Rat Information Please?

Question

I'm looking into buying a female dumbo eared rat and have a few questions to ask for those who already have them as a pet.

1] How big will she get?
2] What is the best home for her? [aquarium/hamster home/ect?]
3] What type of food do rats perfer, and can they digest fruits and vegtables? [Such as trailmix, ect.]
4] Reccomended toys?
5] What types of bedding have you found works best for your rat?
6] Is maintaining a rat costly?

Also, I have four house dogs and a bird.
I'm assuming the bird won't be much of a problem, but do any of you have a similar living arrangement and also own a rat?

Answer 1

It's really good that you're researching pet rats before you get one. I think the more you find out about them, the better you'll like the idea of having a rat for a pet. The first thing you should know is that dumbo eared rats are not a separate breed of rat. "Dumbo eared" just refers to the placement of the ears and babies from the same litter can have differently placed ears, some "dumbo" or side placed and others top placed.

A couple really good sites for you to look around on are:
http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/careofrats/a/ratsaspets.htm
and
http://www.petrats.org/
You can find out the answers to your questions there. Another couple of sites that are really good are:
http://www.petratscanada.com/
(check out the rat play pen on this site)
and
finally, this site that has a great name finder you can use when you get your new rattie:
http://www.fancy-rats.co.uk/resources/ratnames/index.php

I would like to tell you what has worked for my household, which is home to two rats who do not share a cage, since they joined us more than a year apart.
The rats have two-level rat cages with tray bottoms that extend below the cage sides. When we got the first rat, we tried an aquarium, but it wasn't good for him or for us. It was too small and because the air could not circulate through it, the odor was pretty bad. We use recycled paper bedding rather than wood. Some woods--pine for example--has oils in it that are not good for animals, though pet shops often use it. It's cheap, I guess.
As for food, my rats are spoiled--they eat Regal Rat food and treats of human foods. They really like human food.
The rats are cheap to keep, much cheaper than a cat or dog. The major unexpected expense is that the older rat has been sick a couple of times and we've taken him to the vet and gotten him medicine. A vet visit costs about sixty dollars, but rats are usually healthy. I've actually been happy to get to know the vet who has given us good advice about the rats.

All in all, we really like our rats. The older one especially is very used to people and likes us. He acts like a very small charming quiet dog.

I hope you like yours as much as we like ours.

Answer 2

1. Your rat, regardless of dumbo, fancy, or "feeder" will get to be the same size as any other rat. Nearly all domestic rats are the same species. The physical differences you see are due to breeding. Dumbo ears are a recessive gene. My largest girl is about 6'' not counting the tail.

2. A cage is the best home due to air circulation. A hamster cage would be too small and eventually she won't really fit through the tubes. Aquariums are NOT ideal for any animal besides fish (see air circulation).

3. Rats will eat just about anything you give them! You'll want to get a rat/mouse mix from the pet store that says "complete nutrition" on it. You can also give them veggies, fruits, seeds, nuts, chicken bones (protein and good to wear down teeth).

4. I haven't had rats that liked to run on a wheel until recently. They'll play with just about anything, but the most important thing for them to play with is YOU! Check this site for toy ideas, quite a few are home-made: http://www.dapper.com.au/toys.htm

5. Our vet said newspapers are just fine for bedding. Many may scoff at this, but coming from a vet, it means something to me. The bedding needs to be changed 2-3 times per week. Your rat's environment is directly related to her health! Avoid wood chips/shavings, as these can release toxic fumes either on their own or when urinated upon. They can also cut your animal's feet.

6. Maintaining a rat isn't costly at all. After you get the basics, there's just bedding (I get freebie newspapers from the library) and food. The biggest investment is going to be the time you spend with her. It can take days to weeks for your rat to bond to you, and if done properly, she'll follow you around like a puppy.

Additionally, when picking out your rat, put your hand into the cage and see which rats come to check you out. That'll be the rat for you. You may even choose to look up local breeders or rescues, as rat people tend to handle the animals more than pet stores will. Some pet stores get their animals from mills with questionable breeding and health standards.

Also, shop around for a vet that will treat rats and find out the cost. Chances are that your rat won't have to visit the vet, but its always good to know. (Rats are very prone to tumors, btw.)

Lastly, check out these links below! They're full of great rat info. =)

Answer 3

in case you have exterior cats that many times hunt, this is probable no longer a solid thought to maintain the rats in a close-by the cats have get right of entry to too. Is there besides you could spend extra time on your room? The maximum secure place for small animals whilst there are predator animals in a kin is in a room the place the door can incredibly be closed whilst no person is around to oversee. Rats will choose your interest for some hours daily, is there a manner you're able to do your homework together as you enable them their exterior of the cage time? possibly take a seat with them together as you study a e book? Is there a secure spot the place you could take them exterior of your room for some hours each and daily? they do no longer unavoidably could desire to stay interior the comparable room all day, in case you placed up a rat-information section someplace else they are in a position to be placed there for an element of the day and then added back to their cage something of the time. Cats are extremely sensible animals which will do very almost something to get what they choose. they are in a position to bounce, climb, claw their way into very almost any area in a kin. till you're rather specific you could have confidence each and each cat, this is rather only no longer nicely easily worth the prospect to domicile them in an open, shared area.

Answer 4

They get a little bigger than normal rats, but not much. the best cage is one with lots of room to run around, with levels to climb up and down. if if only find all wire cages you need to put stuff in it to lay in and such so that it doesn't get bumble foot. also rats will eat almost anything. fruits and veggies are great treats, but you dont want o give to much, just smalls amounts each day. you will want to keep normal food sold in pet stores in the cage. try to find some with very few of the little green pellets (they wont eat them). They chewon everything so whatever you give them to play with you will have to replace. a great toy is empty toilet paper rolls. the best thing is not to put any bedding in their as it causes eye and lung infections in rats. you should give them a bed to sleep in and old rags and such, they can be litter trained as well. just put in a box and litter made out of all natural products like wheat or corn ( can be found at any pets store)
maintaining a rat cost a bit at first, but once you get the cage and all set up, its only like 5 dollars for bag of food, which if you give them fruits and veggies will last about a month. also make sure the food doesnt saty in the cgae too long, if it is bad or stale they wont eat it. also if you give them too much food they will start paking it everywhere.
other than that they are great pets to have.
p.s. hampster cages are too small and all the plastic tubing and stuff will get chewed and the rat can escape.

Answer 5

The best home is the roomiest cage that you can offord & have room for. Aquariums are too stuffy & kind of boring for rats, who would appreciate things to climb on. A multi-level cage is best & you can always add hanging boxes & hammocks for her to hang out in, as well as hanging toys & treats. Many rats aren't interested in exercise wheels, but our hairless loves hers & with an aquarium there's no place to hang the wheel. Silent Spinners are safer & *much*more quiet than wire wheels.
Rats are individuals & not all of them have the same food preference. You can buy a mix like Reggie Rat but you'll probably find that your girl will just pick out what she likes & either leave the rest or dump it out ;-) We give ours a bit of vegetarian dog food (dry) mixed with puffed cereals (unsweetened) & add sunflower seeds a couple times a week. They can have a small amount of veggies and/or fruit, too much isn't god for them. Dairy isn't really god for them either. I also give ours cooked rice, wholegrain bread or crackers when we have them.
Rats love to gnaw, which also helps keep their teeth in shape, & you can get chew-toys from the pet store, or use hard dog biscuits. I keep hearing that many rats enjoy uncooked pasta but none of ours has (they want it cooked with sauce, thank you). Yours might enjoy it, though.
Toys can include anything your rat can chew on, climb on, climb in or carry around. We give ours cat toys (the little balls with a bell inside), chew toys & bird toys if they're very well-made. Our hooded girl's favorite toy is actually the plastic cap from a can of cooking spray. As noted, the enjoy hammocks & cardboard boxes. Like with cats or small children, just give your rat a few toys @ a time & put the rest away, but change them out frequently to keep things interesting.
We use Softsorbent for our rats, mice & guinea pig. It seems to be the best size to work for everybody. Carefresh is good, too. No pine or cedar, but aspen is ok.
Routine maintanence like food, bedding & the occasional treat or toy doesn't cost much. Keep in mind though, that vet visits can be expensive & you'll probably have to take you rat to the vet on occasion. They don't need vaccinations or anyting, but there is always the possibility of an infection, accident or illness.
Please consider adopting 2 girls instead of just 1, as they are social animals & will be much happier if they don't live by themselves. They won't be any less friendly toward you & will be happy to include you in their playtime.

Answer 6

i suggest you going to http://www.petco.com/caresheets/small%20animals/Rat.pdf, hope it helps