld and Ive never lost any due to heat stress,all my rodents are under our high set house and in cages that have no solid sides so they get maximum airflow even if there is no breeze. I think alot of people forget that domestic rodents are not able to heat or cool themselves as well as the wild rodents can. Personally I wouldnt consider freezing or feeding already dead rodents to anything, If I dont cull em I dont feed em you never can be too carefull JMO. Dont beat yourself up over it so many die this way its just a hard lesson to learn.
Cheers Odie


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## Saz (Jan 14, 2009)

Ugh, what a horrible way to go too. Unfortunately rats don't do well in heat at all. 

Terracotta stays cool. If you put a frozen water bottle in a large terracotta pot turned upside down, it should keep the temp inside the pot down a bit.

A water bowl with ice put in regularly can help too as they will get in it, but I guess if you are having a really hot day and can't be home to help keep them cool, the kindest thing to do is cull them before they suffer. Means you can still use them as food too of course so they aren't wasted.


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## Snake_Whisperer (Jan 14, 2009)

In addition to heat, ventilation can be an issue. Have you noticed the ammonia stench that can come from your breeding cage on a warm day? Turns out it is very toxic (lost a few to poor ventillation myself).


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## mis_gmh (Jan 14, 2009)

Ive already lost a pinky today so im hoping the other 51 will be alright. And mine are kept inside. They are in the end room and due to the morning sun it still hit 35o at 9am this morning so i have large waterbowls in there cages and a portable aircon pointing at them. My females seem to be ignoring the babys during the heat so i hope they dont starve.


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## ShAdY12 (Jan 14, 2009)

threw them straight out when i realsied they were dead, didnt know how long they were laying there so didnt wanna take the risk

thats a good idea SAZ, there food bowl is terrecotta so i might use that and find another feed bowl

Keeping an eye on them today, but isnt as warm as was meant to be..... YEH!!!


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## Chimera (Jan 14, 2009)

Makes me really glad I have a cool area for them. I've got 10 male and 20 female breeders and was worried when we had a hot day (40 degrees). Temp gunned the rack when I got home and it was still 26 degrees


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