rats,cages,behavior...

Question
Hi,
I've been thinking of getting a rat, and my mom has had one when she was a kid. I want to know the best type of rat breed to have as a pet and know about their behavior, and cages that will be best for them :)

Thank U.
Kate

Answer
Hi Kate

For starters, there are no real breeds of rats. They are only classified as far as they types of coats, colors or ear placement. Other than that, they are all the same. The dumbo rats with the ears placed more on the side of their head are no more different than the rats with standard ear placement.  They are no different than each other as far as being healthy or friendly.  What matters is where you get them from. If they are sold from a pet store where they are meant for snake food, chances are that they are not bred to be healthy or friendly since they were not bred to live as pets. Its all very sad and we seem to want to save them but a new rat owner is often troubled once they get the rat home and its terrified, hiding in the corner and the new owner is not sure how to handle them. I have devoted a webpage on my site on training shy rats so thats no problem for people that want help in making friends with their scared rat.
I like to tell people to adopt from shelters but again, I cant say they are bred to be friendly or healthy. A good breeder with a good reputation is the best place for healthy friendly rats since they know where their breeder rats come from and know what to expect from them as far as health goes. They also play with them from the day they are born, before their eyes are even open, which means that they are friendly with humans early on and are not skittish or nervous at all.
So you want to know what breed of rat to get and since I cant really say that there is a specific rat that makes a better pet, what I can tell you is that its best to find a breeder rather than a pet store rat and if you have to get them from there, you should make sure they are friendly and not shy of you. I tend to take in the skittish shy ones, feeling sorry for them.

As for behavior, males and females are both great pets, but can be alot different as they age.  As young rats, though, they all tend to be the same. They love to chase, wrestle, groom each other and cuddle and sleep together, often in a pile if you have several rats, which reminds me. You should never have just one rat. Rats are super social animals and should be with another rat for compaany. Any rat that lives solo is usually not a happy rat and do not live a really full life.  You should get a pair of ratties.  
As for the sex, here is the cold hard facts. Males,well, if they are not neutered, they often tow around some pretty large uh...family jewels....and some people do not take to that too well. Me, it doesnt bother me at all. Males also like to wrestle and get a bit rough as they play when a bit older, but once they settle down, they are cuddly lugs that are happiest sleeing in your lap.  Females are curious, always on the go, busy, always looking for something new to get into and explore. They dont always like held much and want to come to you when they want picked up. Both sexes bond hard with their cagemates and they do well in large groups, although I only suggest male packs are no more than  4 unless they are neutered. The only problem with females is the fact they develop mammary tumors as they age past menopause. Estrogen levels are the culprit  in most cases. Unless you plan to spay females at a young age, chances she will develop mammary tumors after 18 months are at least 70%. Spaying greatly reduces the risk if it is done while the rat is young, between 3 and 5 months old.


Of course, the basics like cage (the bigger the better, but beware of cages with the bar spacing too wide or young rats can slip through) People prefer MARTINS CAGES and they make nice cages for rats with the baaar spacing close together.
Tanks are no good due to poor air circulaHi Kate

For starters, there are no real breeds of rats. They are only classified as far as they types of coats, colors or ear placement. Other than that, they are all the same. The dumbo rats with the ears placed more on the side of their head are no more different than the rats with standard ear placement.  They are no different than each other as far as being healthy or friendly.  What matters is where you get them from. If they are sold from a pet store where they are meant for snake food, chances are that they are not bred to be healthy or friendly since they were not bred to live as pets. Its all very sad and we seem to want to save them but a new rat owner is often troubled once they get the rat home and its terrified, hiding in the corner and the new owner is not sure how to handle them. I have devoted a webpage on my site on training shy rats so thats no problem for people that want help in making friends with their scared rat.
I like to tell people to adopt from shelters but again, I cant say they are bred to be friendly or healthy. A good breeder with a good reputation is the best place for healthy friendly rats since they know where their breeder rats come from and know what to expect from them as far as health goes. They also play with them from the day they are born, before their eyes are even open, which means that they are friendly with humans early on and are not skittish or nervous at all.
So you want to know what breed of rat to get and since I cant really say that there is a specific rat that makes a better pet, what I can tell you is that its best to find a breeder rather than a pet store rat and if you have to get them from there, you should make sure they are friendly and not shy of you. I tend to take in the skittish shy ones, feeling sorry for them.

As for behavior, males and females are both great pets, but can be alot different as they age.  As young rats, though, they all tend to be the same. They love to chase, wrestle, groom each other and cuddle and sleep together, often in a pile if you have several rats, which reminds me. You should never have just one rat. Rats are super social animals and should be with another rat for compaany. Any rat that lives solo is usually not a happy rat and do not live a really full life.  You should get a pair of ratties.  
As for the sex, here is the cold hard facts. Males,well, if they are not neutered, they often tow around some pretty large uh...family jewels....and some people do not take to that too well. Me, it doesnt bother me at all. Males also like to wrestle and get a bit rough as they play when a bit older, but once they settle down, they are cuddly lugs that are happiest sleeing in your lap.  Females are curious, always on the go, busy, always looking for something new to get into and explore. They dont always like held much and want to come to you when they want picked up. Both sexes bond hard with their cagemates and they do well in large groups, although I only suggest male packs are no more than  4 unless they are neutered. The only problem with females is the fact they develop mammary tumors as they age past menopause. Estrogen levels are the culprit  in most cases. Unless you plan to spay females at a young age, chances she will develop mammary tumors after 18 months are at least 70%. Spaying greatly reduces the risk if it is done while the rat is young, between 3 and 5 months old.


Of course, the basics like cage (the bigger the better, but beware of cages with the bar spacing too wide or young rats can slip through) People prefer MARTINS CAGES and they make nice cages for rats with the baaar spacing close together.
Tanks are no good due to poor air circulation. Bedding/litter should not be pine, cedar or corncob but                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      tion.
In fact, the best thing now since I have blabbed long enough is to check out my website. Using the right side of the site on the navigation menu you will see many pages. Start with the     home page but check out GETTING STARTED for info on cages, toys, how to make an area for your rats to play safely, etc...  Also check out the page about proper diet and be sure to read about rat ailments, especially paying special attention the MYCOPLASMOSIS.
Here is the URL to my site below, and you can get the direct link from my profile

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


Hope this helps!