Guidance with a first time in keeping rat?

Question

im planning to buy a pet rat fr the 1st time. iv dealt wid only dogs n fish before.. so im clueless abt hw it goes wid rats as pets. as far as iv heard they bite alot and i cud get rabies. im totally clueless so plsssssssssss help!n hw old should the rat b wen i buy it?

Answer 1

You need to do way more research. You dont get rabies from rats and they very very rarely bite.

Get two rats or more as rats are social and need the company of another rat or else they will get depressed, bored and sick. YOu can get either male or female.

Males tend to be more docile and will sit on your lap and love being scratched under the chin, they are big too but they can smell a little bit more than females and they mark their territory regularly with urine.

Females tend to be more energetic and love to explore and run around. They are affectionate but just don't like sitting on your lap or shoulder for any length of time until they get older and slower.

Buy the biggest cage you can get, with narrow bars (rats can squeeze through tiny bars and bars in a rabbits cage for instance are waay to wide. It is often thought that height is importnat but this is a myth. Rats enjoy climbing but benefit mostly from a cage that has a large floor area where they can run around, play fight and generally do ratty things. A cage with levels is great but it is useless if the cage in general is small because once you fill it up with the food bowl, igloo and toys there will be hardly any free space to run around in. You can create levels yourself with ropes and hammocks.

You will need the regular mouse and rat food from the pet shop and add healthy cereals, nuts, seeds anything like that and a piece of fruit or vege  each day (not to much and read a rat care book for a list of foods that are poisoness or unhealthy for rats I cant list them all here).

You will need a water bottle that attatches to the side of the cage. Go in and set the whole cage up before you get the rats this way you can ask the pet shop people what you need. Dont get sold into too many "fancy" products though and don't buy a wheel, rats dont need wheels, they are too intelligent for them, and some don't even bother using them anyway. I bought into the wheel thing twice and none of the rats have ever shown an interest in it (I've had six all together).

Buy healthy dust free bedding such as aspen wood shavings and get some non bleached and uninked paper you can shred up for their nest. Just chuck this in their cage every time you clean it and they will make their own nest up.

Top up food and water every day, clean cage every 4-6 days.

Take them out for a play and exercise every day for at least 1/2 an hour or ideally an hour.

First off they will be nervous. Be patient and feed them mainly by hand (provide them with some food in their cage though) with lots of yummy things to tempt them out. IT will take about a month for them to fully get used to you but once they do they will LOVE your attention and be flinging themselves at the cage bars to get out and have some fun!

I recommend borrowing a book out of the library about rat care.

One last thing, so many people get the nocturnal thing wrong!!! Rats ARE nocturnal but will ADJUST to your routine, you do not have to take your rat out at 2am when it is most active. It will adjust for instance if you come home from school and take your rats out for an hour in the afternoon they will schedule their sleep around this, They will also schedule wake time when you replace their water and food because they will get fresh yummy stuff, So it doesnt matter when you feed them and when you take them out they will work out a timetable of their own. My rats are awake from midday til about 2am and then sleepl til the following midday.

Answer 2

ok well i can tell you rats will not give you raibies haha

and only a few rats will bite, the untame ones and alot of the time they will bite because they smell food on your fingers and it dosnt hert..do your reaserch and pick carefully, get more than one unless you planning to spend time with him her and make sure they are not male and female i sugest two females as males may fight....but one rat is fine..

rats need a bit of a large enclosure, and need LOTS of warmth in winter. i had a rat that lived 2 years past his life expectancy i fed him cat biscuits, carrot, grapes, sunflower seeds (not to manny as they contain LOTS of fats), apple, bird seed, pellets....and more.. they will eat almost anything but a few things you probs shouldnt feed them, they normally live between 2/3 years or more and are so cute and loveable, but might p**p and wee everywhere

they dont stink unless you didnt clean their cadge, i suggest you do a bit more reaserch incase i missed something,

good luck hope you end up getting one they are really good pets

Answer 3

Rats are very social so get another rat but defiantly don't get to male rats, they won't quit fighting until one becomes the dominant male. And as long as the rat can eat hard food and drink water on it's own they should be fine. P.S. they get tumors real easy and the tumors can get massive enough to where you have to put the rat down. :(

Answer 4

Rats will not give you rabies - badgers may okay so thats sorted.

Wild or feral rats are brown with corse bristles on their backs. Tamed versions have been bred by humans for hundreds of years for food (yes.. food), scientific research and pets; therefore, they are fully adjusted to the human way of life.

You can get many colours and varities (eg. rex, hooded, bareback, berskshire black, albino etc etc) If you decide on getting a rat, get two of the same s*x that have been together from the start (eg littermates) I wouldn't suggest keeping a male and female together for two simple reasons - they will procreate till the cows come home and they will most likely be brother-sister and so inbred with some serious health problems for the young.

The cage that you will need should have as many levels as possible and ropes, bridges, hammocks and toys for the rats. My girls love cat balls too.  The actual cage you can find in most pet shops and will cost you in the region of £80.00.

Do not house rats on sawdust bedding as they can suffer from respiratory problems and so aubiose or woodchip cat litter or bio-catolet is brilliant. You can either buy your new rats from a pet shop or a breeder; whatever you choose make sure that you get to handle the rat before you take it home.

When you get your rat home leave it in a quiet room for 24hours to adjust to its new surroundings.

Get everything ready before you buy a rat, they are very social and so a pair is greatly recommended. Also provide gnawing blocks that are designed for rodents as their teeth continuously grow and their food can be brought from a pet store that is complete.

As far as fruit and veg go - lil carrot and apple, banana and a piece of toast won't go amiss.

Hope this helps and gl getting your ratties :) x

Answer 5

rats can't get rabies;they don't have canines,they don't bite a lot if they r well socialized,and they r really smart.u can teach them tricks n stuff

Answer 6

they dont bite

  1.pick wich you want a boy or girl,choose two of the same kind.they always have to be in pairs.

  2.let the rat choose you.simply stick your hand in the cage and see wich ones come to you.

  3.getting a cage.you need at least a twenty gallon tank.make sure it has a spot for the water bottle.

  4.accsesories,get simple toys like a bell,chew sticks,a house,a waterbottle,a food dish,and of coures shavings.

  5.food,just simple pellets will work,or mixed pariot food.but they have to have fruit and veggtables like,apples,grapes,appricots,bannanas,br... peas.

  6.treats,try to get anything with penut butter in it,or just plain penut butter.

  7.playtime,you should play with your rats at least 2 houres everyday.it is very imprtant you give each the same amount of atention.or get a ferret leash,it is a great way to spend time together.

ok i think i about coverd it all.if you have anymore Q's just e-mail me.

Answer 7

I use to bred rats, and as a matter of fact rats  make good pets ! Go to your local pet store and when choosing your pet rat tell the clerk which one you want to check out, I say check out because your going to want to try to get a younger one , not too young though - And one that is calm compare by watching the clerk get them out see thier reactions , go with the one that is the calmest and you should have no problems as long as you wash your hands before you handle them so as they dont smell food and stuff on your hands this way you wont get bit. Also they are highly intellegent creatures and will get to know exactly who you are in no time another tip is too feed and water them well !!! Handle them often so they get use to it - and dont buy one that hisses !!!

Answer 8

:o) its kat, u can feed them bird seed, give them love, dont handle them in the mornings and day time because there noctournal, you dont get rabies from domestic rats! sounds like youve only herd about the ones on londons streets, there very clean, friendly and if handled right dont bite, depends on what type of personality they have, my BFFL mia has rats (riley and marmilade) and there the best pets ever OMG THERE SOOOOO cute :)

GOOD LUCK FROM KAT :O)

Answer 9

Looks like you need to do waaay more research before considering rats. They do not bite a lot if properly socialized and domestic rats do not have rabies. Even wild rats usually don't have rabies.

First off, rats need to be kept in same s*x pairs. I recommend you adopt or purchase from a reputable breeder rather than supporting pet stores and their mills:

http://www.petinfopackets.com/rats/ratin...

http://www.petinfopackets.com/rats/ratin...

Do some more reading before considering them as pets. I have a website on rat care here: http://www.petinfopackets.com/rats/ratin...

Answer 10

first thing you need to do is get a play pal for the rat, a house cat makes a good buddy for it

Answer 11

here's a video site on rabbits,hamsters and more-

http://www.videojug.com/tag/rabbits-hams...

Answer 12

firstly you will not get rabies from a rat, rabies is most commonly caught from dogs.

if they have been looked after properly by the pet store/breeder then they should not bite, however they may nibble your finger slightly for the first couple weeks as they are just getting to know you and the nibbling should not be painful at all and should stop after a few weeks.

you shouldnt just get 1 rat as they are very social animals and need company (in the form of each other) for when you are not there etc. get 2 of the same s*x.

get them at around a few months old.

dont forget to interact with your rats daily as they are very social and love human contact. ask the pet store/breeder about size of cage etc also give them lots of stuff to do in the cage; include hammocks, tubes and ropes (and food and water of course)

hope i helped

good luck

Answer 13

as far as the biting is concerned,it depends on d rat.dey're really tiny so take care dat dey dont get under doors,locked in cupboards etc. for food,just pluck out sum leaves from a local park or garden and make sure dey dont have fungus or sumting.

dey really need to p**p all the time so keep him in a basket for half the time.have fun with ur pet. :)

Answer 14

Don't listen to people that are telling you that non-sense. The only way you can possibly get rabies from rats are if you take them from the wild. Pet rats are very smart and cuddly animals. They get lonely easy so you might consider getting two. If you only want one you have to make sure to take them out everyday, if possible. If you do get two make sure to get them of the same gender or you will have more rats than you planned to have! Another thing you might think about is getting two from the same litter, that way they already know eachother and been with eachother for the short period of time they have lived so far. If you get a female make sure that she was seperated from all the males at atleast 5weeks old, or you can still get more "little ones" running around. This may sound funny but don't give them cheese, because they are actually allergic to cheese. Rats love to climb and have great balance so make sure you put ladders, ropes, and other stuff they can climb on/ chew on in their cage. I would suggest not getting a rat a wheel. Wheels are ususally to narrow for rats and can get there tail stuck in it easily, and that may hurt them. When buying one look for one with bright eyes, smooth fur, and is curious. Make sure they also are eating their food and water. Don't get a rat if it looks like it has discharge, or "goop" around the eyes. Make sure they look healthy around its ears too. Rats should not sneeze. This is cute to listen to but that may mean they are sick. You might want to consider taking him/her to the vet after you have recieved him/her for they can check them out, make sure everything is healthy and in good shape. If you can master all this you can master having a pet rat. They will bond easily and will a lot of times be waiting for you to take them out. They are very loving creatures. I hope I have improved your knowledge on pet rats, and I hope you get one. Glad I could help..

-JoshLuver-