Advice on owning rats as pets

Question

My two little dwarf hamsters recently passed away. I was upset but it was nice that they passed away peacefully together..

Anyway, I'd like a new small pet to look after now; not to replace them, I just enjoy owning small mammals and I'd like to get a pet rat.

I'd like some advice on the following things though:

Are rats friendly and do they like being held?

Do they bite?

Where can I buy cages, what sort of cages do I need?

Where can I get a good pet rat from (I live in England)?

What sort of toys and food etc. do they like?

Are rats clean or do they stink?

Are they expensive to look after?

Thanks, any advice is greatly appreciated!

Answer 1

rats are very friendly and love to be held. they love human companionship.

rats don't bite. they may but it is very rare. rats are the least likely rodent to bite.

u want to buy a multi level cage. chinchilla cages work very well. and u can buy the cages at your local pet store.

i don't live in england. but look on-line or in the newspaper for local rat breeders. they usually have the best rats.

you have to experiment what rats like. each rat is different. and likes a different kind of food and is entertained in a different way.

rats are very clean. they clean themselves very often. they can keep themselves clean by themselves but every few months u may want to give them a quick little bath.

rats aren't to expensive. the cages might get a little pricey but not to bad. they are very easy to take care of. just make sure u keep an eye out for illness.

hope this helped!!  

Answer 2

Rats are very friendly and love being held and cuddled, when you spend time with them, anyway. I've adopted a few older guys who were loving right from adoption, but usually they need some time to adjust and learn to trust.

Anything with teeth can bite. :P  But the only time I've personally been bit was by a new rat mom.  Usually, you have to push rats pretty hard and make them pretty uncomfortable, and they'll warn you with their body language before they actually bite.

You need a large cage.  I'm not sure of English brands, but I'll link you to a good rat cage calculator that will help you determine if the cage you're looking at is big enough.  I know a lot of people in England who got their cages off ebay, and it was fairly cheap.

Adoption would be the best choice for where to find one, but I dont' know how many rescues there are.  I don't know where you live, but I may know someone in England who bought a pregnant female from a pet store not long ago, and she'll be needing homes...

They like lab blocks, which are really nutritious but can be hard to find in England.  Sorry I can't be much help. >.<  Toy wise, hammocks, and chewy-stuff, and really just about anything can be a toy.  Just make sure it won't splinter or hurt them.  Ferret toys can often work quite well for rats.

Rats are clean animals- they groom a lot.  Of course, they do often pee on each other, and any animal will get stinky if you haven't cleaned up after them.  You'll need to get at least a pair of frats, though.

Any pet can be expensive.  Rats aren't as expensive as say .. A parrot?  But they are pricey.  You'll need to spend a good amount on the cage, but after that it's just food, toys, and bedding (Aspen is a good one, if you can't find paper litter.), and vet bills if they need it.

Answer 3

1)Yes!Rats are very friendly and they love to be held.You should hold them everyday at least for an hour.

2)They only bite if they feel threatened.Also remember that they are blind,and may bite you when you are giving them a snack because they mistake you for food.

3)You can buy cages from your local pet store.A wire or glass cage is acceptable.

4)You SHOULD get a rat from a rodent breeder.The ones from stores are not as used to human and tend to die earlier from mites or diseases.2 or my rats have died just DAYS after my purchase of them from stores.

5)You should get it a wheel,a water bottle,bedding(DO NOT USE ASPEN!It could lead to respiratory problems in the future),a food with a variety of fruits and vegetables,a food bowl,and a medium sized house.

6)Yes,they do stink,but in my opinion,not as bad as mice.You should change its cage every week and give it a bath as often as you change its cage.

7)No,I don't think they are that expensive.You just have to buy food and bedding when you run out of it.Food and bedding should last at least a month.Just make sure you buy a big and roomy cage for it to grow in.If you don't buy a big enough one,you going to have to buy another one.OH!And a cage top also(usually only for glass cages)!Rats are great escape artists!Make sure you have something heavy to put on top of the cage.

Good luck with your rat!

Answer 4

im getting rats on friday and ive been researching you need a large cage for rats not hamsters look on ebay or pet shop there liek 90 pound in petshop tho you could try making cage email me if u wnat help you cant buy sawdust as cuases lung problems and bottom of cage has to be plastic, carefresh is what i bought for bedding and put bits of cardboard and tissue in althogether cost me  6pound 50 for all will last month, food isnt too pricy altough theres a rat food whats a mix rats will eat the tasty stuff and leave healthy stuff so its best to get chunks to live in i got mine a plastick bed and a hammock. rats are clever u can teach them simple tricks and potty train them with the right equitment.   oh and dont get one rat get 2 or more becuase it will be lonly the petshop near me only sells 2 rats unless u have more already 2 is not harder to look after  oh and to choose sexxes

girls are more hyper and cleaner

boys are more lazy and grumpy and pee alot more

they need a fresh supply of water evreday ect oh to teach tricks buy some treats like yogurt drops or somthing like 55p a bag

any other questions please email

you can buy rats from petshops or breeders look on preeloved.com craiglisst.com gumtree.com for people who sell near you

rats do not stink unless u dont clean their cage once a week and do a spot check erey week

hope i helped

ohh and rats do not bite unless you dont give chew toys or u tease them they loved to be interacted with climb on your sholder walk around with you you need to take a hour time evrey day to handle them but when you get them wait 2 days before handaling teaching tricks as need to get yoused to enviroment

sorry so many  edits didnt read propprly lol

Answer 5

Rule #1: They should be kept in pairs/groups. NEVER alone! Very social animals.

Bedding: NO pine or cedar! (Yesterday's News and Carefresh are good quality beddings)

Expensive?: Vet visits can be, if your rat gets ill. For a healthy rat, it's not very expensive.

Biting: They are not prone to biting. They tend to only do it out of fear.

Friendly/Handling: They're VERY friendly animals, and once they trust you, they definitely love to be handled and hang out on your shoulders.

Clean?: They only stink if you do not keep the cage properly cleaned. Males have a small natural odor to them, but nothing excessive.

Where to get?: Shelters/rescues and breeders are recommended. Pet stores are also appropriate, but should not be the first choice if possible.

Cages: Any pet shop should provide adequate cages. You want to find a cage that has bars with 1/2 inch spacing, and with dimensions similar to 30"L x 18" W x 30"H for 2 or 3 rats. The bigger the better.

Toys: Bird toys & cardboard tubes. Hammocks are great, too.

Food: Lab blocks. Avoid seed mixtures because rats will pick & choose what to eat, not getting the complete diet. Regal Rat, Mazuri, Harlan Teklad......good brands.

P.S. I'm from the US, not sure if all of this is available in England or not. Hopefully so!

Answer 6

I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. At least they passed away together, right?

I would recommend getting some rat books and magazines. I left a link to a website that has helped me A LOT!

Are rats friendly? Yes!! They love people! They need at least 2 hours out of the cage each day to be happy.

Do they bite? All animals will bite if threatened or hurt, but believe it or not hamsters are the rodents most likely to bite (especially dwarf hammies, which you have experience with.) Rats rarely will bite and luckily, you can learn to spot the body language of a rat that wants to bite.

Cages can be bought in all pet stores! I included a website called Martin's Cages. They make THE BEST cages for rats! Otherwise, any wire cage will do. Make sure it's large enough for the number of rats you're getting (at least two is highly reccomended) Glass aquariums shouldn't be used because of the ammonia. Rat urine has ammonia in it and if it's all closed in the cage will smell and the rats/you and your family could get sick.

You can get a rat from many pet stores or a breeder. Try looking in your classified section in the newspaper or in a pet shelter.

Toys and food are pretty easy. Check out the rat care site I provided. Rats love boxes, tubes, old material, socks, ropes, ribbon, tissues, etc.

Rats are very clean! They will usually wash themselves after you touch them. They will groom themselves about 6 times a day! A rat will not stink if they have enough room in their cage, a cage that's cleaned once or twice a week and a wire cage.

It depends. In US dollars it costs me about 10 dollars each month.

Good luck! I hope this helps!

Answer 7

A socialized rat is very friendly. My household has owned dozens of pet rats, and almost all of them loved riding around on a shoulder. The only ones that didn't had been traumatized by a violent owner. Rats may bite when backed into a corner and scared, and if they do it is a very bad bite - but I have been bitten WAY more by mice, gerbils, and hamsters. Rats are more likely to groom you than bite you. They do well in a small group in a ferret cage. Having a rat alone is very lonely for the animal, because they're social creatures. Wooden chew toys, cloth nests or hammocks, and rat food that is a mixture of seeds and lab blocks are a good idea. For treats, they love grapes and fruit-flavored rodent treats. Girls tend to smell less than boys, and they get along well with other girls. There will be a pecking order, so there might be some fighting. We didn't find them terribly expensive - the cage was the biggest single purchase. They do make an awful mess, so you'll need to shield the area around the cage from pee and poo - we found that a big piece of plexiglass against the wall behind the cage saved the wall, and a bit of tarp on the floor worked as well. For bedding, we used cloth scraps. They use these to build nests and chew apart, and you can just toss them in the wash instead of spending lots of money on new bedding. They need a lot of frequent cage-cleaning, although they will keep themselves pretty clean. You can bathe them with a tiny amount of kitten shampoo, and they usually like playing in the warm water. Good luck!