Anyone have rats?

[Goat_Walker]

Quote:
Rat bites hurt ALOT! and its hard to get them to stop bleeding. I agree with you on this part, but i am one of those shame ful people who has fed them through the bars,. A tap on the nose discourages nibbling and snatching with my two, so its not really a problem of how i feed them. And usually they dont "bite" they just latch on with out breaking the skin. Unless that is they are frightened are just vicious.

 

[Teach97]

Rats are fairly athletic so it will probably need to be fairly high. I have had them for several years...they are neat.

 

[Goat_Walker]

All the cages I own were "donated" or given to me. If you think they will slip through the bars, wrap it in rat wire. We got a four story ferret cage from a neighbor and had to wrap rat wire around it and now it is a rat condo!

 

[RachelFromTheBlackLagoon]

I've seen a lot of people use kiddie pools. If you give them enough to do they may not jump out, but probably could if they really wanted to. I like using my bed because it's a big open area and rats have poor depth perception so aren't likely to jump off. I've only had one (Lily Munster, RIP) who would jump off the bed and usually go right back to her cage.

 

[RachelFromTheBlackLagoon]

Quote:
Rat bites hurt ALOT! and its hard to get them to stop bleeding. I agree with you on this part, but i am one of those shame ful people who has fed them through the bars,. A tap on the nose discourages nibbling and snatching with my two, so its not really a problem of how i feed them. And usually they dont "bite" they just latch on with out breaking the skin. Unless that is they are frightened are just vicious.

LOL I've done it, too! But I've created monsters in a few of them by doing it! I definitely wouldn't recommend it especially with the young kids!

 

[Goat_Walker]

Quote:
Rat bites hurt ALOT! and its hard to get them to stop bleeding. I agree with you on this part, but i am one of those shame ful people who has fed them through the bars,. A tap on the nose discourages nibbling and snatching with my two, so its not really a problem of how i feed them. And usually they dont "bite" they just latch on with out breaking the skin. Unless that is they are frightened are just vicious.

LOL I've done it, too! But I've created monsters in a few of them by doing it! I definitely wouldn't recommend it especially with the young kids!

I wouldnt either, I was just putting that in so that in case they had already begun they would know they hadnt ruined the rats. The pet store clerk laughed at my mom b/c she was so scared when she bought them . she hates the tailes and red eyes.

 

[Kanchii]

I play with mine usually on my desk while i'm at my comp, and my bed, which is right next to my desk. Eventually, they'll use the back of my chair as a bridge between the two, and do w/e they want. Godiva will also climb down my bed and run around, but she comes when I call her so I don't mind. When she gets tired she'll curl up in my sock drawer and sleep. xD If I can't find her, she's almost always in there.

 

[thebritt]

Quote:
We kept our rat (he died at 5 yrs old!) in a well-used part of the house - our TV room. That way, you always see when they need water, food, attention, etc. I, personally, would not keep a rat in an area where people don't frequent. If kept under a bed, they get acclimatized to darkness, no human interaction, and complete quietness. Then, when your boys go to interact, you'll have terrified, unacclimated rats that may even bite out of fear.
We kept ours in a fish tank with a coated wire addition that fit on top with ramps and shelves (found it at the pet store).
Dried fruit treats are irresistable! Also, apple tree branches make great chew-toys.

As for "an area" for interaction - your supervision should be boundary enough. You could always build "rat mazes" out of (unattached) 2X4s. That's fun for the kids, and they can always form new mazes. My daughter was 18mos old when we rescued our first rat, "Jimmy", who turned out to be the most mellow, sweet buddy . She would carry him under his armpits, place him on a chair (sometimes next to our cat, "Poohter") and tell him to stay, etc. We always supervised, teaching "empathy" ("He's very small, and we need to be very gentle, or he could get big owies. You don't like to get owies, do you?")

I guess my final 2 cents is to keep them where you can see them, observe their behavior, and interact, etc.
p.s. When they first wake up, or you feed them, that's not the tiime to hold them. Let them fully wake up, or eat first. Then they (like people) are more interested in interacting. Hope that helps. Have fun!

 

[The Wolf Queen]

Ive got 7. 4 males and 3 females.
Girls:
Himalayan
Mismarked Black Hooded
Beige Berkshire

Males:
Agouti Berkshire
Velveteen Blue Irish
Black Patched
Black mismarked masked

 

[gabrielle1976]

Quote:
Rats will get out you have to have them in a contained space.
The rat fan club , the rat lady debbi ducommon SP I forgot how to spell her name , rats rule ect are all good places
NO pine or ceder bedding
the petco type blends of rat food arnt very good for them best choice is a high quality rat block second is a home made recipie you can get off of rats rule
they need to be played with in a secure area lots of people start off in a bathroom as long as they cant get into any nooks and crannies but any room wher you have gone over every inch to make shure there are no holes bigger then a quarter
girls tend to have lots of energy and dont always make snuggly pets like some of the fat squishy boys do but there still fun and they still enjoy youre freindship.
Debbi I bealve has insturtions for a cage built with a kiddie pool on the bottom and 1/2 inch mesh makeing up sides and top
Good luck

I miss haveing rats very much but Im very very allergic