new rat owner/ questions

Question
I recently purchased a rat from a pet store as a gift for my two daughters, ages ten and seven. We currently have two gerbils but they really do not enjoy being held and interacting with the family. A good family friend's daughter has a rat who is the sweetest, most loveable pet so we decided to get one for our family. (I know not to put/ house the rat/ with the gerbils... ever! as do my children!) I just had a few questions for you b/c I have never owned a rat. You seem to be very knowledgeable and any information you can provide me will be greatly appreciated.

How do I know how old my rat is? I believe she is female as there are no obvious signs of testicles. Her body is approximately four inches long, with a four inch tail making her 8 inches total in length. Is there any way to gauge how old she is?

I was told by a rat owner I met at the pet shop that I should have my rat neutered/ spayed to prevent tumors. What is you take on the subject? Will having my rat spayed prevent tumors and lengthen her life span?

The pet shop said that Chewy, our rat, would be fine w/out companions as long as we interacted w/ her frequently. Do you agree? I read today on the Internet that they need the socialization other rat provide and keeping them alone will lead to a sad rat. Will having multiple rats inhibit the friendliness/ bonding experience we are desiring from our rat? What is your opinion?

Chewy has my heart already and my girls love her. I am wanting to provide the best home possible for her. Any recommendations from you would be appreciated. Can you recommend toys we might have lying around our house to entertain her?

Thanks for you advice. I cannot believe that I was unaware of the love and happiness such a small, inexpensive and relatively easy to care for creature could provide my family. It is a shame how these rodents have been labeled by some.

Answer
Rats are the best pets, unfortunatley, they do not live as long as they SHOULD and they break our hearts like you would not believe.

First of all, the pet store lady was absolutely and totally incorrect saying the rat should live alone. How would she like to live alone, eat alone, sleep alone, have nobody her own species around her to interact with? Rats are pack animals, totally social, loyal to their colony to the point that if one dies, they mourn and out of respect, they may even consume the rats remains to that predators cannot take him. Sounds morbid but it is a major act of love and respect in wild rats and there are reports of pet rats doing the same, esp if they live in larger mischiefs.   You should go back and get your girl another female around the same size.  As for spaying females, yes, you should absolutely spay your girl and do it at a young age, between 3 and 5 months old *she sounds to be around 3 months old now* to prevent the growth of mammary tumors. Just to brief you on these tumors, although they are almost always benign, they tend to pop up after menopause around 18 months of age and older. They may be benign, but they grow huge, and although they can be removed, they tend to grow more and more despite surgery. They are fueled by high estrogen levels the  body makes after estrus cycle ceases which is why its vital to spay early. Chances the female rat will develop mammary tumors later in life is as much as 75%.  I have a website, Critter City, that I want you to check out. It will answer every question you asked me here today plus so much more. Here is the the link about mammary tumors. Please read over it and let me know how  you feel about it.

http://www.freewebs.com/crittercity/allabouttumors.htm

You will need a top notch vet. There is no such thing as a "rat vet" but rather, an avian/exotic specialist is preferred, although hard to find. There are less than 150 in the world that are board certified but there are plenty of "wannabes" which you must be leary of. They are regular vets that see exotics yet they are not properly equipped to care for them like an exotic vet is. Spaying is invasive and many people shy away from it because they dont have a vet that is truly capable of doing the surgery without having to improvise on proper surgical tools etc...  that said, I can help you find a good vet in your area, but you may even have to drive out a bit. I drive 45 minutes to see our exotic vet but its worth it. He has everything needed to properly treat and care for small mammals and birds, reptiles, etc....he does not care for dogs or cats any longer, he is strictly all exotic, which means he can devote his money toward the proper tools and medications used for these little animals which makes treatment alot less risky.  Just let me know your location and I can give you some good names.

As for diet, if they pet store told you that the rat would be better off alone, I cringe at what they suggested you feed the rat. What kind of diet is she on now?
Rats should avoid foods high in protein and fats. Fats of course is due to heart disease and obesity, but high protein is avoided because high protein is too taxing on the kidneys and the rat will suffer kidney disease later in life.    
Here is the link about proper rat diet etc... that you may find helpful also.

http://www.freewebs.com/crittercity/ratsandahealthydiet.htm    

As for housing, playtime etc....I have found its best to have a designated play area for rats. Its just...safer...and it makes sense. Horror stories   I have from what I have seen with clinic rats could make your skin crawl.  Your rat can be killed simply  by taking a chomp out of the power cord to the lamp and rats are attracted to live electric current, which is why rodents are such a menance in the wild when they get in your attic etc....they gnaw on the wires.
I found on the web (thedapperrat.com) a lady in the UK had a genius idea to use cardboard boxes, Large ones, flatten them and cut them so they spread out. They are about 3 feet tall and 8  feet long or longer and you can use them to make a play pen for the rats. They cant climb it and if its high enough they wont jump it. You can make it go from one side of the cage to the other, allowing her access to her cage during time out to play. Make the pen as big as you want, blocking off so she cant fit under the bed or couch etc.... and add toys to keep her busy. Rats are super nosey and love to explore. Simple toys like cardboard boxes made into castles with  paper towel rolls for tunnels are great. You can take a box, add old rats or socks, scatter some cheerios in the box and watch her dig for the treats. You can teach the rat her name by calling her and showing her a treat. When she responds, reward her.  My boys come when called and when I want to pick them up I simply say UP and they stand on their hind legs and when i reach down for them, they will make a little leap into my hands. My boys are old now...the oldest is 3.5 years old. I have males *three left sadly* and they are senior boys now. I stopped keeping girls after losing my best girl back in the summer of 2007. She had mammary tumors and despite numerous surgeries to remove them, they just kept growing back again and again. At over 3 years old, I didnt want her to spend the last phase of her life having surgery after surgery. She passed when she was just a few months shy of her 4th birthday and knowing that next females I buy will be spayed, I just kept with my males until I am ready to start again with new babies once my senior boys are gone.  Anyhow, little Holly was the wild rat from hell!!  She was a little wild rat I came across and she was a real terror, biting me, totally wild (yes I mean wild as in the kind of rats that live outside) so I trained her for a week, working endlessly with her to get her to trust me and stop biting me and finally she understood that when she bit, she lost her playtime out of the cage without a treat. Rats respond to rewards and repetetion, almost like a human child does. I  also have had luck and have always had my rats litter box trained, using aspen in a litter box and not putting the litter anywhere else in the cage, just in the box.  Eventulaly they got the message and started to use the box at least 80% of the time.     

anyhow, check out GETTING STARTED for info on cages, toys and much more here:

http://www.freewebs.com/crittercity/gettingstarted.htm


Please let me know what you think after going over my website. Hopefully it helps you!