The Brief Rat Care Sheet
1. "Rat"
Rats are extremely social creatures and need to be housed in pairs of two or in groups of three or more. Being a lone pet, to a rat, is like being locked up in a room alone for us, so it is absolutely beneficial to have either a pair or group of rats.
2. Cages:
The one and only thing to remember about cages is that rats' urine has a lot of ammonia in it, and because of this you *must* have an open-air cage if you want to keep your rats healthy. The cages I suggest are Martin's cage ((http://www.martinscages.com)) or the Ferret Nation or Critter Nation by Midwest ((http://www.midwesthomesforpets.com/)). All three of these cages are completely awesome for rats and will allow your babies plenty of room for play and furniture!!
3. Gender
This is a big debate in the rat owner world, it all depends on preference. Males tend to be more "loving" and want to settle down and snuggle, where as females tend to be more outgoing and want to always know what's going on and are always looking for what to get into next. After rat puberty, males can be aggressive toward other rats, so this is something to consider. If neutering isn't a problem and you want a cuddling fluff of joy, choose boys. If you're wanting a classic rat who's into everything, get girls. However, it's extremely beneficial to spay female rats. This reduces tumors around 70%. Personally, I prefer girls. *Note*: Sexing is simple. Boys have testicles OUTSIDE of their bodies, females don't.
4. Food
This is, probably, the biggest debate in the rat world! The one basic thing to remember is that you must do your research! Personally, I serve a mix called SueBee's mix.
A: SueBee's Mix: is a combonation of cereals, dried fruits, nuts, and so on that you mix together yourself with ingredients you can buy from any common grocery store. Here is the website for more information: ((http://www.ratsrule.com/diet.html )) Suebee's mix is meant to be served with an equal portion of premium dog food along with fresh fruits and veggies.
B: The Molasses diet, which is simular to SueBee's diet only in that you mix it yourself and you can buy almost all of the ingredients from your local grocery store. Here is the website for more information: ((http://www.ratfanclub.org/diet.html)).
C: Lab blocks can also be used as a complete meal for any rat. Harlan Teklan blocks, Oxbow, and Mazuri are great full meals for rats, requiring no other foods in their diets.
5. Cage Fillers, Bathing, and Accessories:
A. Bedding:
Personally, I do not use any kind of "bedding" I use only fabrics, mostly fleece because rats tend to get their little nails stuck in other fabrics. I enjoy using fleece and fabrics for "bedding" because it's easy to clean and completely reusable. If you want something for your kids to dig in, CareFresh is the most suggested bedding I can possibly think of. I used it when I had mice and I just loved it, however, it's not easy to clean, and because of it's fluffy nature, it tends to get "all over the place".
B. Accessories
Almost anything can go in a rat's cage. Hammocks, ropes, ferret toys, bird toys, puppy toys, boxes, igloos, and so on. The more "stuff" the better, and the more fun your little ones will have ruffling around the "junk". Try ((http://www.Ferret.com)) for some good ideas!
C. Bathing
In general rats need only to be bathed once every 6 months or less. Rats are extremely clean creatures, contrary to popular belief. If your cage has a bad "smell", it is for one of two reasons: You're not cleaning the cage often enough, or you are using a glass tank, so either clean the cage more often or you need to get a new open-air cage for your rat.
D. Toys
The most funnest thing to do with rats is: fill a box with shredded papers and fruits or veggies, mix it up with the shredded papers and cut a hole in the box. They will love digging through the papers to get the food.
Tunnels & tubes.
Take a TP tube and stuff it with goodies then tie it closed at both ends and hang it in the cage.
Hanging fruit.
Chew toys
Ferret toys (the octoplay is very fun)
Old wine racks make great toys
Cat toys (jingle balls, tennis balls)
Big boxes with holes cut in them as castles
Pea (or other fruits/veggies) diving : put peas in a bowl of water and let them go for it!
Cat towers
Anything to climb on, old cage ladders, wine racks, old shelving, etc.
The BEST toy in the world is other ratties! <3
6. Handling:
The amount of time you spend with your pets is all on you. Personally, my kids get at least one hour (usually three to four) of free roam per day. The more you handle your rats, the more social and loving they will be. The less you handle them, the more likely they are to be aggressive toward you and other humans. It is, however, suggested that pet rats have at least one hour per day of play time.
7. Getting More Rats and the Proper Technique:
A: Quarantine:
When you pick up your new rat(s) make sure you already have a clean, full (with bedding/toys/and stuff) cage ready. This is so you can quarantine the new rat(s) from your Rat. We QT rats to make sure that the new rat have no illnesses that can be passed on to your existing pet rats. The best possible way to do this is to have the new rats in seperate air space, if you're unable to do this, be sure to at least have them in seperate rooms. Some believe QT should last up to 3 weeks, but I believe, as much attention I pay to all of our rats, it can last between one and two weeks.
B.Introducing the new rats:
Intros can last up to a week. There are two ways to do this.
1. After 1-2 weeks of quarantine, begin allowing the new rats and existing rats to play during out-of-cage time together. Do this every day until they feel comfortable together.
2. Make a rat buffet on a paper plate (this can include veggies/fruits, water down peanut butter, crackers, yogies, and any other types of "treats"), put it in your bath tub. Proceed to give each rat a bath in the sink then put them in the bath tub one at a time. In my experience, this is a one shot intro and is unnecessary to do again. This works well because all rats involved will be more focused on the food and grooming than one another, then will realize the other is there. My philosophy, stolen from a member of GooseMoose forums: Rats that eat together will live together!
No matter what, before you put all rats in the same cage, be sure to:
A. Clean and disinfect the cage.
B. Move all the rat furniture around so that the cage is "new" to everyone.
C. Monitor your rats for at least an hour to ensure no injuries.
I hope this info was helpful! Good luck and I hope to see you on the Goosemoose forums!
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