Starter Kit for your Rats:
Cage -As usual, the bigger the cage the better! Rats need lots of room, places to climb and play and a cage easy enough for you to clean. Avoid cages with wire mesh flooring to prevent irritated feet and broken limbs.
Water bottle - Rats drink allot of water, so the more rats, the more bottles you need! Bottles should be hung on the outside of the cage with the spout poking through the wire to prevent chewing and leaking into the bedding.
Food Bowls - Rats need bowls they cannot tip and due to the fact they like to ‘keep house’ and are actually neat, clean creatures, you may do well with two to three bowls to keep commercial mix/blocks and fresh fruits and veggies.
Food - Commercial mix and ‘lab blocks’ are available in all pet supplies that sell rat products. Additionally they will need fresh fruit and vegetables from your kitchen. See out charts for safe foods for rats and mice.
Bedding - Paper based bedding is ideal as well as Aspen shavings. Avoid pine, cedar, and corncob as these can cause ill health in rats.
Litterbox and litter - Rats can and will use a litter-box that is kept clean and easily accessible.
Other cage accessories:
Hammocks - made of cloth, hung from the top of the cage- rats love to sleep in them, pee in them, chew them to pieces, but definitely an essential. Home made cage hammocks are easily made with some old materials like towels and you can add grommets to hang them with. Use your imagination!
Igloos/Houses - I would avoid any plastic housing materials for rats. Like hamsters and gerbils, rats tend to gnaw and chew and ingesting plastic bits can cause harm or death. I would stick with wood and cardboard which are inexpensive and easily replace when worn out or chewed to bits.
Wheels - Wheels need to be large enough to fit your rat comfortably. At least 12 inches across. Rats can do without a wheel with enough toys and outside stimulation. Do NOT use wheels with a runged floor but mesh or plastic (only if your rat does not chew his wheel) is best.
Toys/ladders/baskets/other - Here you can certainly use your imagination! Boxes, wooden sticks, branches from outside, anything to keep your rat amused is the trick. Rats like to make use of toys and accessories like turning them into sleeping areas as well as play areas! Again, you are limited only by your imagination!
* Keep in mind that any items that are chewable will be chewed so choosing your items carefully is a must. It has been known that some animals have had problems with plastic and ingesting the small chewed off bits. If you see your rat or any other small caged animal chewing too aggressively and it concerns you, take the plastic out, especially the chewed off bits and either replace these things often or find wood or safer items like paper or cardboard to give them.
Rats as Pets
~ by Jill Barker ©
Thought to have originated from Asia and descended from the brown rat (Rattus Norvegicus) and the black rat (Rattus Rattus) the common ‘roof rat’.
Rats are much maligned as creatures and people associate them with sewer rats which of course they are not. Fancy Rats are well bred and make wonderful pets for children and adults of all ages.
They are clever, intelligent, friendly, loving, playful, clean and very mischievous. The collective name for a group of rats is a ‘Mischief’.... Of course!
The average life span is 2 years but they can live up to 4 years although some can die young as they are very prone to respiratory problems and lumps... Benign and cancerous. Check your rat (s) regularly for any little lumps as they can be removed quite easily and sooner rather than later.
Rats are very clean and always grooming. They can be toilet trained and trained to come to their names when called. They can be taught tricks and love to sit in your lap or on your shoulder as they love human company as well as their own kind.
Rats are very sociable! They should be kept in same sex pairs or groups. Males get along well together the same as females, but will fight if females are near. If fighting does occur they must be separated immediately. Females usually live together very harmoniously. A lone rat can live very happily too provided that he has a stimulating cage and plenty of your attention and company.
Don’t forget that they love ‘out’ time too in a safe environment. They love to be with you so have them in a well populated part of your home. They should not be kept outside.
The Fancy Rat comes in a vast array of colours, markings, type and fur. Some are ‘top-eared’ others have their ears lower set (Dumbos). Rats can be black eyed or red eyed according to their colour.
The most commonly seen are:
SELF: All one colour
CAPPED: Coloured head , white body.
HOODED: coloured head and broad stripe (sometimes broken) down the back to tail.
IRISH: All one colour with splash of white on chest, white feet.
BERKSHIRE: All one colour, white belly and white feet.
Most are smooth, short haired but the Rex (curly coat) is quite popular and the hairless rat also.
There are many, many varieties to choose from.
Many rats, through no fault of their own, end up in rescue. When looking for ratties don’t forget to look there first, you won’t be disappointed!
~ by Joan A Walker ©
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