Proper way to care for a rat??

Question

I have a rat that gave my husbands snake a rude awakening when he tried to eat him. It ended up with the snake and rat sharing living space....i have grown attached to it,named it,and I want him/her to live with us as a pet. i've never had a hamster or anything like that. Is it possible to have a rat for a pet?

Answer 1

hi - rats make wonderful pets. i have had 10 so far, and will have rats as pets for the rest of my life. they are clean and friendly. they should be in a cage, not an aquarium. they eat almost anything you will eat, but avoid dried beans. don't believe what you hear about avoiding chocolate or coke or wive's tales such as that.

they occasionally pee on you, but usually just a dribble, as they are 'marking' you as one of their 'posessions.' they don't often empty their bladder on you. most of them go back to their cage to do that. i have never had to train one to do it, they just seem to know. they all seem to use one corner of their cage as their litter box area.

they do like to crawl into your shirt. they also have extremely sharp little claws. if you scratch easily, wear a turtleneck under your outer shirt so they climb between the two shirts. a little alcohol on a tissue to wipe over their scratches will prevent further irritation. i have never become infected from any of these scratches, but i sometimes keep red marks for a day or so. funny whey you have to 'splain it to the doctor.

shredded newspaper or phone books makes good litter for the bottom of the cage, change it about every 3 days, buy a cheap paper shredder (walmart/kmart) instead of commercial litter (which often contains mites/lice) or if you do buy commercial litter, freeze it for 2 days before opening it and using it. do not use pine or cedar, it causes respiratory problems in almost all small animals.

cat litter is no good for them.

most commercial rodent food, or pet food, is not very good for rats. they should have about 14% protein or they will get itchy skin, except that a pregnant mother should have about 17% protein. don't ask how i can remember such odd numbers.

meat, cheese, veggies, fruit, grain, cereal, desert, snacks, candy, pie, cake--these are all good for rats BUT in the same doses as are good for YOU! you wouldn't feed your child cake 24 hrs a day just because he liked it, so don't do that to your rat either. balanced diet! just use your head! roughly the same stuff that is good for you is good for them. they are omnivores, which means they could eat a small dodge. well, not any more--dodge makes the neon now, but you know what i mean.

if a mother is given some omega 3 fish oil during her pregnancy, it greatly reduces the chance that her daughters will develop mamary tumors--a big problem with female rats.

tumors can and should be removed by a good vet who is experienced with rats. a horse doc would not be your first choice.

they are best in pairs, as they are social and need a friend to sleep in a ball with, and to mutually groom each other, and to be 'friends.' the companion MUST be of the same sex or you will have more babies than you can imagine, as they become sexually mature as young as 4-and-a-half weeks, (usually a little longer than that) and their gestation period is about 23 days. each litter can have up to a dozen or so babies. do the math: 1 pair in 2 months can yield 14 rats, and assuming 50-50 mix of girls/boys, in 2 more months there could be 98 more, and it goes exponentially from there.

you should quarantine your rat from any new rat for 2-3 weeks in at least a separate room, preferably with a completely different air supply, to make sure each of them is disease free and can't infect the other, then introduce them.

best way is two cages abutting each other for 2 weeks, so they can see and sniff, and perhaps even touch one another, but can' t attack each other. after this, put them together on neutral territory (bed or table) with your immediate supervision to take them apart if they fight beyond a mere scuffle. this may take 4 or 5 times, or may never work, or may be immediate friendship. some males are so territorial as to require neutering before they become docile enough to have a new male move in to the neighborhood; others welcome a neighbor.

males are docile and will sit on your lap and watch tv as they mature; females always seem to be on the move--exploring, both take kindly to humans.

my friend 'spazrats' will likely answer this question too; she has had at least 20 times more rats than i have, and is well versed in their raising and health care where i have been merely lucky. i go to her for advice; you probably should too.

rats need no innoculations, no rabies or distemper shots, no vaccinations, and so long as they show no signs of discomfort, deformity, strange discharges, noisy breathing, etc, they don't need a vet. this is not to say that you can own a rat for it's lifespan (2-3 years typical, maybe as long as 4.5 years if it's a miracle) without seeing or spending money on a vet, so if you consider a rat 'not worth spending vet money on,' then buy a stuffed animal instead.

imho, snakes are pets which are fun to show off, perhaps prove something to someone, but have no 'pet' value as something to take for a walk, sit with while watching tv, pet or scratch behind the ears, share an ice cream cone, etc., but to each his own, i guess. given the chance, i'd like to have a pet black bear, so i guess people would think me a little odd, too.

stay well,

-bp

Answer 2

I assume this is a pet store rat? If it's a wild rat it probably will never let you handle it, but you could still keep it and be on friendly terms.
Pet store rats are very nice pets, most of them have a wonderful temperament and don't bite. I prefer a tank with a screen top, to avoid the rat dropping bedding and food on the floor; but a rat cage is fine too. Hang a water bottle in it and buy rat food at the pet store. Buy bedding too, they have it. Cedar and pine shavings are not recommended, but I've always used them with no problem; but there are a variety available. A rat REALLY needs a nice roomy running wheel. It keeps the rat occupied and it's also a way for rats to relieve anxiety. Without the wheel, a rat gets bored and works harder at escaping. If the wheel squeaks, oil it. Give the rat something like tissues to make a nest with. Sprinkle the food into the cage (there's no use using a dish; the rat will take it out and store it somewhere). You can give the rat treats of almost anything, they will eat what we eat. They need to gnaw to keep their teeth sharp; some people actually buy stuff for them to gnaw! In my experience, they will gnaw on anything hard they can get their teeth on, such as the wheel and cage bars, and you can put a piece of wood in (not plywood and not painted or varnished, just plain wood.) They will gnaw on plastic too; they don't swallow it, it doesn't hurt them.

Answer 3

Rats make great pets! First, get the rat his own home. You can get a 10 or 20 gallon fish tank. There is this really cool tank topper that sits on top of a 10 gallon tank to turn it into a 3 story living space. It can be hard to find, but I know Petco used to sell it.

Fill the bottom with and inch or so of bedding. Carefresh is a good brand, as is Total Comfort. Feed the rat lab blocks as well as fresh veggies. Rats need wooden chews to keep their teeth nice and short. You can get these at any pet store.

Rats are very social, intelligent animals. Make sure you get him several toys. You can improvise and use toilet paper tubes, or go out and buy toys. Rotate his toys weekly. Rats also LOVE to spend time with their humans. Carry him around a lot and play with him. Congrats on your new pet!

Answer 4

Yes, you can have rats for pets. Pretty amazing pets at that. Although if it was a feeder rat, it's prone to bad temperament (because they are barely handled, if ever) and health problems.
Some basic things you're going to need are:
-A cage big enough for the rat. I think it's 2 square feet per rat...
-Bedding. I used Carefresh and found it to be a wonderful product.
-Food. Lab blocks are most popular because they are easy to get and are a great way for rats to get a balanced diet. I used to use Kaytee brand FortiDiet, but have since changed to Mazuri because the main ingredient in the Kaytee brand was corn, which is not overly good for rats to ingest in such great quantities.
-An igloo or some sort of shelter for your rat to hide and sleep in.
-A water bottle. Anything should do, but make sure it hangs on the outside of the cage because rats love to chew and you don't want to have to buy a new bottle every week.
-Two food dishes. One for fresh food and one for lab blocks. Ceramic is preferred because the rat cannot bite it or tip it over.
-A mineral chew for the rat to grind down it's teeth on.
-Treats! Rats love treats of all kind. My two girls go crazy over yogurt drops and run to the cage door when they hear the bag rustle. Be careful not to feed them too many as there is no real nutritional value to them.
-Toys of all kinds. Rats are very intelligent creatures and need lots of stimulation. Suitable rat toys can be parrot toys, cat toys, ferret toys, tubes, balls, hammocks, and anything else you can think of.
You may also want to consider getting another rat. A lone rat is a sad rat. On average, if you only have one rat, you are supposed to handle it four hours a day. With a second rat, [or a third =) ] the time cuts down to one hour. Not that I’m saying you shouldn’t spend time with it, it’s just that not many people have four spare hours in the day. Also, the rats will usually make great friends and have someone to sleep with when it’s cold, talk to, play with, and just be with in general. Always remember to get a rat of the same gender unless you want a lot of fuzzies everywhere.

Answer 5

Yes, rats make excellent pets, however. . . you may have trouble with this one since it has already showed aggression.
If you can handle him/her, great! You should be able to tell the sex by the presence of testicles. The males can retract them back inside of their body, but they are usually out.

1. Get him a cage -- big enough for when he's full grown
2. Get bedding for the cage -- carefresh preferably. Do not get pine shavings
3. Get food -- pet stores sell food specially designed for rats and mice. They can also eat a lot of people food, but stay away from salts and high fat content. Contrary to popular belief, they don't really like cheese and are somewhat lactose intolerant.
4. Get/make toys and beds -- they love to crawl in empty tissue boxes, tubes and to shred cardboard. If you are not going to get him a friend, he'll need a lot of "enrichment" to keep him busy.
5. Love him! The more you handle him and let him know he won't be harmed the more he'll want to be with you. I take my rats outside for walks on my shoulder and just while I'm doing chores around the house.

One thing to keep in mind; the temperature around his cage should be regulated. Too cold and he will get sick and die, too hot and he could die of heat stroke. Feel the base of his tail regularly to gauge his temperature. This is where they release heat from.

If you have any more questions that I can help you with, e-mail me at [e-mail]
I love to chat about rats!

Answer 6

I'm glad to see someone who takes such good care of their rats. my daughter and i had rats about four years ago and they are great pets if properly cared for. they all lived to ripe old ages and we have been thinking about getting some more. you are right about learning about animals before getting them. have a great time with your rats and thanks for the link.

Answer 7

Rats are awsome pets, i have 5 rats and they are very smart and lovable

Answer 8

let me tell you something rats make great pets!
but if they get lose they can get other rats or mice in the house so make sure to keep him/her were they cant get out

Answer 9

get a cat since the snak failed