Settling 2 new rats in - advice wanted

divadee

We are getting 2 female rats at the weekend.

The cage is coming tomorrow, along with all the bowls and food etc... We have got a big enough cage i went on the fancy rat society web pages to see what they recommend and our cage will be H - 66, L - 61 and W 38 cm

We have read up loads of info on the net about keeping rats, and little miss divadee is very excited she is 10 and this is her first ownership of any pets, we have a family cat and thats it.

Has anyone else got any advice on getting the rats settled in. Should we give a tiny treat to show that we are lovely caring people or just leave them to sleep.

We are going to handle them both for a minimum of 1 hour each a day. They will get lots of free roaming exercise away from the cat (obviously!!)

We choose rats cos of there friendly inquesitive nature, they like to be handled a lot more than otehr small rodents, the only thing that puts me off is the life span 2-3 years is nothing

divadee

also i have heard you can litter train rats, how do we go about doing this, what do you use as a litter tray, and what do you use for the litter?

I know that rats normally find a corner and use that for there wee and poo do you wait until this corner is established and then put the litter tray there? or do you just put a litter tray in any corner and then they use it?

Shambler

I would let them get settled for a few hours, make sure there is somewhere in the cage that is secluded i.e. a small dark place they can hide in.

The more you handle them the less likely that they will bite so lots of handling is good.

I would steer away from any bedding that has dust in it as we lost one of ours due to a lung infection that the vet attributed to dust, same goes for the litter.

As far as positioning the tray I would let them decide where they want to do their business then locate the tray there...we did the same with our house rabbits .

divadee

what bedding would you recommend shambler?

we were going to use non inked shredded paper for there house/bed and we were going to use shavings for the cage, but obviously not now!!!!

what do you use and where do you get it from?

Shambler

This site has all you need to know about bedding and litter..probably

http://www.ratz.co.uk/ratbedding.html

Kelinik

Where are your ratty-tats coming from? If a petshop please bear in mind that they are unlikely to have had the best start in life and may not be used to being handled, one of my girls took weeks of me sitting reading to her (whilst she hid in her bed) before she would even come out to eat and drink with me in the room! If from a rescue however they will be able to advise you depending on the rats temprements and if from a good breeder they will likely be outgoing and friendly from the off.

The same site you found the cage info on has loads of articles about bedding, food and socialising and the forum is good too having several thousand members.

I think you've made a fab choice of pet btw - rats are fantastic!

divadee

we actually got them last night in the end from a local breeder, they are lovely. Heres a picture of one of them this one has been called splodge by little miss divadee






Now my next question is where to find megazorb bedding in dorset??? this is the bedding we are going to try as all the local stores only stock carefresh which is so expesive for what it is!!! i have done some research and i think megazorb would be better for us. I have found it for £33 for 4 85l packs online including delivery, anyone know anywhere local for pick up or cheaper online?

Kelinik

*tickles cutie girl under the chin*

I think that sounds pretty reasonable. The only thing I would say is to perhaps not to order masses of something you haven't tried before, I've been through just about every type of litter there is trying to find one I get on with and having lots of one I didn't like would have been a pain.

divadee

Kelinik wrote: »

*tickles cutie girl under the chin*

I think that sounds pretty reasonable. The only thing I would say is to perhaps not to order masses of something you haven't tried before, I've been through just about every type of litter there is trying to find one I get on with and having lots of one I didn't like would have been a pain.

she is a cutie isnt she. Cant wait to give her lots of hugs and loves. We havent been picking them up since we got them. We wanted them both to get used to their new cage and surroundings first, but tonight we will try and coaxe them out!!

What bedding do you use? There are so many different types its so confusing.

ZootHornRollo

for bedding i don't think you will get much better value than cardboard squares which go under various brand names. we use bedexcel - it is dust extracted. i would try a local equestrian store for either megazorb/bedexcel or similar. most will stock some sort of suitable bedding either carboard squares or otherwise. it costs about a fiver for a HUGE!!! bag of bedexcel - but you do need somewhere to keep it because it is BIG. would last us for about 3 to 4 months but we go halfers with my sister who keeps guinea pigs.

ZootHornRollo

i would also recommend feeding the shunamite diet including fresh fruit and veg. its easy to make up a batch of the dried food, i make enough to last a week at a time, and then just give them some of whatever veg we are having with dinner.