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Question
Well, I don't have a rat but at school (I'm in sixth grade) we are doing an experiment where we watch what foods work best for their health. Well any way the question is that my mom said I might beable to keep one. But the hard thing is just today my hamster died. Do you think that after a long time taking care of hamsters it will be to hard to take care of a rat? And if not could you give me some tips on how to take care of a little white albino!

Answer
I am so sorry to hear about your hamster passing away :(

You are going to find taking care of a rat a totally different experience then caring for hamsters. I use to care for 5 hammies before I fell in love with rats.

It's sort of a culture shock going from hamsters to rats and may I suggest that you start off slow by treating the rat like a rodent. In a week or so you will come to see your new pet more like a small dog and adjust your care accordingly.

Shelby, there is a lot to learn about caring for rats, they are not like other rodents. For one thing, your rat will actually invite you to play with it. Rats want to be with you and interact with you. Rats are omnivores, like us, and eat pretty much in the same way that we do. Unlike other rodents that live primarily on seeds and grains. Rats are very social animals and they like to live in, at least, same-sex pairs. Hamsters are loners and prefer to live alone.

I would not be where I am today, with the care of rats, if I had not found a few pet rat forums when I got my first rats. On that note, I would like to invite you to join my own group that I started in 2002. It's Holistarat http://groups.yahoo.com/group/holistarat

You may e-mail me privately at spazrats@yahoo.ca any time you want to talk about rats.

I have some concern about your school experiment on rat nutrition. Are some rats going to suffer because they will be fed a poor diet? I have a wealth of info on feeding rats if your experiment needs my input.

spazrats
http://spazrats.tripod.com