Pet Rats: Making the decision to keep them as pets

[Chickerdoodle13]

So rats have been an animal I've wanted for many years, but never really had the opportunity to own them. I've been speaking with a classmate of mine who is active in rat rescue and since I've been wanting some sort of pet, she mentioned I could try fostering some rats in need to see how I like them.

My main concern with rats is the smell. I have a pretty strong sense of smell and I've never been a huge fan of rodent smell (Rabbits always seem to have a strong odor when they are kept inside). I've been doing a lot of research and sources seem to be all over the place. If I get rats, I am considering neutered males, as I read they mark less and do not produce buck grease. The rescue often has this done anyway and it's not really that much, especially for males.

A friend of mine has female rats and they tend to be a bit stinky. She keeps them very clean, but she had five or six at one point and I think the females have a tendency to mark a bit more. A lot of the items in the cage would quickly get covered in urine droplets as the girls moved around (she has a rat palace, but the females are so active!)

I also read that males are more cuddly than females, which is what I am looking for in a pet.

So my main question is, how messy are rats? How strong did you find the smell, and how often did you clean the cage? If I decide to get some, I plan to litter train to make it somewhat easier. I also want to get a wire cage with levels, but I did read somewhere that sometimes rats pee out of the cage in an attempt to mark. Is this a common problem? (I rent an apartment so I have to be careful about messes)

I'm between rats and a dog, but the pet deposit for dogs and cats at my apartment is quite a bit. Rats do not require a pet deposit. I am currently in vet school and having a pet would be a big stress reliever (which is why I want something cuddly)

 

[sourland]

Between rats and dogs, it's an easy choice for me, but your circumstances are far different from mine. Given your schedule and living circumstances having a pet rat probably makes more sense. Much like any pet proper housing and cage maintenance minimizes any odor problems. My daughter had a pet rat, Henrietta, who lived to be 4 years old - eventually she was euthanized because of mammary tumors. She was a great pet and was basically odor free. Henrietta was a black and white hooded rat (Long Evans strain) - active, inquisitive, alert - she absolutely knew that my daughter was her 'keeper' and when free in the house would rush to my daughter if startled. I can still picture her on my daughter's shoulder peering out from beneath my daughter's hair. Her cage was cleaned every couple of days - I can't remember if she used one corner as a 'toilet'. A multi level cage with an exercise wheel helps to keep them healthy and happy - understand that they will be very active in the night. Biggest drawback - they do not live all that long.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

Thanks SL! Most people I talk to who have had rats have only good things to say.

A dog is my number one choice as well, but its such a huge decision (and not a cheap one either). Once I get all my financial stuff in order for the coming year I may re-evaluate and see how do-able it may be. I typically have enough time to be home to let the dog out, barring fourth year when I may need to have one of the undergrad dog walkers come let it out during my two week busier rotations. It's do-able but definitely a larger commitment! I've been weighing all the pros and cons.

 

[venetta]

Hello!

We've had pet rats for the last two years, but we're slowly winding our numbers down as we have so many other animals that we do not always find enough time for our girls.

We had girls and they would get a little stinky, but we would clean them out twice a week to keep the smell at bay. They were fairly good at using litter trays but would still pee down the side of their cage. We had a ferret kingdom for them and at one stage had 7 ratties in there. We are down to 2 now. Our girls have always been very messy and very active! Hard to keep one still whereas friends with boys did tend to be a bit more squishy and cuddly

I would say to get rats over a dog, but at the same time, many rats over here suffer greatly from myco and some can need fairly frequent vet trips because of it which ends up costing a fair amount!

Boys are definitely more cuddly, and if you have them neutered then hopefully you will have less chance of fighting etc too

 

[mountainbunny]

I just stumbled across this thread and see it's really old but I'm curious if any of you still have ratties. I have an adorable rat named Earl and I love sharing stories and pics of him