Bacchus Residents

Today we wanted to discuss three rats, Bowie, Bonzo, and Brian. They came into our care after their previous owner contacted us via social media. Sadly, they could no longer care for their beloved pets.  We were happy to accommodate them in our property to provide reassurance that their rats would be well looked after. Once their owners were content, the boys were officially handed over to our care. We performed thorough health checks on the approximately 1-1.5-year-old rats.  Bonzo: Bonzo was in good health but did have a small abscess located on his back. Fortunately, no surgical intervention was required and the issue resolved on its own. We hope the abscess stays away but only time will tell.  Bowie: Bowie was in full health. Brian: Brian had a more concerning problem. He had a very prominent limp with his back-left limb. The limb appeared visibly swollen - suggestive of trauma/injury. We believed we were dealing with a possible break, fracture, strain or spr

It seems like our degu-circus has been never-ending. To be honest, even now, the show isn't quite over yet. Today, however, we wanted to discuss Darren and Duncan in particular. The brothers have been through numerous surgeries because of their behavior. We will talk you through what happened in detail. As always, we will break the post down into clear sections. The First Fight: Darren had developed a severe lower-respiratory infection. For those of you who have never owned degus, they're not known for their sympathy and empathy towards others. Quite often, degus can bully their weaker cage mates. Sometimes, as strange as it sounds, the occasional torment between degus isn't problematic - no two groups are the same. As they're vastly individual with their own unique personalities, socialization amongst degus is a complicated subject. Anyway, Duncan is/was the alpha-degu of the group and a stereotypical mans-man. He ruled with an iron fist and was very quick t