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BlackRose
Tue Feb 07, 2006 10:31 am
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 why does she do this? |
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Mia does this alot, especially when looking at Steve. She will sit there and move her head slowly from left to right kind of like a cobra. Sometimes its very slight, and sometimes she moves the whole front part of her body while doing it too. Otherwise she seems fine, and Candy doesnt do this.
She doesnt seem to have any sight problems or anything.
We tried the whole putting a curled hand or fist in the cage so they can sniff you, instead of a rather threatening i'm gonna poke you finger. They seem better. Is this definatly the way to go when greeting them in the cage and theyll get used to you and eventually walk onto you no problem?
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RougeTheRat
Tue Feb 07, 2006 10:49 am
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| RE: why does she do this? |
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Do they have dark eyes  Rats with dark ruby eyes (they almost look black) have bad eyesite and will often sway their head side to side to get a better feel for whats in front of them
I have 3 ruby eyed rats and they look so cute swaying their heads ^_^
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<3 to my Fats and my Meeces |
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BlackRose
Tue Feb 07, 2006 5:34 pm
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| she has ruby eyes. |
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Yeah Mia doe have ruby coloured eyes, not really that dark though. Does this mean she could have problems when shes older, as rats get deaf and partially blind anyway when they get old. Could she become completley blind, and does it mean even at this age she could be more likely to bite when we reach out to her?
Cos she has bitten quite hard and drew blood before, when earlier in the day she was licking and sniffing.
Steve says thanks, he was quite worried about her. She looked quite threatening and we thought it was either a warning to us or something to do with her sight.
My rats in the past were ruby eyed and didnt do that.
Will her eyes become darker when shes older?
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LittleWillow
MODERATOR & RP Supporter
Tue Feb 07, 2006 11:14 pm
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| RE: she has ruby eyes. |
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Actually - all rats have poor eyesight, particularly those with pink eyes, not black ones. But all rats sway to help them judge distances. It's more often seen in red or pink eyed rats, but even black eyed rats will do that too.
It's nothing to worry about.
Rat eyesight can diminish with age, but even totally blind they can manage fine, and as long as you make sure to introduce your presence (by speaking or making a gentle noise) before touching blind rats, they are usually fine. But what she is doing doesn't predispose her to having more problems later on.
As for deafness - that's really not something that tends to be a problem for most ratties - their hearing is much keener than their eyesight. 
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Andy & The Rats
 ~ Darwin ~ Maisie ~ Ella ~ Zak ~
 ~ Finn ~ Malachi ~ Azrael ~ Newton ~ Charlie ~ |
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