Tell me about rats

[snowcobra]

Just that really - I've been considering getting two or three rats, but I don't actually have any experience with them.

Do you they make good/fun pets?

Thanks!

We have 2. Love them as they're friendly, really good with the kids and can be trained to do tricks too. We got a big cage for them (nearly 5 ft high) and I think that keeps them entertained - they get stressed if they're bored. You do have to give them exercise tho, we get ours out for an hour every other day and let them run around in our homemade run. The only other downside is that their wee is pretty smelly. I clean them twice a week and use the cage granules stuff which helps. But we do still sometimes get a whiff from them....

They make amazing pets, I kept them as a teenager. They are clean, clever and super affectionate. In return they need a huge cage, lots of time out of it/having play/cuddles/exploring and just interesting stimulation inside the cage like toys and stuff to climb/hide in etc. Down side is they don't love that long and are quite prone to respiratory illnesses.

I trained mine to use their litter tray inside their cage so they would play and then go back in to use this

*Live, not love

They’re great , affectionate intelligent etc. They need a big cage and a lot of attention though. Some people hate their smell. They are terrified of cats.

They were out class pets at school. Never bit a child.

That's great to hear

Would you suggest getting 2 or 3? I've heard they do better in groups, but I don't know if the cage we have is big enough for 3 (100x50cm floor space, multi level)

Brilliant pets. They are like little puppies. Three is a good number. They just don't live long enough. Get the biggest cage you can.

Absolutely wonderful pets, intelligent and affectionate. Mine would come when called and I trained one of them to do a little spin on command. They used to play chase with my hand and climb up onto my shoulder and groom me.

As others have said, get the biggest cage you can, put lots of levels and hidey-holes in it and give them a good amount of time out exploring every day. If you get a wheel make sure it is a big plastic one specifically designed for rats, hamster wheels are not suitable.

If you are getting babies be prepared to be pooped/peed on a little bit (and to handle them lots) but as they get older they are generally quite good at holding it when out and about and returning to the same corner of their cage to do their business, so you can turn that into a litter area of sorts. Boys are generally smellier and cuddlier, girls are usually livelier.

Absolutely brilliant pets. Best ever (we've had guinea pigs and rabbits)
Cleverer than the dog (our dog anyway )

We have three boys. An older one, coming up to to three, and two youngsters we adopted when his cage mate passed away in Feb.
He now sits in his hammock while the two youngsters zoom around.

As others say, they are amazing pets. Incredibly friendly and sweet. I really miss ours and we've had several over the years.