Rats can make wonderful pets.
There are many places you can look to find yourself a pet rat, but for most, the easiest location is a local pet store.
Now some turn their nose up at feeder rats, the most common and easiest rats to get ahold of at a pet store - but there are benefits. My very first rat was destined to be a 'feeder' - but my mom told me I could get a rat only if I bought it.
I had no job so this made things difficult, and I have my suspicions that she knew it would... ;)
But one day we saw some feeder rat pups for $3 each. They were 6 weeks old and cute as buttons! As my mother banged her head on the wall in the corner, I gleefully picked out this terrified, wrigling, hopping creature, and brought her home.
Which brings me to my next area: Housing.
I'd already been digging through yard sales for cheap rat set ups. Lots of hamster set ups exhist however, they are just not meant for rats nor will they hold rats.
But I'd lucked out and found a 20L with a lid for free! I LOVE yard sales! (And flea markets, and estate sales, animal swaps, and Good Wills that have a good animal section...)
At an animal swap, there was a lady selling water bottles and bowls for $.25 each. So I had my set up long, long, loooong before I ever found my first pet rat.
When I brought her home, I set fresh newspaper (not the shiny stuff, but that old fashioned black and white inked thin paper they use for the classifieds and such) in the bottom, added 2" of aspen wood shavings, and gave her an empty Graham Cracker box. I then poured out the seeds and added the water bottle.
I put her in and she scurried into her box. I don't think she came out of there for three days straight.
They are nocturnal, but the cage was next to my bed and I didn't hear a peep or a rustle from that girl.
Once three days had passed, I decided she'd had enough time to assimilate, and I admit I may have been hasty. But it turned out alright in the end - I carried her around under my shirt, where she initially tucked her face into the crook of my elbow and hid her butt under the trailing sleeve of my tshirt.
I would set her back in her cage about every 20 minutes so she could relieve herself. At first, I didn't think I was getting anywhere - I'd put her back in, and she'd run into her box and hide.
But after a few times of doing this, she relaxed and started climbing around my neck and then sat down and cleaned off her face.
Within a day or two of doing this, she was so comfortable she came out of her box and would climb into my hand, ready to sit on my shoulder.
Now the fun began!
I started offering her treats when she was on my shoulder, which at first, she ignored.
So when I would put her back into her cage, I would leave her the treat. During her downtime while I was at school, she'd eat them, and learn that she liked these little goodies.
Once she found out that she liked dried macaroni noodles, bread crusts, a dot of tuna fish, a bit of pizza, she would take things I offered her and munch them greedily while she sat in my lap.
Soon, she began to LOVE coming out - when she came out, she got good food!!! It was soon after this that I ever so gently would try to brush my fingertip over the fur just behind her ears.
At first, this giant-looking finger moving at her face spooked her - but after trying this a few times while she was eating, she decided that food was more important and she let me 'scritch' her by faintly brushing that sensitive spot just behind those big ol ears of hers.
I should back up by saying I picked out a name for this black berkshire girl, with white stockings on her front legs and a pink tail with a white tip: Reebok.
I had started clicking my tongue at her and testing out various sounds - then I'd say her name and click my tongue as I gave her these treats. At first, she seemed oblivious to my attempts to train her at all.
But within a few days, she was in her hide box when I came home, slapped my book bag to the floor, and clicked to her --- and she ran out! Holding both her paws to the glass, she was telling me as clear as she could that "Hey! I know what that means - TREATS!"
So I dropped in a treat.
It didn't take long at all before I could set her down at the foot of my bed with a raisin, and as she was finishing it up, I'd click my tongue or call her name and she'd bound over to me and scamper up to my shoulder - and I'd reward her with another one.
I continued to lengthen the distance, and found that soon, she could be anywhere in my room and she'd almost always come running when I called her name.
I did continue to keep her in her cage while I was away from the room, as I knew the house was not secure and I didn't want her getting lost entirely or becoming injured, etc.
With all the treats and goodies she was fed, it soon became apparent I'd have to clean her cage. She had seeds spilling out of her box and all the newspaper crammed haphazardly in the doorway - but inside was a comfy looking nest - kind of smelly though.
I had to break her heart and clean it up. A small dustpan was very handy - it scooped up the bedding and seed hulls and such so I could turn and dump it in the compost bin.
Then I used a mixture of Dawn Dishsoap, a squirt of bleach, and flea and tick dog shampoo and warm water and I sprayed it onto the cage, cleaned the water bottle, the bowl, and the lid.
I rinsed everything extra well, dried it off with a pet towel that I picked up at a yardsale and kept set aside just for her, and I set up the cage again with a new box. Now eventually she began to use one corner of her cage as her 'litter box' area and I found I could just scoop out that corner and side of her cage with the dust pan every few days and leave her box and other items alone (which she much preferred) but I did sanitize the cage as described above about once a month for good measure.
Reebok was such an awesome pet, that it wasn't long before I wanted to ad yet another rat to the home. However, surprisingly ;) my family was not as gung-ho about this as I.
Eventually, after I had saved up money for the second time, I found an unrelated male rat at a pet store, Duece. Duece had a bleak future; he was a feeder rat among many in a feeder tank destined as pet food for another creature of some sort. He was older, probably 6 months or so when I got him. I quarantined him in a seperate room of the house for about a month and was careful to handle him wearing an old shirt that I kept by the cage just for him - just in case he had a terrible virus, a horrible, debilitating disease, something Reebok could catch or vice versa. I couldn't take that chance.
He was twitchy and terrified and although he calmed down remarkably well with time and handling, he was never quite as casual as Reebok.
Quarantine ended. Weeks passed. When Reebok was 6 months old herself, I began slowly introducing her to Duece. She'd already learned his smell whenever I'd hold him on my shoulder for a time, them put him back into his cage and take her out.
But now it was time for face to face meetings because I was hoping for the tickling of rat pup feet in the near future.
She was less than impressed.
He was thrilled.
I'd set their tanks side by side so they could see each other as well as smell, and soon I set them both in the bathtub (easy cleanup, nuetral territory) so they could get up close and personal.
Duece was happy to oblige.
That's when she beat the stuffing out of him.
Oh no! Now Duece had a complex!!
I had the forethought to have gloves on hand, which was good. Luckily he didn't have any bleeding injuries but he was mentally scarred by the aggressive female he'd moments before been checking out as a potential mate.
After that, I'd take them out, her on my shoulder, him on my lap and so on. If she tried climbing down towards him, I'd pick him up and hold him away - eventually she seemed less aggressive and after a week or two of this her feelings toward him changed considerably.
See, female rats come into heat, the time they can be bred, about once a week. When that time came and Duece was near, she wasn't so disgusted by his prescense any more. She quivered her ears and began hopping oddly. I'd read a bit about this, but instead of giving the bathtub another try, I put her in his cage.
It worked.
Gestation is about 21 days, and although she'd never had her own litter, Reebok knew to start gathering for it. Her nest was now monumentally huge - where before she had Graham Cracker boxes and the like, she now had a 12pk Soda box and she overfilled it with newspaper, bedding, lined sheets that suspiciously looked like sheets from my homework notebook, dog fur - whatever she could find.
Her once streamlined, sleek body grew more pear shaped towards her hips and she began stealing food as if she were starving.
I think it was day 23 when I came home and Reebok did not come out to greet me.
And when I got close, I could hear tiny little squeaks!!!
Although the temtation to peek was nearly killing me, I had to leave her be.
But by day 2 or 3 Reebok came out on her own, wanting treats. I gently lifted her out and set her on my bed with a large treat, and lifted out the soda box. I couldn't see a thing.
Again I left it alone. I know, I know - I'm nearly a saint! ;)
But if I remember right, I waited only another week or so before I put Reebok back on the bed and pulled some of the bedding from the soda box doorway. And I reached inside. They were just getting in their fur, but their ears and eyes were sealed shut.
I turned each one over gently, checking for deformities and such. All 5 were clean and healthy and fat and happy pups. Now rats can and have had anywhere from 1 pup up to 20 or so - that's taxing on a mom rat, but they can do it.
I was lucky that she had a small litter - it is hard to find good homes for pet rats.
Once their fur grew in, I could see what appeared to be pin-pricks in the belly fur on two of the babies - those were nipples, and signified that they were females. (In rats, only females have nipples.)
They were soon crawling out of the nestbox and exploring - before their eyes were even open. When Reebok would come searching for them, she'd grasp their loose skin from their leg, neck, or back, and drag them back into the nestbox.
*Shudder*.
I'm glad my mom was not a rat.
But really Reebok was a loving and devoted mom. Her pups all found good homes - with us. My family had grown to like rats a bit more, and even my own mother could be spotted dropping a treat into the rat cages - but she'd never admit to that ;)
Q: Can I buy a feeder rat and make it a pet?
A: Of course! There are pros and cons to this though;
Pros: Generally cheap enough that even a pre-teen without a job can scrape enough cash together to buy one and an old, suitable yardsale-find cage set up.
Thanks to the mass-producing needs of those that generally buy Feeder Rats, the humans that breed them have hundreds if not thousands of rats - some have all colors, coat and ear types and the most sought after color morphs in rats often start right at the 'feeder rat' tank at the pet store.
Check out the Merle Rat Color Morph story as an example.
Cons: no pedigree - you dont know who the parents were or the health/temperment. Generally speaking, the people who sell feeder rats keep their breeder stock healthy (unhealthy rats cannot produce lots and lots of babies and to get the bang for their buck they've got to do a certain amount of care to their precious base stock) so you can get lucky at finding good, healthy youngsters.
Most times, the feeder rats sold are not handled. The pro to this though is most are young, around 6 - 8 weeks and these are super easy to tame.
Q: Where can I find a pet rat?
A: If your pet store doesn't have what you're looking for or can't get it in, check local classified ads in your newspaper, online, and the tag board at your gas station, feed coop, or grocery store. Not to be discounted is Word of Mouth = Word of mouth is an amazing thing - you can live next to your neighbor for 6 years, and you may never know that she has a pair of breeding rats in her living room until you ask :)
Q: Rat's tails are creepy. How could you keep them?!
A: I really don't get this. I really don't - I've never thought of them as creepy, but I suppose that's not normal. I like Opposums too... and I've been told they aren't popular either. Which is weird, because they are so cute!
Really though, their tail is part of their body - we don't have fur covered feet, and they don't have bushy tails. It's just how God made them and although I don't understand the strange aversion that so many people have voiced, I do understand that I have an ever-so-slight phobia of spiders because they creep the ever living heck out of me and some people can get past their fear and keep SPIDERS as pets. Ain't no figurin'. I guess if you want a pet rat it won't bother you or you'll suck it up and quit being a wussy and love them no matter what comes off the end of their butt. ;)
Q: Can I keep a rat in my hamster's old cage?
A: Ummmmm..... probably not. If it is a plastic cage with the tubes and such - they aren't generally big enough to house an adult rat, and even a young 6 wk old rat won't be able to fit in their long - or they'll chew out. If you think hamsters are wizards at escaping, you hath never seen the Houdini-ness of a rat that wants OUT.
If however, your hamster lived in a glass tank with a super secure wire top - by all means. Nothing less than a 10 gallon, really, but some say even that's too small. Be sure you take out your pet often and give them other excercise so they don't get cramped, stir-crazy, and bored no matter what size cage you give them.
If the cage is a wire cage - well, that's tricky. Some cages have wire that is just too big - some LARGE male rats at full size may not be able to slip through the gaping bars but sometimes, expecially on corners and the doors, the wire gaps and a rat could easily squeeze (or maybe they won't have to squeeze - some of those gaps are horridly large!) right out.
Generally, bar spacing that's a 1/2" by 1/2" is a pretty safe bet that the rattie won't be able to spring from the joint.
Q: My parents said I could get a rat. What do I need?
A: Your budget is probably like mine; El Cheapo because you have no Job-o. I feel your pain. Yardsales, Flea Markets, thrift stores, and your friends ARE your friends - seriously, ask around, see who is getting rid of fish tanks, pet cage tops, and put something to gether that will make a secure habitat for your new pet BEFORE you get the pet.
A food dish - shoot, just about anything will do. In a pinch, use a Pop Tart box - many rats like to move their food around and tuck it away for later (not quite as bad as a hamster but sometimes you get THAT ONE that will surprise you on cage cleaning day with their serious food-hoarding fetish)
But generally the stainless steel no tip bowls are nice, thick stoneware crocks hold good and wash up well, but I even use the plastic cheapy pet dishes - just be prepared that the rats may nibble on them and you may need to take them away and try something else.
A hidebox. If you're handy in shop class, make one out of wood with interlocking wood pieces. If you're like me, buy one or if you're like me when I'm too poor to do that, just use a plain box - Saltine cracker box, cereal boxes, etc. Mix it up - do three at a time if the cage is big enough and change a few out and give them something to chew up. They love it!
Speaking of chewing - paper. Give them old sheets of homework you want shredded. Newspaper in black and white print. Paper towel tubes. Half of a freshly cracked eggshell (it is full of calcium and it helps wear down those teeth) - if it's safe for you to eat, it's probably safe to give to your rat to chew (no, you don't want to eat cardboard but it won't kill you to do it - and it won't hurt your rat then if they ingest a bit. Just make sure they aren't chewing plastic etc)
Bedding:
- Cedar is generally considered to be bad. May the small pet (*Cough, PETA, Cough*) committees stone you to dearth if you should even look at the bags they sell in pet stores. Pssssst - it smells GREAT though and if you use it in drop tray under the cage, so that the rat's aren't getting their faces and paws in that cedar oil, well, it isn't bad at all. But don't tell anyone I said so!!!! ;)
- Pine is also generally looked upon as a horrid, terrible excuse for pet bedding. I am so ashamed to say I used to be on this band-wagon. But you know? When I was in a pinch and had to use it instead of my beloved aspen, I didn't see a bit of difference in the rats. Now I use whichever is on sale - and no sniffles for my rats either way.
- Aspen. Beautiful, smells good like pine bedding. Light in color which for whatever reason, just looks nice and clean. Cheap, easy clean up, and most rats are fine with it.
- Newspaper. Used as a filler, a chew toy, a bedding source - not absorbant, doesn't help with odors, and not recommended as a bedding option solely.
- Newspaper that's been chopped, pulped, and extruded into tear-inducinly expensive paper pellets that smell like paper, break down like paper, and cut down on odor like the newspaper mentioned above: Uh, they're great. Sometimes, they look cute. But when they get wet and expand they look like balls of crap and I don't want to take pictures of my rats on what appears to be thousands and thousands of inky grey turds. It just doesn't look right!
- And on and on and on with thousands of other brands and types - you'll really just have to try a few, see what you like, and go from there. If your rat doesn't have a problem with it, no adverse reactions, you probably won't care much either.
You'll need a water bottle - glass used to be all the rage and is making a comeback due to the sterility and generally animals can't chew through it - but it's not popular with me because I am a klutz and if my body senses glass within a 5 foot range it forces me to trip over to it and knock it to the hard floor shattering it into billions of foot-soring shards.
Sooooo = I recommend plastic. I love the Lixit bottles that you can hang from a corner and they have a wide mouth that you can easily sterilize - I'll see if I can get a picture of them up.
But rats may chew them - you may need to get ingenious with how you protect the water bottles but you should keep a few handy when the inevitabel happens - the bottle WILL spring a leak, soak the bedding, and delay you from leaving for that Democracy class or you will see your pet chewing like no tomorrow and it will then no longer hold water due to the silver-dollar sized hole in it and you'll still never make that class - unless you have a trusty back-up water bottle you can switch out and be sure to toss in some carrot chunks and a few new boxes and paper towel tubes for your critter to munch on instead of plastic. WHEW! Was that like three sentances in one?
Q: Are you saying you buy brand-name products for your pets ONLY when they are on sale?! Doesn't that make you a bad pet owner?
A: Goodness, I hope not. If your mom didn't buy HUGGIES diapers unless they went on sale, and instead used those Equate offbrand ones, does that mean she was a dirty-rotten mother or just a shrewd & thrifty one?
Hmm, I'll let you mull that over. You know. The fact that it's okay to have kids eat the crappy off-brand yellow and brown cookies with only a measly white filling so thin it can't even be considered a 'layer', but only on sale and coupon days they can have REAL Oreos? And yet they are going out and paying full price for name-brand only pet products when the off brand is often times made by the same company, identical ingrediants, relabled, and repackaged as that 'equate' off brand? Ludicrous. But each to their own, off my soapbox, ending this discussion.
Q: My rat ate all her babies. Why?
A: So many possilities - poor cage set-up; too much traffic in the cage (owner frightening the mom, other rats, too many people walking by the cage, loud outside the cage w/ family yelling, tv blaring, speakers behind the glass thumping with ear-blowing music, etc) It could be that she was just too young. Perhaps the litter had a defect. Maybe she has a defect. Or maybe she didn't have a hide box, bedding, adequate food/water, etc. Again, so many possiblities.
Q: What is a good price to pay for a pet rat?
A: Totally depends on your area. But generally if you're not picky about color, ear type, coat type, pedigree, etc, you can find a free pet rat that someone no longer has the time to care for it or the means to do so.
