domestic rats?

[MomtoSyd&Emma]

We have been offered two male rat babies, and I have never owned a rat before. I have had hamsters, guinea pigs and of course rabbits but no rats. I am thinking about making a 24*24*36 bird cage into a rat cage any opinions on this? I know I will have to lock the doors and remove the grate in the bottom or cover it with fleece or something due to their feet. The cage has small bars due to it being appropriate for parakeets, finches etc... opinions? The breeder only has male babies and I know that usually male urine is stronger than females BUT I also feel that males are usually friendlier is that true with rats too? HELP lol lol

 

[fasbendera]

We had females but what a social pet they are. Loved them

 

[MomtoSyd&Emma]

Do you think it would be feasible to use the bird cage as a rat cage? It would save SO much money!

 

[fasbendera]

Maybe a little messy because the bedding can get flung out but plexiglass can fix that on the bottom of the cage if it becomes a issue. I used cedar chips and it helped with the smell. They really are great pets but I am not an expert. The only trouble we had was when the boys for got to feed or water and after I figured that out we didn't have any problems.

 

[MomtoSyd&Emma]

the breeder we are getting them from said to only use Aspen bedding or paper bedding (which is fine as we use that with the rabbit) I am really excited about getting them, and I THINK the breeder and I are going to work out a trade for two of our bantams for the rats plus some money lol

 

[BluegrassSeramas]

I like females better....I just dont like the males dragging their junk all over me, lol. I've had both though and they are great pets!

I hear that cedar is not good for respiratory systems, so we use pine shavings or horse bedding pellets or that newpaper stuff.

They will need lots of toys and things to climb on..they are smart and get bored easily. I change out toys every week.

I use a big bird cage as well, so you should be fine there. They do dig in shavings so the plexi-glass is a great idea, or we just used some of that baseboard stuff that we had left over from a bathroom remodel. Also make sure the feed and water holes are SECURE! They can push them out and escape. They are very crafty! Dont forget they need something to chew on like your other pets did.

You have to watch protein and fat content when feeding them. Im sure you can Google all that you need to know.
Get a pellet specifically for rats, and you can use gerbil/hamster food as treats. Give dog food if you want, but not cat food.
Best of luck and post pics soon!!

 

[fldiver97]

Hi. I have had pet rats for a while now. Started with females. Always had 2 to keep each other company. You may be able to keep them in the cage you have but I would "install" a small shelf or 2 and a ladder. Rats are active, often at night. Having a running wheel is also good so they get exercise unless you can let them run around somewhere. They will chew on wood or plastic so don't use treated wood. Bird supplies are usually OK. I had a pair of boys once, they were the sweetest!!! They do get a bit bigger than most females, they have stronger smelling urine (but if you clean the cage and change the ltter ooften enough it willl not be a problem) and are quite visbly boys when grown ..... They are often times more sedate than females. Pet rats are quite smart and I find they make better pets than hamsters or gerbils. They don't tend to nip/bite, they can adjust better to peoples daytime schedule and they have so much personality. Rats can be "trained". Ratties will pee and poop quite often. Mine are good with me as long as I give them a chance to go in appropriate place often enough. Hand them to a stranger or let them be stressed and they will pee and poop (my vet always got peed and pooped on

- job hazard. Oh, and as far as running wheels are concerned - I recommend to use only the solid plastic type so the ratties don't break their toes. And no shavings (like cedar) that have aromatic oil. Not good for respiratory tract. Any other questions or if you want some references as far as books go, pm me and I'll give you as much info as I can. Also...most vets will not take rats as patients. Most of the time you have to find a vet that sees pocket pets or exotics (a rat....exotic????) I had my boys neutered young but that is pretty expensive, also had a "rat" expert vet where I used to live so it was not a problem as far as finding a vet.

Also, I once converted a 4 ft tall book shelf into a rattie condo......cut out a square of the shelves each on the back part, put ladders to it. Made a frame out of 2in wood, stapled hardware cloth on it, put hinges and a lock on and then put birdtoys, a brick, a running wheel, a piece of PVC pipe like a tunnel in. Place plastic bins/lids on the bottom to hold litter and the rats had a ball....was not hard to make and not expensive

 

[BluegrassSeramas]

That was great info ! I forgot to add that we made shelves too---- to take up the height of the cage. I just used hardwire cloth ramps and shelves that I was not using in my ferret cage.....

 

[tallieb]

I Love Ratties!!!

A few years ago we had one rat that we saved from a snake and ended up with 30 through rescues and an accident. They are the best pets for small children. My son was 3 and his pet rat blue would sleep with him everynight. They only time mine would bite was when she had babies (the accident). They were as addicting as chickens.

 

[fldiver97]

Quote:
They sure are.... to bad they have a fairly short life span

and they don't lay eggs...

But you can have them anywhere, no neighbors will complain about noise and no ordinances to follow But I still love my chicks, I just want them all.....