Question About My Pet Rat

Question
I bought my rat(Crash) from a pet store. From what I gathered from the owners, he's probably a little over a year old and has lived in a fish tank his entire life. He's kind of a nervous rat. I don't really know what type he is. Judging by pictures I've seen, he's a Dumbo rat, but I don't really know all of the different types. I've been taking him out, letting him ride around on my shoulder, experience the outdoors(I always keep a close eye on him outside), and I'm trying to feed him healthier foods. His personality hasn't really changed that much though. I want to him to have a happy, healthy, lifestyle. I can tell he's not very healthy by the looks of his coat and he has a bit of a sneeze. This is my first rat so any advice you could give me would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.

Answer
For starters, congrats on your new rat.  There is so much to learn about keep rats as pets I could be here all day.

A few basics you need to learn first off is that for starters, rats need to be kept in same sex pairs. Keeping them alone is like having a human being living alone for their entire life without speaking to another human being. Rats are very social animals and unless they chose to be kept alone (trust me, once you have kept rats as long as I have, there are some rats that prefer to live alone, mostly males) but it is highly unusual that they prefer to go solo.

Also, a vet. You must find a vet that is experienced with rats, prefer an exotic specialist. Also, find an ER clinic that sees rats for after hours emergencies. Waiting till the rat gets sick is too late.
Also, letting the rat outdoors is a danger all the way around. Parasites in the ground are a threat but other rodents that are in the wild carry a virus that is spread via air called SDA and it is also found in their urine. If your rat walks in an area where this rodent had urinated, your rat could contract this deadly disease. Also, rats are top prey and large birds of prey spot the rat a mile a way. Even if the rat is perched on your shoulder a large bird will not be afraid to swoop down and grab your pet rat from your shoulder. Trust me it has happened or I would not be warning you.

Diet: Never pet store seed mixes
Litter-bedding- never pine or cedar

Bringing in new rats to your house? They must be properly quarantined in a separate air space for up to 3 weeks because of the viruses, such as the SDA I mentioned.

Sneezing is normal at first when a rat is adjusting to his new surroundings.
Any red secretions from his nose and around his eyes is NOT blood. It is called porphyrin and is from an excretory  gland behind the eyes called the harderian gland. An excessive amount means the rat is stressed due to illness or anxiety and needs to see a vet, but trace amounts around the nose is normal especially after just waking up.

Rats are sexually mature around 4.5 to 5 weeks old so young rats can and do get pregnant!

Rats can easily be litter trained.

um....what else...basics for now...LOL...

He should be in a cage and not a tank as I think you already know this. Rats LOVE to climb and also there is no air circulation in tanks which is so bad for the rats delicate lungs.

Anyhow, I am going to send you to my website. You can start wherever you like on my site and it has everything from A to Z about rat care for the new rat owner, including proper diet, what to feed and what to avoid, common rat ailments, proper husbandry in general, MYTHS about rats such as debunking the fact that they harbor rabies which is totally not true. In fact no case of rabies transmitted from rat to human has ever been documented in the United States!!

Here is the URL:

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


I hope this helps get you started. Education is key in order to help care for your rat properly and due to your enthusiasm I think your totally geared up to do all you can to make your rat very happy and healthy!

Sincerely

Sandra Todd