anyone here with a pet rat?
Discussion
Stevenj214 said:
shirt said:
forgot about the housing, how big are we talking? i have a 4ftx2ftx18in aquarium and was going t ocreate a wire mesh extension for it so it'd be about 4ft tall with a few levels on it.
Don't use an aquarium, their piss is full of amonia and the cage should be very well ventilated.
Here is the set up my wife had for her two females.
They need a lot of stimulation. You should definately have them out of the cage at least once a day to handle them and let them have a sniff around (and piss around
).Cheers,
Eric
Rats are lovely!
Only caveat I would make is that they piss constantly as I understand it, and some people can have a bad reaction to it. A friend of my brother's used to keep rats, and every time my bro handled one of the rats he would be violently ill for days afterwards even though he washed his hand thoroughly afterwards...
Only caveat I would make is that they piss constantly as I understand it, and some people can have a bad reaction to it. A friend of my brother's used to keep rats, and every time my bro handled one of the rats he would be violently ill for days afterwards even though he washed his hand thoroughly afterwards...
NiceCupOfTea said:
Rats are lovely!
Only caveat I would make is that they piss constantly as I understand it, and some people can have a bad reaction to it. A friend of my brother's used to keep rats, and every time my bro handled one of the rats he would be violently ill for days afterwards even though he washed his hand thoroughly afterwards...
A bad reaction to it? It's called Weil's Disease, you turn yellow and you die. It is indeed a bad reaction.Only caveat I would make is that they piss constantly as I understand it, and some people can have a bad reaction to it. A friend of my brother's used to keep rats, and every time my bro handled one of the rats he would be violently ill for days afterwards even though he washed his hand thoroughly afterwards...
Rats are outstanding pets !
We had 2, sisters. One was brown and white, the other the off white kind with the pink eyes. The pink eyed one didn't like coming out of the cage much, she would hide under a cushion on the settee. Maybe the light was too bright, who knows. The other though, was great. She would wander all over the place, sit on your shoulder eating crisps etc, and would lap tea off your tongue ! Very energetic. We also had a cat at the same time. You've never seen a pair of pupils so big, the cat would sit staring at it, dying to pounce, but knew she would suffer a horrible fate if she did... The cat did have a couple of swipes at the rat, but with her claws kept in.
We kept them in a tall cage, like the one above. They like to climb more than they like to walk, so floorspace is not that important.
Wee pepper (the brown and white one) got some illness one night, obviously with a fever, because her coat was puffed up like a hedgehog. I took her to the vet at 3 in the morning, her stuffed down my jumper. Got an injection and she was fine.
You can get quite attached to them, but the little buggers always peg it after about 2 years
We had 2, sisters. One was brown and white, the other the off white kind with the pink eyes. The pink eyed one didn't like coming out of the cage much, she would hide under a cushion on the settee. Maybe the light was too bright, who knows. The other though, was great. She would wander all over the place, sit on your shoulder eating crisps etc, and would lap tea off your tongue ! Very energetic. We also had a cat at the same time. You've never seen a pair of pupils so big, the cat would sit staring at it, dying to pounce, but knew she would suffer a horrible fate if she did... The cat did have a couple of swipes at the rat, but with her claws kept in.
We kept them in a tall cage, like the one above. They like to climb more than they like to walk, so floorspace is not that important.
Wee pepper (the brown and white one) got some illness one night, obviously with a fever, because her coat was puffed up like a hedgehog. I took her to the vet at 3 in the morning, her stuffed down my jumper. Got an injection and she was fine.
You can get quite attached to them, but the little buggers always peg it after about 2 years
I had pet rats when I was a teenager ( many moons ago ) . They are wonderful pets , as said , intelligent , inquisitive and really quite affectionate. I used to take mine out with me most nights it would sit in my sleeve , around my armpit area peering out of my open shirt collar.
Since 2001 my daugter has kept Chipmunks. They are a very intersting small pet. As fond as I am of rats I'd have to say chipmunks are even more rewarding , and the fluffy tail is easier on the eye than a rats tail. Their life-span is longer too , about 6 yrs is not uncommon
The first ever Chipmunk was kept in the house. It was let out upto 6 hrs per day and after a while would go back into his cage to pee , always in the same spot. We then got it some company , and customised a shed for them outside , lights, heaters etc.
Since 2001 my daugter has kept Chipmunks. They are a very intersting small pet. As fond as I am of rats I'd have to say chipmunks are even more rewarding , and the fluffy tail is easier on the eye than a rats tail. Their life-span is longer too , about 6 yrs is not uncommon
The first ever Chipmunk was kept in the house. It was let out upto 6 hrs per day and after a while would go back into his cage to pee , always in the same spot. We then got it some company , and customised a shed for them outside , lights, heaters etc.
Edited by R60EST on Wednesday 28th October 19:28
ferret? don't tempt me, almost came home with the biggest rabbit i've ever seen earlier.
went to the pet shop to look at cages. am hoping to use the aquarium as a base to build something like the above out of wire mesh. they had a couple of both sexes for sale and a dozen 10mth old males free for adoption. all the bumf reckons its best to have a pair so will have to see what i come up with cagewise.
went to the pet shop to look at cages. am hoping to use the aquarium as a base to build something like the above out of wire mesh. they had a couple of both sexes for sale and a dozen 10mth old males free for adoption. all the bumf reckons its best to have a pair so will have to see what i come up with cagewise.
If you buy a pair you're gonna need a bigger cage !!!!
6 pups - then 6 weeks later, probably 3 more litters, after that 9 more litters etc etc....
Personally I don't like the males, they've got great big ugly swellings between there back legs, which may or may not be their gentleman's area
6 pups - then 6 weeks later, probably 3 more litters, after that 9 more litters etc etc....
Personally I don't like the males, they've got great big ugly swellings between there back legs, which may or may not be their gentleman's area
I recommend using wood pellet cat litter in the bottom of the cage, it is very good at stopping the smells! Buy a good quality litter though with little dust as rats can develop breathing problems as a result of it. Its true some rats can pee all the time, like my last two, sadly gone now.Not all rats do though. My latest three never go to the loo at all whilst out of the cage. They are very clean. Rats can be toilet trained & will often naturally dump in one corner of the cage.
Rats are much more entertaining if they are in pairs or threes & are best not alone really. Get them young, they can be a bit difficult to tame otherwise. Girls don't grow so big & are more lively.
My latest 3
Rats are much more entertaining if they are in pairs or threes & are best not alone really. Get them young, they can be a bit difficult to tame otherwise. Girls don't grow so big & are more lively.
My latest 3
Edited by cushT on Wednesday 28th October 21:53
This thread has reminded me about how much I enjoyed my rats. I first got one after its mate died and the owner could no longer keep the other one.
He used to come running over to his the part of the cage nearest my door when I came home. A couple of times I fell asleep with him on me and he'd fall asleep aswell.
I only had him a few months when he succumbed to probably a chest tumour. I was gutted.
For housing I used a large chinchilla cage with lots of climbing stuff in it.
I had males as they seemed to interact better with people than the females I knew, they weren't smelly. My cats were good with them too. They used to be allowed to run around the lounge, they didn't care about the cats and the cats used to just watch them, if the rats went over to the cats the cats would run off!!
I like hamsters aswell but I think rats make better pets because they interact with us more.
He used to come running over to his the part of the cage nearest my door when I came home. A couple of times I fell asleep with him on me and he'd fall asleep aswell.
I only had him a few months when he succumbed to probably a chest tumour. I was gutted.
For housing I used a large chinchilla cage with lots of climbing stuff in it.
I had males as they seemed to interact better with people than the females I knew, they weren't smelly. My cats were good with them too. They used to be allowed to run around the lounge, they didn't care about the cats and the cats used to just watch them, if the rats went over to the cats the cats would run off!!
I like hamsters aswell but I think rats make better pets because they interact with us more.
WTF? 
Seriously?sidekickdmr said:
get a house rabbit, got one about 3 weeks ago, no noise at all, small solid poo's and it is already litter trained
i am tempted. the one for adoption is fecking massive and would be cool to have around. my sister had a house rabbit when i was growing up and they aren;t much fuss at all.the main downside is that it would make me look like a massive bender. how do you pull it off [fnar fnar]?
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