Tell me about having pet rats please.

[RattyTat]

I'm thinking of getting a pair or trio of rats. I've owned hamsters before but never any other rodents though I used to look after a friend's rats when she was on holiday.

What do I need to know? I was thinking of getting them from a rescue centre. I'll get a cage as tall and big as possible. What about food? Friend's rats used to eat a commercial rat mix but I'm aware that may not be the best option. Male or females?

Any advice would be appreciated. TIA

Males grow big and are lazier and cuddlier. Females love to explore.
Bedding should be paper based not sawdust.
Feeding- lots of different mixes but if you feed them one of the commercial brands you can also feed fruit, veg, tuna... they love most food.
Rescues yes!! Or go to a proper breeder, there are some good ones around.
Lots of hammocks.
Males quite like more floor space, females more height!
Lovely pets- three or four is a nice number.
And we will need pictures!

They stink and they chew stuff.

But I love my stinky ratty babies!

Ohhhh look at the lil husky!

I have 5!

They're fab pets but they need handling regularly and as much playtime outside the cage as you can manage - at least an hour a day really.

I like boys because they're cuddlier. A couple of mine are lovely shoulder rats too which is fun.

My dc love to play with them and make them cardboard 'castles' (which they immediately destroy) and rat pinatas with treats in!

One of ours used to sit on my shoulder and groom me. She was a big fan of sweetcorn. I miss my ratties but sadly we don't have the time to spend with them that they need.

They're gorgeous Phanny. I'm envious.

I think that three is probably my limit but never say never.

Thank you all for the advice.

Another question. Where do you put them when you're cleaning out their cage? I always struggled with that when looking after friend's rats.

Depends if i have the dc or not to keep an eye on them! Otherwise I pop them in the bath with some toys if I'm doing a big clean.

If i'm in by myself I have a spare cage but before that I used to put them in their carrier.

@PhannyMcNee they are absolutely beautiful! You are making me broody for rat babies now!

I only had females and they were absolutely lovely pets. They would answer to their names and climb up your body on to your shoulder for a cuddle 🥰😊

Thank you. That's very helpful. The bath is a great idea but I'll get a carrier too.

We keep ours in what should be a dining room but it isn’t.

It is as rat wire proofed as possible and the sofa in there is ancient which is just as well as they’ve chewed there way into the cover to make nests .

If anyone is in there watching telly, working or cleaning them out, we just leave the cage door open and let them free range.

2/4 are very tame and will come to their name. 1 is a bit more wary but is getting there. Our newest addition is super fast and super scared which means letting her out is a bit of a nightmare but we’ll get there!

I loved having rats, i rescued a pair and had them for about 18 months before they both died (seperately) from respiratory infections which i just couldn't get on top of. Be prepared to get your rats to a vet quickly if they show any signs of illness.

I used to clean their cage in the shower and just let them have the run of the bathroom. They are smelly. You can litter train them, for poo anyway, but neither of mine got the hang of it.

I had one of them as a lone rattie for a while and she was really well behaved, i basically let her have free reign of the living room whilst i was in there. Her sister would have chewed everything to shreds though! They both loved hiding and snuggling in my dressing gown hehe.

We currently have 9 rats. Female.
They're in 2 seperate cages as our older ladies are not down with the yoof!

We mostly use Fuzzbutts www.fuzzbutt.co.uk and rat warehouse www.ratwarehouse.com for hammocks. Theres some other internet sites selling nice hammocks too, have a good look around.
I use caribiner clips from ebay to hang the hammocks etc. Much easier than clips.

We use supreme science selective rat nuggets as their basic diet, supplemented by various fruit, veg , pasta, chicken, porridge, yoghurt...
Sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds as treats. Occasional yoghurt drops.
Read up on what rats can and cant eat. Dont let them eat apple or other fruit pips.

When cleaning out it depends on the rats. Some I can just let run around , one tends to like perching on my shoulder supervisin, others are a bit more skitterish so I put them in a carrier until I'm done.

If you can go for rats that have been well handled from a young age. They make the best calmest pets. If they come from a rescue or are rehomed have patience, they'll need time to get used to hands being near them let alone being touched. I find having a bonding pouch usefull. Let them play and explore it before lifting them in it. Same with carriers, let the rats explore and get used to them before use.

Make sure the cage you get has easy access, I once made the mistake of buying a cage who's main opening was at the top, I felt I was doing handstands to change hammocks, poo trays, put food in.

We also have a small hamster type cage that we use for nursing poorly rats ( had a few that needed surgery) , the idea being the rats wouldnt try to climb ( hahaha)
We also have heat pads for post op.
Ratwarehouse weight up baby porridge to encourage sickly rats to eat ( baby food is good too)

Meant to say we buy the rat nuggets through Amazon subscribe and save , a lot cheaper than pet stores

They can be a bit stinky. I’ve found that the smell is much better now that I’ve removed all the plastic shelves and replaced with hammocks. Hammocks are easy enough to make out of fabric scraps. Google ratropolis rat hammock tutorials for ideas.

After taking some advice I use a very deep layer of horse bedding (kind dried dust extracted wood shavings) in the base of the cage and breeder celect cat litter in their tray. This seems to help with the smell.

I’m on a couple of useful Facebook pages, Rat Care UK and another one with a list of knowledgeable uk vets. Rats seems to get respiratory problems, tumours, and problems with their hand legs as they age so it’s worth knowing what to look out for and who to go to for help. They’re classed as “exotic “ pets and not all vets know what they’re doing with them. They need high doses of things like pain killers relative to their size.

Cages come up second hand quite often, mine is two cages cable tied together.

Hi. Just to add that I work with an autistic child who has 3 female rats at home. He absolutely loves them, and his mum told me that he would rather play with them over his toys! He often tells me about them and recounts funny stories. The thing that struck me was how different their personalities are; one is loving and affectionate, one is really naughty and will try to escape, and the other is a greedy little scrounger/fatty!
It's really sweet and I love hearing about their antics!
So there you go, they make excellent pets for even very vulnerable children

The naughty one will also chew holes in absolutely everything, given half a chance. I believe the family are replacing their sofa soon