To think about getting a pet rat for DD (10)

[WhitePhantom]

Hi,

DD is pet mad and is longing to get an interactive pet that's "just hers" (we have a dog, a cat and 5 hens, and she has a fish tank in her room). She asked about a mouse but I've also heard that rats make great pets.

I've read up on it and they sound good, and she'd be good to take care of it / them - I've read that they're very social animals and love company).

Have any experience of keeping them? Is it a good idea, what are the pitfalls, what do I need to know?

Thanks!

[paddypants13]

Mine learned that if they lent their combined weight against the cage door and shook it they could open it. (Was main cage door so used a lot and loosened over time.) The first time they chewed through a jumper I'd left on the floor. I assumed I'd been sleep walking and let them out until I came home one day and found them running round the room. I padlocked the door shut after that. I miss the little terrors.

One of mine was very prone to chest infections and if he was ill he used to spend the day riding round on my mum's shoulder or nestled in her cleavage. I miss my boys.

[WatchingFromTheWings]

I've had 3 pairs of rats over the years....best pets ever. My last male pair fought like mad though and I had to get a second cage. I put the cages side by side though so they still had company.

Never had any probs with smell either. I used to let them run loose around the lounge (supervised) daily. Never once found droppings on the carpet as they went back into their cage if they needed to go.

Just be wary of leaving anything close to the cage that you don't want destroyed! We went on holiday once and a relative who house sat pushed the cage up against a £350 foot stool. They chewed through the fabric and the sponge, right to the wood. . We also had the lining in a pair of curtains ruined and countless socks. Funniest was when I was in work one day, nipped to the loo, upon pulling my knickers back up, my fingers went right through.....looked down and they were full of holes! Hadn't noticed a thing getting dressed that morning!

[Rattusn]

Yanbu. Make sure you get two or more.

I have very fond memories of my first rat, who used to run around the lounge while we watched TV and slept curled up in my hands, and licked my fingers like a dog.

Do bear in mind that they are sadly very prone to cancer though. Only take them for surgery at an experienced vet.

[iklboo]

You know you have to come back with pics, right?

[WhitePhantom]

Ps - thanks wasonthelist for making me snort tea out of my nose

[WhitePhantom]

Thanks all! Great info here

I've told DD that she can have 2 rats and she's over the moon. She's now looking up all kinds of info about them.

(You also helped me talk Dh into it as he wasn't keen at all )

[takemetomars]

If your skittish rat doesn't bite Mermaid tears, then in addition to the excellent advice from Rattie, you can pop them inside a top that you are wearing where your rattie will feel comfy and sfe. We did this with all of our babies (5 in total).
Beg to differ regarding urine dribbling in rats, this is perfectly normal and not a sign of illness. It is slight and possible that you just haven't noticed but it is a thing

[Grannypants1]

Rats are the best pets i had as a kid but you need atleast 2 and a decent size cage

[dimots]

If you want something with a longer lifespan, guinea pigs make good pets.

[Lara2]

Rats are definitely addictive - I started with 3 and within a year had rescued another 9! It was four cages, each with its own colony.

[RattieOfCatan]

I am surprised by the amount of people saying that they smell. They certainly have a certain smell about them, but I'd liken it to any pet really! They can get pongy in the day or two before a clean out but they shouldn't really be smelly. If they are then there will likely be a reason for it.

Cage being too small is one common reason for smelliness. Not cleaning often enough/cleaning too much can contribute too. If you clean too much they will scent mark to make home smell like home again. A lot of boys will scent mark which isn't the same as incontinence, it depends on the boys and neutering is a way of stopping that if it's really bad, but it often is just a nuisance! Rats shouldn't be incontinent, we have one who is but she is a strange with something odd going on genetically, she can't drink out of a normal bottle very well (which took us a while to work out!) so the incontinence has improved massively since introducing bird water bottles/trays to their cage! Old rats may have continence issues but they're old so some issues are expected!

[littleprincesssara]

They don't smell and don't dribble urine unless they have a medical condition. You can housetrain them to only pee and poop in designated areas. Unfixed males do scentmark.

[Purplepixiedust]

Here are mine.

[iklboo]

We had four. One was pregnant when we got her (thanks pet store that shall not be named) and had 17 babies. We kept one and gave the rest to a breeder.

One used to climb on my shoulder & groom my hair. She won 'kissiest rat' at a rat show.

Sadly we had to rehome them when I had DS as we didn't have the time to look after them anymore. It broke my heart.

I'd love to get more but we have moggies and a snake now so it wouldn't be fair.

[Purplepixiedust]

Rats are great. We are on our second trio of boys. The first 3 were from a registered breeder and had been handled from really young so were much happier being handled than our current boys which were from pets at home adoptions having been purchased from them and returned. Rats are inquisitive and active and can really enjoy human interaction. While mine won't sit on your lap (like the old ones), they come to the door for a fuss and hang of the bars for attention when you come in the room. They sleep a lot in the day but perk up around tea time. They can be a bit pongy so you do have to clean them out and they do wee and poo a lot although can be litter trained to some degree. They are sociable so must not be alone and need free ranging daily (we use conservatory) and space to climb and explore so you want a cage with different heights, tunnels, hammocks, hiddy holes etc. There are loads of ratty folk on the internet so do your homework before you go for it. It is important to get diet, housing and bedding right. We have no regrets.

[GinandJag]

They are nice pets but are also incontinent.

My au pair had three rats and her room absolutely stank. It took 3 lots of wet-vaccing to get rid of the smell after they left.

[paddypants13]

Yes! Get rats, they make fab pets. They're very intelligent and mine loved interaction.

They do need a fairly large cage though and plenty of toys so keep in mind cleaning them out is a fairly big job. They also need to be kept in pairs.

[wasonthelist]

To think about getting a pet rat for DD (10)

Sounds like a fair swap

[RattieOfCatan]

Could just be personality, some rats are a little skittish for a while and take extra love bombing! We have a girl who loves cuddles but hates being picked up we've had her over a year now and she still squawks every single time we pick her up. Are you scooping with both hands to pick up the skittish one? That can help. Food bribery works wonders too if they'll go for it, so getting them to get closer to the door to accept a treat and slowly making it so that they have to step into your hand to get it, baby steps and you have to be patient but it works to build their confidence in you.
Putting an old T-shirt that you've worn for a while (so smells like you) can help them be more comfortable, all of the skittish rats ive had responded well to sitting in snuggle bags, baggy zip up tops and snoods too. You can make fleece snoods to wear and put rats in quite easily and some hammock makers sell them too, they're really great and great in winter when you want a warm cuddle puddle around your neck!

[OnceThereWasThisGirlWho]

Never had rats but have you considered gerbils? Not bitey, only sleep a few hours so alert and interesting most of the time, and urinate little/very clean so no smells and less cleaning out. Also smaller so not needing such a large enclosure. I'd always recommend gerbils over hamsters; don't know about rats!

Whatever you do, definitely worth looking at animal rescues/specific small furry rescues.

[MermaidTears]

Sorry to derail, big does anyone have any advice? We have two female rats, one if super friendly and snuggles round your neck, runs out the cage to you as soon as you open it, but the other seems to be very skittish/easily startled and nowhere near as friendly! Doesn't like you to pick her up etc. Had them four weeks now.

[RattieOfCatan]

lady if there are rats I'm there! Your two are cuties :) I love Berkies with their white bellies! And red eyed rats :)

These are my two youngest, photos were taken shortly after we got them at 6ish weeks, that was a month ago and the hooded is now huge! He'll be a very big boy I think, the first one is tiny but he is a runt so it's expected.

[nobodysbabynow]

DD has 3 boys, they are fantastic pets but they really smell - cage needs a quick change and wipe every other day and a complete wash in the shower once a fortnight.

[LadyDeadpool]

Wondered if Rattie was going to show up!

I have 8 rats in my house currently 3 females who live upstairs with my daughter and 5 boys in my bedroom. 5 of them are from an opps litter after we rescued 3.

Please don't get a tank for them the air can't circulate properly. They do smell a little but you just keep their cages clean and its easily tolerable. They are lovely adorable loving beasties and perfect for a 10 year old honestly I'd take my ratties over a dog, they don't live long and that's the only downside but they fit so much love into their short little lives and all they want in return is belly scritches, warm spots, food and the occasional snuggle.

As said though please don't keep one by itself they're social animals and live longer when kept together as it stops them getting depressed.

Picture 1 is of my oldest boy who is 7 months old and just wants to play fight with you, I love watching him bounce around the bed as he gets excited when you play with him.

Picture 2 is of one of the babies we recently rehomed from our oops litter - we rehomed 3 girls and 2 boys to wonderful homes we checked out. She's 8 weeks in this photo.

[PNGirl]

They are amazing but you need 2 minimum and a large cage - as big as you can afford. We have 8 (4 boys and 4 girls).