Keeping Rats

suki1964

Thats why we had a plastic based cage - easy cleaned

I know peeps will say rats are clean , but they are urine incontinent more often then not. As I said before ours were out of the cage a lot and window sills and skirting s were covered in urine constantly

We re-homed ours when hubby couldn't cope with the smell any longer, And believe me they were cleaned daily

linda.b_4

I know what you mean suki1964. I loved them to bits and would probably have lived with it, but hubby's constant whinging re the smell wore me down.

kjmtidea

My other half let our eldest son have 2 male rats and I ended up rehoming them because the smell was so bad. I read that if you clean them out too much then they will rescent the area and it will smell bad again. We tried cleaning them out weekly and daily and it made no difference!
We have a dog and cats and chickens so I am used to animal smells but this was in a league of its own.

PudseyDB

I'm wondering if the smell is more of a problem with male rats. I've only ever had females and not really had a problem with the smell (a plastic cage rather than wood helps a lot!). Most of the time the only thing I could smell was the sawdust and if they were smelly it was because I'd not cleaned them out for a few days.

I now have 3 male rabbits and these are much smellier and need cleaning out more often. Luckily they all use litter trays and, in comparison, a cat litter tray reeks too.

At least rats and rabbits dont fart like the dog!! _pale_

Enchantica

Hello, just to say I will be back later on (after work) with information on rat care, reasons for smells and info on the misconceptions that rats are incontinent. Avid rat owner and rescuer, have had 14 rats so far and have 7 left living. Know quite a lot but not an expert, will add more later.

In the mean time you may want to visit www.fancy-rats.co.uk as they have a wealth of information.

Enchantica

My rat care guide:

Firstly, the biggest myth about rats is that they spread disease. If you are looking to get some then you probably know that pet rats are perfectly good pets and won't give you a disease. Secondly, please consider getting your rat from a shelter before going to the pet shop. Pet shop rodents very often come from rodent mills which are exactly like puppy mills. Rats which are made to breed constantly in disgusting conditions. If you have a nearby shelter then check there first. Otherwise, have a look for a reputable breeder in your area. There are of course places that don't have any small animal shelters but it would be great if you could find a couple of needy rats rather than supporting pet shops and rodent mills.

The first thing to do is get your cage. Wire cages are best, with plastic or metal bases. Tanks aren't so good because they can fill with moisture and affect your ratties' sensitive respiratory systems. For the size of cage please go here: http://www.fancy-rats.co.uk/information/guides/cagecalculator/ and enter the size of cage you have/are looking at to see how many rats will fit in it. For a cage that fits 3 rats, I will usually have 2 in it just so they have more space. The bigger the better.

Rats are allergic to sawdust and wood shavings. The best substrates to use are: paper flakes, shredded paper, finely chopped straw (can smell when urinated on though), soft hay (good quality), paper towel and toilet roll and towels/fleece blankets. Cotton wool type bedding is not good as rats can catch their claws in it and can injure their limbs if they pull/fall while attached to it.

Rats love mental stimulation so remember to put lots of tubes, tunnels, hammocks to lounge in and have a look at rat websites to look for special rat toys. They can get bored so remember to mix things up a bit when you change their cage, new bed, put the bed in a different place, spread some food around for them to discover, add in new toys. Also make sure to clean your rat's cage around once a week with special rodent cage disinfectant.

Rats enjoy a varied diet. They should not be fed hamster/gerbil food as this contains items that aren't good for them. Personally I like rat blocks called Suparat Burgess Rat Royale. I add in fresh vegetables, some fruit and cereals. I also give them some foods when I am eating them like cooked chicken. Have a look here for things you can and can't feed your rats: http://maritime-rattery.20fr.com/custom.html

Remember that your rats are sociable animals and it's really only fair to keep them in pairs or larger groups. A lone rat is often an unhappy rat. They need someone of their own species to be with. This video puts it best: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDy3bMRuobE They also like to socialise with you. An hour a day of free ranging time is recommended. I let them run around my hall or spare room and I sit with them and play. I put lots of boxes around for them to run in and out of and toys to play with.

Rats have sensitive respiratory systems. If you hear lots of sneezing and grumbling then take them to the vet. Also make sure your vet is good with rats, check before you register. Some vets will give you Baytril and if that doesn't work they won't give you anything else. Baytril is what is usually given to start off with to help with respiratory infections. Make sure your vet is open to trying other medicines if necessary. Vets who only give Baytril and nothing else often aren't clued up on rat care.

Rats are good first pets but please make sure your children are supervised whilst handling and also make sure that you want the rats as well as the children because you will probably be left to look after them for the majority of the time.

There are lots of other things like trick training, litter training, introducing to other rats, breeding, mites, medical problems, biting rats. If you would like further advice on anything please let me know. I am happy to answer private messages.

Rats are not incontinent usually unless there is a medical problem. There are other myths such as the one where people say rats don't have bladders. Male rats do scent mark and some do it more than others so yes there is that but my motto is always 'rats are as clean as the owner makes them'. If you have stinky rats then look at what substrate they are being kept on, if they have wooden ledges then they will get soaked in urine after some time, have you changed the tunnels, hammocks and toys recently, buy a brand new cage and you are less likely to have problems with smells.

Do not bath your rats too often, they don't usually need it. They can get very cold afterwards so remember to dry them as much as possible if you do need to bath them. There are of course times when rats need bathed. There are also some rats who enjoy water but that isn't so common.

Above all; enjoy your rats.

Mel2

I've got 2 rats and love them to bits!
Something that is good to keep them entertained for a while is a hollow metal ball with bits cut out that hangs from a chain (available in pet shops with the toys & food bits). Ours is hung right at the top of the cage and when you put tasty treats in there it keeps them occupied for hours trying to get it out. Ideal if you know you're going to be out all day and want to give them something to do.
My rats favourite foods are chicken bones (left over from our meals), cooked pasta and natural yoghurt. The also love banana. The only thing I've found that they wont eat is tomato.
I've tried all sorts of beds and their favourite by far is their ratty hammock which swings from the top of their cage (got it from pets at Home).
Mine are boys and I'm afraid they do smell although we're lucky as we have a spare bedroom which they live in so we can keep the door shut to contain the wiff! I find that the smell gets worse the more they cleaned so just tend to do it every 4 days or so now. They do have one corner which they poop in and I'm able to just scoop out that area every day rather than doing the whole lot.
have fun!

flora48

Of all the rodents my daughter kept when she was younger, Leilah the Rat was by far the best. No smell, inquisitive and friendly. My husband used to take her out of the big glass tank that was her home and build obstacle courses for her every night. Far more interesting than the vicious hamster, the promiscuous gerbils and the rabbit who thought he was Houdini!

pug_in_a_bed

Thanks for all these wonderful replies!

I've joined fancy rats and picked up loads of tips already - going to make a home made cargo net tonight (or try to lol) and have made them some more hammocks.

The cage I have is Brio Medium: W65cms x D54.5cms x H162cms which is good for ten according to the calculator! Its so big I'm loathe to replace it but we'll see. Its got shelves in and various levels from hammocks now and so on.

I have noticed they are not climbing about as much as I expected, could be their age maybe? They are all 18 months. This might move me towards getting a smaller cage without such height.

The boys are litter trained aswell which I just find amazing, having guinea pigs who go absolutely everywhere.

They are on pets at home rat nuggets and I've been mixing it with a bit of dried pasta, veggies, and having a good read of info on the shumanite diet which seems nice and varied.

Funnily I tried them with tomato last night, they licked it and ran away:rotfl:

pug_in_a_bed

:T