Pet Rat, expectations and advice?

Question

I'm planning to get a pet rat within the next month or so. I've had plenty of other pets, but never a rodent.

I have a fairly large, three-level rat cage. It's used, but has been washed and is in very good condition. I also have cedar for bedding.

I have two cats; one is 16 years old and very laid-back, the other is just under a year old, very curious and playful. She's been playing in the cage since I brought it home; very curious about the scents on it -- I can't smell it, but she obviously can!

I intend to get a young male rat. What can I expect, and what do I need to know? It's my understanding that rats are highly intelligent; are they trainable? Can they be taught to use a litter box, or anything similar? Do they need to be bathed, and how often? Should they be kept in the cage most of the time, or can they safely be allowed out for extended periods? (how do I rat-proof the room?)

Any advice from experienced owners would be great ;)

Answer 1

You've heard this before, but cedar bedding is not healthy for rats or other small animals & neither is pine. Aspen, Carefresh, Softsorbent & many other types of bedding are available. Also, please consider adopting 2 rats of the same sex. Boys don't necessarilly fight, especially if they are littermates or know each other as babies. We have 2 brothers who are about 20 months old & they wrestle playfully sometimes but never really fight. Since you expressed interest in getting a male (hopefully 2 males), you probably know that they tend to be more relaxed & cuddly than females, who are usually more curious & active. Of course, rats are individuals like everyone else.
Rats are quite intelligent & learn their names easilly. It does help if you don't give them names that rhyme or sound too much alike. Our rats behave like our cats do with regard to names-- if I call one, the one I call shows up quickly but the others follow more slowly, to make sure they don't miss out on a treat or some other fun thing.
Many rats can be trained to use a litter box, but results vary & sometimes this takes quite awhile (though I've known rats who have taken to this idea right away). They make litter pans for small animals but you can use any shallow container just as easilly. Fill the box with newspaper-based cat litter or anything else that's different from their normal bedding & add some of their droppings so they'll get the message.
Rats don't need baths unless they get dirty. I bath our boys every few weeks during the summer. There are shampoos made for small animals, or use something for kittens or babies (we use cruelty-free organic baby shampoo).
When you let your rats out, have your cats in another room unless you'll be holding the rats. If you let them run around in the room, make sure they can't squeeze under the door, keep all electric cords out of reach & watch where you step or sit down. Some houseplants are poisonous, so keep them out of reach if you're in doubt. They love to gnaw on things, so keep anything potentially harmful away from them. Often, the bathroom is a good place to let them run around, as long as they won't wriggle under the door. We used to have one room dedicated to our females for several months, they simply had the run of the room & returned to their cages when they felt like it.
Because rats are so smart & playful, they enjoy toys like plastic cat balls with bells inside, hammocks, boxes to climb in & many other things. They also love interacting with their humans. Our hairless girl would *love* to 'interact' with our kitten, but not in a good way-- she tries to chase him & once she bit his paw & wouldn't let go til I intervened when the kitten put his paw on the girls' cage.
If you live near a small animal rescue or a breeder, these are good places to adopt your new friends as they are better socialized & often in better health than petstore rats. Our boys are from a rescue, the hairless is from a breeder & our hooded girl from Petsmart & they're all very sweet & healthy.
When you get your rat/s, you're in for a delightful experience!

Answer 2

Alright, this is gonna be lengthy.
Rats are very territorial creatures, but also very curious and playful. Before getting the rat, be sure its cage is cleaned thoroughly. This means don't let your cat play in it any more. If a rat's new cage smells of other animals, it will not want to move in.
Do not let the rat near your cats unless you are absolutely CERTAIN that they will not harm it. This means put the cage up on a table or shelf where the cats cannot reach.
Rats prefer wire frame cages. If you have one, be sure not to stick your fingers in it, through the bars, or let anything rest on or next to the cage. They WILL gnaw.
Ceder bedding is not good to use for rats, or any rodents for that matter. I use a mix of pine shavings and recycled paper bedding on the bottom floor, but for upper floors, I recommend newspaper torn into thick strips. Don't do anything special, just lay them in a pile. The rat will decorate as he wants.

Also, something else I've learned through experience: two rats are better than one. They will have companionship and will not be nearly as lonely. Get them of the same gender though, or expect many more rats soon. I prefer two female rats because they tend to be less aggressive against each other, because rats DO fight.

One last thing: Rats are trainable, but they can't use a litter box or anything like that. However, if you make it clear to them that excreting outside the cage is unwanted, they will learn only to do that in their cage, not outside.

Good luck! I know it was long, but I hope it all helps.

EDIT: I corrected the info on cedar bedding. I wasn't thinking when I said they were fine.

Answer 3

Yes, the average lifespan of a pet rat is only 2 to 3 years. Senior rats may have problems with mobility and sight. If you see them having trouble with their back legs or their eyes clouding over with cataracts, make sure their cage is safe, take out any ramps or second levels you may have, and provide easy access to food and water. Even old rats can have a great quality of life! Just make sure they are eating and drinking, check them over for any signs of difficultly breathing or lumps that could indicate a tumor, and provide them with extra soft bedding material... pieces of fleece, napkins, and tissues work great.

Answer 4

I agree with Ian, about getting two rats... Although you will be able to give him heaps of attention, and spend time with him, you cant speak his language, and you can't be there for 24 hours, constantly ready to play with him!

If you get two males, you will need to be prepared to get one or both desexed if they are violent towards each other continuously, and attack each other to the point of drawing blood... (Spazrats might have a natural remedy that helps this without surgery!).

You need to make sure that that cage is totally clean for the rats that you get, and use a non-toxic cleaner! Lemon scented dish washing liquid works well!

Rats are trainable! Contrary to what Ian said, my girls are trained to use a litter tray! All you need to do is move any soiled litter, or any raisins that they leave behind, into the litter tray... They will soon learn to associate the smell with that tray and want to keep mess in there... If you notice that they are using a certain area/corner of the cage to do their business, put the litter tray there! Some people even train rats to push little cotton rolls around... And my girls come to their names!

They don't NEED to be bathed... They are pretty clean, and clean themselves like cats! But i do give my girls baths if they start to smell really bad, or get stuff stuck to their fur...
Use a gentle dog shampoo... Oatmeal based stuff is the best in my experience! And make sure that you dry them properly! They don't like being bathed, but they generally like being ruffled by the towel!

You can get them used to being allowed out! And you need to give them an hour out of the cage a day, AT LEAST! When i first got Cams, she would escape constantly, and would take days to catch, but now she comes back to me!

As far as rat proofing goes... Anything that you don't want to be chewed, needs to be removed! Putting it up high won't work, they will figure out a way!

When i can't let them out in the bedroom, i give my girls time in the bathroom! It's good because they can't destroy anything, and they can run around as much as they want!

And it's easy to clean!

I would go and sit and play with them, or read a book in the bathroom, sitting on the floor while they slept on me...

Take in food and water, a litter tray, and a bed for them to use!

Good luck!

Rats are wonderful pets, I will never go back to not having them!

Answer 5

I've been thinking about getting some rats so I've been researching them. I read that it's better to have two or more rats instead of just one and also that cedar can be bad for rats. I think it can cause respiratory problems.

Answer 6

Don't use cedar bedding. The hydrocarbons and cedrene oil in cedar are very very bad for the health of rodents. Try kiln-dried pine. Cedar, unfortunately, cannot have its bad properties removed by kiln-drying.

Answer 7

Your going to love it. They make great little pets.