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 The Rat Fan Club
Books by Debbie “The Rat Lady” Ducommun
The 3 books for sale here
have very little overlap.
All 3 books together
create a library covering just about everything a rat owner should know.
This page was updated 2/6/18.
Back Issues of the
Rat Report
For the first 15 years of The Rat Fan Club, founder Debbie
“The Rat Lady” published a monthly newsletter, the Rat Report. There are lots of back issues of the Rat Report available for
purchase (click here).
Payment options:
1. Send a check or money order made out to “The Rat Fan Club,” 857
Lindo Lane, Chico
CA 95973
2. Use Paypal at www.paypal.com sending the payment to the
email address ratlady@ratfanclub.org
and just tell me what you want in the message section. (BTW, in case you
don’t know, I have to pay a small fee, about 6%, when you use Paypal.)
(I’m sorry,
we do not accept credit cards. You can use a credit card via Paypal.)
All 3 of my books listed below are
available as e-books.
The Rat
Health Care Booklet, 17th Edition.
The Rat Fan Club publishes Rat Health Care, a 48-page
booklet written by club founder Debbie “The Rat Lady” Ducommun.
Here
is what some vets and rat owners have said about this booklet:
I have all the exotic animal
references and have been to numerous exotic animal seminars, and I’ve
never seen another collection of information about rats as complete and
helpful as this booklet.
Kevin Scoggin, DVM, Grand Animal Hospital, San Diego, CA
Dear Debbie,
I don’t have rats of my own (yet) but am lucky enough to get to see a
few of
them as patients. I just wanted to let you know that as a veterinarian I
have found your Rat Health Care
booklet to be extremely helpful. I have
made use of the drug doses and surgical recommendations on many occasions
and have passed on much of this information to the other vets I work with.
Thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge with us and enabling us to
provide more complete care for these furry family members!
Jody Moffett, DVM, Valley Animal Hospital, Tucson, AZ
I just want to say
thank-you for the EXCELLENT edition of the Rat Health Care booklet. Everyone at my clinic loves it! I also
received the brochures for display.
Thanks again Debbie,
Patti Terzian RVT
Riverside Pet Hospital
Ajax, Ontario, Canada
Dear Debbie,
I received my books
today. I am so pleased. I let everyone on yahoo groups “loving
rats” know how wonderful and helpful they are, and you too! I cannot wait to give my daughter
Nicole hers and Dr. Pals [our vet] his copy. Thank you so very much,
Christine Beamer
Debbie,
Your newsletter, book,
and health care booklet have come in VERY handy and saved me a small
fortune in vet bills as well as housing (by building my own with your
plans). I’m also saving on litter now that I use the rabbit
pellet idea I got from you. Thank you thank you thank you.
Laura Kiest, “Mama”
to 24 ratties and holding
About
the Rat Health Care booklet:
Although rats have been used in labs for more than 100 years, and much
is known about lab rats, there is a lack of published information on
practical health care for pet rats.
This handy reference guide fills that gap and is recommended for
both rat owners and veterinarians.
Rat Health Care is full of time-tested practical
information for treating pet rats.
Debbie Ducommun has been “The Rat Lady” since 1985, and
has combined her experiences with those of her veterinarian and hundreds of
other rat owners. Rat Health Care is updated about
once a year.
The booklet discusses all the
most common health problems of rats, the most common symptoms and the
treatments that work. It tells
how to prevent many common problems, including mammary tumors. It includes a handy symptom guide to
help diagnose the most likely cause of most symptoms, 2 flow charts for
first aid, and 3 flow charts with the suggested treatment protocols for
sneezing, wheezing, labored breathing and lethargy. It includes dosages for
the antibiotics and other medications most commonly used and recommended
for rats. It’s the most
accurate, complete and practical source of information on companion rat
health care available. Topics
covered include:
General care: First Aid, Spaying & Neutering, Health
Food, Preventative Grooming, Home Health Exam, Choosing a Veterinarian, The
Benefits of Spaying & Neutering, Raising Orphaned Rats
Nursing care: Nutrition, Hygiene, Giving
Medications, Treating Pain & Inflammation, Handling & Restraint,
Blood Collection, Incision Protection
Clinical Care
Clinical care:
Surgery, Respiratory Disease, Congestive Heart Failure, Tumors, Skin
Problems & Hair Loss, Abscesses, Bumblefoot, Parasites, Overgrown
Incisors, Eye Problems, Ear Infections, Paraplegia, Aging & Old Age
Diseases, Euthanasia
We highly recommend this booklet, and if it saves you just one visit to
the vet, it will pay for itself many times over.
Now
available as an e-book for Kindle on Amazon.com!
The 17th edition Rat Health Care booklet is US$7 plus
shipping. (CA residents add
$.51 sales tax.)
Shipping in the U.S.
is $2.50. For each
additional booklet add $1.
Shipping to Canada
is US$3.50. For each additional booklet add US$2.
Shipping to Overseas is US$7.50.
For payment
options, see the top of the page.
Quantity discounts available.
If you order the booklet from another supplier, you
should check to see what edition they have.
In Australia,
you can order the booklet from Robyn’s Rats at http://www.dapper.com.au
Rats: Practical Advice from the
Expert
This is the new 3rd edition of Debbie’s rat care book,
published in 2011. It is mostly the same as the 2nd edition, but
does have a few updates and corrections, and some new photos, including
those of hairless and Dumbo rats, some new health
photos, and Debbie’s husband Larry on page 125.
NOTICE: Please be sure to say to whom you
want Debbie to sign the book!
Also
available as an e-book for Kindle on Amazon.com.
Price: US$10 plus shipping. (California residents add $.73 sales tax.)
Shipping in the U.S.
is $6.75 for Priority Mail (this amount will also cover the shipping cost
for any combination of up to 3 books or booklets), $5.50 for First Class,
or $3 by Media Mail.
Shipping to Canada
for this book is US$16
Shipping to Overseas for this book is US$23.50
For payment
options, see the top of the page.
This book is temporarily unavailable. My publisher plans to
reprint it in June 2018.
Rat Training
is more than just a book on “how to teach your rats tricks.” While
it does explain the basics of training, and how to teach your rat 41
tricks, it also gives you tips on how to read your rats’ body
language and behavior, and explains what similarities between us facilitate
a close bond. It discusses scientific experiments that illuminate the
rat’s intelligence, including their ability to think, dream, count
and add, and tell apart different human languages, giving dates when a
topic gained media attention. It talks about how rats are used in
education, including the Xtreme Rat Challenge,
formerly known as the Rat Olympics.
This book also includes tips and anecdotes gathered from
interviews with professional animal trainers, including the famous
“Rat Man” who trained the rats for the original movie Willard. It also includes information on how
rats are trained for live performance shows, such as a recycling show where
the rats put different objects into the right recycling bin. It explains how rats were trained to
pull wires through the conduits of schools to help hook computers up to the
internet.
Rat Training
also includes instructions for practical behavior training, such as litter
box training, introducing new rats, and overcoming a rat’s
fears. In addition, there is a
chapter on activities, such as games, mazes, and obstacle courses, that can be taught to rats just for fun or for
science projects.
Table of Contents
1. Rats and Humans
2. How Smart Are Rats?
3. Training Basics
4. Practical Training
5. Preparing for Trick Training
6. Introductory Tricks
7. Advanced Tricks
8. Prop Tricks
9. Games and Science Projects
10. Project Plans for Tricks
Appendix: Intelligence Test
NOTICE: Please be sure to say to whom you
want Debbie to sign the book!
This book
is also available as an e-book for Apple iTunes
and Barnes & Noble.
Rat Training is US$18 plus
shipping. (California residents add $1.31 sales tax.)
Shipping in the U.S.
is $6.75 for Priority Mail (this amount will also cover the shipping cost
for any combination of up to 3 books or booklets), $5.50 for First Class,
or $3 by Media Mail.
Shipping to Canada
for this book is US$16
Shipping to Overseas for this book is US$23.50
For payment
options, see the top of the page.
For the shipping costs of sending more than one book
outside the U.S.
please email me.
For other merchandise, click here.
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