# Gambian pouched rat



## chappers266

WORTH A TRY!! I know that a lady has previously put a thread on here-but just calling out to any other fellow owners who may be willing to share and swap advice etc on how to care for this exotic breed. i have a 10 week old rat. Stacey


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## chappers266

He is a boy and is 11 weeks old- we were told he had been hand reared too.
Ive always kept fancy rats, and my other half was going to surprise me with another pair.my grandad came back from the local pet shop-pet aqua spectacular, high street, chatham-bragging that they have a rat that grows the size of a jack russell. 
Intrigued we paid a visit and i was smitten. He had sold that one but 'ordered' us another one in -who arrived two days later. he charged £450 

The first few days he was really biting our fingers and hands when we entered the cage, and playtime has been confined to our bed. 
But each day we notice a difference. He now comes to door of cage when we call him-and instead of biting he will lick palms. 
Yesterday he chirped for the first time-very vocal-i think becaue he was snuggled in his hammock and i disturbed him.
He is very active during the night!! 
He loves rearranging all his bits in the cage and pushing out all of his litter onto my carpet!! (seems to get very upset when i tidy the cage in the morning and put everything back) 

Research suggests that he marks by rubbing his face-he is doing this but also mimicking humping my other halfs hand by wrapping his two front legs around and doing the actions-i wonder if this is just play-like puppies do??

Found out today that they love eating live mealworms!
Whats your website address?
how much do you feed yours and how often?
Although he is getting better he can stand cuddles for about a minute most then wants to run and play!!


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## Guest

i now talk to chappers by my e.mail, we exchange idea's and storeys to eachother about our gambian rats, so if anyone else who owns a pouch rat would like to join us then private message me and ill give you my e.mail and we can also exchange idea's.


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## Guest

Any chance for a picture? I dont think I ever seen a Gambian Pouched rat....


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## Guest

sure, click on my link and he is on there  
not brill pics but i will get better ones for sure.


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## stbasils

hello there, my names rachelle and i have had a gambian pouched rat for about 3 months now, Frodo. he's 18months old and he's never been handled and the last owners couldn't cope with him since he sent his girl friend to hospital. he's very grumpy and i was woundering if anyone had any tips at all, i get him out nearly everyday and i have just got to the stage where i can stroke him, i know he should come out and love to be with humans i just feel so sad, can anyone please give me some advice thanks.


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## Guest

It does take time, alot of it aswell, They still have their wild traits in them.

i still have along way to go with mine i know that much, hand feeding them seems to help, thats how i have gained some trust from our pouchy, he is still abit jumpy once i have picked him up out the cage but i supose that will get better with time.

i kinda expected him to be like our domestic pet fancy rats, you know, after a few days or so everythings getting good, but obviously they are nothing like the domestic rat to me, as i said, he still needs alot of time and work put into him befor he gets anything like our domestic fancy rats, but like i said in another post, i dont give up  just keep hand feeding him, stroking him, holding him when you can ect and im sure intime he will get alot better.

ild love to see a picture of him  any chance of that?


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## GreaterBeastXellas

I live in the US and I have a 4 year old male Gambian (Gambit). When I first got him he wasnt very trusting but I managed to get him tame quickly through handfeeding.


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## Guest

Hi greatbeast 

Would love to see pictures of your gambian?


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## GreaterBeastXellas

I got him when he just turned 3 and didnt have much human interaction.

If you go here to my page and click pics you can see alot of photos I have posted of him.

MySpace.com - GreaterBeastXellas - 23 - Female - EXMORE, Virginia - www.myspace.com/greaterbeastxellas


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## hilary bradshaw

hi! any idea where i can get one?


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## trekky

Hi there. i have posted on some of the other forums about the gambians. Its great to read others experiences with getting to know these wonderful pets.
I have a 11mth old female called Ziyal and a 5mth old male called Odo. Zee was handreared and the ownly way i can discribe her temperament is bomb proof i can do absolutely anything with her so much so the small local pet shops get me to bring her in on their open days to talk about her and she is not phased at all about being passed from person to person or touched by children. It appears from reading the comments that males are that much more diificult. Odo wasn't handreared but was handled from 10 days onwards. He took a chunk out of my finger the while at the breeders home but i still bought him home with me. He's coming on lovely now he's still a bit weary but i can pick up hug him kiss him, it tends to be loud noises that set him off. He did take a hugh step back for 2 weeks a couple of months ago and almost turned feral on me however once his manhood dropped he returned to the place where we got to almost over night. I found to get him used to being approached by a hand and touched without me getting the wounds a false hand and arm worked a treat (one of those from ajoke shop) Once he showed no resistance to that and looked calm i then introduced my own hand. Do make sure you rub your scent onto the fake hand each time you use it. I've never used the fake hand since.


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## gemma.penwarden

That fake hand thing sounds like a good idea, my female seems fine with my hand but I don't let her snif it for too long as I am slightly concerned with her teeth as they could do a lot of damage, so I think I will seek out a fake hand so to get her properly used to it, as for noises she doesn't seemed to be bothered by anything, the first day or so she was a bit shy but now seems to have loads of confidence! Don't know if that is good or bad!!


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## trekky

gemma.penwarden said:


> That fake hand thing sounds like a good idea, my female seems fine with my hand but I don't let her snif it for too long as I am slightly concerned with her teeth as they could do a lot of damage, so I think I will seek out a fake hand so to get her properly used to it, as for noises she doesn't seemed to be bothered by anything, the first day or so she was a bit shy but now seems to have loads of confidence! Don't know if that is good or bad!!


True about the damage the teeth can do i got bit by my male when i collected him at 5wks old and just at that age the damage was impressive i'm just glad it was my hand and not my 1yr old son who startled him with his hand at the time to make him bite. I haven't been bit since though.


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## tj1980

wow just looked up these amazing animals they're enormous as an owner of 10 rats wud love 1 but atlas no space hope u hv lots of happy times with ur rattie x


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## gemma.penwarden

Your right, they are lovely but do need a lot of space, I am just waiting for my new large cage to arrive. Wow, 10 rats is a lot!!


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## tj1980

i know heehee got 2 then was addicted lol there so easy 2 fall in love with


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## Guest

Unfortunately chappers gambian pouch rat excaped from their property a few weeks ago and hasnt been seen since  he was coming on so nicely, was brilliant wiv there dogs ect  

News papers/radio was infomed and signs posters was put up and also mouth to mouth word put out but no news .


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## Vixie

aww thats awful I hope they get some news, its terrible they must be so upset


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## Guest

vixenelite said:


> aww thats awful I hope they get some news, its terrible they must be so upset


Yes they are frantic wiv worry, but the main concern is foxes  my daughta spread the news around her colledge aswell as freinds and family etc and told them to spread the word but i doubt he will be found


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## Grumpymouth

Hi there everyone, I'm new to this site but I've been around for a while on Reptile Forums UK, if anyone knows me from there...

I've just got a gambian pouched rat, Ben, last week and am looking for the experiences of others who are new to keeping these beautiful creatures. 

Ben is very bitey still and as someone else on here has mentioned, he goes mental at any loud or sudden noises. I was tearing up newspaper for his cage and he went bonkers!! 

I can't pick him up yet without sustaining a bite on any part of my body that he can latch onto (including my right boob...ouch), how have any of you been able to get him to sit on your shoulders/neck without tearing out your juggular?? x


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## Guest

Grumpymouth said:


> Hi there everyone, I'm new to this site but I've been around for a while on Reptile Forums UK, if anyone knows me from there...
> 
> I've just got a gambian pouched rat, Ben, last week and am looking for the experiences of others who are new to keeping these beautiful creatures.
> 
> Ben is very bitey still and as someone else on here has mentioned, he goes mental at any loud or sudden noises. I was tearing up newspaper for his cage and he went bonkers!!
> 
> I can't pick him up yet without sustaining a bite on any part of my body that he can latch onto (including my right boob...ouch), how have any of you been able to get him to sit on your shoulders/neck without tearing out your juggular?? x


hi if u dont mind me asking, where did you get ur gambian from???


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## GreaterBeastXellas

Grumpymouth said:


> Hi there everyone, I'm new to this site but I've been around for a while on Reptile Forums UK, if anyone knows me from there...
> 
> I've just got a gambian pouched rat, Ben, last week and am looking for the experiences of others who are new to keeping these beautiful creatures.
> 
> Ben is very bitey still and as someone else on here has mentioned, he goes mental at any loud or sudden noises. I was tearing up newspaper for his cage and he went bonkers!!
> 
> I can't pick him up yet without sustaining a bite on any part of my body that he can latch onto (including my right boob...ouch), how have any of you been able to get him to sit on your shoulders/neck without tearing out your juggular?? x


Yah I can hold my boy and have him sitting on my shoulder with out attacking me. Food thats the key to getting them tame to you is food. Hand feed first with thick gloves then you should be able to remove them in a month or so.


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## <3Rats

Hi everyone. The ban on Gambian & Enim Pouched Rats was lifted earlier this year.

Everyone who got theirs from the US, do you know of any breeder I can go to?
I am very interested in getting involved with these guys now that the ban has been lifted! But all of the US breeders are still in hiding. I have been researching them for years and waiting for the horrible ban to go away!


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## Neza

Congrats on the ban being lifted.


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## barebear1974

I am desperate to buy a Gambian pouched rat. If ANYONE knows of a breeder, PLEASE let me know. Thank you so much.


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## trekky

barebear1974 said:


> I am desperate to buy a Gambian pouched rat. If ANYONE knows of a breeder, PLEASE let me know. Thank you so much.


Hi there, I am a breeder of Gambian Pouched Rats, we have a male left from our current litter. Please see all details on our website: ukpouchies.co.uk


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## fletch

Hi all, ive just registered on this forum. 
I keep several exotic animals and recently was lucky enough to be able to purchase a female gambian pouched rat through a friend. 
Unfortunately after having her in our care for approximately 5-6 months she passed away this morning, she was put to sleep by a vet after suffering what the vet suspected to be a stroke or heart attack. 
I did not know the exact age of the rat but it was estimated at less than 12 months when we took her on. 
She was kept in a large cage 6ft high, 1 metre long and around 30'' front to back. We fed her on a quality rat mix and gave her fruit and veg regularly as well as mealworms and cooked chicken. 
The vet admitted to having little knowledge of the species so i am hoping some members on here may know of any potential health problems with this species. 
I discovered her late evening yesterday, she emerged from her hide box and appeared to be having some sort of fit, she lost all coordination and colapsed on the floor, she was still able to move but only barely, she could not regain her balance, just move her limbs slightly. 
We consulted a vet via the phone who just advised to keep her warm and as comfortable as possible, by this morning she was alive but clearly on her way out as she did not move and did not respond at all to being touched, the only signs of life was the fact she was still breathing, the only option was to have her euthanased. 
We would love to purchase another but i am concerned as to if heart problems or strokes/brain disorders are common with this species and if their was anything we had done wrong that maybe contributed to her untimely death. 
Any advice would be much appreciated.


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## trekky

Really sad to hear about your female gambian. From your discription of what happened it did sound like a stroke she had. I've only ever seen fancy rats have a stroke but much the same happens. Unfortunately finding a vet that knows anything about them is not a task to be achieved. 
Heart problems is not a common problem i have heard of. They can suffer with similar lung problems as fancy rats. But the most common thing they can suffer with is ringtail where the skin on the tail drys out so much that it tightens into rings along the length of the tail which can tighten so much they can loose parts of they tails this way. I had a baby recently that had this problem and my vet gave me a cream that saved his whole tail. I will find out the name of this cream and put in a future post. The best way to prevent it getting this bad is to regularly rub in olive oil or vasaline.
Something else to be aware of that a lot of owners don't know about is what can happen if they get too cold. They go into a hypernation type state. They will stop eating and drinking and become very lathargic and cold to the touch. The first time this happened to my female i thought i was going to lose her. She now has central heating in her cage for the winter with a reptile heat mat attached to the underside of her cage where her house is.

If you do consider getting a new one feel free to check out by site ukpouchies.co.uk I garantee by litters to be hand tame and have a waiting list for my next litter planned for the spring.


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## fletch

Many thanks for your help.
Funny you mention hibernation as we did think about this and wondered if it could have been a factor in her death. 
Obviously we are now experiencing lower temperatures and her body was cold, i dont think going in to a hibernative state would have caused her to display the fitting like symptons and make her lose all coordination before eventually going completely limp however, when we took her to the vet the only sign of life was faint breathing. 
What do you think? 
We are trying to explore all possibilities that may have caused her death is all.
We are currently looking in to getting a pair of young gambians, what would you suggest as the best way to combat the colder temperatures, would prefer not to use room heaters due to the running costs, i am thinking about running a large reptile heatmat under the substrate(i use aspen)in the cage, any idea what the suggested temperature for keeping these rats at is? I was keeping mine in the same room as some reptiles(at opposite ends of the room)so the daytime temp was always reasonably warm anyway at about 72-75 but it did drop alot at night down to about 65-60. 
I also plan to add a large water container for them to add some humidity.


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## trekky

I'm not aware of any set temperature for them. My girl usually copes well with the normal temperature we keep the house at. Its only with drop in temperatures recently that she has started to suffer. The heat mat i use is not on the inside of the cage to avoid her chewing it but taped to the base of her cage where her house is that she sleeps in and this does seem to help her. Unfortunately we are struggling this winter as we recently moved to Wales and the house we're in is small and temporary so unlike in our old home i don't have a radiator i can put her next to. because of this if i feel cold the heating does go on to warm the house up.
From what you said with the temperature of the room i don't think cold was your problem. It really does sound like some kind of stroke. I've seen this in fancy rats with different degrees of side affects from just a head tilt to total loss of use of their bodies resulting in them being put to sleep.
I really don't think there was anything you could have done to avoid this tragic loss. Unfortunately strokes are not something that can be predicted but fortunately not a common thing that can happen. In the years i kept fancy rats i only had 2 out of the 19 or so rats i've kept have a stroke.
The water for humidity is a good idea to help with the ring tail problem they suffer with.


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## fletch

Yeah i did reconsider on putting the heatmat inside the cage as like you say the rats are bound to chew it and this is not a good thing with an electrical appliance! I did think about taping it to the base of the cage inside so its flat against the base but they would probably still chew the cable. The cage ive got is metal with a pull out plastic base so i will simply attatch the mat to the underside of the base. 
I dont think the cold will be a problem in the room the cage was in but i have noticed the temperature is dropping in to the 50s at night now so i think the mat is a good idea through the winter at least.


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