advice on picking out a rat....

Question
Hello again, I wrote you earlier on this week about finding a baby orphaned rat. well now after all i have gone through with him I would like to actually get a rat or two.

I decided to come to you in my research process as I am trying to find a breed of rat that is generally nice and what to look for when purchasing the rat.

I already have all the supplies for a rat minus the cage becasue I had two rats at one point. I didn't realize there was anything wrong with them and they passed away. They were really good companions and I liked them.

What type of bedding do you recommend?
What type of cage?

thank you.

Answer
Hi

I am glad your getting rats. Be sure you get TWO and I do suggest males unless you plan on spaying the females around 3 to 5 months old because they are very prone to mammary tumors and develop them after 18 months of age.  Check out on my site about Mammary tumors.

As for bedding, avoid pine, cedar, corn cob bedding and any and all cat litter. I use aspen in a litter pan and line the bottom tray of the cage with newspaper and white plastic needle point canvas and keep the litter pan with the litter in it. I used plastic houses and fleece hammocks and give them tons of paper towels to make a nest changing them out daily since they may pee on them.

Tons of info on cages and litter and toys here:

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


Diets...avoid pet store seed mixes.Check out about proper diets on my site (link above) and go to the page on proper diets and nutrition.
You will learn they need to avoid high protein and fats to avoid kidney disease later in life.  

Also, male rats are more laid back and prefer the lap of their keeper as they get older.  At a young age though, they will wrestle and chase each other and play play play so they wont want to cuddle at first.

You can get any rat, from white to black and any type of ears such as dumbo or standard ears, they are all the same.

You may want to look for the rats that come to you rather hide and are scared although I tend to go for the under dog and would buy the two terrified rats because I felt sorry for them so its up to you. You can always train the scared rats and they will learn to trust you or if you get the more outgoing rats they can prove to be alot of fun, too.


You want your rat to be free of any discharge from the eyes and nose, have clean fur, no scabs and notice if they have stool stuck to the bottom of their rear end. Be sure they are not itchy all over as well.
Find out if they are kept on pine or cedar because if they are, expect them to be sneezy for a bit when you get them home because they need to clear their nasal passages from the irritants . THe phenol oils in these litters are really bad news for rats.

Anyhow, last, make sure the cage is big and roomy but the bar spacing small so they cannot get out. My website page GETTING STARTED will show photos of cages to avoid and also pictures of good cages to buy as well.

Let me know what else you need to know!  Oh and last but not least, you will want to secure a vet that sees rats (exotic vet is good) and an emergency 24 hour vet clinic that sees rats. You may not need to go for a long long time but knowing there are people you can call upon is always comforting. Let me know your zip code and I will gladly help locate some names for you!