Im getting two rats but need some information before i get them?

Question

please try to answer all the questions

10 points to the person that answers all my questions with good answers

1.are there any vitamins rats need

2. can they learn tricks if yes what tricks can they learn

3.what are some good toys and things around the house that can be used for toys

4.what are the best foods and treats and what to stay away from

5.what is a good size cage for 2 rats

6.what are the things rats need in there cage

7.what is best litter or bedding

8.and any other information would be great

please and thank you

Answer 1

1. Not any specific vitamins they need but you can give them some via food and water.

2. Yes, and they can learn their names too. http://www.youtube.com/user/oPuPo Try this guy he goes through steps to teach you how to teach them tricks.

3. Tubes, tinkly balls the kind you buy for cats, feather toys. Be sure to have a large room they can play and free range in and run around.

4.The best kinds of food are the lab blocks. Stay away from oranges (for males)http://hubpages.com/hub/Rat_Munchies

5. My first exotic pet home from Petco/Petsmart. I have heard wonderful reviews from it. Or just do some research on what kind of cage you like and then read reviews.

6. Hammocks, Food bowl, Large waterbottle that doesn't leak. Some toys. Bird toys work really well for them.

7. The best litter is shredded newspaper with non-toxic ink. Or shredded printer paper.

8. Always get two same s*x pairs of rats. Never get a solo rat because they are pack animals and need the company of others.

And please don't use cat litter, that can damage their feet and their respiratory system!

Answer 2

1 No, as long as they get a good diet

2 Yes they can, but you have to work with them daily

3 They chew everything and anything.  Keep dog treats on hand.

4 I used to buy cheapo canned veggies to supplement, and they can eat everything

5 15-25 gallon tank

6 water, food and a toilet paper tube/paper towel tube

7 cat litter, hamster litter, newspaper lining (they chew that up)

8 Since rats eat anything, a "popcorn" night is always fun.  I used to make popcorn and throw it on the floor.  The rats would come BOUNCING out from behind the tv and steal it.  Fun to watch, sometimes better that the movie!

Answer 3

1. It's a good idea to use store-bought rat vitamins or pro-C. Both go in the water, but both are extras; they enhance the immune system but aren't /needed/, just a good idea.

2. They're smart creatures, and can learn basic tricks such as begging for treats, rolling over, etc. The best 'trick' they can learn is to sit on your shoulder without going to the toilet or climbing off of you. This takes time and trust but is great.

3. They, like most rodents, like empty toilet rolls and plain cardboard, that's the only thing really suitable for rats you can find around the house. In a pet shop, they have certain toys for rats- rope bridges, cargo nets etc.- but also toys for chinchillas and birds are suitable. Hamster toys are fine but a lot of them are too small, and I'd advise no plastic because it'll be chewed to death.

4. I can't give you brands because it varies from country to country, but anything that's 'natural' is a good treat for them. They tend to be a good taste but low sugar and fat. Stay away from treats for rabbits, hamsters etc.- there are certain ones for rats.

5. Again, depends on country to country, but I work in a pet shop, and this is the smallest cage I would allow someone to put two rats in-

http://www.freewebs.com/rattyloving/Fred...

(It's a ferret, rat, and degu cage.)

6. They need food in a ceramic bowl, water in a bottle, and various toys- hanging toys work the best but they also need gnawing toys like wood based nibbles.

7. Carefresh is the best, but you can also use some brands of wood based cat litter- at work, we use Biocat litter. http://www.ecotopia.co.uk/product/21/bb0...

It's cheaper than Carefresh and more cost effective. Best you ask in a pet shop what litter you can use with them.

NOT EVERY KIND OF CAT LITTER IS SUITABLE.

Dust/particle based litter can cause breathing problems, but wood pellet based litter works fine as it's not dusty and just as absorbant as carefresh- and more absorbent than shredded paper, which you'll be cleaning out every single day if you use it.

8. They're highly social, so you must get two. Please don't get a small cage on they will suffer- please don't get a cage with a wire floor because they'll injure their feet. The best food for them is nugget/pellet based food, NOT muesli, simply because pellets prevent against selective feeding.

Answer 4

1. no

2.yes depends on what you teach them

3.take toilet paper rolls and put any kind of hard dog food, granola, etc... in it fold both ends in and they chew it to get to the treats

4. stay away from anything acidic, tomatoes, oranges and avocados, chocolate etc. Things that are good for them you can get frozen mixed veggies or fresh they love corn on the cob, broccoli, carrots, etc... or at least my girls do but they are kind of spoiled. I give them a small amount of pizza usually the crust, peanut butter stuffed pretzels cheese again small amounts. To stretch out their regular food I will add dried fruit from time to time, mix in a bag of the block food, get parrot food in bulk because of the nuts dog biscuits peanut butter flavored any of the cookies for dogs from Petco as long as they are not chocolate today I broke up a sugar cone and gave it to them. You can also add dry oats or cereals to their food I buy Kashi Go Lean Crunch They pretty much eat anything

5. depends on how many you are going to have I have 3 and believe it or not they are in a large bird cage LOL I make sure I cover all of the wire so it doesn't hurt their feet.

6. some kind of hide away, wheel, a hammock or something like that they love fleece and you can buy scraps at wal-mart and cut it to tie the ends together they will chew it also.

7 I use Kay-Kob for mine and buy it in the large bag at the feed store it is the same price as the small bag at the pet store. The reason I use the kay kob is my girls sneeze a lot when I use anything else. Stay away from cedar and pine shavings most people use stay fresh

8. give them a couple of days to adjust to the new house and if the try to run a way from you pick them up anyway. I talk to my girls all the time even when they are in the cage. Hold them a lot.

Answer 5

1. Loads, their nutritional needs are pretty much the same as humans except they don't need to eat meat.

2. Yes, they can learn tricks from as simple as coming to their name and litter training to learning to tightrope walk or doing obstacle courses.

3. toiletroll, wrapping paper cardboard inners, boxes of various sizes, large tubes, feathers and old sheets for when you let them out (these don't belong in the cage as they will get destroyed in seconds).

4. best to say what they can eat rather what they can't, feed basic rat and mouse food in nuggets or pellets from the pet shop, and mix it with the meusli one. store it in an airtight container and it lasts for about two weeks (don't buy the coloured/dyed stuff from the supermarket ), optional is to add some more natural and fresher ingredients such as seeds, nuts (not too many), rolled oats, raisins etc. Every second day provide them with about the size of each of their heads in vegies and/or fruit. the best are carrot, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, corn (peas and corn either thawed from frozen or fresh), banana, strawberries, grapes, pear cut up small (best not to leave vegies or fruit whole as they will drag the food into their house/igloo and it will go off if they don't eat it before you clean the cage). I find with carrots you can cut it in half and then push between the bars and then twist it round (so that the bars cut into it and hold it in place) and the bars hold it in place so they don't drag it around in their litter and it is a great way to trim down their teeth. The bit on the other side of the cage just falls off when they finish eating it and you can compost it or throw it out. They love little bits of buttered bread, yoghurt drops, milk and some egg (however you like it cooked) for treats. Use a water bottle that attatches to the side of the cage.

5. Big, I can't tell you the measurements exactly. Against what a lot of people say rats value space to run around on the base rather than height. If you can have both that;s great, but there's no use having a really high cage with lots of levels if it has a small base area as by the time you get their house in, their toys, their food bowl etc then there's not enough room for playing and romping. I found mine just by chance at a small pet shop, it;s guinea pig style but has narrow bars (1/4 inch), most have far too wide bars (as rats can fit through tiny spaces). If you can find one like this then brilliant. If not, then ask for the biggest rat cage and make sure the base is plastic and any levels are plastic as it is not safe or comfortable for rats to walk on a wire floor.

6. house/igloo most pet shops sell these (this is where they sleep, must be big enough to move around in, grooming but so big they get lost in it), ropes (you can find these in the bird section, use the ones that attatch to bars on both ends of the ropes so they can hang horizontally) , hammocks are fun but not essential but can be found in the rodent section either for rats or ferrets and need washing regularly and replacing occasionally, a heavy food bowl, either metal or ceramic that will hold enough food for two rats (about 3 tablespoons), a water bottle that hangs from the size of the cage, they look like an upside down bottle with a metal nozzle on the bottom (check the end of the nozzle, there is a little ball like a ball beering that the rats will push in with their tongues to get the water out, push the ball with your finger lightly to make sure it feels loose and light, a heavy ball at the end of the nozzle is harder for them to push and makes getting a drink a chore) and something for them to chew like the toilet roll inners and maybe some untreated wood blocks you can get at the pet shop.

7. mix of aspen shavings (NEVER EVER get pine) and shredded paper (use non printed newsprint lol that thin, brownish paper you can usually buy quite cheaply in bulk), I rip it up rather than cutting it as cutting it makes sharp edges and no one likes a paper cut, ripping it also curls the paper making it soft (they use the paper for their nest).

8.Clean the cage once a week or more if it gets stinky quickly. Take them out at least 1/2 an hour a day for a run around in a rat-proofed area (either a small room or sectioned off area with no wires, no furniture with holes in or get stuck behind, no indoor plants and nothing they can pull down or get hurt by jumping up on).