Loving and affectionate small pet (Rats)

Member Name: whudaman

Product:	Rats
Date:	10/09/08 (42 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: being able to handle and tame very easy very rarely bite great to play with

Disadvantages: Can be a bit smelly and require clean out at least once per week

After adopting 3 rats one female (known as (does) and 2 Males (known as bucks) from a friend who could no longer care for them. I am now the proud owner of the cute critters.

The misconception that people have about rats could not be further from the truth. They are very clean animals and infact spend one third of their life cleaning themselves or each other. Also they are very intelligent creatures and can be taught to come when called and even perform simple tricks!

When I got my rats unfortunately they were not in the best cage it was basically 4 hamster cages wired together with the top part sealed off for the female. As soon as possible I purchased to big ferret cages on line for about $20 each. These sorts of cages are by far the best to keep your pet rats in, as they can be customized with toys hammocks etc. and have bars on them which allow them to climb which they love! Also because Rats hate being on their own I acquired 3 little friends for my first Doe rat. Introduction was simple and they took to each other straight away, this would have been impossible to achieve with other rodents such as the hamster.

Speaking of Hamsters they can be grumpy little biting machines but rats hardly ever bite out of aggression and when they do it is because of pain or discomfort.

Handling them is very easy and they are not skittish at all the way say a gerbil would be and happily @shoulder surf" around your house.

Quite honestly I think Rats are like little dogs that love human companionship and are a perfect pet for someone who maybe can not keep a dog.

They do however require a lot of your time and attention the more "Free range" time you give them the better but make sure to keep them away from cables and anything that you don't want chewed cleaning them out is relatively straight forward I clean out my two cages within half hour.
A big no no to use in their bedding is sawdust or pine wood as rats have very delicate reperaator7y systems and these products can cause your little friends lung problems. I personal use a product called megazorb which is excellent for its consistency and odor control.

One other thing is f you go for males they will grow considerably bigger than females and also tend to smell slightly more due to territory marking, but Bucks also tend to be the cuddliest.

The only down side about owning rats is their poor life span of 2 -3 years. You will get so attached to the little rodents that it will be heart wrenching to say goodbye to your friend.

this reviewis also posted on my review stream account and ciao.co.uk

Summary: My rats are my small freinds in my house they are great to unwind with the cats love watching them 2