do rats make good pets?

Question

I want to get a pet for my kids ( ages 6 to 11yrs) and i'm thinking of rats, max. 2 only. Do they bite ? Are they nervous and jumpy ? And finally , are they mainly nocturnal ? serious answers only please

Answer 1

Rats make absolutely freaking awesome pets :) . I compare them to dog-like rodents. They demand attention like a dog, often waiting by the side of the cage when they hear you by the door. They Can be taught tricks and are very intelligent. One of my does is currently learning how to escape her cage >.< . Frustrating as heck, but I love her to pieces! They're perfect for people who want a smart pet but can't afford the larger critters.

Domesticated rats aren't nervous or jumpy. They may flip out if a loud noise scares them, but a second later their heads are peeking out of their hiding spot wanting to know what everyone is doing. They're nocturnal, but they're quite capable of adjusting their schedule to meet yours. They do have an annoying habit of gnawing on the cage bars when they're bored, so you may want to keep them out of the bedrooms for everyone sanity. If you get a wheel, use veggie oil to help cut down on the noise serenading you at night :). If they eat the oil, they won't get sick.

Biting is something that needs an explanation. The majority of rats won't bite, but it depends on how they were raised, genetics and how much handling they have. I have two rats that were raised and bred by a breeder. They are the most laid back, friendly slugs I have owned in years! They've never tried nipping and won't even struggle if they're being pulled out of the cage for cleaning, etc. In comparison my store bought rats are hyper active and aren't so pleased with being handled. They don't mind it so much, depending on their personalities but its not their favorite thing. If I handled them more I'm sure they'd not complain as much. I have one male who does bite, but he does it because he's overexcited. I've only ever owned two rats who bit regularly and I've had over 60 rats since 1998. Both these biters were male. One was neutered and that reduced his biting greatly. My present biter bites because he's easily excited. The bites he give are because he thinks I'm offering food and in his impatience he dings me. You can work around stuff like this by not feeding the rats through the bars of the cage (another reason Bunker bites. This is a bad habit of mine!) and use a spoon if you're not sure. I have to watch his body language and if he's really not in the mood and I have to move him I encourage him to hide in a box. The majority of rats won't bite, even when scared. They may plant a warning nip on you, which is simply them putting their teeth on you to say they're not happy with the situation. They may bite you accidental, such as when food is being offered and they confuse you with the food. Band aids are another things rats are drawn towards. By washing your hands, warning the rat that you're going to pick them up, not bothering the rat when they're eating and never sticking your fingers in their face such as when they're in a hiding area, you should reduce bites to almost nill. Every rat owner gets bitten at least once, but their bites don't hurt. Bites look worse than they really are and heal fast. Like I've said - rats don't bite often and it has to be pretty extreme for them to bite hard :) . If you're concerned and you have males, you can always get them neutered.

Female rats are more active and will spend most of their free time exploring. My males are lazy slugs. if there's no food involved, they would rather sit and convert their treats into fat even if its play time. They're excellent lap pets. Personally I love watching my rats play so I tend to get females instead.

Good luck to you! I love my rats. I wish I could breed them but my breeding hobby is currently devoted to my birds. Pet store rats can make wonderful companions as long as you're willing to get a baby or work with a friendly older ratty. Your kids are incredibly lucky!

Answer 2

Depends whether you like rats in all honesty. My niece has two and her children Beckie (11) and Katie (9) love them.

They can bite, one had a go at the dogs nose! Though how that came about I do not know. To my knowledge they are not nocturnal and seem to wake up if the children want to play with them.

They get quite big, about a foot long. If one were to escape I doubt if it would return? Although they were fed mainly with hamster food, the diet was varied with other scraps, much the same as in the wild.

Being nervous or jumpy is really an individual thing rather than an animal trait. If you are lucky and treat them well, all may be fine.

Answer 3

Yes, they make excellent pets, though, they are high matience. Are you sure you are willing to spend money on vet bills, even if it means you can't get what you want for yourself? And yes, you do need to get at least two. Please do research before getting pet rats, there are a lot of things you *NEED* to know before getting them. Like how cedar and pine are bad, how you need spring water. I could type all I know, but I will forget to mention some things. If you don't want 10-20 pinkies (rat babies), don't get a female at a pet store that's been with other rats. It doesn't matter what the pet store is. If the rat is 5 weeks or older, they should be away from their opposite sexes. If it's under 5 weeks, they should be with their mother, still nursing.

Answer 4

Rats make excellent pets and your kids are old enough to handle them. If you do decide to get a pet rat please get 2 at the same time as they are EXTREMELY social animals who live in groups. If you get a lone rat you will need to handle and dedicate a lot of time to paying attention to the animal as they are easily bored when left alone without stimulation. You will need a large cage so both rats have enough room to run, play, swing, and jump.

Rats can bite but generally don't unless they are frigtened or think what they are biting is food... Adivse your children to NEVER stick their fingers or food through the grates of a rat cage as they will get bitten.

Never pick a rat up by it's tail! There is a thin layer of skin that cover the tail that can be shed in a crisis... Once this layer of skin is gone it does not regenerate and the tail can then become infected and raw.

Rats are not generally nervous or jumpy but rather mellow curious creatures that love to sniff around and poke their heads into nooks and crannies... Yes Rats are nocturnal but this generally shouldn't be a problem as Rats are not attracted to running wheels (which squeak at night). Because their bodies are so long most Rats are uncomfortable on running wheels which invert their backs unnaturally... (unless you get a really REALLY big wheel) the rats should be able to get enough exercise running around during play time.

Rats can be very affectionate, intelligent pets... They are able to learn their name, to come when their called, to learn basic tricks and they easily recognize their owners vs. others. Rats need to be kept in wire cages- they are prone to respiratory issues so they need optimal ventillation- they should never be kept in a aquarium or plastic habitat. Rats need to be kept away from cold drafts. Rats need a good supply of food and fresh water always, their bedding should be changed every couple of days (when you have more than 1, only once a week if you have just 1). Rats can become stinky if you don't clean their cage reguarly thus they can be given baths on a regular basis using mild puppy or kitten shampoo. Their nails can get long and depending on your rats activity level may need to be trimmed every so often using small nail clippers.

Rats can be wonderful pets but need a lot of interaction between them and their owners... If you have more than one rat that need for interaction between the rat and human decreases. Rats, just like people and dogs have different personalities... Where one may be bold and outgoing and jump into your hand as soon as you open the cage door the other may shy away into the corner of their sleeping-house (another thing they need)...

If you're going to get serious about rat ownership look up a local breeder... The prices aren't outrageous and a breeder will replace an animal if there is something wrong with it (unforseen medical condition or sudden death) whereas a pet store will not... Also a rat born to a breeder was likely handled from birth and got daily attention and interaction with a human as a petstore rat didn't- the breeder rat will be much less likely to bite or to be afraid of humans.

I hope this information was helpful! Best wishes to you!

-Pet Rat Parent

Answer 5

Overall, I would say they are good pets - they tend to be awake when you are, not noctournal. I have had about 8 rats in my lifetime and they were all different personalities. I had two that were nervous and jumpy -and then, I had several that were total sweethearts, very outgoing, they were like little dogs! They would meet me each day at the cage door when I'd come home from work, very sweet critters.

I would say, if you have the option of finding a pet rat breeder in your area, I would buy from them...do a Google search on fancy rat breeders, maybe? Rats from breeders are raised with tender loving care and you'll have a better quality pet.

I must say, I did have one rat that did bite me, once. I returned it immediately to the pet store. It's pretty rare to have a biter, as long as you treat the animal with respect and gentleness.

I've had hamsters, mice, rats, and guinea pigs - and of all of them, rats are the most affectionate and intelligent pets. The downside is, you can't ignore them for a few days if life gets busy - they want to come out and play! They bond strongly to their human owners.

Answer 6

Rats make brilliant pets, they are active in the day and easy to tame and keep. I'd pay more and get them from a breeder. You can get fancy colours, they are better handled as babies and will be tame. Tame rats just don't bite! Plus there's a nasty disease that store bought rats can have when you buy them.

Rats can be litter trained, you just get a very small tray and put it in a corner with some cat litter, put in some of their droppings and they soon get the idea. Use a scoop to remove wet bits and the pellets every day after they're litter trained. You wipe out their cage every day, empty out old food and any wet bedding; and give it a proper clean once a week.

We made our rat house out of an old wardrobe, by taking off the doors and making door frames covered with square mesh wire. We added shelves, ramps, hidey holes and toys. We put different pots all over the place, and offered a variety of foodstuffs. They must have cat or dog food every day for the protein, you can also offer dry cat or dog biscuits which are good for their teeth, rat mix, sunflower seeds and heads if you grow them, pumpkin seeds, hazel nuts (just crack them, don't shell them) and fresh carrot and apple. The day before you clean out the cage they can have a hard boiled egg with the shell cracked, it does smell the next day though! Don't prepare all their food for them as they are active and intelligent and need something to do.

To tame your rats, put your hand in the cage outside their sleeping area with some food on it, they'll come out to investigate and eat. They'll end up sitting on your hand if you sit still. Take it slowly from there.

Answer 7

Omigosh..rats are the absolutely most wonderful, smartest, most affectionate pet that you can have. I love mine sooooo much! Thye are easy to care for..like kids, get rats when they are small and let your kids pick. Females rather than males b/c you can put two females together, males fight. You can put three girls together if you have a big enough cage.They only live 2-4 years though....get them from a breeder if you can....every rat has myco naturally but some have flareups. That might be what the person who says the pet shop rats have a disease is talking about. A breeder will socialize their pets more than a pet store b/c pet stores sell theirs for food. Rats are the best!!!!! They can learn tricks but I say there's nothing like a rat on your shoulder to freak out your friends! Rats are cool and they RULE!

Answer 8

I have 2 pet rats and they do make great pets except for a few problems. They don't live very long, maybe a 3-4 years if in good health and alot of them develop cancer. I have a hairless who is about 3 years old and is covered in tumors and their is nothing the vet can do for her. She is definitely one of a kind with her personality. She loves to play with cat toys and likes for me to wrestle with her using my hand. My male prefers to have his belly rubbed like a dog would. They even know their names and will come to you if you holler for them. I block the living room off so they can run around for a couple hours a day. It's even possible to train rats to do tricks too.

Answer 9

You have just made the BEST decision!!!

Look no further than www.fancy-rats.co.uk
It has hundreds of extremely knowledgeabe people ready to answer any questions, also many breeders (I would advise you to buy from a breeder from that website rather than pet store)
It also tells you about the best cages, food etc and what NOT to do.
A few tips:
Keep more than one of the same sex - pairs or more.
Do not pick them up by their tails - dangerous.
Have fun!
Good luck and enjoy!
Vicky x

Answer 10

omg the best! i have one my friends have them too they never bite if they bite there only in pain there fluffy sweet and love people alot! they play with every thing (like pingpong balls) and the dont smell all you have to do is clean their cage once a week.
and dont listen to other people the not gross there very clean they cleant them selfs and dont require a bath.