Kids!

[Tammy]

I know this really doesn't belong here in the bp forum but...
I do have a bp, whom I bought a rat last week for dinner and he refused it. usually I wait a few days and offer again...this time, my 6 year old son has fallen in love with sabrina...yep that's what he named the rat, and I can't bear to kill it now. I have no clue on rat husbandry and can't seem to find much. I put her in a 128 quart tub with holes in the sides...have her on pine bedding which i just found out is bad. Putting her on desert snow when i get home...do they eat hamster food? Have lots of that as we have been thru that stage...lol..do they need an excersize wheel? Anything else I need to know?
THANKS!

[SatanicIntention]

www.ratguide.com should tell you EVERYTHING you need to know, plus some.

I would get her in a suitable solid-bottomed wire cage(not a bird cage). Levels are nice too. Add some hammocks, aspen bedding, a water bottle, and either some homemade food mix(the pet store stuff is CRAP, I promise..) or some lab blocks(NOT Kaytee).

I would also recommend getting her(make sure she is actually a she) a friend, as rats are extremely social.

Maybe feed mice so he doesn't get so attached(once they bite you, that's all she wrote)? Plus, if your snake doesn't eat that week, at least the mice won't outgrow the snake in that amount of time.

[Tammy]

Thanks, I will check out the site...
I usually have no problems getting my snake to eat. His heating went kind of hay wire, so I think he has an attitude problem. will stop and buy another today, as sabrina is now a member of the family.
Thanks again for your reply...appreciate it.

[JLC]

Moved this into the "Other Pets" forum....since the lucky Sabrina has now reached Pet Status. Good luck with her!

[Jenn]

Yup that's how it started for me too. I never wanted pet rats and mice to begin with. But now my living room is home to dozens and dozens of pet rats and mice. It's so funny that I raised them to feed to my snakes and now I'm working a deal with my local pet store to take them for store credit so I can buy new rats and mice to feed my snakes. And the worst part is that the pet store will turn around and sell them to someone else to feed to their snakes. It is so easy to become attached to a baby rat. Just too darn cute.

[frankykeno]

Tammy, loads of people here even if they feed rodents to their pets have pet rats. Even those like me that breed feeders can become very attached to certain rats in our colony. Personally I name all my breeder rats and the especially nice ones earn a cushy retirement with us after their useful breeding life is over.

If you look through the Feeder section here you will find many very useful threads that apply just as well to a pet rat as a feeder rat - all in all, feeder or pet, they are rats after all. There are some stickies there about dry food mixes, enclosure building, etc. that you may find handy. Even one about colors and patterns.

As was mentioned before, please do get your rat a suitable cage buddy. Make sure to get one the same sex and about the same age. Rats are highly social creatures and a rat kept alone, even if you spend time with it, will be unhappy and can often fall ill from the stress of living alone. Also two rats teach each other things like biting hard hurts. This helps those rats know to not bite you so in that way their own socialization benefits their owner.

Here's another handy link for foods that you can offer your rats as treats. It's nice to use up some of those kitchen scraps.

http://www.ratnutrition.com/suppleme...forbiddenfoods

The biggest things with rats is to feed them well (not mouse or hamster food please) but not let them get fat. Pet rats are often allowed to overeat and an obese rat will a sick rat that will die younger than it needs to. Find a nice healthy treat that your new rats like and offer it by hand only. Rats are food driven and will soon be dancing around on their hind legs when they see you (you've now been designated by the rats as the Goddess of Treats lol).

If you hear them making odd tooth grinding noises this is called "bruxing". It indicates a VERY happy rat! They will also "boggle" which is sort of an odd eye bulging behaviour. Another sign of a rat very happy with it's life and you as it's owner. We have one very old female rat in our colony named Stubby. She's so in love with my husband that when he takes her out of her enclosure she bruxes so loudly you can literally hear it across the room LOL.

Rats make lovely pets (as well as lovely feeders) and I'm sure you'll enjoy them. Remember to teach the children to handle the rats with care so they bond with them. In some ways pet rats are a sort of cross between a dog and a cat all rolled into a compact rat body.