I want a rat!!

[canyon_rayne]

I was at the pet store today getting a mousie friend for Oreo and was watching the rats and I think they are CUTEST things!! I sooooooo want one!! Not one of the big ones though because, honestly, they kind of freak me out. I was thinking of one of them smaller ones. Has anyone had any experience with them?? What size tank should I get?? Would a Kritter Keeper work?? Do they eat the same as mice and hampsers??

 

[SConrad]

my lil brother has 2 of them.. he never realy plaed with em at the beginig so now they are pretty mean and attack you any chance they get.. we mixt out hamster and rabbit food together but when we were on rat food tyhe bag said rat/mice so i think youll be okay with that.. they say at least 10 gallons for each rat.we have ahuge cage that(if it was an aquarium)would be probably 100 gallons for the 2 of them.

 

[diVer]

My brother has a rat. Its really nice and will sit on your shoulder while you walk around the house. Its a lot more intelligent and nicer than the mice I used to have. He keeps it in a cage wich as a guess I would say is about two 10 gallons stacked on top of each other with a ramp going up to the 2nd floor.

 

[lilmolly]

KRITTER KEEPER? Are you kidding? Do you keep your cat in a shoe box? You need a big cage for these guys. They also need to be cept in same sex pairs because they are very social. The get very unhappy being in a tiny little cage by themself all day. A 10gal is still way to small. You can keep mice in a 10gal but not a rat. I would get C & C. To find out what these are look at Cavy Cages.com They were originally for guinea pigs but you can use the idea for other animals of similar size.

 

[Auratus]

I bought my cage at Petsmart. Cost me 50 bucks. 75 after everything was bought + cost of the rat. It's called my first critter, it's two feet long and three stories tall, and it's still small! They are small when you get them but end up getting bigger. Not huge but they do get bigger. Plus if you have two your going to need even bigger. Glass tanks aren't good for rodents or plastic because they need good ventalilation, with the fumes from that crappy ceder/pine bedding and their own urine, they need good ventilation or they will get respitory problems. Get aspen bedding, it's better for them. They also have a my first Rat but it's only two stories and not big enough. It also comes with this huge wheel that takes up the whole friggin cage so I took it out and got a smaller one. This is it:

 

[MasterDrummer]

DO NOT get Pine or Cedar bedding it causes respiration problems.
Wire cages are beter because there is more ventilation.
For more info:Click Here ( Rats Rule Forum)

 

[plecoperson]

First things first -they are more difficult to care for than mice as they need more handling to remain tame. if they arent cleaned out regularly (at least once a week or even twice a week) they really really smell. especially boys. their cages have to be disinfected and all bowls cleaned every day, or they wee all over them. Im sure it gets better but we only keep young rats in the shop where I work. Feed them RAT FORMULA food only, as it contains meat proteins that hamster/mouse food does not, and rats need these to remain healthy. bed them on woodshavings, sawdust has a tendency to irrtate their eyes. you can keep them on their own or in pairs. please think carefully before getting a rat! always buy the biggest cage you can afford. it should be made of wire and be easy to keep clean. hope this helps ya!

 

[Pointy_kitty]

what do you mean you want a smaller one not a big one?
make sure your thinking of two different breeds and not an adult and a baby!
first big mistake of alot of people with dogs, rats, rabbits, (etc)

give em loads of attention and a rat can be as tame as a tiny little dog (although they're nothing like dogs personality wise, much smarter )

as for basic care i beleive everyone above me has already covered that
***the type of sawdust you get is VERY important (as expressed above)
i was only 12 years old when my guinea pig woke me up weezing, panting and hacking cause i gave him the wrong sawdust! i cryed all night thinking he was gunna die but it cleared up after i took him out on a blanket
I GOT LUCKY! YOU MIGHT NOT

and one last thing, i would not stick him in a ten gallon
if you can afford it, try to get a 20gal or more,
if you get it second hand you could get it a bit cheaper if it has a leak in the seal

 

[iloveyou]

making a cage can be done quite easily and much cheaper than buying one...

get some heavy duty chicken wire, and some 2x4s... you can easily make a big frame, nail the wood together in a cube, and cover it with chicken wire... if its heavy duty, the rat could even hang on it and climb upside down etc.


making one is probably the way to go if you wanna save money.. its probably more fun also cause u can design it the way you want

i bought a mouse once and let it loose in my house by accident and i found it at 3am that morning cuz my cat had it in its mouth it survived tho and went back to the store lol

btw my cat lives in a shoe box

 

[cometcattle]

Come to Chicago. We have small feeder rats and rats the size of Beagles.

 

[rhinecat]

PLEASE take MasterDrummer's advice on this one. Rats are not easy pets to keep, but if you're willing to spend the time and money, rescue a few from a rat rescue. There's several listed on Petfinder.com.

 

[canyon_rayne]

The pet stores down here sell them as small medium and large rats.

 

[Sea_Monster87]

I also want a rat.

 

[MasterDrummer]

I don't think there are different breeds of rats except that there are coat types.

It is usually best to get them while they are young, but not as babies!

And the large and medium rats are just the size they are currently.

I personally use Carefresh as bedding.
It is made of paper. if you want any more info ask.

 

[Peachybrown]

Rats need a massive cage, they are big, inquisitive creatures.

I think for what you are looking for, gerbils would be more ideal..I have five mongolian gerbils. They are to be kept in a tank, a cage is a big no no for gerbils, as they will chew the bars and their noses becoem very red and sore. Also a wheel is a big no-no, and ANY plastic is a big no-no except the water bottle, all they need is deep shavings to burrow in and cardboard to chew.

if you want any info on gerbils, rats, hamsters or mice just ask... i gota litter of mice atm, gettign two more hamsters soon, i already got four, i got sum gerbils and i have had rats in the past.