Rat adoption

5 Things To Know Before Deciding To Keep Rats As Pets

Rats. Just the name alone makes some people cringe. It couldn't be helped though, as wild rats do have some bad reputation. Rats are thought of to be dirty, that they are thieves, they destroy things, and that they carry deadly diseases. But those are the wild ones. Kept as pets, they become these smart and agile animals wowing people with their antics. Keeping rats as pets isn't as simple as putting them in a cage though. Here are some basic things that you need to know.

1. Rats are playful by nature and as such, they need room to play. Take note of this when you go looking for cages for your rats. The rule is, the roomier, the better. The more room they have, the happier they are, and healthier too as they will be regularly exercised while playing. Wide cages offer great space for rats to run around their cage. Tall ones, when equipped with horizontal bars, create opportunities for rats to climb and explore.

2. Rats are social animals. It is important that they spend their time with other rats. If not, they might suffer from behavioral problems that will one day annoy you. So when keeping rats as pets, it is best if you initially take 2 or more to share one cage. This way, their social needs will be adequately met. It is also widely thought of that keeping rats of the same sex is better than having male and female ones in a single cage.

3. Pet rats have this tendency to spray urine over you, and on your possessions. This is called scent-marking. Scent-marking is widely practiced by lots of animals, rats included. These scent markers are likely olfactory signals having territorial implications. In some cases, they are signals of ownership of something. Rat urine however is not really that offensive when it comes to its smell. It's the idea of being urinated over by an animal that turns other people off.

4. Rats have short life spans. A rat's life can last for up to 5 years, but the average figure is a short 2 to 3 years. Compared to cats and dogs and other larger animals who live longer, your pet rats can only be there for you for a few years. Dealing with the loss of a pet can happen often.

5. Like any pet, rats need veterinarian care too, but not often. Rats are relatively healthy creatures so having a veterinary clinic close by is not that important. It would help though to have one just in case.

Choosing rats as pets can be an excellent choice because of their natural playfulness, their diminutive size, and their intelligence. They like to please too, and they love showing off what they can do.

Dean Ramilo is a webmaster, web designer, and graphics artist specializing in logo design. Check out his new websites at Rat Cages. a site for people looking for Rat Cages For Sale

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Domestic rats

Rodents rank as the third most popular pet among families with children, after the dog and the cat. Understanding the behaviors and the needs of this classification of pets will help you decide if a rodent is the right pet for your child.

Gerbils, hamsters, fancy or domestic mice, rats, and guinea pigs are the most popular rodents that children ask for. Many times their classroom teacher will have one or more of the little critters as the class pet. Here are some things to keep in mind about each animal.

Gerbils live 1-3 years, can be housed with gerbils of the same sex in a 2-4 square foot space, and are easy to pick up and handle on a regular basis. Hamsters live 1-3 years and are smaller than gerbils. If not handled on a regular basis both can become defensive and tend to bite. They need a fresh water source, daily food, and shavings in the cage to burrow into and to soak up the urine. These shavings need to be changed out at least once a week and more often if there is an odor. Depending on the age of the child, it may not be a task that can be done independently. Gerbils and hamsters also need an exercise ball or wheel to play with when left alone for long periods of time.

Fancy or domestic mice live nicely in a small cage that is escape proof. These little critters can be quite good at escaping if given half a chance. Their needs include fresh water, food, and clean dry bedding. Mice tend to be social and are happiest if there are two or more females housed together. Males tend to fight and a male/female pair will reproduce more often than the average pet owner needs. Mice are nocturnal so most of their entertaining antics are done in the evening hours or after dark. They do not make a good pet for young children because they are quick and can easily escape the grasp of the younger child.

Rats make very entertaining pets. They live 2-4 years, are very social, enjoy human socializing, and can be trained to do tricks. They require regular handling and more time than the other rodents listed. For a responsible teen that enjoys the challenge of taming and training a pet, the rat might be just the ticket. They require a small space that is secure, fresh water, bedding, and daily food.

Guinea pigs are the largest of the rodents here, although some professionals don't consider the guinea pig a rodent. These creatures are gentle in nature. They are larger than the other rodents making them easier to hold and handle. Guinea pigs rarely bite. They enjoy the company of a same sex cage mate, but will be content alone. The diet of the guinea pig is the more challenging of diets. It includes fresh hay or pellets, fresh veggies, and a clean water source. The bedding also will require a change out at least once a week.

Consider purchasing a rodent from a reliable pet store or breeder. This ensures the pet is healthy, free from disease, and the sex that you prefer. A good pet store owner can give you tips on how to handle the animal in a safe manner for both the pet and the child. The expense of rodent ownership includes the cage, bedding, food, self water bottles, vet costs if the animal becomes ill, and any vitamin or mineral supplements that may be recommended. It is also a good idea to have an exercise wheel or ball appropriate for the size of your rodent to keep them entertained.

Rodents can be fun to watch, easy to handle, and safe to maintain around children. A soft little rodent may be the perfect pet for your child.

Terri Forehand is a pediatric/ neonatal critical care nurse and freelance writer. She has a passion for kids of all ages, especially kids who are fighting against tough illnesses and diseases. Visit her blog and website for more information. She is currently working on fiction for kids. http://www.terriforehand.com
http://terri-forehand.blogspot.com

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Rats types

Rats are rodents that belong to the Rattus genus of the family Muridae. These are the most dominant species on earth. There are several species of rats in the world. Most rodents are herbivorous, but some are omnivorous. In general, there are two basic types of rats. They are black or roof rats and Norway or brown rats. Both are thought to have originated in Asia and are now widely distributed throughout the world.

The brown rat, which is also known as the Norway rat, house rat, gray rat, barn rat, and wharf rat, is one of the best-known and is the larger of the two. Their scientific name is Rattus norvegicus. They are mostly grayish-brown, with a lighter colored stomach. A fully-grown brown rat is 18 to 26 cm long and weighs between 400 and 600 gm. They have a tail shorter than its body and their nose and muzzle are blunt. They prefer moist conditions and nest in deep burrows.

Roof rats (Rattus Rattus) are also called black rats and ship rats. They are usually black, slender, 16-21 cm long and weigh about 80-300 gram. Their tail is longer than the head and body and their nose and muzzle are pointed. As the name suggest, roof rats are climbers. Their paws enable them to climb and build nests in upper parts of dwellings, attics, rafters and crossbeams of buildings.

These rats breed when they are three to four months of age. They breed 1 to 13 times a year and produce 1 to 22 in a litter. Black rats and brown rats eat about the same things. Their diet typically includes seeds, nuts, grains, vegetables, fruits, cereals, meats and invertebrates. They consume about one-third of their weight in food every 24 hours.

They carry lethal diseases, damage structures and contaminate food. Some of the diseases potentially fatal to man that spread through rats are Weil's disease, plague, salmonella food poisoning and toxoplasmosis.

Rats provides detailed information on Rats, Rat Terrier, Pet Rats, Rat Snake and more. Rats is affiliated with Electronic Pest Control.

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Pet rats

Anyone looking for a new pet wants a pet that is clean, socialized and well trained. Most people don't know that these are all qualities of pet rats!

There are many misconceptions about rats. People think that rats are unclean and carry disease. In fact, rats are quite clean and groom themselves several times a day. These aren't sewer rats we're talking about. These pet rats, or fancy rats as they're called, have been domesticated and bred in captivity for at least 150 years. Pet rats are quite tame after living with humans for so many generations and you'll find that they are nothing like their stereotypes.

Rats are very intelligent animals. Some consider rats to have intelligence close or equal to that of dogs. Rats are capable of learning to come when their names are called. They can even be litter trained just as easily as training a cat.

If you have any experience with other rodents such as hamsters, mice or gerbils you may be afraid of biting. Although biting is common with other rodents, it is almost unheard of with domesticated rats. Unlike their rodent cousins, rats are generally docile creatures. Most of the time rats just like to lay around, especially males. Rats can easily be trained to be good lap or shoulder pets.

In the wild, rats live together in colonies and have a complex social structure. These social instincts carry over to pet rats. Pet rats tend to develop strong bonds with humans and with their cage mates. So much so that it is common for rats to become very depressed when a cage mate passes away.

There are many apartments that won't allow dogs or cats, and it may simply not be practical to have larger pets in some houses. In those situations a pet rat is the perfect solution. Cages for pet rats usually don't consume much room at all, usually just a two foot by two foot space, which makes pet rats great for small apartments.

Rats are friendly and intelligent animals and make great first pets for children. Being clean and easy to care for makes them great companions for the elderly. Go out and get your pet rat today!

Scott McHenry and his wife have had a large number of pets of many different species. They have several years experience with rats and together run [http://www.ratanswers.com] a rat informational web site.

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Fancy rats

Compared with mice, there are relatively few color forms of the Fancy Rat. They can be divided into two groups: the basic colors and the recognized pattern markings.

Basic Colors

Rats are, certainly, among the most popular varieties with the pet owner - possibly because they appear clean! There is a Pink-eyed White, which is also known as the Albino. Young rats of this variety tend to become creamy in color as they get older. There is also a distinct Self Cream strain.

Most of the colors developed in mice are also seen in rats. The Agouti most closely resembles the ancestral Brown Rat, but the depth of brown coloration has been increased, becoming richer overall. A Silver counterpart, known as the Silver Fawn, has silver guard hairs set against a rich orange fur. The pink-eyed mutation here again exerts a diluting effect on overall body coloration. The Cinnamon mutation has an intermediate effect, creating a russet-brown shade of coat color with longer chocolate guard hairs.

Among the darker colors, Self Blacks (ideally as deep as possible) and Self Chocolate (showing no trace of white) have been developed. Other varieties corresponding to the colors seen in mice are the Champagne and the Pearl, the latter being one of the more recent innovations. A color unique to rats is the Self Mink. Ideally, these rats are coffee colored, with a bluish tint and black eyes. They are, in effect, a dilute form of the Self Chocolate.

Patterned Rats

Undoubtedly the most widely seen of the patterned varieties is the Hooded Rat. The so-called hood extends from the top of the head to the face and down to the shoulders and chin. Another colored area, the saddle, extends down the back and on to the tail. While any color is acceptable to form the hood and saddle, the remainder of the body should be white. It is not easy to produce a top exhibition specimen of this variety. A more straightforward version is the Capped, which simply lacks the saddle but retains the colored head. Another similar variety is the Variegated, which differs from the Capped in having a mixed rather than a white body color, although the belly itself must remain white.

A white belly is also characteristic of the Berkshire, which should also show white feet and a similar spot on the forehead. The remainder of the body is colored. Irish rats, by comparison, are more highly colored, with a white area forming a small equilateral triangle on the chest. White is otherwise restricted to the feet. in France, notably the Himalayan form, which was first seen around 1972. The points are darker than the body coloration, creating an attractive contrast. It does not differ significantly from the identical mutations seen in other animals, including mice and rabbits. The Himalayan itself is predominantly white in color, whereas in the Siamese the fur is pale brown. The pairing of Himalayans together should yield on average two Himalayans for every one Siamese and one Albino. Thus, a quarter of the litters should be Siamese.

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Rat as a pet

Rates are clean, affectionate and intelligent animals. The rat usually kept as a pet is the Norwegian Rat, Rattus norvegicus, not the Black Rat, Rasttus rattus. The average lifespan of a rat is 3 years.

Food

Rats are omnivores; they eat both animal and vegetable foods. Most Human type foods are suitable, but give mainly vegetable type foods and reserve meat for an occasional treat. Most people use a seed based mixture as a basis of the diet, but it should be supplemented with generous amounts of fresh fruit and vegetables as well as fresh green food.

Things to Avoid

Some things are poisonous or undesirable foods for rats. Avoid giving your pet rat:

Alcoholic beverages
Anything known to be poisonous to Humans
Avocados
Bulbs and the leaves of plants grown from bulbs
Chocolate
Green Bananas
Green Potatoes
Liquorice
Onions
Potato Leaves
Raw Dry Beans or Peanuts
Raw Red Cabbage and Brussel Sprouts
Raw Sweet Potato
Rhubarb and especially rhubarb leaves
Seaweed
Tomato Leaves

The same care needs to be taken over the storage of your rat's foods as you should take over your own food.

Companions

Rats are social animals, and it is kinder to keep more than one, especially if you cannot be with your rat most of the time. It you have rats of both sexes, you can reasonable expect babies fairly soon. The females tend to be more active while the males are often more cuddly.

Buying your Rat

Unless you are already an expert on keeping rats, the ideal person to buy from is a serious rat breeder. If you buy from a pet shop, make sure that the person who serves you is knowledgeable about rats.

Housing

I suggest a minimum length for the cage of 24 inches (60 cm) and a width of at least 12 inches (30 cm). In addition, it is better if you can let the rat out of the cage and play with it. Many rat owners train their pet to sit on their shoulder.

Biting

Mostly rats do not bite. If they do it may be from fright, or because they are not used to their owner. In some cases, a male rat becomes aggressive as it becomes sexually mature. If the rat is showing excessive aggression, you may have to consider castration. If you do get your rat castrated, make sure the vet is familiar with the castration of rats.

If you are bitten by a rat, get advice from your doctor. Your doctor may recommend a tetanus injection.

Cleaning

Rats keep themselves clean, but it is necessary to clean their cage frequently.

Although rats only live for about four years on average, our Rat, Tiffany, lived for over four years. To read about her life and afterlife, see: http://www.bettatrading.com.au/Tiffany-Rat.php.

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