i really want a rat but i no ALOT about rats and i really want one but should i get one? is it worth it?

Question

are rats really good pets? i mean like teeth wise!!! or will it be ok in a loud room? or something? does it need attention ALL day?

Answer 1

First of all, rats are probably the least likely typical pet rodents to bite. I say this a lot, but I compare rats to dogs rather than other rodents. Like dogs, they are extremely social and accept you as part of their family, one of them. Once comfortably used to you, they also have that will to please (for treats), also like dogs. Most rodents do not have nearly as much interest in their owner, simply because they naturally either aren't social or aren't quite as docile.

And you should know that ALL prey animals instinctfully run and hide before ever attacking. At first, your rats will be frightened of you, of course, and you will notice that they will scamper into a hide and stay there for hours at a time. Only when you try to grab at them and they feel it is impossible for them to run away will they ever bite you. When/if you do get them, don't try to handle for the first 2-3 days at all. You can put your hand in the cage and even offer them food, but wait until a few days before really taking them out. It's very stressful otherwise and may result in biting. But if you take it slowly, and remember that they are tiny, fearful animals, you will never once get bitten. Just to add, rats have horrible eye sight, and tend to nibble on things to see if they are edible, so if ever they nip your fingers, don't jump, they are just tasting and will always do it so gently you won't get hurt at all.

Rat's have ever-growing teeth, which means they do chew on things as part of trimming them. They cannot chew through metal. But if you let them run around a room filled with electrical wires, chances are they will nibble on them. If you're going to put them anywhere there are electrical wires, you can either lay them on top of something out of reach, or get wire hiding panels from a hardware store, or even tape them to the wall. Keep all valubles away from rats as well. No only could they damage something, but they also have a tendency to 'stash' things they like if given the freedom to do so.

You should feed them a high quality retail lab block or high quality seed mix. You can also made seed mixes at home. Lab blocks are often enough to keep their teeth trim. Feed daily. Change water daily to every other day. (read sites listed below)

Loud rooms aren't exactly ideal, but even an older rat will get used to a loud noise level. Just start slowly, especially when they first arrive home. If you can, lower the volume (i don't know the source of sound, but if it's something like music) as much as possible (although not total silence since they might as well start getting used to it immediately), and after a week, start increasing the volume.

As I said, rats are VERY social. They DO need daily (at least an hour) attention from you. But all rats need socialization for more most of the day. Unless you are actually willing to devote ALL day to playing with it, get a same-sexed friend. Many people have suggested keeping such a social animal like a rat alone (even for some of the day) results in neurological problems and stress.

Rats carry as much "diseases" as any other animal found in a pet store. The most well known infection recieved from rats was the plague, and that hasn't been around for years. Rabies is another common infection, but no more rats have that than hamsters or guinea pigs. Unless you get yourself a wild rat, the chances of you catching anything at all are quite poor. All animals (humans included) have "germs". Regular cleaning is the way to prevent nasty things from growing in their cage.

While rats are naturally nocternal, they actually do chnge their sleeping habits based on the times you wake up and go to sleep. All of my rats sleep soundly at night. If yours are awake while you sleep, you may find that they are extremely noisey, unless in another room. If you want them to sleep at the same time as you, stick them to a basic schedule, and they will quickly adjust.

All animals CAN smell really badly. Proper and regular cleaning is necessary. For bedding you can use aspen, paper-based, or cloth. Never use either pine or cedar, they are toxic. For both aspen and paper pulp, you will need to empty it out completely every week. Then wash the base in hot water with disinfecting soap, or a 1:8 bleach-water solution. Rinse thoroughly, and dry before putting new litter in. You can also use cloth lined along the bottom. Avoid anything with loops (like towels) as the rats' claws will get caught. For cloth, you will need you launder in mild detergent or replace once to twice weekly. You can also litter train them to make cleaning a whole lot easier. If you do, empty out litter tray daily. Also, males have more odor than females, but males can still be kept clean.

The rule with cages is the bigger the better. Steer away from tanks, they have poor ventilation. When you go cage shopping, you will realise how darn expensive decent cage really is (unless money isn't an issue). There are tons of alternative methods of building your own. (read sites listed below)

Rats are also highly suseptalbe to many illnesses. Review signs for all the symptoms, and have a vet ready. Rat's are not cheap or disposable. If the time comes, you will need to fork over a few bucks for medicine. The good thing is that it's usually really cheap because the doses are so small. But just to prevent sickness down the road, know how to prevent things like respiratory infections or mites. (read sites listed below)

Everything I've mentioned will be expanded in these sites.
http://www.rmca.org/Resources/rmcafaq.htm
http://www.petratscanada.com/ratcare.htm
http://www.dapper.com.au/index.htm
http://www.curiosityrats.com/infodiy.html
http://www.ratz.co.uk/

Answer 2

Rats make excellent pets but they are not CHEAP pets. Rats get sick quite often and need veterinary care. They sometimes need surgery. If you cannot afford a vet, don't get a pet, especially not rats.

If you CAN afford vet care, then rats might be for you. Rats are highly intelligent and they are also very social. You will need to get TWO rats because just one will be very lonely. Rats NEED other rats, no matter how much time you spend with your rat.

RATS DO NOT CARRY DISEASE. Will you people who keep saying this please do some research?? We are talking about PET RATS, who have been domesticated for hundreds and hundreds of years. Even WILD rats don't carry much disease, pet rats certainly don't! I'm not saying you can never catch something from your pet rats -- you can catch things for cats and dogs too -- but it's highly unlikely that your PET rat will ever make you sick. Mosquitos are FAR more deadly than all the rats ever born!

Rats do need some attention. They like to come out of their cage and play with you -- plan on playing with them for at least an hour a day. Part of the 'play' can be cleaning the cage -- rats love to 'help'!! You will need a BIG cage and it will need to be cleaned often. If you keep it clean it WILL NOT SMELL.

Most pet rats don't bite. I've had rats for 7 years and have never been bitten.

Here are some links where you can read more about these wonderful animals:
http://www.dapper.com.au/
http://www.ratbehavior.org/rats.html
http://www.ratfanclub.org/events.html

And here's where you can buy the best (and least expensive) rat cages made (make SURE you get the powder coating):
http://www.martinscages.com/

Have fun!

Answer 3

Rats can be very good pets.Most rats aren't aggressive although if they do bite and aren't simply tasting your fingers then they can bite hard.I wouldn't recommend keeping them in a loud room simply because they are rodents.If its noisy here and there then it'd probably be alright.They should be given attention every day: an hour or so would do.It's a good idea to get a pretty large cage but make sure that the bars are smaller(1/2" x 1" would be ideal).Also make sure you clean the cage at least once a week and be sure to use the correct bedding since rats can develop respiratory problems fairly easily.If you want a rat and can provide it everything it need(material wise and more) then I'd say go for it.

Answer 4

Rats will poop on you until they get used to you, but after that its very rare in well socialized rats. Check out the dapper rat link I left you on your other question about rats fighting. Theres a link to trust training new rats as well as litter training, which is completely possible. A litter trained rat will try to avoid messing anywhere thats not its litter, which makes it very easy to avoid getting pooped on. Peeing on the other hand is a whole different story. Both male and female rats scent mark, its a 'hi, i've been here, I'm making sure I remember and that everyone else knows I have' type of thing. Male rats scent mark more than females, and having testicles, it tends to get...spread. Urine doesn't smell, its only when left in the cage and not cleaned that it smells. Its inevitable that you'll get peed on by your rats, you just have to deal with it. Boy rats can get kind of stinky because of their peeing habits, but bathing can help with that. I start out bathing all my baby rats within a few weeks of getting them (after i've done the trust training and socialization of them) I first just put them in the sink with a small amount of warm water, pet them with a wet hand and just talk to them. Take them out, give them a treat and dry them off. I repeat that a few days later, working up to using a mild animal shampoo (or dawn dish detergent, original... its good on boy rats) I'll bathe my females once a month or so, you don't want to do it too often because its not good for their skin, but its something you can do if the odor bothers you. You can find bathing instructions on the dapper rat site too. I hope that helps.

Answer 5

I have had two rats before and it wasn't a good experience, but they ended up being sick and abused at the pet store and that is why they were like this.

Rats are good pets. Rats are calm, docile, attentive, and affectionate. You can do many different things with a rat; you can litter train them, teach them tricks, teach them their name, and get them to sit on your shoulder while you walk around or just sit and watch tv. They are bigger than other rodents so they are easy to handle. Rats do not bite unless they feel threatened, but that's how all animals are. Your rat will be alright in a loud room. Unlike guinea pigs, rats aren't very skittish and sleep a good deal of the time. They can sleep through anything, so loud noise wouldn't harm them. You can leave them alone for long periods at a time with food, water, a wheel, chew toys, and clean bedding. You should still handle a rat as much as you can so they can get used to you and you can enjoy owning one.

They are much less attentive than chinchillas and guinea pigs, and they do not need an ultra special diet, just rat food at your PetSmart or local pet store.

Hope this helped!

Answer 6

I got my daughter a rat for her Bday and before that I had owned two of them. They are good pets, all of them that I have had didn't bite as long as you didn't hurt them, and they need attention just like any pet. For instances, every night my daughters rat will climb up to the cage door and wait for her to reach in and pet him, she handles him at least once a day. They should have their cage changed weekly, and fed daily. Water should be changed every other day, and there food can be bought at any pet store and is reasonably priced. I also buy yogurt snacks for our rat and he loves them. If you really want one and think you can handle their care, than yes, I think rats can be good pets.

Answer 7

I'd say any pet needs a good amount of attention, but if you are worried about not being home during the day, the rat will be fine. If you are going to keep it in your bed room, keep in mind that they love chewing on the bars of their cages at night - they are mostly nocturnal animals. I found that I got used to it, but if you don't think you could, you could always keep it in a different room.

They are surprisingly smart and clean animals (providing you don't keep one from off the street, of course), and can be trained.

Answer 8

You can get a tame rat at your local pet store. They're already used to loud noises & shouldn't shy away from strangers (such as you will be at first).

As long as you feed your rodent & give him plenty of water & a salt wheel....& don't squeeze him....he shouldn't bite you.

You can get chew sticks for him (or her) to take some of the edge off of their teeth. It's very healthy for them to be able to dull those incisors.

Rodents of all kinds can make great pets if you can invest the time, love & money in them that's needed.

Answer 9

our first pet rat was a great pet. she had great personality, and really created no problems for us. we would keep her out all night and she would sleep with us. and we would leave snacks out for her to eat in the middle of the night. she loved attention but got along fine without CONSTANT attention.

as with all rodents their teeth grow so just keep some of those wooden chew sticks in the cage with them and if the teeth do start growing too much just take them to the vet to get their teeth filed otherwise they can't eat.

we have six people in our very loud family and she didn't seemed to bothered by it so i guess it would be okay just as long as you don't stress the poor animal out too much.

you just have to get lucky with th e rat you do choose coz not all have a great personality.

unfortunatly for us we fed our rat too much fast food and it got a tumor the size of a golfball and we had to put her down. so don't give them fries. we leaned the hard way.

Answer 10

Yes, you should, it's worth it. I have a pet rat, it does fine with noise and doesn't freak out. It's never bitten anyone. It doesn't need attention ALL day, but it needs some attention. It doesn't cause trouble, and is a good pet.

Answer 11

They're good pets. Mine didn't bite me - maybe a nip from time to time but doesn't really hurt. They do like quiet. They don't need attention all day, they just like to explore so they need to be let out from time to time. You can leave them while you work or school and when you get back you can play - they'll sleep through the day most likely