pet, rats

So I attempted to feed my big girl earlier- and she wouldent take the rat... And I accidently got attached to the rat- hes a sweetie:) So I decided, why not keep him?
Well then a friend of mine that LOVES rats (but isnt mad about me having snakes, lol), came by and fell inlove so I let her take him home..
But Ive decided now- I want a female rat, for a pet.. Not to be bred, either.
So what type of things would you suggest for a pet rat- enclouse type, do they need some kind of place to hide or something, what kind of food, ect. Also, can they be potty trained? lol, but seriously.
Oh yea, and it might be a dumb question, but do they need one of those (big) running-wheels, like a hampster? lol.
Please and thanks.

First off, rats are great pets...but you'll need to get 2 of the same sex. They don't do that well alone.

You'll want a good size wire cage for ventilation, preferably a two level, with aspen or the like. They'll want something to hide in, and it can be anything from a cardboard box to a nice plastic 'igloo' or wooden chinchilla hut. The big, solid plastic wheels are a great addition...my girls love theirs! And the best food would be Becky's rodent mix...there's a sticky on it here in the feeder forum. And make sure they have lots of safe toys and stuff to chew on.

This is the cage my girls live in :) We call it Rat Mecca
https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...atcagepost.JPG

Did I leave anything out, all you ratty people?

Oh, I though you could only house one together- my friend had two males living together, then one day she woke up and one had killed the other... But of course, maybe thats just males...

most of the time if one kills the other its from them not being from the same litter or was going to die anyway (getting rid of the weak natures way) atleast thats wat always happens with my rats when i had em

That's very odd for the males to just kill one of the others. Rats are very social creatures and you can have a colony of 10 if you wanted, granted that there is enough space, water, food etc for each animal to live comfortably.

I find that females are a lot more active than males. I have 2 girls that hang out with me daily, and are constantly on the move. Checking stuff out, climbing all over me, just some crazy stuff from those girls.
Most of my males get to hang out with us, but two in particular can come out and roam daily. One boy will just sit in chris' hood for hours, snacking on little bits of food, riding around in his hood. The other has got to run about the room hiding littles morsels of food, jumping around and playing constantly. But he has no where the energy level like the girls do. Those girls are little energizer bunnies (ratties)

I went and bought one of those giant 12" Silent wheels. There is no opening for them to get a tail or leg caught and broken. Some girls use it constantly, some just like to play with it. The wodent wheel is another one that I would like to get, I just never got around to it. We have a large cage, I think 36x30x17. I think... it's a super pets cage with plastic levels and ramps and no wire bottom. Martin's cages are also really good.

I hope you find a pair of ratties you really like! :gj:

Jessika, I'd also recommend a pair of nice, recently weaned male rats as pets. Don't keep rats singly, it upsets these very social animals and they will not learn their "manners" from each other (things like nipping hurts, etc.). For me anyways, I find the females stay more "busy" as they mature whereas the males turn into big lazy, lap rats.

Get a good sized rat proof cage (check craigslist for decent used ones), some big multilevel ferret cages work as long as the bars aren't too far apart. Check out the Feeder forums here, most of that information is good for pet rats too. Check Becky's homemade dry rat mix. A lot of the store bought rodent mixed are pure garbage and mostly wasted by the rats so avoid those.

Rats don't need a wheel but if you do get one, make sure it's the big closed kind.

When you pick young rats pick them like you would a puppy or kitten in most ways. Clean eyes and nose (no red discharge), clear ears, dry butt, no sores on tail or the bottom of their feet, clean coat free of fleas or with a scabby skin layer underneath, not all fluffed up (guard hairs up). Pick a active rat, not a spazzy one but not the one hiding over in the corner either. Expect them to be nervous at first but not actively aggressive to you in the pet store. Buy only from a pet store or breeder that strictly keeps the males and females seperated after 5 weeks of age (in the case of female rats, you don't want a pair of preggo females).

Check out the thread in Feeders on coat patterns and colors. You will see the large variety available plus get an idea of what healthy rats should look like.

Lastly, do not let your pet rats get fat. It's a common mistake to overfeed them treats and a fat rat is a rat that will die young. Fit is best, fat is not.

Depending on where you are in Michigan, I'm in Toledo and have loads of rats. You're welcome to contact me about a pair of weanling rats if you'd rather avoid a pet store purchase.

Good points Jo! I don't usually have very many rats to spare, but I'm in Saginaw- Midland- Tri-city area in MI. I would be happy to help too. :D

Thanks nice of you Connie. Heck I don't have a lot to spare either LOL, not with all these hungry mouths to feed but I don't mind setting aside weanlings either to help someone get started out on a breeder/feeder colony or to go to good homes as pets. I don't sell rats though as pets unless they go in same sex pairs. Singles only would go out as pets if they are to be kept with a pre-existing pet rat that lost it's cage buddy.

Currently I have some very great dumbo babies that would be a good addition as pets. (not feeders, ok)

boys
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2179/...cfeced5b10.jpg

girls
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2028/...bb6854532e.jpg

Oh I love dumbo's. You wouldn't happen to live near Toledo, OH would you LOL.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

Oh I love dumbo's. You wouldn't happen to live near Toledo, OH would you LOL.

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Sure, I'm close by. It's ONLY a 20 hour drive. :gj:

Awww, they remind me of my baby blue dumbo's! Very pretty, are they selves to boot? lol, very cute ;)

I think rats make great pets they are full of personality and curiosity. My daughter a few years back kept a male as a pet back then we didn't know having a 2nd rat was needed. But he made friends with our jack russel the jack would sit near his cage constantly and she even trained the jack to take the rat for walks the rat would just sit on the jack's back and go for rides. It was a very strange friendship and when the rat passed at about 7 months old the jack moped for weeks. We found it even stranger that the jack was a mouser but never ever tried to hurt the rat.

Good luck with your new pets when you get them Im sure they will bring many smiles to your home.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RambunctiousRatzSFL

Currently I have some very great dumbo babies that would be a good addition as pets. (not feeders, ok)

boys
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2179/...cfeced5b10.jpg

girls
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2028/...bb6854532e.jpg

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AWWW!! Their SOOO cute!! I want one :D But chances are, if you live 20 hours away from Toleto OH, then you probaby live 19-21 hours away from me. lol.

And thanks for the advice, everyone. Yea, I'll either go for two males or two females then. I like the idea or having a lap rat, but then again sense they send to drag their 'sent' around to mark their territory- not too fond about that.. lol..

we have pet rats and ABSOLUTLY love them

I took a class here at UConn called "Lab Animal Science" and we basically learned everything you need to know to keep lab animals practically, safely, and comfortably. (Believe what you want, I've seen lab facilities where animals are happier than they would be in a lot of other places.)

Anyhow, IACUC (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee) says that all animals being housed need enrichment and proper food and water. We housed 2 rats in each VERY small tub, with food pellets on the top and a waterer and let me tell you, they thrived. You don't need much to keep a rat happy (although big cages and playthings are perfectly fine.) Same sex pairs are great together and it seems very likely that one of the male rats talked about earlier had a bleeding injury, rats go after blood and they will absolutely kill another animal. (We did surgery on our males (castration) and one rat's suture opened and before we even noticed it the other males just waking up had killed him.)

My whole point in typing that was just to say that they make very fun pets, are incredibly easy to keep, in next to no space (though a nice big cage is great) and there is nothing wrong with keeping them in same sex pairs, we did it for 3 months with weanlings growing into mature rats and everyone did fine except the one that was killed after surgery.