| Male or female? Male and female rats make excellent pets, it's really up to the person to decide. Here are some pointers (a general rule of thumb) MALES: when they are older they are lazier, most times bigger than the females, "squishy" and a little obesse sometimes and are more likey to be lap and shoulder rats. Some people say they have a muskier odor than the females and they do scent mark with little dabs of urine where ever they go. FEMALES: tend to be more active and outgoing, very allert, curious, most of the times aren't real cuddlers like their male counterparts, and don't tend to scent mark. However all rules must be broken at some point, so there is male rats out there that are very active and their are some lazy scent marking females out there but usually it's the other way around. Keep in mind that depending on where you get a female rat, she might be pregnant. How many should I get? Most rat owners will tell you to get atleast 2 because rats are very social animals. However I'd advise getting two from the same place to discourage fighting. However if you adopted an older rat, especially a male, that's between 6 months to a year old or older that has never lived with other rats since weaned then they might not like a roommate, sadly. I have a few rats like that. :( Where should I buy/adopt a rat from? You can get rats at allot of places. Petshops are probably the most common place to get a first rat(s). But I advise people to ask local rescues, humane society's, and even dog pounds to see if they have any rats in need of home. Also look in newspapers, internet adds, etc for people who had accidental litters or for ratteries. If you get from a petshop please be aware that these rats are often not handled, were probabl bred to be food, are most likely inbred, and just might not have a good temprament. Also buying from feeder bins supports this cruel practice. However if you resort to a petshop ask if they have been handled, if the females are separate from the males, what bedding do they use, are they friendly, etc. Petshop rats quite often come home pregnant as well as some shelters and rescues where people drop off the rats with both genders mixed in one cage, etc. Allot of people will say ratteries is the best place to get rats (especially small ratteries that only breed 1-3 litters at a time) because GOOD ratteries handle the rats since they're babies, feed them the best food, breed for good health and temrament, and have a wide variety to choose from. I will add some internet links to other ratteries on here soon but if you need them before hand just ask e-mail me! My rattery is located in Southern NH. :) GENERAL CARE QUESTIONS- What bedding is best? whatever you do, DO NOT use cedar or pine bedding!! I can't stress this enough! Cedar and pine bedding gives rats and other pocket pets respitory problems that can result in death. Better bedding to choose from would be paper prducts like CareFresh, Yesterday's News etc. Other good beddings are SaniChips, Aspen, or Corncob bedding. corncob when wet can mold easily and carefresh has an odd smell to it, I find. But these are all good beddings you can find on the internet, at local petstores, at feed stores, or even at Walmart! If you hve a large nimber of cages to clean you may want to use "Stove pellets". These are the wood chips that you feed some wood stoves. They are cheap, come in bulk and I hear they are safe to use. What food is best? When I had my first rat I fed him a totally unbalanced completely fresh people food diet. However he grew to be VERY large and often had skin problems due to lack of vitamins. There is something called Lab Blocks or Rodent blocks or even Rat and Mouse Pellets that have EVERYTHING a rat nees in it. Even if you don't feed a rat solely lab blocks it is good to supliment their diet with it. High quaility Gerbil/Guinea pig/Parrot Mix is Ok if you suppliment it with treats, fresh fruits and veggies and vitamins in their water. All rats should get fresh foods from time to time. However DO NOT give them caffine, Chocolate, sugery items, iceburg lettuce or carbanated bevrages. They can often get quite attached to sugery foods and refuse to eat anything else. Carbanated bevrages can cause gas in their stomache and ultamately they will bloat to death, iceburg lettuce I don't feed to anybody because it often results in dirreah and chocolate isn't good for any pet really... There is one odd food you should never feed MALE rats. Orange juice and orange rhines can increase the likelyhood of liver cancer in male rats. If you fed your rats some oranges or orange Juice, don't worry, just don't feed it to them again. Oranges for some reason do not effect female rats or mice. Check out this article for more information on this: http://www.rmca.org/Articles/oj.htm What size/type cage is best? I really don't like the use of aquariums except as maternity wards or for furless rats but if you can't find anything better a 30 gallon aquarium will house two rats that get time out of the cage nicely. Wire cages are prefered, and ramps etc are always nice but it is always good to cover wire ramps with cardboard or something so they don't get their feet stuck. Cages around the same size or bigger than a 30 gallon tank is preffered for two rats (more rats= bigger cage!) There are quite nice cages for fair prices at http://www.martinscages.com but don't just look at rat cages, browse a bit! Ferret cages work nicely and I even have a cat cage for mine! Ferncages is also a nice place to buy cages. People ask me if they can use bird cages. I don't recommend it but if it's large enough I suppose there's no problem. (NEVER let a rat meet a bird! even the sweetest rat will kill a bird instantly if given the chance!!!) How can I spend quaility time with my new rat? Rats are very good pets because they are intellegent, often learn their names and are even trainable. Some people let their rats "Free Range" around a given room or sometimes even the whole house. Keep an eye on them to make sure they don't chew any chords, escape out the window, etc. Male rats will often sit on your shoulders for hours. Petting and playing with rats is the best way to bond. I got a furless rat does s/he need any special care? Furless rats get scratches easier and scar easier so a clean cage is good. Also warmth is an issue, since they have no fur you should really either have them in a warm room or, I hate to say this, but a fish tank. Also if you got a female furless from a petshop or plan on breeding a female furless keep in mind that often they can't lactate and the babies parish unless they find a serogate mother, or are handfed. Some people think furless rats need to be "oiled down" with baby oil to keep their skin healthy... I never had to do this but it does sound like fun. ;) I hear furless rats are best kept with other furlesses as they understand the delacacy of eachother's skin and don't tend to scratch each other as much. A higher protein diet is also better for furlesses as more protien=more heat is produced to keep them warm. Keep them away from drafts and give them a blanket (in fact all rats like blankets and cloth hammocks!) |
| Before You Get a Rat Questions |