So you wanna own rats? Awesome! But these little guys are a lot more work than meets the eye. There are a lot of things that can happen with your rat, and as the owner, you must take responsibility by reading all that you can. You must also take them to the vet when you think something is wrong. Before you do that, it is very important to have knowledge about medical issues and basic needs they have. Needs- *Get them chew toys and pumice chews so they can wear down their teeth. Rat teeth are always growing, so it is important to not let them get too big. *They should have lots of hides and fun places to explore. One thing I got for my rats is the Kaytee large sized Igloo. They loved to make nests in it. You can also get them hammocks, and other things that you see in the store. *The rats need bedding. I would get big bags of it and use them throughout the months. Preferrably, get them the natural kind that doesn't have any weird colors in it, but the colored kind will work just fine. *They also need something as the bottom layer of their cage. My family used newspapers to line the ground of the cage, and then added the bedding right on top. *Be sure to clean the cage *at least* once a week. I cleaned my rat cages once a week with frequent spot cleanings. Spot cleanings are basically remove the really gross parts of the cage but not doing a full clean. A full clean would include removing all of the newspaper and bedding and cleaning out their hides. After, you would put the new bedding and newspaper in and let your rats back inside. *Get your rats a small travel cage for the vets office and cage cleanings. v *When you get your new baby rats, let them get used to their new home. It is very stressful for little rats to be put in their home with new smells, places to see, and a whole new cage to explore. They need to get used to it. You can try to offer them food and treats (They love cheese, meats, vegetables, cheerios, and banana). Do not force yourself onto them, as they will feel attacked and may bite. The rats will get used to you eventually. (or they can have a bad temperment but thats a whole nother issue) *Get them healthy food. I encourage you guys to go out and do research about which foods your rats can have and what brand of food would be good to feed them. We fed our rats a food for baby rats (Oxbow essential mouse and young rat food) , then we got them used to the adult formula (Oxbow essential adult rat food). For treats, you can feed them cheese, meats, vegetables, cheerios, banana slices, and more. *While buying rat treats, make sure to check the ingredients list to make sure there isn't anything in it that will be poisonous to the rats. One example is alfalfa. You may see a product in stores marketed towards rodents called a "Snack Shack." These contain alfalfa which is poisonous to rats. These are actively marketed towards rats, and many people have lost their pets due to this product. That's why you should look at the ingredients and make sure it's safe for the rats. *Get them a friend. Rats are social animals, so you may wanna get them in pairs. They won't die if they don't have a friend, but they will be happier. My first rat was a single rat. I knew about how rats are social animals, so I tried to be his best friend. He became my best friend and we spent so much time together from the moment I came home from school to the moment I went to bed. Even then, I could tell that he would want another rat friend. *get them a good quality cage. For my first rat, Cricket, I had a smaller cage because it was all I could afford and he was a single rat. For my last two, Falkor and Artax, I got them the critter nation, which is a larger cage. I could tell that the rats liked all the space to roam. The rats also need time apart, and having a large cage is perfect for them to take time by themselves. *Get them neutered/spayed. This is especially important if you have two rats. They will fight with eachother, and getting them neutered/spayed will help them calm down. *Consider which gender of rats you want. Males tend to be calmer than females, but females tend to be smarter. Of course every rat is different, but it's still important to choose. You might also want to get a same gender pair, unless you really want rat babies. Health issues- (TW- Mentioned Animal D3ath) * Be attentive to their behavior. Watch to make sure they aren't getting sick. *Abscesses. These are lumps that form around your rat's body typically around old age. Depending on the stage you catch the abscess, it can be popped. Please do not do this at home and always take them to the vet. If you catch it later, you will have to get it surgically removed. The surgery costs lots of money, so make sure you set aside a fund to pay for it. Not all rats get abscesses. They can be prevented by making sure they don't get frequent wounds and don't step in their own droppings-
This is important because their cut wounds can get infected and form the abscesses. * Mycoplasma. This is a bacteria that all rats are born with. It infects the lungs as a thick fluid that can take over any part of the lung. Sometimes the rat's body is strong enough to not get an infection, but it is still very common for rats to fall ill. It is very important to catch this early so the rats do not get sicker. The symptoms include sniffling/coughing frequently. Sadly, there is no cure, but there is medication to control the spread called doxicycline. This is the antibiotic to help soothe the infection, usually given twice a day. Entroflaxyn is the medicine you give them to help prevent the spread of the infection into the brain. It is very strong, and usually only given once a day. A humidifier and nebulizer might help them to breathe better. If your rat falls ill to this, it is an unlikely chance that they will live an extremely long life. Falkor and Artax both had this, and they lived to just under two years old, which surprised our vet. Despite them being on medication, the infection still got very bad. When Falkor passed, he had some sort of heart attack/seizure after taking his entroflaxyn. We had to get Artax euthanized after he wasn't responsive anymore. Not all rats catch this disease. In fact, my first rat, Cricket, didn't have any problems with his lungs. With good care, your rats can still live long lives with this illness. *No matter what, they must get their medication. Originally, we put their medication on a piece of bread. They ate that for a while, but then they decided they didn't like it anymore. We switched to yogurt. The same thing happened. We switched to getting them meat flavored baby food. The same thing happened. Eventually, we had to forcefully give it to them by mouth. We did this by picking them up and putting the syringes in their mouth. They didn't like this at all, and tried to fight back. To soothe them, don't be too forceful with it and wrap them in a towel to make sure they don't flail too much. Wear thick gloves to avoid them biting you. They have to get their medicine one way or another. disclaimer: I am NOT a veterinarian, these are all things I have learned from first hand experience. This is not to discourage anybody from owning rats, this is only to educate people about the health problems that may arise after taking care of your rat. This is also about things you should do for the rats and things to buy them. That is all the advice I have. There are many more possible health issues the rats can have, but you should do your own research about those things Rats are great pets. They are cuddly, intelligent, and happy creatures. They love to play with you and with each other. I reccomend pet rats to people willing to take care of them through health and sickness. Rat owners should be committed to giving their rats the happiest and healthiest life they can have. Most rats you see in those shady pet stores are bought to be fed to snakes. It's tragic. I reccomend buying from any pet store you want, but keep in mind that the ones you get from shadier pet stores will often have health issues, but it is not guaranteed. Thanks for reading this. bonus tip- Shred up newspaper so the rats can make nests with it This is for educational purposes.
