Rats.

[LetThereBeRock]

I'm thinking of getting a rat or perhaps a pair and would appreciate any advice and recommendations on breeds,accomodation,diet etc.

I've had hamsters before,lizards,fish,cats and dogs but never rats so any thoughts and advice would be much appreciated.

TIA

I had a rat when I was a student and it was FAB! Really friendly, loved baing handled, and very clever too. I had a hooded rat and kept it in a fish tank about 2ft long I guess, with sawdust and a little house with some shredded newspaper. Can't remember what she ate now (20 years ago!) but do remember she loved chocolate buttons as a treat/bribe! Was really cute to watch her eat one - it was the equivalent of me holding a chocolate button the size of a very large dinner plate and nibbling my way through it

Do get one, they are excellent pets. I would love to have one again but unfortunately I became v v allergic

Rats are excellent pets, I have loads of them!!!

You do need to get a pair or trio, rats are very sociable animals and it is really quite cruel to keep one alone, it can also mean they become insecure and viscious.

Try www.equinecanincefeline.co.uk for cages. The 'Jenny' is a good size and reasonably priced, although some people find it a pain to clean/access a pain. I have three of them and love them. The bigger the cage the better though. I also have the Furet Tower, which is great, but you might feel it is too big for two rats.

Foodwise, I feed a mixture of pellet free rabbit food, dog kibble and then add low sugar breakfast cereals, brown rice, crushed up ryvitas, rice cakes anda few other bits, I vary it each time. If you don't want to go to such trouble, pellet free rabbit food with approx 10% dog food added would be good. (James Wellbelovedor similar dog food is good) Commercial rat food is't at all great, although some of the muselis are better than the pellets. Rats get bored easily. They should also have fresh food everyday or other day. Fruit and veg, especially kale, boiled eggs, chicken carcasses, fish etc.

Rats really need time out of their cage every day so they don't get bored. Quite a few owners set up a 'playpen' for them with toys in that they don't have in their cages. They are really very intelligent and will soon learn to come to call and tricks if you teach them.

As for breeds, there aren't any, they are all 'Fancy Rats' but you do get different varieties, which are basically colours/patterns. You can find details of them here www.hawthornrats.co.uk/varieties.

A breeder is the best source for rats. They will breed for health, longevity and temprement and babies will be well handled and socialised. You will have to sign a homing contract and agree to return the rats if at any time you can no longer keep them. If you go on the NFRS website, they will email you a list of registered breeders.

If you want to know anything else, just ask.

I had rats and second what Midori said. It is best to get from a breeder and the NFRS website has a forum I think - I know I found a helpful forum when I was a newbie. I also went to a few shows to ask questions, meet breeders and handle them- this is important as allergies are common-better to find out beforehand!

They are sweet and fun but awfully prone to disease, v sad when they are ill as they have such short lives

They are lovely animals, really sweet pets. Especially if you get them young. Though saying that, we have had some very sweet rescue rats in the past.

Before getting our rats we read that girls are much more active than boys, and much more inquisitive. Our rats back that up. We have had some huge boys, size of kittens and they are wonderfully cuddly. Whereas our girls prefer to scamper about and get up to mischief.

Another vote for rats here. My girls had them from age 4 till 16 (different ones obviously!). We found girls easier to handle and more friendly and smelt less than boys. Once had accidentally pregnant one and excitement of babies arriving on DD2 12th birthday was unbelievable. Shop took 6 babies back so wasn't a disaster.
Lovely pets, clean intelligent and could be trained to climb stairs ladders etc.

the only breed is the sewer rat, which is what all pet rats are descended from .

Rats are very inteligent, but:

They are incontinent, meaning they wee microscopically everywhere they go.

They smell, anyone who tells you differently has merely become used to it, but if you go into a house with rats you can smell them instantly.

WannaBe I disagree. My sisters friends Grandma came to our house to pick her GD up one day and looked surprised then declared "I thought you had lots of pets. I was expecting your house to smell"

I had 6 rats at that time. Along with two dogs, two cats, several birds a lizard and a wild squirrel iirc.

If you clean them regularly and change the toilet corner once a day they do not smell.

I sort of agree with Wannabee. Rats do smell, but it is the sort of smell dogs have, eg. a distinctive animal smell, but not because they are dirty. Girls definitely smell less thab boys (boys scent mark) and if you only have two and litter train them and keep them clean, they will not smell enough for anyone to notice. They definitely smell less than pet mice and not much different to pet hamsters. I do notice a smell in the room now I have so many, but it's not unplesant, but when I just had four, they didn't smell noticably.

They are very differnt to 'sewer rats' though. They don't carry diseases, for start...

They do stink if you don't clean them out, and yes they do smell but not necessarily unpleasantly.

Our girls smell sweet, it's a really lovely smell. Boys seem to smell a little more musky, but again it's not necessarily unpleasant. I quite like their smell.

Cats and dogs have their own distinctive smell too.

Talking about scent marking, our boys stank when we first got them because of it, but it does stop once they are settled more. (We've asked guests, so it's not just us getting used to it)

Some of the things suggested here aren't really ideal: rats should be kept in well-ventilated fairly large cages and deffo not on sawdust, for instance. And they need a lot of attention (time out of the cage, opportunities for them to chew your house up) to be truly happy. Learn more here.

"the only breed is the sewer rat, which is what all pet rats are descended from"

Not exactly true, some people have domesticated other breeds of rats. African Pouch rats, Norwegian black rats, etc.

We now have mice and I find them a lot less demanding than the rats were -- I think any pet will stink if you are hypersensitive to it. Rats also cost me a small fortune in medical bills .

CantSupinate Ah yeah, the medical bills are fun aren't they. We weren't helped by having a very fat rat who thought he could fly

Also we did take on rats we knew were poorly though I did have to stop DP rescuing/buying a rat with a broken leg (thankfully that pet store has since been shut down)

I have had rats (girls) and looked after friends rats (boys) and can confirm that boy rats definitely smell worse.

I got DD a pair of rats for Christmas and they are fantastic pets.
Really easy to look after, sociable, friendly, cuddly and really cute.
Unfortunately one died a couple of weeks ago, but we got a new one today and she's the smallest, cutest thing I've ever seen.

I can't recommend them enough.
I normally have a rat on me somewhere if I'm home, and if I don't have them out, DD does.

We have girls and they don't smell bad, I mean there is a smell, it would be unrealistic to think an animal would have no smell at all but it's not bad. We empty the litter twice a week, and do a full wash and clean, plus disinfect with special stuff from the pet shop weekly.
I think I've been wee'd on twice, and DD not much more than that. They use one corner of their cage for a toilet.

I think they are great pets. And I don't think they smell particularly bad- mice smell far worse, and hamsters/ gerbils no better.

2 together are a good idea. And they do like plenty of stimulation and handling. On the downside, they are prone to cancers and respiratory problems, which can mean they don't live as long as you would like

I think they are fab. I had two at uni - the coolest, funniest, cuddeliest pets every

My 17 year old niece currently has two. They are gorgeous.
She tells me (she has done all her research and bought from a reputable breeder) that her girls stopped microscopically widdeling everywhere once they were fully grown. Whereas my boys did it all the time. Apparently this is why girl rats smell less.

Ds is only 10, and we have a dog, but at some point in the future he will get a pair of rats - and I am going to love it!!

ever, not every!

I adore rats. When I was a teenager my little sister got a pair, one of whom was secretly pregnant and had 12 babies who all lived!
We sold the five boys and kept the girls- one escaped and was never seen again so we had eight in all. My grandpa built them a 6ft tall, four storey rat palace with tunnels and platforms. They were such fabulous pets. Very prone to tumours though and the girls do have a lovely smell of their own.

I agree about mice too- they are adorable but they stink, and wee a lot more than rats. Rats are clever too, whereas hamsters/gerbils will remain a little furry pet thing, rats will come to you, socialise, be pleased to see you etc. I took one to the pub a few times inside my jumper

If I didn't have the cats (and dogs and rabbits and guinea pig...!), I'd quite fancy a couple of rats myself. They're just so cute - I don't know why some people are so averse to them, maybe their tails? I don't know how people can resist them - look at this, it's adorable! More and more people are getting them now, and I think they make much better pets for children than rabbits, guinea pigs or hamsters.

I agree MrsL - they are so much more trainable. One of mine was able to master an obstacle course to get a piece of cheese whilst the other used to sit on my shoulder when I did my homework and when I went out with friends it would come with me in my the pocket of my denim jacket (showing my age now )

I really really want some now. Especially after that first picture of the rat and the teddy.... Awwwwww