Pet Rat care?

Question

My younger brother is looking to get some pet rats, however i find it unlikely he will do a lot of research. Are there any rat owners out there who can give me some tips in order to help my younger brother out. What are some of the most important things to consider. I do have experience with animals i have a dog and a 20 gallon tank of tropical fish however i have never dealt with rodents. Any replies will be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

Housing: A WIRE cage with SOLID floors, at LEAST two cubic feet per rat - no less - placed away from drafts. Not under a window, near a door, or on the floor in the winter. It needs to be on a table during the colder months. No smoking near the rat, unless you want to be taking it to the vet every three months, or even more often than that.

Bedding: NO pine or cedar. These contain phenols which can really make a rat sick. Sawdust is also inappropriate: the dust will irritate their sensitive lungs. Aspen shavings are okay, but paper or fabric-based bedding (polar fleece strips, which can be washed and reused countless times) would be better.

Food: either a home-made mix like Suebee's http://www.ratsrule.com/diet.html supplemented with a good-quality, low-fat, low-protein dog kibble, or lab blocks. Harlan Teklad and Mazuri are the ones recommended by experienced rat-owners, but Altromin will do in a pinch if you can't get the other two. NOT KAYTEE! Kaytee lab blocks contain a carcinogenic preservative, and rats already get tumours ridiculously easily. Rats also need fruit and veggies in moderation. See here for a list of foods to avoid: http://www.petratscanada.com/forbidden_foods.htm

Social needs: Rats are EXTREMELY social and NEED to be kept in pairs or more. There are VERY few exceptions who can't be housed with other rats, because of aggression-related issues. A lone rat is a LONELY rat, and will become clingy, neurotic and, in some cases, aggressive. Always keep rats in same-sex pairs or groups unless the females are spayed. Breeding rats is best left to the experts.

Health: All rats outside of a lab have a bacteria called mycoplasma http://ratguide.com/health/bacteria/mycoplasma_mycoplasmosis.php which not every rat gets sick from, but most will eventually. Humans CANNOT get myco from rats, but the CAN carry it in their lungs from, say, their own pet rats to the ones in a lab. Myco is activated by drafts, stress and poor cage hygiene (not cleaning the cage often or well enough). Active myco NEEDS antibiotics, which only a rat-savvy, preferably exotics, vet can prescribe correctly. It CANNOT be treated with anything over the counter.

Cages need to be cleaned at least once a week, or whenever they start to smell of ammonia, whichever happens first.

Vet bills: Rats are NOT cheap pets, regardless of how much or little you pay for the animal itself. I paid 20 € each for my girls, (this was at a pet shop, and my girls are/were anything but "fancy") and ended up paying about 800 € in vet bills over the last two years. A rat has just as much right to go to the vet as a person has to go to the doctor.

Answer 2

I'm 16 and i've had rats since I was 11 (: The most common species of rat is the fancy rat, along with the dumbo rat, they have many different markings including the Hooded, Masked, Badger, and they come in so many colours it's untrue :') There are pedigree breeds including the Rex, British Blue, Powder blue, agouti, black, rusty, fawn, champagne, the list goes on and on ahah! the most playful, well I've had girls and boys and I don't really think it's up to the breed, but more the gender. Female rats tend to be a lot more adventurous and fun, while males prefer to snuggle up in your bed or on your knee for a nap (: There are a few kinds of rat bites. There are the "GO AWAY I DON'T LIKE YOU!" bites, these are when the rat moves it's bottom two teeth apart and they go either side of the top teeth and can go right down to the bone, these are the most painful bites EVERRRR. then there's the "nomnomFOOD! OH WAIT YOU'RE NOT FOOD SORRY!" bites, they start off as though they are going to bite your finger off, but just before they bite down, they realise it's your finger and you end up with a small, painless nip then there's the playful bite, which is just basically a playful nip, which is usually painless(: I think both genders of rat are equally nice, although when the females are in heat they can be a bit irritable, but also when males are in season they tend to be a bit territorial, so no, I think they're both the same in terms of niceness (: and unless you have about 3 hours a day, YES get two rats. Rats are very sociable and love being with company, human or rat. Rats can get very lonely and depressed on their own, which sometimes leads to health problems such as not eating and drinking, which is ultimately fateful ): I hope this helped and I hope it didn't take you too long to read ahha!

Answer 3

Rats can make awesome companions. It's *much* better to get 2 or 3 of the same sex, they'll be happier & more fun to watch. It's best to adopt from a good breeder or a small animal rescue but pet stores can be ok if that's your only option. Just be sure to handle anyone before bringing them home so you have an idea of their health & temperment. In general, males are lazier & females are more adventurous but each rat has a unique personality just like everyone else.
They're very social & curious creatures, so rats should have daily interaction with their humans. They learn their names pretty quickly but it's easier for them if their names don't sound too much alike.
Cages specifically marketed for rats are usually *way* too small. Glass tanks are stuffy & there's nowhere for them to climb. No pine or cedar bedding-- aspen is ok, or use Carefresh, Total Comfort or a similar bedding. They like hammocks, jingly cat toys & cardboard boxes to play with. Most of our rats haven't been interested in exercise wheels, but all 3 of our current girls use one (our hairless girl actually taught the others how to use the wheel). Our boys aren't interested.
Rats are rodents, so their front teeth continually grow. There are special "chew treats" available from the pet store, or they can have dog biscuits & an occasional nut in the shell.

Answer 4

If your brother isn't old enough/mature enough to educate himself, he really shouldn't be getting a pet to care for. But people do every day anyway, so here's some tips.
NEVER keep females together with males as they breed rapidly and can have over 15 babies in a litter every 4 weeks or so. And can start breeding at 5 weeks of age.
Females are more active than males but they don't scent mark so their cage is easier to keep clean.
Males are more cuddely.
Rats are social so he should get at least two. You can usually keep girls together no matter how old or whether or not they are related.
If he wants males he should get a pair of brothers from the same litter as males can fight and kill eachother if you try and put unrelated ones together (especially if they are not the same age).
As far as cages go, the bigger the better. Absolutely NO cage that is designed for hamsters is big enough. You don't want to get anything smaller than the Super Pet brand Critters cage (turquise blue color with a wheel). There is a Super Pet's My First Home cage that they say is for rats, but it is in no way big enough and is only used as an extra cage for sick or elderly rats.
Rodents have very fragile respiratory systems, so using wood shaving bedding is really bad for them.
The best brand of bedding to use is CareFresh.
Kaytee brand block food for Rats/Mice is good as well.

For a great community and absolutely ANYTHING you could ever want to learn about rats and owning them, you and/or your brother should go to:
http://www.fancy-rats.co.uk/community/

Answer 5

Look at cages in a pet shop. Ideal cage for rats is one with a plastic bottom and wire bars. People say the best ones for rats are the really big ones but what the rats are meant to stand on is wire? I prefer mine to stand on plastic as their feet could fall through wire and cut them or get stuck. To start him off with, Get a 2 brothers/2 sisters so that if he doesn't handle them they have each other for company and make sure YOU handle them. If he is slightly older (I got my first rat when i was 11, I had one little boy called Scabbers.) Then you could consider just getting one. Scabbers came when called and I had him out a lot (I forgot some days, who doesn't?). He may not want to handle the rat because they have sharp claws. You should feed it the same food as it has in the pet shop.

A heavy food bowl like the ones dogs have but a really small rodent one is a good bowl to use as they can't tip it over. Its best to wait a month and see if your brother gets over wanting a rat, Has he watched the film rattatouie or however its spelt recently? Or has one of his friends got a pet rat? Little kids go through phases. I bet when he watched 101 dalmatians he wanted a dalmatian. You have to think about whether he will neglect it after a few days when the fact that he has a new pet has worn off.

MAKE your brother read up on them, get him a book on rats and go through it with him. The rat will need one of them water bottles that stands up sort of like a rabbits but smaller. One that clips onto the cage. If you get a hamster sized one, It will need filling up regularly.


"One fear expressed by potential rat-owners is that if they get more than one rat, the animals will bond together and be less tame as a result. The opposite is usually the case, as solitary rats can easily become clingy, introverted and neurotic. Rats kept in pairs or groups are happier, more confident, and no more difficult to tame."
I have 2 sister rats now and they try and bite me and claw my shoulders and all sorts!! The solitary male i had Hid in my hair, NEVER bit me once, used to lick my hands and cheek and bite my cheek really gently as a sort of kiss and he used to run under my bed. When i called him, He came back. MOST rat owners will tell you they are better kept in pairs but I don't agree.

Answer 6

I had a pet rat once. He used to ride around on my shoulder. Because he was so sweet, several of my friends went out and got one too. One of the rats became a mascot for an elementary school class.They make great pets, much better than gerbils and hamsters. They are much cuddlier, though not as cute. He needs to research them first. They are intelligent and have real personalities. They have health issues and needs that are different than more common rodent pets. There are books for rat owners. Tell him to be picky and willing to spend some money on a rat bred to be a pet. The cheap feeder rats are not hearty and won't live as long, usually. But, as long as they live, they can be good friends. When picking one out, get a young one. You want one who is not jumpy. He/she should be curious and relatively calm around people. He may want to get a female if the giant testes on the adult males bother him.
He should know that their pee is strong smelling and the bedding must be changed frequently. But the rat itself is a clean pet.

Answer 7

No cages with wire bottoms, flat surfaces and use care fresh bedding, no cedar chips.
Get vitamin drops for the water,food pellets are fine but they need fresh veggies or fruit at least 3 times a week.
Give them things they can tear up like empty toilet paper rolls and such.
Get to know their bodies, be familair with them. They develope tumors easily.
Do not place their cages by a window, drafts and smoke yes even ciggarete smoke is hazardous to them.

They can develop a respitory problem at the drop of a hat. Lots of interaction, they are like small dogs, seriously.
No chocolate, caffiene, or alchohol. Hopfully thats common sense.

You can get a plastic ball for them to roll around in, but I find they just poop in it and end up rolling around in their own crap.

Clean their enclosure 1 a week, freaksihly clean it, seriously dude.

It is always important to locate a vet that caters to small animals. If this rat gets sick you want to knwo where to go, don't wait on sickness either.

Rats have retty good threshholds for illness, by the time you have noticed something wrong. It's prbably been 2 or three weeks of the rat being ill.

Separate the sex's, don't breed them.

Don't put stupid hats on them.

Answer 8

Even tho your brother probably isn't going to do much research on rats, I'm glad your doing a bit of research for him! Theirs ALLOT of things your brother should know before having rats. First off does he want boys or girls. Girls are more active and will want to play and explore more. Boys are lazier and prefer cuddling with you. He should get rats in atleast a pair of 2... and of course both of the same sex, or he can end up with quite a few rats! The reason why I'm saying he should get them in pairs, is that whenever he is not there to play with them, they will have each other to avoid boredom and possibly depression.
Housing is also very important for rats, some say that fish tanks are good for rats. I prefer wired cages because they give the rats proper ventilation and helps rats avoid respiratory problems. The cage itself had to be big enough (no hamster cages). I find chinchilla caged/ ferret cages can be good for rats. Inside the cage I give my rats mostly bird toys because their arn't many toys made for rats. You can swap the toys around every week to avoid boredom.
Food is very important for rats! Do not give them hamster or mouce pet store food. You can get rat food in stores but I find rats to be picky and choose wich foods out of the rat mix they will eat. Lab blocks are good because they have all the right nutrients. Treats are fun to train your rats, but also for rewards, and getting them use to you. I find yogurt drops to be the best store bought treats. Plz don't feed them junk food as treats! You'll find that rattys will enjoy their greens allot more! You can give them things like carrots, brocoli, grapes and apple slices.
If you are living with your brother, other pets in the house might be a problem. This is not always the case as I have a cat, and she ignores my rats. Depending on the type of dog you have, you wont want to let your dog play with the rats as he might kill them by instinct. If you have mice or hamsters in the house it can also be dangerous to let them play toghether because rats have predator instincts! My brother let my rats go need my dwarf hamster the other day without my knoledge... he didn't know any better...they only sniffed each other thank god!

Theirs allot more your brother should know about rats before buying one. Here's a good site that can help him getting started http://www.lilratscal.com/.

Good luck with getting rats to both you and your brother, I'm sure you guys will really enjoy them!

Answer 9

Spend time with them, the rat that I had she loved when I spent time with her. Train them to go on your shoulders and such. They are alot of fun. I suggest getting a large cage not one with a wire bottom either, one where they can run around in the bedding. Make sure you give them a place to get away, or hide. Fresh water, food...pellets...and also mine loved Clover...thats why I named her clover. Salt and Mineral Wheel, treats like cheerios and such...no need to spend any extra money on treats. Good luck!!