Fancy Rat question.?

Question

I really want a fancy rat, but if they smell as bad as my mice did I don't think my family will be okay with it. I've had two female mice in the past in a 10 gallon tank, I bleached the entire tank once a week and replaced the carefresh and they still smelled terrible! If rats would be the same, I don't think it will work out.

And another thing. Are Dumbos okay to mix with Hooded rats? The Dumbos look a little smaller so I was wondering if it would work out. Both are females of about the same age. Thanks!

Answer 1

Oh no, rats don't smell at all like a stinky mouse.  I've had both and took mouse back to store.  It's their urine, it stinks really bad.  Rat's are cool.  I'm a 44 yr old mom of two kids and we've probably had approx 10 rats in our life time.  We'd bath ours. fill bath sink up to top of rats legs, warm water and wash with baby shampoo & rinse well  & towel dry or blow dry on low warm but make sure dry. I use to feed them our healthy dinners & breadfast too & they never got tumors like rats usually get. But change cage once a week and buy one from breeder because store bought rats usually are mass bred and come with respitory problems and they die suffocating, really sad. It happen to me twice. I will never buy from a pet store again and no it wasn't from bathing it was bathing, they died b4 i got a chance to bath.  check out craigs list or ur classifieds.

Answer 2

From what I've heard, rats are VERY clean and smell hardly at all.  Simply that.  They clean themselves over very well and they seem to take good care of each other.

I don't know about mixing them though, but if they're just as companions, I'm sure it'd be fine.  You just have to introduce them to each other slowly.  

This is a good site that should help you with it:

http://ratguide.com/care/behavior/introd...

Answer 3

i dont think rats smell too bad, but i think the females might smell less...?  rats can be litter trained witch also helps.  i think females smell less because males tend to scent mark all over, and you cant train a male rat to pee in a litter bin.

im pretty sure you can mix dumbos and hoodeds because dumbos are just normal rats bred to have adorable ears.  theres really nothing different about them.

be sure to introduce your ratties safely!!!

Answer 4

Rats do not have as much odor as mice, but they also cannot be kept in tanks as they grow too large for a 10 gallon and tanks are too poorly ventilated for them.

Dumbos are no smaller than standard rats. Hooded is a marking type, not an ear type. Dumbos have larger, lower set ears, while standard rats have smaller ears that are further up their head. Hooded rats are white with colored fur over their head and shoulders and a colored stripe down their back.

Keep in mind that rats are highly social animals and /need/ to be kept in same s*x pairs or groups.

It sounds like you could use to do a lot more research before considering rats as pets. My website is a pretty good place to start: http://www.petinfopackets.com/rats/ratin...

Answer 5

Nope rats hardly smell at all, but I wouldn't keep them in a glass tank because that traps any smells. We keep ours in a flat bird cage, or you can buy rat cages, but any rat cage should have bars so it can be well ventilated. Mixing dumbos and hooded rats SHOULD be okay since they are both females, but introduce them slowly and watch them, as rats have been known to be cannibalistic.