Rats are wonderful and intelligent creatures and sharing your home with them can be an amazing experience, but as a new rat owner it may be a daunting one. When my first rat joined my family 15 years ago I was ill prepared for the responsibility and I made mistakes in his care including keeping him as a lone rat. There was little advice available for a first time rat parent and the rat books I managed to find back then were hard to relate to as a new rat owner. They were addressed in a factual manner and didn’t explain or encourage me to think about my rats needs and behavior.
Things have changed over the years and more books and even free advice on the Internet are now widely available, but it still can be very confusing to someone just starting out on an adventure with their first rats. A lot of experienced rat owners forget what it was like to want nothing more than the best for a new pet and can provide an overwhelming amount of information.
What I now know about rat care has been learned through first hand experience of caring for and loving all the rats I have been lucky enough to know. I am currently heavily involved in rat rescue, taking in rats of all ages and health and giving them a safe, loving home for the rest of their lives. My priority is and always will be the happiness and welfare of all rats who come to me for care.
Even with everything I have learned and understand about rats, I remember what it was like to be a novice rat owner reading different advice in rat books, telling me facts but not helping me to understand why. It can be overwhelming, wanting to know what is best for your pet rats.
Rat Care Hints and Tips is my way of sharing all that I have learned about rat care in a fun and easy to understand way and giving advice on the following topics:
Choosing Your Rats
- How many rats should you keep?
- How do you know which rat is the right one for you?
- How can you tell a healthy and happy rat?
- What about adopting from a rat rescue center?
Rat Cages
- How do you know what makes a suitable rat cage?
- Where should your rats be kept?
- Why shouldn’t rats be kept on sawdust?
- What makes good bedding material?
Rat Toys
- Why do rats need toys?
- What makes a good rat toy?
- What kinds of things do they like to play with?
- Can you make your own rat toys?
Rat Diet
- What do you give your rats as a treat?
- What is a healthy diet for a rat?
- There are many rat treats available, but are they good for your rats?
- How often can you give your rats treats?
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9:42 pm on November 11th, 2008
I have two white rats. One I saved at an animal hospital from a woman who wanted to feed him to her sick snake. I then bought Remy a friend named Emil. I have wild mice in my apartment which I catch and set free in Central Park. They jump on the bed where I keep Remy and Emil. Remy is so scared. I guess he remembers being in a tank with the snake. He has become very timid and larthagic. Until I catch the other mice is there anything I can do to calm him. Also how cold is too cold to bring them to the park for their outings. Thank you Dianne
4:37 pm on November 30th, 2008
Hi Dianne,
While rats do enjoy the fresh air they do feel the cold. I only take my rats outside during the summer, when I am comfortable in just a t-shirt.
Hope this helps and I hope Remy is doing okay.
Lindsay
10:18 pm on December 29th, 2008
We have two young rats that have acquired those little red mites. We bleached the cage, dumped everything(all toys that could not be washed) and put an over the counter mite spray for small animals on them. We even removed the cage from the carpeted area and bombed that room to prevent any more (Rats were not in room). Is there something to give them to prevent the second batch of eggs from hatching or from them getting them again? Our first rat died after a severe case that went into his ears and tail. I know there is something to prevent them I just don’t know what. Can you help?
12:04 pm on December 30th, 2008
Hi Andrea,
It sounds like your rats have lice. I have no experience of lice myself but there is a great article about parasites at Fancy Rats, they also have an article about Ivermectin, which is a spot on treatment effective against mites and lice. I recently used the Anti-Parasite Spot On they recommend for one of my rats who I adopted from a rescue centre, he’d obviously had mites for some time that had not been treated. I saw a vast improvement in his condition within a week of using the treatment.
The pack contained four vials to be used 4 weeks apart and it has been 100% effective. You will need to weigh your rat because there are packs for medium-sized animals (rabbits, guinea pigs, ferrets and rats) and for smaller animals (hamsters and gerbils) and which one you use will be based on the weight of your rat. Rats over 300g need the medium-sized animal pack and rats under 300g the small animal pack.
If you are in any doubt at all see a vet, who will be able to treat your rats and give you more advice. I really hope your rats are ok.
Lindsay.
2:58 am on January 4th, 2009
Hey I’m Grayson and I was wondering… I have a female rat named Shadow and I’m trying to get used to her yet she isn’t really warming up to it at all. I need some advice on how to get into the idea of caring and getting used to a rat.
2:46 pm on January 5th, 2009
It takes time and patience to get to know your rats. If she is being shy let her come to you, offer her tit bits of food and she’ll soon learn. You haven’t said how old she is or how long you have had her, but rats all take different amounts of time to adjust to their new surroundings. You must remember if she is young and on her own the world will seem like a very scary place. The other thing to remember is how timid she is now will have no bearing on her personality when she’s older. Stick with her, talk to her, don’t keep her somewhere noisy and just spend time with her and let her find her find her confidence. I am going to write more about getting to know new rats, but until then I hope what I’ve said helps.
For a complete guide to rat care take a look at this http://www.ratcare.org/rat-care/rats-complete-care-guide