I just got a pet rat today...?

Question

I was wondering any good advice I could find out from any rat owners that would be important to know. What are good snacks, how to litter train them, how to teach them their name etc. Thanks to answers!

Also, is there anyway I can find out what kind he is? He is a cream & white color.

P.S. I named him Mista Kat!

Answer 1

First of all, no rat should ever be housed alone. If you want a happy, healthy rat, a rat buddy would be the best thing you could possibly do. A single rat is a lonely rat. You cannot spend as much time as you'd need to with your new baby when they have no friend to spend the rest of their time with!

Snacks- Yoggies. Hands down. They love these and they make great treats when you are trying to train them!

Litter training- I'm posting this from http://www.dapper.com.au/articles.htm#litter where you'll find some wonderful information.

1. Find the corner of the cage that your rats usually go to the toilet, then place a tray filled with litter there. I use flat tupperware containers available from discount stores for about AUD$2 as a litter tray.
2. Toss in any raisins or wet litter you can find in the cage to make it smell like a rat toilet area.
3. Now this is the most important part... Remove all litter from the rest of the cage, or use a different bedding. It's essential that your rats can distinguish between the toilet area and the living area. e.g. I use Breeders Choice recycled paper pellets in the litter tray, and old towels and fabric strips elsewhere as bedding.
4. Place your rats in the tray to show them it's there. If they go elsewhere in their cage, say "No!" and place the rat (and the raisins) in the litter tray. If they go in the tray, praise them like crazy and give them their favourite treat. They'll soon get the idea.

Often this training method will only work for raisins, not pee... especially with male rats who are determined to keep their cage well scented. You can try removing pee smells by using products like Nilodor or vanilla, but often it just makes them more determined to re-scent it. Of course, there's also those stubborn rats who simply will not use a tray no matter how hard you try. Persist... after all, every raisin in the tray is one less you have to pick up later.

Teach name- When teaching your rat a trick, for instance coming to his name, repeat the word while holding a treat. When he comes to you release the treat to him, praise him verbally, and/or reward by giving physical contact such as scratching or by holding him.

The best advice I can give you is to play with your new rat a lot! Please get your rat a friend. I cannot stress that enough. Get yourself educated on the health issues a rat can have (such as an upper respiratory infection) so you know the signs to look for. All new rats sneeze, so after a few weeks if your rat continues to do this, a vet appointment might be a good idea. Don't use wood bedding (Pine or Ceder) only use Aspen. Carefresh is a good option but some rats are allergic. Yesterday's News I found to work quite well! Food- homemade is the best. It is the most nutritional option for a rat.

Try this:
http://petinfopackets.com/rats/ratfeeding.html

Anything you feed should always, always be supplemented with fresh foods - veggies, fruits, meat... those kinds of things. Do not buy Kay-Tee products as they have had a lot of issues and use corn as the main ingredient (not very healthy). Lab blocks that have healthy ingredients first (not corn!) are the best option if you cannot provide home made. They are nutritionally complete and if young enough, rats will take to them fairly easily.

If you want to feed them what you are eating (meaning they have their own food but you want them to have a piece of whatever you are eating) check it out against the forbidden food list.
Forbidden foods:
http://www.petratscanada.com/forbidden_foods.htm

Please email me with any questions!

Good luck!
=)

Answer 2

I think you are over-reaching and over-estimating. Not ready for rats, IMO, especially if you don't know basic cost and supplies. Research should be done EONS before going out to get the pet and you should walk into the store or to the breeder/rescue KNOWING everything you can. "I don't want any smell whatsoever" Well, tough. There is going to be a smell. Living things that eat, poop, and pee have ODORS. Period. Reducing the smell is easy (make sure cage is big enough, use proper bedding, proper cleaning methods, etc) but it will never smell like nothing is there. At the very least you will smell bedding. And male rats urine mark, so urine smell is probable. The more you clean, the more they mark too. So expect musky smell with males. I don't think the smell is "unpleasant" but your mom will smell something. "I will give it all the attention it needs until I get a buddy for him" No, you won't. Because you CAN'T. You are not a rat so you cannot provide for ALL of his social needs. When you are sleeping and at school/work, your rat will be alone. That's more than half the day where you will not be available. And even when you are available, you cannot communicate or offer basic rat socializations. Proper grooming, play, snuggle, etc. They have their own unique lifestyle you cannot replicate. "if my mom says it doesn't stink, then we can get another one in a couple days" A couple of days won't tell you if an animal stinks or not. Baby rats grow, you know, which means more pee/poo and more potential smell. And you won't be able to tell how the rats respond to your cleaning methods. What if mom decides rats are too smelly and you can only keep the one? And you are aware that you can't just get a second rat and throw them together, right? You need to quarantine the new rat for a minimum of three weeks (unless you WANT to risk spread of disease) and you need to go through a proper introduction (which can take another week or two in and of itself.)

Answer 3

The most important toy is a big enough running wheel; this is really important to keep a rat happy.
You can't really litter train them. But they eventually get the idea that you don't like being peed on. They are easy to clean up after, though.
Just use the name a lot. I've had lots of rats. I'm not sure they really know their names, but they do know their friends. So, talk to him and play with him a lot.
Rats can eat most things that people do, and these are okay as treats; just no chocolate. (Mine have gotten into my candy bars anyway, and they were fine, but chocolate isn't good for them.)
Be cautious with peanut butter. I once had a rat almost choke to death on peanut butter. She just stuffed her mouth with it and couldn't breathe, and peanut butter was come out her eyes! But I managed to dig the peanut butter out of her mouth and open her airway again.

Answer 4

I haven't litter trained my rats but they have never pooped on me either. They only poop in their cage, which is fine with me! They are good little girls... I feed mine almost anything I'm eating. Popcorn (I just wipe off the salt), carrots, chips, really anything. Just not too much... They are a lot of fun so enjoy your rat! Hold it as often as you can so it gets used to you! =) Mine was just riding around on my shoulder as I did some household chores, lol.

They are sweet pets. Good luck!

Answer 5

Apples, bananas etc are pretty good snacks, also healthy.
Make a shorter name for it (My old rats name was scabbers and current are aly and eve) And keep calling it by its name, You can also make a funny noise using your teeth by sucking air in which they respond to well. Get a little box and keep putting their poop in it, they will eventually get the idea. Email me if you want any more advice, thanks :D

And congrats!

Answer 6

To teach them their name, with my baby, it was relay the tone i used when i said her name. i know she knew her name. They don't really litter train, but honestly it doesn't smell bad at all if u clean the cage enough. and if they pee on your arm or something, it looks like little drops of water. its not bad at all. rats are the best pets rodent wise. they are smart and mine never ever bit me. But just get check ups at the vet cause honestly, they are prone to get tumors. mine did and i had to put her to sleep.:( She was one of the best pets Ive ever had.

Answer 7

dapper.com is my first choice. it gives you a lot of information on rats, their behaviors, different breeds, and has a bunch of adorable pictures!

Answer 8

Whenever they poo on you put them back in there cage so that they will learn not to do that on you. Also some good snacks are banana chips, water dipped in bread and carrots. Don't give them cheese because they'll get sick. And just keep saying there name.

Hope this helps.

Answer 9

Go to ask.com or rats.com (there is such thing!!!)
Good Luck!