Should i buy this rat?

Question

My daughter has many more pets. She wants a rat for her birthday, and she has alredy picked out the rat at our local pet store. It is all white with red eyes. It looks almost full grown, and it acts blind. I think it might be. It carefully moves and never really moves it eyes . It also sometimes rams into walls. Also, if i buy it, what cage should i keep it in?

Please help. Thanks!

Answer 1

If it runs into the walls....might very well be blind....you can probably bring it the attention of the pet store and get it for free...they make lovely pets...just get a regular aquaeium and get a layerd cage to fit on top of it....you will see it at the store...they can be held..are clean and easy to feed....

ONE down side..they only live for about 2 years....just when you get really attached to them..

Answer 2

It might be blind but honestly rats have poor eyesight to begin with and albinos, like the one you described, have even /worse/ eyesight.

Please do not get a single rat. It's highly unfair to the rat as they are very social animals and need to be kept in same s*x pairs or groups.

I have a website on their care: http://www.petinfopackets.com/rats/ratin...

Answer 3

some stores allow a week for you to have the pet and take it back if something is wrong with it. if this is true for your pet store then you can buy the rat, but make sure you get it checked up at the vet right after you get it so you can be sure that it is or isn't blind and any other health problems it might have. the vet could help you decide whether or not to keep it and what to expect if you do. if you do end up buying it or any other rat make sure you get 2. 1 rat is a disaster waiting to happen. the rat might seem fine at first, but later on she will get mad because of being deprived of contact with other rats. it will start to bite and become less social just like any other person would be if they had no contact with other humans. the second thing to make sure of is that you are buying the rats from a good pet store. petsmart and petco usually have no contact with their animals unless they feed them. therefore making you rats not use to being handled or any other human contact. a good store i have around here is petland. that would be a good place to buy a rat from, if you have one near. they have open cages for the rats which has 2 benefits. #1. they are use to people picking them up and petting them. #2. they are less likely to have respiratory infections because unlike the usual glass tanks they keep rats in a petsmart the cages at petland are open which allows the air to filter through. that also brings up another factor. NEVER keep you rats in an aquarium or closed cage. ONLY USE WIRE CAGES! if you use a glass tank then the ammonia from their pee will build up cause respiratory infections and other diseases which will eventually kill you rats.

here are some things to expect in the future if you do get rats:

1. you will need a good cage with ramps here is a website that will help calculate what size. http://www.rattycorner.com/odds/calc.sht...

2. rats are very smart animals. there has been a proven test that rats are smart enough to fly a plane! you will need to be creative and give them lots of toys to play with. tissue boxes are great to chew on and hide in and you can even get some edible dog chews or bird toys that don't have plastic. here is a website that will help you be creative about making toys. http://www.dapper.com.au/toys.htm#diggin...

3. rats will need to be socialized often to get use to people, so take them out of their cage a lot. but don't put them in a ball. rats don't like them and they should be kept mostly for hamsters.

4. rats are playful animals. they love having a big cage with ramps and other levels to explore. if you can then get a bigger cage than they need they can always use extra space. just make sure if you get a big ferret or rabbit cage that the bars aren't too wide. rats can squeeze through holes the size of a quarter!

5. rats need exercise. so in addition to taking them out often you can get a wheel. some rats love to run on wheels, but some don't. try one and see and get to know your rats personalities a bit better, but stay clear of wire wheels. your rats tail, feet, and even head can get stuck and badly injured!

6. a fun thing to do with your rats is to teach them tricks. the most important thing to teach them is to come to their name. it can be very handy sometimes. http://hometown.aol.co.uk/fancyrat1/myho...

7. some rats will mark their territory. so if you see a wet trail following you rats then don't be alarmed. this is a sign that they have settled into their knew home and are claiming their space.

8. rats are very clean pets. they will clean themselves at least 5 to 6 times a day and they will even clean you once you establish a friendship.

9. rats have a pecking order, so if you see 2 females fighting it is just establishing who the boss is.

10. depending on how many rats you have, their cage will need cleaned out regularly. rat pee, if left for too long, will turn into ammonia making the cage stink. if the cage smells you have left it alone for too long. change the bedding before the pee turns into ammonia.

11. cleaning the cage is important. if it stays dirty they are at high risk of getting diseases. you will need a second smaller cage to put your rats into while you clean. you can use regular bleach to clean the cage. 1 tbsp for every gallon of water and occasionally you can use anti-bacterial soap instead of bleach. the fabric will also need cleaned like hammocks and towels. wash them with hypo-allergenic soap in warm or hot water in your washing machine.

12. rats NEED chewing sticks! mine love the peach sticks.

13. Harlan Teklad is the best food you can buy, but also feed your rat plenty of fresh fruits and veggies. mine love broccoli, peas, green beans, carrots, tomatoes, bananas, and cherries. do not feed peanut butter, celery, salty things, greasy things, chocolate, raw beans, raw potatoes, green bananas, green potatoes, anything caffeinated or carbonated, cabbage, brussel sprouts, sweet sugary treats, and males can't have oranges.   http://www.ratfanclub.org/diet.html

14. if your rat is too hot she will lay on her belly with her feet up because they loose the most heat from their feet. if she is deadly over heated she will lay on her back with feet in the air. you will need to cool her off immediately! to keep them cool, frozen water bottles are a good option. you can also put in ice cubes in a shallow bowl. you can also paint water on your rats feet and tail with a paintbrush.

15. NEVER pick your rat up by the tail unless it is an emergency! rats have a defense mechanism that when they are caught or picked up by the tail they will literally shed it off and it is very painful for them!

16. if 1 of your rats get sick immediately seperate the two and take both to the vet to make sure they don't both have it. and clean the cage thoroughly!

p.s.  when you get your rats have the vet check-up both of them and find out the s*x. you have to have 2 females or 2 males unless you want to deal with potentially hundreds of babies. female rats like to explore. male rats are usually more laid back than the females.

Answer 4

If your daughter really insists on buying that particular rat, then i think you should personally go back to the pet store and ask the people who work there to check if the rat is blind. ( but i think that if it keeps on banging itself into the cage....there's a higher chance that it is blind o_O ) A negative aspect of buying a blind rat is that it might never get use to the owner & will have a harder time being a "family pet". hopes this was useful :]

P.S.- i own dwarf hamsters... so I wouldn't know the size of the rat. I would just say to get a metal bar cage big enough for it. ( or a fish tank is fine i guess.)

Answer 5

I wouldnt reccomend it,personally every rat ive owned has been mean..maybe its just my luck but they do not like being held or benefit from it such as a rabbit guinea pig or even hamster would.Like i said i wouldnt reccomend it,but its your daughter and your household,lol.As far as cages go..i would say an aquarium,or very secure metal cage.Try www.petsmart.com a little pricey but worth it !