Pet Rat Information Sheet
Part One: Basics for the New Owner
What you need to know:
Cages/ Tanks - size, suggestions, accessories
Litter/bedding - what's best and why.
Exercise - rat proofing your home!
Feeding - a varied diet for your rat
Health - when to see a vet.quaranteening. feeding ill rats.
Choosing your rats - please read all other sections before this one!
Further reading.
Cages/ Tanks
Buying your first cage or tank for your rats is a minefield for the new owner. Pet shops do not always advise� you with your rats' interests in mind - all the petshops I know sell rat cages which are fine for rat kittens but obviously far too small once they reach four months or more!
As a basic guide, the bigger the better.� We find that cages intended for either ferrets or the indoor kept rabbit are ideal - make sure that if they have wire floors you take them out though otherwise your rats will soon get 'bumblefoot' a horrid and very painful blister on their feet.� Cages should have a plastic or metal base and bars no wider than half an inch pref, though larger boy rats will stay in cages with wider gaps. Bars rather than mesh is better to prevent the risk of your rat getting its foot trapped.� We think cages are better as they provide good ventilation, are easy to clean and have lots of room for climbing, and for toys. They should have as many different levels in as possible to make an interesting environment for your rats to live in - also more entertaining for you to watch them! Tanks however are a cheap alternative. If you use tanks then you need as big as possible (at least two feet long for two rats) and a wire mesh lid fitted securely and weighted.
The main accessories you need are two feed bowls, preferably heavy ceramic ones or non tippable plastic, one for hard feed and one for veggies/ soft foods, and a waterbottle. Bunny ones of around 300ml are usually adequate for two - three rats.
Toys are important for your rats as rats are very intelligent and get bored easily. Nowadays there are lots of toys made for ferrets which are ideal for rats and can be found in pet shops. These include: hammocks, large see through hanging tubes, igloos and balls. Cheaper alternatives are hanging a pringles tube up or a baseball cap, ropes slung across the cage, waste paper baskets, flowerpots, parrot wooden toys and ladders.
Litter/ Bedding
What you choose as litter and bedding for your rats will directly effect whether they live healthy lives or not. If you choose to use woodshavings, you must be careful to only use Aspen. If you use pine or cedar then be prepared for your rats to be prone to respiracy distress, asthma and flares up of mycoplasma, leading to pneumonia, because both pine and cedar are toxic to rats. You wouldn't like to live in a toxic environment so why should they? Apart from that, if you feel you're saving money by using pine/ cedar shavings or shavings of unknown origin then you are kidding yourself - the vet fees will be far more than you will be saving in bedding costs. If it doesn't say on the packet what it is then don't just assume that its not pine or cedar. the other problem with shavings is they are often too dusty for little rat lungs and noses, and the dust free shavings are often treated with chemicals with can be toxic for your pet. Also shavings tend to harbour mites.
To play safe, you are better off using one of the many safe alternatives available. As I am in the Uk I will list what's available here, but it shouldn't be too difficult to find the equivalent elsewhere.
Biocatolet, Yesterdays News: these are recycled paper pellets, good odour control, easy to clean out, non messy. Very safe for rats, but a bit expensive if you keep more than a couple of rats, in which case an alternative is alfalfa pellets (rabbit pellets). These can be ordered in 20kg bags for �5, we started off using biocatolet in our rattery but once we got above 7 rats we found the rabbit pellets to be more practical! They control odour amazingly well - even better than the biocatolet, are natrual so cause no problems for the rats, they enjoy digging in them too, and though they crumble apart when they get wet, its really not that messy, much less messy than shavings. Also I have heard it can make good compost.
Bedding: Rats like to have something to cuddle up in just as we like duvets and blankets! There are several cheap options here, including paper bedding specially made for rodents (obscurely ours is made from the bits of tea bags left over after round tea bags have been cut out!), old rags, torn up jaycloths...hay is an option too but the risk of mite infestation is ever present.
Exercise
For your rats' health and sanity it is important that they get out of their cage every day. They need an hour a day exercise, either out on your bed, or running loose round your room. If out on your bed you may wish to cover your bed with an extra sheet, but if you don't mind the occasional ratty raisin or wet patch then its fun to put your rats inside the duvet cover and watch the lumps race around inside! Only do this if you don't mind the occasional chewed duvet...We let ours out loose in our bedroom. Make sure any room you let them out in is ratproofed first - don't leave windows open while they're out just in case, make sure they can't get under fridges, behind cookers, and keep all cables out of reach else they will chew them, causing possible electrocution for the rat and a fire risk. Keep all cats out of the room you exercise your rat in, and terrier type dogs. However well behaved your dog or cat may be its cruel to them - how would you feel if you were on a diet and had to work in a bakery surrounded by yummy cream cakes all day which you weren't allowed to eat? You'd want to just sneak one, wouldn't you? Well, guess what? Your dog/cat has a lot less willpower...You can use exercise time to really get to know your rats, encouraging them to sit on your shoulder,up your sleeve or in a pocket, or play with your hands or a bit of string.Rats like television and music too (they are fussy about what they watch and listen too though!) so you can make their exercise time more fun for them by working out what music they like and playing it while they're out. They like computers too, and will climb on your keyboard and write obscure messages in rat language (bjck7777777777777m) then shut your computer down if they can't find the help button.
Feeding
Well given a choice your rat will be very happy eating whatever you happen to be having for dinner, as you will discover the first time you try and eat while your rats are out and they run away with a chicken leg or a slice of pizza off your plate...However, the object here is to keep your rats as healthy as possible, and just as we can't live on Burgers alone (or even want to! eeeeyuck) nor can your rats, well they could, but wouldn't live long. Your rat needs a staple diet of food especially formulated for rats in the form of a mix or rat blocks (which my rats say are boring and will chew for a couple of miinutes, looking thoughtful, then will bury them, and stare hungrily out of the cage bars). You're best off experiementing until you find a mix that your rat likes, ours are keen on Reggie Rat, though we are looking into a new food brought out by Johnson. Other good alternatives include Burgess Supa Rat (our rats think that's boring though), or mixing together dry complete dog food with rabbit mix. Do not feed any mixes with peanuts or sunflower seeds in as they are bad for your rat as they contain too much protein. Rats are hyper sensitive to protein and will scab up if they get too much - we try to stay under 13% protein content for the adult rats, though pregnant and nursing does and rat kittens (up to 13 weeks old) on contrast need a lot of protein! Having found a mix which your rat likes and will eat (its an exercise in pointlessness to get a mix which everyone says is fantastic but your rat won't eat), make sure that your rats get a constant supply. In the case of baby rats this may mean filling up the feed bowl 3 -4 times a day!
Rats are omnivorous and will not thrive if kept on a diet of mix/ lab blocks. In addition you will have to feed fruits and vegetables every day - if your rat hasn't had them before you will have to very gradually introduce these to the diet otherwise they will get 'the runs', which can be very serious for a rat as they get dehydrated quickly. Our rats are introduced to veggies and fruits from when they first start eating food at 2 weeks old. You can also feed lots of other foods to give your rats a varied, healthy diet. I will list them below.
Fruits and veggies our rats eat:
broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, apples, grapes, melon, cucumber, courgettes, peaches, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, bananas, tomatoes, kiwi fruit, plums, dates,avocado, peas, corn on the cob, baked potatoes, mashed potatoes.
Other foods our rats eat: chicken, duck, scrambled or hard boiled eggs,porridge,pizza,tinned spaghetti, fish fingers,farley's rusks, baked beans,dog biscuits (especially bonios),cheese.
Health
If you clean your cages out regularly (ie BEFORE they get smelly - on alfalfa pellets up to a week), disinfect the cages once a month, clean out your rats' feed bowls every day, use the correct litter and bedding, and feed a healthy and varied diet hopefully your rats will live healthy lives. If you do all this and they still get ill then either its generic - ie their parents had some illness that has been bred in, or they have picked up a virus, or stress has caused a flare up of mycoplasma (more likely in pet shop bought rats - most responsible breeders will only breed rats who have never had symptoms of this respiracy disease, which is said to be dormant in all pet rats). There is very little rats can catch from humans except strep infections - if you have a strep infection do not handle your rat. Likewise it is a myth that you can catch disease from your pet rat, though as with any animal it is sensible to have a tetanus injection if you do get bitten.
When to take your rat to a vet:
For a first time rat owner, until you have a lot more experience with rats, you may find yourself off to the vet quite a lot, usually over nothing! There is however nothing wrong with a little healthy paranoia, much better than those owners who never go to the vet, choosing to ignore symptoms of their rats being unwell (believing that they may get better by themselves), or because they feel that rats aren't worthy of proper veterinary care "because its only a rat". I urge anyone who isn't prepared to take their rats to a vet not to get a rat. In rats, because their metabolism is so fast, its no good delaying vet visits as what may be a slight snuffle today could turn overnight into pneumonia and be a dead rat tomorrow. Basic guides that your rat is feeling unwell and a vet visit would be a good idea are: lack of appetite, not drinking as much as usual, red around the nose/ eyes (this is called porphorin and is the rat version of tears/ mucus), ruffled up or 'staring' coat (except in Rex rats - in which case its menat to be like that!),sneezing, wheezing or rattling noise coming from chest, laboured breathing, blue extremities (tail,feet,ears), bleeding anywhere, scabby skin, urinating a lot, diarrhoae, constipation, scratching a lot, lethargic, biting,looking bloated. I suggest that all rat owners buy "Rat Health Care" by Debbie Ducommon - available from all rat clubs (NRC,NFRS etc in Uk),this could be the best investment you make towards your rat's health. Don't ever be shy about taking your rat to the vet over anything that seems minor, they would rather this than people who never take their rats to the vet until they're on death's door. As you research more, and become more experienced at keeping rats, you will learn to know when you need to go to a vet and when you can treat at home.
Quaranteening:
One of the easiest ways to avoid the spread of disease to your rats is through proper quaranteening. Please read about the Sendai and SDA killer viruses at www.rodentfancy.com (link on main page of this website), here you will also find really good advice on quaranteening.
Feeding ill rats:
Ill rats will not want to eat and may prefer to be handfed. The trick is to feed them easy to eat mushy foods, which at the same time have a good balanced vitamins, protein and fat content (they can have extra fatty foods if they are ill but if you just concentrate on fatty rather than healthy they will end up fat but malnourished).Foods we feed ill rats are:
porridge made with cold water then microwaved, weetabix crumbled into a little milk and lots of water then left to soak for ten minutes, scrambled egg made with butter, soft boiled egg mashed, mashed potato with gravy,muesli with all nuts removed (no coconut, hazlenuts, pistachio nuts etc)soaked in a little milk and lots of water,farleys rusks soaked in boiling water and crushed and stirred until they reach a creamy consistency,EMP a handfeeding mix rich in protein for baby orphaned birds, human soy milk formula.
Choosing your rats
If you still want rats after reading all this so far! Notice I say ratS. No rat should have to be kept by itself. How would you like to be kept in solitary all your life? rats naturally live in large family colonies. The pet rat is happy in small groups, provided the cage is big enough, up to five or six, but will be happy enough in smaller groups of two - three. This goes for bucks as well as does. If the cage is big enough for one rat (and it should be if you've followed my cage guide!) then its big enough for two. Another rat is the best toy you can get your rat and they will actually love you more for it as they will compete with each other for your attention. Rats live longer, happier and healthier lives if they have other rats for company. However much you think you can be company for your lone rat, you are kidding yoursef. You have to sleep, work, go to school - and just an hour alone is a long time to a rat.
Where to get your rats?:
For healthy, well socialised rats, as well as after buying advice, the best place to get your rats is from a hobby breeder, ie a breeder who just breeds a few litters a year as apposed to one with hundreds of rats who they don't personally interact with and several litters at once. Hobby breeders do not get a profit from breeding their rats and are more interested in finding good homes for the rats they have lovingly bred than churning out hundreds of rats for petshops, to possibly then meet their doom as a snake's lunch. Disclaimer for snake owners - I like snakes, have nothing against snakes, but would not feed rats to snakes, just as you as snake owners would not feed your snake to anything that ate snakes. At least I presume not.
Bucks or Does?
Ah now that's a personal preference thing really. Bucks (boy rats) are much larger,slower,more like animated lumps as they get older than anything else, and perhaps more cuddly too. Most does (girl rats) are about half the size of bucks, whizz around when let out and aren't so keen to be cuddled (though not always - some of ours are just plain daft), they do calm down as they get older though. They are also more adventurous than bucks and will climb up to the most unlikely places!
Further Reading
There is a more detailed information sheet by Blackstaff Rats - a rattery in Essex, England, available on the web too
Go to Blackstaff Rats' Information Sheet