Rat Care Hints and Tips

Following on from How to Care for Young Rats, here is a guide to caring for your rats as they mature.

As your pet rats grow they will begin to change, in both shape and temperament. Here are some simple things to be aware of as your rats’ age:

Slowing down

Badger & Willow

As your rats grow older they will start to slow down. There is no definite age for this, but you will probably realise one day that they are not climbing the curtains like they used to, no longer getting into as much trouble and have started disappearing for a nap in a quiet corner, or if your lucky popping home to bed. This is perfectly normal and it doesn’t mean your rats aren’t going to be any fun, just a little less chaotic. This is the time when the bond you have formed with your rats really starts to pay off. They will begin to sit still more and rather than trampling all over you they will be happier to sit and have a cuddle or some fuss.

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Caring for a sick pet rat can be a big responsibility and sometimes it is made harder by your rat not cooperating in taking its medicine. Here in the UK Baytril is one of the first and most effective antibiotic medicines that vets will give your rats. Baytril comes in liquid form and is often administered orally. Unfortunately you cannot tell your rat to eat up its medicine to make it all better and they will often turn their noses up at it if offered it to lick up. You can try syringing it straight into their mouths, but if your rat is particularly wriggly, or just too poorly to be manhandled then this is not going to work.

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