Tell me about pet rats

[Ann-Marita]

I need to learn about pet rats. Especially a rat in a household that has cats.

Do they need to get spayed? (We believe the one in question is female.) Vaccinated? Do they get fleas, and how do you treat them? Is using diatomacious earth OK for rats?

What can I do to make life with a pet rat enjoyable?

Anything I should specifically avoid? I know about no cedar shavings as bedding.

Oh, and are rats in the wild a different species from the ones in the pet store? (This seems a silly question, but I had to ask.)

Thanks!

[briome]

I've had 'Fancy Rats' (what you call pet rats). I had brothers that were 'hooded', white and black and also some exotic hairless ones. The times I had two together they seemed happiest but I don't know the wisdom of having boy and girl ones together unless you are breeding, but I guess you could get them sprayed (for a good bit of money!)
They are social creatures and like being near action (people and other pets) They need stimulation or they get board and neurotic!

I really like having pet rats but they really weird out my husband,, like a lot My last one died on my wedding day, boo hoo.

http://www.fancy-rats.co.uk/home/
I find the UK sites on Fancy rats to be better then US ones for some reason.

They eat kitchen scraps (ends of celery etc..) so in a way they help with keeping trash low!

Why are you thinking about rats?

[greenmagick]

I rats. They are awesome awesome pets. Very smart and trainable as well.

They do need a group...they dont like being solitary. I had my males neutered, but spaying a female isnt always possible or feasible.

Getting along with your cats will depend on the cats. When I adopted my rats they were running loose (at the time, they did have a cage) with two dogs and two cats

There are a couple of rat forums that have awesome advice...unfortunately I lost my bookmarks to them.

[34me]

I loved my pet rat, the rest of the family, not so much. I spent a ton of time with him so he was very peopled and used to being handled. We only had the one at a the time. Turns out I was really allergic to them.

[nd_deadhead]

There are a lot of good web sites for rat care. They need more space than you might think - a 10-gal aquarium isn't going to cut it.

I've always had females (usually one at a time). My first rat had the run of my tiny apartment when I was home, and she was like a tiny dog - she would come when called, she did tricks, she was affectionate. I half expected that when I moved, I would find a pile of rat poo somewhere, but she was very good about jumping back in her cage to poo or pee.

I used to take her for bike rides, tucking her into the hood of a sweatshirt. She would stick her little face out, like a dog sticking his head out a car window! Or she would curl up and go to sleep.

She was so attached to me that when I took her to my Mom's lake cabin and let her run around outside, she would follow me anywhere - she even jumped off the dock to go swimming with me.

I've never had rats with cats, but my Lab never gave the rats any trouble.

The biggest downside to rats is their short life span (though if you don't want to make a 15-yr commitment to a dog or cat, this could be a good thing).

[WaitingForKiddos]

I used to breed and raise show rats!!! I love them!!

First, care. You'll need the enclosure. I highly recommend a wire cage with the bottom that fits into a plastic litterbox looking bottom. The size depends on how many rats you'll have. Generally a 18x18 ish size is good for a single rat or two frequently held females. Males need a bit more space because they do have more of an odor to their urine so it allows for more bedding (aspin is the best IMO). They eat what's labled as rat food in te pet store...a mix of grains and seeds and protien. They also LOVE any type of snack. Pretty much any food is rat safe...even tiny bits of milk chocolate. Dark chocolate is actually great for a rat with any type of cold or URT infection...which all rats, unless born and bred in a lab in a sterile environment, are prone to. Their lungs are pretty crappy and they get what is kinda' like tb in the human world (but not contagious to humans!!). It scars up the lungs and sounds bad but they easily pop back to health with antibiotics. Te other health issue is tumors. Easily removed and normally cheap ($50) by a vet that knows about rats. Neither sex need to be altered and a rat spay is highly risky. The best way to limit tumors, which are mostly mamary in females, is
actually to let them have a litter of pups....not doable for most folks. Second best way to lower tumor occurance is to feed them foods low in soy...like humans!
Basic care is a weekly complete cage cleaning making sure to use a brush on the wire of the cage to get urine off. A single female in a larger cage could have a biweekly cleaning.

Rats are VERY social. If you aren't going to take the rat out of it's cage for more than an hour a day it's best to get a samesex cagemate. They get along with eachother great but do have an occasional fight...loud but harmless. Male and females have their own traits. Females are a bit more spunky but remain smaller and don't have as much odor. They take a bit more time to just chill out and sleep on your lap. Males,my favorite, will find a spot on your lap and fall asleep there as long as you let them. They do get larger and some folks are totally put off by their testicles...which are big. They have more of a smell to their urine too and some boys just can't not dribble their pee when they are really relaxed. Don't get a male female pair!

They don't need to be vaxed and they don't get fleas unless you have a bad infestation in your home. They can get lice...but it's rare and easily treated by a spray.

A happy rat would live in a cage that was well stocked wIth toys (ropes, stuff to tear apart, a tube or hammock, maybe a cat toy. This happy rat would have free access to it's grain feed and get about 15% it's diet in snacks. It would be out of it's cage a least one hour a day.

Rats and cats is a tough question. When I had all my rats I also had a lot of cats ( 10-15 rats not counting pups and 5 cats. No cat would bother a rat...nor would the dog. A rat bite is a bad thing and often a cat/dog too close to the cage will be nipped if they allow their paw/nose/mouth to be touched by the rat. I'd never let a rat run free with a cat. Ve never known a cat to try and bust open a rat cage...and a good cage is cat-proof.

So,op, where is this rat coming from?