Can you keep pet rats outside?

[charliecat]

Have you ever?

Yes, I let them lose in alleyways, sewers and closes so they feel closer to their natural element.

har de har They are lovely, they just ruddy well stink.

I wouldnt have thought you could keep them outside, big difference between fancy rats and wild rats, not totally sure of that though.

Hmmmmmm, I have an outhouse, would have been coal shed once upon a tme...no heat or anything in it...this is where I was thinking of putting them.

I should think you can, in a rabbit hutch wioth plenty of straw.

I wouldn't, tbh. They don't have as much body fat as guinea pigs and bunnies etc so I would think they'd get cold too easily

"The cage should not be placed in direct sunlight or in drafty locations", this is from a rat care site.

Just taken this from the RSPCA website...

"What do rats and mice need?

• Companionship - to be with other rats or mice and to have human company.
• A balanced diet of mixed grains, washed fruit and vegetables. Rats can also have seeds, nuts and small pieces of cooked meat. Both should have a salt or mineral lick to keep them healthy.
• A constant supply of fresh, clean drinking water in a drip feed bottle with a metal spout.
• A large home kept indoors in a warm place, out of direct sunlight.
• Rats need a lot of floor space, ideally on more than one level.
• Mice should have a solid exercise wheel (with no open rungs) fixed to the wall of their home.
• A nest box inside their home and plenty of hiding places.
• A clean layer of newspaper on the floor of their home with soft hay and kitchen paper for bedding. Do not use woodshavings or cotton wool.
• Toys to play with, like cardboard tubes and ladders.
• Their home to be tidied every day and thoroughly cleaned every week.
• A hardwood gnawing block to wear down long teeth.
• To be taken to a vet if they are ill or injured.
• To be looked after when you are on holiday."

HTH

'They are lovely, they just ruddy well stink'

That's b/c they belong in sewers, alleysway, gutters and other such places.

Hmm...ok, gonna set up a contraption of some sort so they can be outdoors when they want and come back indoors when they want.

Try putting a lot of bedding, and v thick layer of newspaper in the cage, and washing the cage every week, also wash/chance toys when you clean the cage.

I clean them out every day, emptying litter trays/swopping food, wiping lino down, but they still reek Think its the wooden stairs have sucked in the smell

why would u want rats as pets?

because they are like little dogs, except they are rats LOL...they are lovely pets, honestly.

no more ideas then, all i did was have lots of newspaper on the bottom, and lots of sawdust. Pets at home have a lemon one that helps keep smells away.and kept everything washable or threw it out after a week or so.

Hermykne they make great pets, we had one that worked out how to get out of the cage, he woul come snd sit on our shoulder when we watched tv.

'I clean them out every day, emptying litter trays/swopping food, wiping lino down, but they still reek Think its the wooden stairs have sucked in the smell '

K, we are going for a hamster. DH had almost talked me into a rat, as he has had some in the past, even though I find them vile.

Now I know they are pongy, that's us getting a hamster.

rats are very intelligent loving pets, yes they do smell, but they were great with the kids and loved being cuddled.

Expat, if you get a girl they are not even half as smelly, and you need to get more than 1 as they like being together. I have 5 boys...they do smell. GIRLS DONT whiff half as much
Have no sawdust in the cages HJ as one of them is irritated by it and it makes his eyes water.
Could try paer on the lino to suck up wee and throw out daily..will do that

but they smell.

and the world is full of loving pets who are non-whiffy.

DH left that part of it out. Probably b/c, like most blokes, he has a faulty olfactory bulb.

Luckily, I have MN. So now I know.

Hamish the Hamster it is!

Hamsters are so frigging boring you just wait for them to die to get something with a bit more oommpphh in it BTW, and if your getting it for your child, they dont wake up till the kids have gone to bed.
And they dont sit to be cuddled/stroked, they just run off..
Get a rat, there are some BEAUTIFUL ones out there

Nnnnnnnnooooooo. 'Scrappy' the hamster was a loving little guy. He let us hold him lots.

And he didn't carry bubonic plague.

Plus, hammies have very cute eyes.

CC, I have had a pet rat before and it never smelt a bit. Are you sure there is nothing wrong with it or with how you are keeping it?

Hmm...yep, ok, as you could down the month till hammish pegs it LOL

Very true, DG. They might have been sneaking off to the sewers when you weren't looking, charlie! It can happen b/c they are clever creatrures.

BTW, DG, I think Harry Potter's deffo gonna snuff it in the last book.

Expat, a thread on rats and no mention of DT. You must be cured of your strange aversion!