Considering Keeping Rats as Pets? (Rats)

Member Name: jglennie

Product:	Rats
Date:	14/02/02 (1353 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: very sociable pets, intelligent and affectionate, very clean and easy to keep

Disadvantages: short lifespan, gnaw EVERYTHING

I've had my two female pet rats for a year. When I brought it up that I was going to buy a pair my little sister vowed to move out! She had images of grotesque smelly rodents. How far from the truth could this be! Contrary to popular belief pet rats are very very clean.

This is only one benefit out of many of keeping rats as pets. Here's some info from my experience:

Rats NEED attention from their owners - a happy rat is one that is socialised and has time spent with it -they require plenty of exercise and love to explore outwith their cage - but be warned, they chew EVERYTHING, so keep anything dangerous (wires etc) and valuables out of reach and make sure they are supervised if you want your sofa/curtains etc to remain intact.

If you spend time with your rats they will become very tame and interactive with you - mine dont hesitate to fall asleep on my lap getting stroked and they frequently start licking my hand in appreciation. The key to taming and socialising your rats is to gently handle them often after they have settled in their new home (allow them to get used to their new environment for about a week)- b4 long they will trust you and be very happy to be picked up and walked about on your shoulder.

As I've said they are VERY clean animals - it didnt take me long to litter train them - u can buy a litter tray from any pet shop and just place it in the corner of their cage and put any droppings in there - b4 long thats where they will do their business - mine actually wake up and wander over to their litter tray still half asleep - I never find a dropping anywhere but there.

They'll spend loads of their time washing themselves - which is very cute - but you should bathe them aswell. But make sure your arms are well covered as they dont like baths too much and will scramble like mad to escape the water resulting in scratching. You can buy special shampoo for them from larger pet shops.

>Rats are nocturnal pets and spend most of the day sleeping and most of the night playing about - but they will make time for you during the day. When i arrive home from work they are normally jumping about their cage in excitement waiting for a treat and its the same in the morning when I get out of bed.

On to feeding - rats are very cheap to keep foodwise - you can buy premixed rat food from most pet shops for a couple of quid, but accompany this with fruit, veg and titbits in the form of, well everything really! They will enjoy a little of most foods that you eat. Mine particularly love cheese (only give a tiny bit of this due to it being fattening), potatoes, dried and cooked pasta, brocolli, cooked cabbage, sprouts, banana, brown bread, egg, milk... the list is endless. You'll find it amusing how they love to 'stash' foods for a later time. However,as much as your rats will adore chocolate and sweet things refrain from feeding them this as they cant digest foods such as chocolate - you can buy special treats from petshops like chocolate & yoghurt drops to satisfy their sweet tooth.

Cleaning their cage is hassle-free too - its recommended to do this at least once a week. I layer their cage with compressed wood shavings that u buy from pet shops - to clean it I scoop my hand into a plastic shopping bag and scoop all the shavings out into another then simply put clean shavings in. However, you should properly clean their cage every now and again with special animal proof disinfectant - again u can buy this at larger pet stores.

All in all you will fall in love with your pet rats if you treat them as they deserve and will have endless hours of amusement at their antics - they are VERY intelligent, inquisitive and loyal - I often comment that they behave just like a cat or dog. They will learn tricks and will recognise their name after time and will show you lots of affection.

It really is a pity that the general l
ifespan of rats is only 2-3 years. Females, in particular, commonly contract tumours typically after about 18months when they have hormonal changes. A friend of mine who has kept rats for several years has experienced many a visit to the vet to have benign tunours removed - which can be costly and upsetting for both rats and owner. Malignent tumours are very common too.

However, since I have had my rats there has been no health complications wotsoever and they havent been ill at all.

Hope for anyone who is considering having rats for pets will do so - you wont regret it.

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