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so u want to learn about
RATS!!!
mabey u plan on getting rats or mabey ur just intrested in learning sum stuff about them. eather way u have atleast come to a jumping off point
i have a good amount of experience with rats bc i have owned them 3 diffrent times, ive had 8 rats total. i think i learned the most from my last 3, sisters named disco, party, and fun run. heres a pic of them
(from left to rite: party, disco, fun run. eatin sum yogurt)
what are rats?
rats belong to the genus Rattus, family Muridae, order Rodentia. they r one of the worlds most sucessfull animals, living all over the planet and absent only in antarctica , it shows how smart and adaptable they are
altho there are more then 50 known species of rat in the world today, the one that became populer for study and as pets is the brown or norway rat, Rattus norvegicus. fun fact: even tho they are called the norway rat, they orginate in east asia
the domestic rat (sumtimes called "fancy rat" not because the rats are fancy but because of the rat fancier hobby) is a subspecies of the norway rat. its scientific name is Rattus norvegicus domestica. like many small animals they were first domesticated for blood sport , in this case baiting, in the 1700s in europe. as terrable as it is, catching and breeding rats to sell for rat baiting is where rats being kept as pets started. probly rat catchers would keep ones with unique coats to breed, and those would sell as pets more and more while the plain brown ones went to the pit
however the rat fancying hobby didnt get a start untill the early 1900s when a woman named mary douglas got permissian from a mouse fancier club to show her black and white hooded rat, and the rat won best in show. after mary died in 1921 the hobby quickly fell out of fashion, it didnt pick up tractian again untill the 1970s with the NFRS (national fancy rat society)
these days rats as pets are so populer theyre sold by breeders and petstores all over the world. there rise in popularity has been rlly fast and diffrent when u compare it to humans relatianships with other domesticated animals like dogs and cats and cattle
before you start
if you want to get rats, ur so excited, ur so super ready for it, hang on. stop. chances are ur probly not ready, take it from me
first, if you dont have a vet that works with rats yet, you are not ready. rat biology is totally diffrent from dog and cat biology which is wat most vets work with. u need a vet who has experiense with pocket pets, preferably specificly rats, and who has good reveiws from owners. local rat breeders should be able to point u to some good vets. but sinse pocket/exotic pet vets arnt as common u should expect to have to drive a ways unless u get lucky. mine is about a half hour away which isnt bad. dont settle for just any vet, they most likeley wont know how to treat ur rat when it inevitably gets sick or hurt
second, if ur planning on just picking up a few rats from a pet store cuz they r cheap, dont. 99% of the time those rats come from mills in terrable conditians, they r not bred with health and happyness in mind. find a REPUTABLE breeder. more on that soon
third aslong as we're talking about pet stores, dont buy the bs they try to sell u as like a starter kitย or watever. its all crap not suited for the animal its suppose to be for. dont be fooled by the "deals", ur rats will quickly outgrow watever dinky cage they try to sell u, the food that comes with it is trash, the bedding is hardly enouth to cover the bottom of the base, and theres ur money down the drain
and last, have evreything ur going to need, all the essentails, ready befor you bring your new babys home. cage, food, treats, toys, hides, bedding, hamocks, cleaning supplys... later ill make a list of sum stuff youll want to have
ok so what do u need to do then?
lets start with the cage, cuz thats home base. it needs to be in a relativley quiet spot, sumwhere other pets and small kids and bustle of home life wont disturb them. its best if the cage isnt in direct light and if it gets totally dark at nite. rats are not nocturnal, they r crepuscular (most active at dawn and dusk). but there will be activity during the day and nite aswell. if u dont want to hear chewing, scrachting, thumping, squeaking, grinding, rattling, and a bunch of other noises while ur trying to sleep or study, dont have the cage in ur bedroom. make sure theres no drafts by the cage (so dont put it by windows or air vents) and that it dont get to hot or to cold. rats can tolerate cold alot better then heat but a room temp around 65-70F is perfect. allso, never use scented candles or air freshener or essentail oils or perfumes or anything smelly like that anywhere near ur rats or at all in the home if u can help it. there respratory systems are very sensative and fragile. there will allways be sum rat smell, even if u litter train them and keep the cage clean. especally if u get males and ESPECALLY if u dont get them fixed. if u or ur family/housemates cant handle that, dont get rats. a air purifier can help and is a good optian, but make sure its the rite size for the room its going in. that will allso cut down on dust which is bad for rats lungs
the ideal cage should be longer then it is tall cuz rats run (and dig) more then they climb but climbing is allso good for them as long as they dont go to high, because they could fall and hurt themselfs. 2 of these cagesย tigthly zip tied together side by side with the conected sides taken off would be good for 3 or 4 rats (3 being the min number of rats to start with). however the base is shallow so they woudnt be able to dig very well, but that could b solved by finding (or makeing) a bin that will fit as a base. thats wat i did but only with a single cage, u can kindof see it in the pic of my girls up there^
if ur going to go with a taller cage then make sure there r plenty of fall breaks all the way down incase of falls while climbing. hamocks, ropes, ladders, hanging baskets, that kindof stuff. it allso gives them lots to do and that is very importent if they r going to be spending most of there life in a cage
heres a pic of my girls cage befor i switched out the og shallow base for a big plastic bin so they could dig and to give them alot more space. so it was still a wip at this point
!!!never use a cage with a wire bottom, its uncomfortble and causes injury like bumblefoot!!!
so sinse i keep talking about digging lets talk bedding now
basicly... u want sumthing they can burrow in because that is a natural rat behavior, they dig tunnals/burrows and they are very good at it. sum rats couldnt care less about digging but i think u will find most rats r very happy to do it. this will curb sum unwanted behavier like gnawing on the cage/trying to escape out of anxiety or boredom
wat do u use for bedding then?
well i ultimatley used a mix of top soil, coco coir, and straw. it holds moisture and shape rlly well so tunnels and chambers dont cave in. the down side is it gets dusty on top as it drys out so it needs to be watered and churned sumtimes but thats no big deal over all. but it can allso be messy when the rats r kicking it evreywhere. honesly i could sit and watch them dig for hours at a time it was rlly cool watching them be natural rats doing sumthing that came instinctully to them
u can allso use paper bedding, shredded cardboard, aspen shavings, wood pellets, or shreds of fabric to name a handfull of things. the layer of bedding should be atleast 5 or 6 inches deep but honestly 12-18 inches is best so they can rlly dig deep
what u DONT want to use: anything scented, pine or cedar shaveings (toxic to rats and many small animals),ย cat litter, gravel, fake grass/turf/reptile carpet, puppy training pads
fleece is a popular choice and i did use it for awhile but i had 2 problems with it. 1) the rats chewed holes in it all the time and got under it cuz they didnt have the optian to dig yet, 2) it got smelly real quick. its pretty cheap and its easy to wash but i would not recomend it exept for as shelf/ramp coverings
if u cant have a deep layer of bedding then a seperate "dig box" that they can spend sum time in each day digging and foreging for treats is good
if u want your rats cage to stay fresher longer then u can litter train them. buy a litter box for small animals (or just like a small bin that will fit in a corner of the cage) and put litter in it, i used pressed paper pellets but wood pellets like u can get at a farm store r annother good optian. both r very absorbent. again do not use cat litter. u can look online at videos or forum/blog posts about how to litter train rats. sinse they are smart animals who like to stay clean, they usully get the hang of it pretty quick. alot of breeders litter train pups (baby rats) befor sending them off to there new homes. u will still need to spot clean the litter box and cage daily but u wont need to do a full bedding swap as often as if they were pooping evreywhere. just know that they will only poop in the litter box, they will still pee evreywhere and sumtimes they will still have "accidents" outside the litter box. BUT! putting a smooth object like a rock in the litter box encorages them to pee on it, because they prefer to pee on smooth solid surfaces. u can even buy pre-rat-peed rocks online to put in ur rats litter box! xD
(ya they will sleep in it sumtimes๐)
wether or not u have feeding statians depends on how u choose to feed ur rats. ill explain later. for now ill just say a good balenced diet is key, if u feed store bougth pellets thats fine, if u feed a specally made mix of seeds grains nuts etc and supplament with vitamins thats fine, ive done both. it just needs to be age apropriate (young rats need more protein for example) and have all the necassary nutrientce
you ALLWAYS need to have fresh, clean water available for your rats. u can use bottles or bowls (they will make a mess with bowls but sum rats just never get a hang of bottles). for 3 rats, 2 waterers min. they drink ALOT of water and will die of dehydratian very quickly without it, within a few days, so allways clean and refill waterers evrey single day even if they havnt drank all of it just like u would (or should) for a cat or dog
ok thats shelter, food (sortof), and water. how about social next
i said that 3 is the min number of rats to keep together but i havnt said why. the answer is simple, not only are rats social animals but there social structure is based on dominence. a lone rat gets depressed, destructive and potentally agressive, often they die early. two rats are allways fighting for dominence with eachother and stressed from it. three rats is just enouth to balence out hierarchy interactians to keep evreyone happy. but 4 is even better, and 5 or 6 even better then that. wild norway rats live in colonys ranging anywhere from a dozen to 150 or more individuals. all the rats in a colony are related exept for ones (usully males) that come from other colonys, eather exiled or dispersed, and maneged to work there way in so they can try to breed. so older and larger colonys are like streets that make up a neigborhood, they have intergeneratianal subcolonys of related family groups that make up the whole large colony and these subgroups may or may not interact much with eachother but they all reconize eachother as family. the point is, pet rats are meant to be in groups and the more the merryer. if u dont have the means to keep the min of 3 rats, dont get rats
oh and, unless u plan on having ur rats fixed/spayed asap (recommended anyways for overall better health and longer lifespan) AND can keep males and females physicly seprate untill then and for the few weeks it takes for the males remaining sperm to die after, u need to keep only one sex. all females OR all males. rats and especally domestic ratsย are prolific breeders and r sexually mature by around 3 months old, and it only takes 2 seconds or less for a male to mount and insemenate a reseptive female that signals him to mate. so ya. dont be iresponsible. most (good) breeders wont let u get males and females together anyways or will hold the members u bougth of one gender for u untill u get the others fixed within a certain time span
now on to enrichment , toys and stuff like that
keeping ur rats happy like activley engaged and interactive with there enviroment, not only physicly but allso mentally active/stimulated, that will be one of the most challenging parts for a beginner. rats r not suppose to stay in one spot and sleep all day. they r not suppose to be fat and lazy. a healthy and happy rat is fit and active and alert and allways exploring there enviroment when they arnt napping, eating, or grooming
look at my rats, how sleek and spry they were XD
^THATS the kindof stuff u wanna see rats doing. (oh and if u wanna know more about outside time mabey ill do a more advansed rat care blog sumday. but this one is for basic stuff)
heres a good rule of thumb for keeping rats active: clutter the cage with toys and stuff to climb and explore, the more stuff the better, but allso change things out and around evrey few weeks so they dont get bored of the same old sights, sounds, smells, and textures (to save time u can do it at the same time as ur monthly deep clean of the cage and evreything in it). that means u need to get alot of toys and hides and hamocks and stuff so get creative, make ur own things, look for ideas online, theres alot out there and its rlly fun to make sum of these crafts. commen household trash like cardboard boxes and egg cartons, toilet paper rolls, shredded paper, old rags or tshirts u were gunna get rid of, they can all be used to make enrichment items for ur rats
to be honest i never had as much clutter in my rats cage as i wanted to have and there shouldof been. but i allso let them out alot and played with them and had them working and learning for treats and stuff so that makes up for it some
sinse they are so smart its fun and rewarding to teach them tricks, they learn so quick its rlly amazing. theres allmost no limit to wat they can learn if they r given the chance to. i only taugth a few simple tricks like spin around and stand up , but allso giving them puzzle feeders to solve for treats or watching them navagate a new object or situatian, its so cool. u can see the gears turning in there little heads. aw man i miss those brite eyes and twitching noses x'3
so as rodents , rats inciser teeth keep growing forever untill they die. thats y they need things to chew on, to grind the teeth down so they dont get over grown. if they do get over grown it can cause injury and starvatian. u need to give them lots of wooden toys to chew or they will chew on the cage and other things. but they will chew alot of things anyways. u will have to replace stuff alot. and i mean alot. if they find a fave texture to chew they will shred it to bits. they especally seem to love fabric, probly because they can use it in there nests (yes they make actual rat nests). so keep towels and blankets and cloths that u dont want chewed away from there cage. . . XD alot of my jackets have holes in them LOL
getting your rats
finding a breeder mite not be feasable for evreyone and i get that. but look into it befor anything else. you cant ignore the advantages of getting rats from a good breeder, they carefully select the rats they breed for good health and behavior, they socalise the pups from a early age to get them use to being handled, they dont take the pups from the mothers to early so the pups actully learn how to rat, they keep records of evreything, they should be able to anser any and all questians you have with acurate and up to date info. u cant say the same for pet store employees who r trained to sell products, not to care or give acurate info about the animals they sell. or even backyard or hobby breeders who mite care about there animals (or mite not) but dont know the technical side of breeding, there rats wont be as healthy
so to find a good breeder, to start look for sumone who:
1) has a contract that u are required read and sign, about wat is and isnt alowed with there animals, how and when to contact them, and other stuff like that
2) charges atleast $20 (usd) per rat, the cheaper they r the more likeley its a backyard breeder or even mill
3) can give u contact info for good vets
4) request/requires you to keep in touch with news about the rats u purchase from them so that if theres any illness or anything they can document it in there breeding lines, and also hopefully bc they genuinly love and care about wat happens to the animals they breed
5) can answer any questians u have at all about there rats, how they are kept, the genetics , anything at all
if you get bad vibes, look for annother breeder and/or do a internet search for ppl who got rats from them and wat they have to say about it
from there its just waiting untill u manege to claim pups from a litter and beleave me it is so thrilling like holy shit. between my adoptian applicatian being accepted and the next litter being born i had to wait a few months, then seeing pics of the tiny babys wachting them grow over the weeks and then finnally choosing my 3 girls. . . then i had to wait a few more weeks untill they were old enouth to come home but it was WORTH IT!!!!!
anyways ya. theres not "breeds" of rats like there is with dogs and cats, just varietys aka coat colors, patterns, and textures. a rex rat is just a rat with a genetic mutatian that causes curly fur. a dumbo rat is just a rat with a genetic mutatian that causes its ears to be set lower on the head. both of these can be bred for just like color and pattern , hairless is annother, and dwarfism. anyone who trys to sell these as rare or extra specail, they r probly scamming u
adoptian is annother choice, look at local rescues and shelters
pet stores rlly should be a last resort unless they can tell u exacly who they get the rats from and that supplyer is a good breeder. if the rats being sold are under 8 weeks old then allready it is not a good and responsable breeder. unfortunetly its not uncommon for pups to be sold as young as 3 weeks old, waaaay to early, rat pups need mom for up to 8-12 weeks just like dogs and cats
ok now annother choice to make is male or female. there r diffrences between them
females in general r more spunky and dont like to sit still, they r busy busy busy. they can still be perfectly friendly but they r less likeley to cuddle with you , when they could rather be exploring and playing and doing importent rat stuff. females are more likeley to get mammary tumors and infectians of the reproductive organs but having them spayed drasticly decreases the odds for that happening
males first of all are alittle more smelly cuz they produse a natural musk. i dont mind it but sum people think its gross. they pee alot more to. they r allso more intense about there dominence hierarchy so there figths are more prone to cause injury. haveing them fixed reduces both these issues plus other potentail behavior and health ones. males are allso generally more cuddly with there humans. they mite not be quite as all over the place as females but they should not be allways sleeping and fat and lazy like i talked about befor
both sexes are equally smart. and evrey rat is its own individual so they wont allways go by these "rules". this is just a basic guideline about males vs females so u can decide wat u think would be best for you. you will find they all have there own very unique personalitys
feeding your rats
im not going to get deep into nutritian and all that, thats advansed stuff, if u want to know more u can google it xD
im just gunna talk about the diffrent ways to feed your rats
1) bowls. self explanitory, put the food in the bowl and the rats will eat or stash it for later
2) puzzle/interactive feeders. theres alot of diffrent types of them. get 3 or 4 diffrent ones and put them around the cage so they have to work there brain and body for there food
3) scatter feeding. 2 is actully a type of this. this is where you put bits of food around diffrent spots in the cage for ur rats to forage for. in the wild rats forage for all of there food so its good to replacate that for them as best as you can
rats should be fed according to weigth and age. again its not sumthing im going to get into here, mabey in annother blog but for now you can look it up. sumtimes it can be good to do a fast day, aslong as your rats are healthy, skip one day of feeding once evrey 2 weeks, so they have to finish up any food they have hidden/stashed. only do this with healthy adult rats
treats should only make up a very tiny portian of your rats diet. unless you are using treats for training, only give them 1 or 2 a day
heres a short list (meaning not evreything) of safe and unsafe foods for rats, allways offer treats in moderatian so you dont throw off there nutritian
safe: apple, ripe banana, blueberry, melon, grapes, strawberry, cranberry, carrot, peas, lentils cooked sweet potato, pumpkin/squash, broccoli, cooked plain chicken and bones, hard boiled or scrambled egg, cooked whitefish, yogurt, cottege cheese, plain cheerios, plain rolled oats/oatmeal, quinoa, cooked or uncooked (dry) pasta, dog biscuts, cat food, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds
unsafe: citrus, green banana, any raw beans, onion, garlic, raw potato, green potato skins and eyes, raw sweet potato, carbenated drinks (rats cant burp so it will cause gas to build up, in extreme cases it can kill them), alcohol, caffeine, candy, avocado pit and skin, raw meat, moldy or spoiled food, ultra prosessed foods (sugary cereals, poptarts, potato chips, cheetos, cookies etc etc)
rare treats: dark choclate (choc isnt toxic to rats but it is high in sugar and fat), bread, cooked plain beef, cooked plain pork, cooked plain turky, cooked mushroom
again this is only a very short list so do ur own reading๐
(naugthy and bad party with the forbidden oreo she dug out of the trash)
rat behavier
rat behavier is so complex i couldnt possably break the tip of the iceburg here. but heres sum stuff to know
rat pups are playfull as hell. they are allso alot more vocal then adults. but u cant hear most of there sounds. rat pups make a sound equal to laughing when they play thats to high frequency for humans to hear. for the most part we can only hear there distress calls (peeps and squeaks) . by the time rats are about 6 months old most play behaviers and vocalizatians assosiated with play stop
sinse rats are prey animals and naturally cautious u need to give them plenty of hides in there cage. and if u let them run around the room to play dont expect them to do much if they dont have places to run and hide if sumthing scares them. you will probly notice they use the same paths over and over, thats because they mark safe and unsafe spots with urine trails, but marking urine is normally just a few small drops. the more u try to deep clean there urine the more they will pee and u cant stop it because that is there instinct and how they navagate the world
rats have an incredably strong sense of smell, the biggest way they "see" the world is thru scent. but they allso have sensative hearing and touch . they can see shapes, ligth and shadow, and sum color, but they dont have good sight or depth perseptian at all. rats with pink eyes are usully mostly or completley blind, and more sensative to ligth
(party i think, exploring/hiding in a cool box)
young happy rats will "popcorn", jump in the air , when they play together or when they get excited. like rabbits binking, its very cute
a super content rat will brux (grind there teeth) and boggle (pump there eyes in and out of the sockets)
(fun run getting lovins from my dad and boggling)
rats sumtimes brux out of stress or just to grind down there teeth. but u can generally tell if they are happy or stressed by context clues like body languege and enviroment and stuff. plus if they boggle while bruxing then they r very likeley super happy. sum rats dont brux very much or at all when they are happy but insted they "chew bubble gum", like lick there lips and roll there tongue. u can see fun run doing it there^
angry or scared rats mite hiss, spit, squeak, puff up, arch there back, lash there tail, lunge, bite, pee/poop, freeze, or run
animals are good at hiding injury and illness especally prey animals, rats are no exeptian. rats that arnt feeling good puff up there fur, hunch over, and squint there eyes. commen signs of illness in rats are sneezing, heavy breathing, discharge from eyes and nose, loss of appatite, and lethargy
(disco on the rite, once when she was sick. see her puffed fur, hunched back, squinted eyes, pulled back ears, and sucked in cheeks. she was very uncomfortble at the time. but if u dont know rat body languege u mite just think shes tired)
a myth about rats is they are dirty animals. in reality they are extremley clean but they can only keep themselfs as clean as there enviroment allows. they groom themselfs and eachother so many times thruout the day, more even then cats do. a healthy rat should have clean silky fur. rats dont need baths exept in specail cases, and baths actully can hurt them by taking away there skin and furs natural oils. plus most rats dont like baths and get rlly stressed by them. if u do need to clean ur rat use a damp wash cloth or baby wipe
ya again rat behavier is so complex. thats all im going to say about it, for now , but i think u should look it up and read like reserch papers and stuff about it because they r so fasinating. heres one article i keep going back to alot
stuff to buy before you bring ur rats home
- cage
- bedding
- litter box and litter
- food
- waterers
- climbing toys (ladders, ropes etc)
- chewing toys (wooden blocks etc)
- hides/hiding toys (tunnels etc)
- hammock
- puzzle/treat feeders
- triple antibiotic oitment (without pain killer) (for injurys)
- self adhesive bandeges like vetwrap (for injurys)
- disinfecting wipes (for cleaning)
- white vineger (for cleaning)
- bleach (for cleaning)
- hand sanitizer
conclusian
rats are one of the best and most fun pets imo, i think more ppl should learn about them. they are not for evreybody pet wise but as animals they are just so cool
i want to do annother blog or mabey more then one about more advansed stuff and extra rat facts and stuff ,at sum point. because i keep saying this is not scrachting the surfase and thats the whole truth
let me know wat you think, if u have any questians, if you want to know more
Comments
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<SHALLOWBONES>
Thank you so much! im saving this blog for the future!
im glad its been helpfull for ppl!
by piss dude -.-; ; Report
๐๐ ManicMothman (he/ze/it prns)(๐๐ช๐น๐น๐ ๐จ๐พ๐ต๐ฎ)
Okay so another question, where should I put the rat cage? My room is small and I canโt keep rats anywhere else. Should I move my shelf and taxidermy caddy to put the cage there? It is only a few feet from my face when I sleep and by a window. Or should I move my posters and jacket hook to put the cage there? It is much further from my bed but it is under a vent and next to my carpet and closet. I could move/get rid of the carpet. Thank you
if ur choices are near a window or near a vent then u gotta kindof weigh pros and cons of each. if ur windows are sealed rlly well (no drafts) then thats ok, but if alot of direct sunlite comes in (like if the window is south facing) then i wouldnt put it there unless the window is covered by blinds/a curtan. obv they do need some light but not direct for the whole day
with the vent if ur able to close it then u could keep the cage by the vent. but that will probly mean ur room will get hot in summer/cold in winter with the vent allways closed and sinse rats get heat sickness/heat stroke easily then closing off the vent during summer probly wouldnt be a good idea
if ur able to rearrange your room so u can find an even better spot id try that but just based off what u told me id lean toward putting the cage by the window. they are going to make alot of noise at nite tho so with the cage rite next to u, u mite have trouble sleeping. you can cut down on some of the nite time activity by makeing sure they get plenty of activity during the day so they r more sleepy at nite but they still will make noise when ur trying to sleep. the water bottle noise in particuler is rlly annoying atfirst but i got use to it eventully
by piss dude -.-; ; Report
๐๐ ManicMothman (he/ze/it prns)(๐๐ช๐น๐น๐ ๐จ๐พ๐ต๐ฎ)
Is a small animal vet about 2 hours away acceptable? Should I look for someone closer while risking the chance of them having as much experience with rats?
Whatโs the difference between spot cleaning, weekly/biweekly cleaning, and deep cleaning? Thank you ^^
def go with a vet who has experiense with rats even if they are further away, if u are able to. with my first rats i was only able to take them to a vet that didnt know anything about rats , when they had lice, the vet told me to put sevin powder on my rats. wtf (not toxic to rats but its harmfull if breathed in)
spot cleaning is just takeing out any poop/soiled bedding and u should do it evrey 1-3 days
weekly or biweekly cleaning kindof depends on ur setup (mostly type of bedding) but for example if u use paper bedding u take about 1/3 or half of it out (depends on how dirty it gets) and replace it, allso clean any soiled spots in the cage and on toys with soap or vinegar and water or cleaning wipes
a deep clean only needs to be done evrey 3-6 months as long as u stay on top of ur daily/weekly cleaning. thats when u take evreything out of the cage, take the cage apart, and clean it all rlly good with bleach. aslong as the bedding isnt to smelly/soiled save sum of it for when u set it back up again so the rats have there smell in the cage still
by piss dude -.-; ; Report