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Your First Pet Rat
Page 1 | Page 2 The Perfect Ratty Habitat Ideally, your new rat's cage should be set up and ready for use before their arrival. Once you put your rat into their cage, they may hide themselves for a few hours until they get used to the sights, sounds and smells of their new surroundings.
Any cage must be big enough for a rat to feed, sleep and climb in. Your rat will need a water bottle, a food bowl, a covered area to sleep in and toys. The toys are very important because your rat will need lots of exercise. In our cage we have connecting ropes for our rats to climb on and a large plastic tube positioned against the back wall. Rats also need objects to chew so that they can wear down their teeth. Any toy that is made of wood will do. Alternatively, used toilet roll tubes are inexpensive and are great fun for your ratties to shred!
My husband and I have tried many different products in the base of our cage over the years, including hay, shredded paper, sawdust and cat litter. Hay and shredded paper become extremely messy very quickly and can be a nightmare to clean out, while the small wood fragments found in sawdust can irritate a rat’s eyes. Our favorite product is wood-based cat litter. It is more expensive but it cleans out easily and locks in odor. This means that your cage will often not need cleaning out for an amazing ten days, rather than the recommended seven. If you choose this option, a small ball of meadow hay in one corner of the cage will give your rat something warm to snuggle into. Rats are not fussy eaters and will eat any rat food you find at the pet shop or supermarket. Its fun to give them scraps as a treat, however. In the past our rats have enjoyed chicken, pieces of apple and even potato peelings. You can also buy pre-made rat treats, they often come on a stick that can be hung from their cage. This is excellent for a rat's teeth because they are usually hard and crunchy; and if you hang them somewhere that the rat will have to climb to, will also provide exercise and amusement for your pet. It is advisable to occasionally bathe your rats, although they sometimes don't appreciate it! An adult would have to help a child with this because the rat must be grasped firmly at all times. One of our rats actually jumps straight up out of the water every time we attempt this. We run a very tepid mini-bath into a sink and massage medicated pet shampoo into our rats’ fur. This guards against any parasites that may have found their way into the cage; and soothes various skin irritations. Rats will only need a tiny amount of shampoo and you must be very careful not to get it into their eyes. When clean, we carefully towel our rats dry. All evidence of shampoo must be carefully washed out of your rat’s fur because your rat will lick and dry themselves once back in their cage; and they wouldn’t want a mouthful of soap. Venturing Out of the Cage! Part of the joy of keeping rats is that they are an interactive pet. Does are less likely to sit still and let you pet them as a buck would, If you can 'ratty-proof' your room, another way to give your rats an environment outside their cage is to let them explore the floor area. You will have to make sure that no wires are left out for your rat to chew and that every small space (such as underneath a desk or settee) is covered. I know from experience that if your rat finds a small, dark space, it takes a lot of coaxing to get them out again. My husband and I found the room where we keep our rats too difficult to rat-proof, so we shut all the doors in our hallway and let them out in there instead. Alternatively, you could buy a rat ball, which may be an easier alternative for children. This is simply a large plastic ball with a locking door. When you put your rat inside and place the ball on the floor, the rat is free to walk around the room while protected by the ball. This will alleviate any fear of losing your pet underneath a chair or having them chew on your new DVD player’s wires. Enjoy your new rat and have fun. They can be very loyal and affectionate and will be sure to surprise you for years to come. Page 1 | Page 2
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Visit Caroline Bernard-Smith's webpage at www.carolinebarnardsmith.tk.
This document last modified Wednesday, 16-Jul-2008 06:46:58 EDT | ||
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Tidbits & Stuff was born on Thursday, March 9, 2006
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although if you grasp them firmly in one hand when removing them from their cage, they will allow you to stroke their heads. Eventually, they may sit or lay in the crook of your arm. An exercise we found useful when getting to know our new rats was to place them on one shoulder and stand with our arms outstretched so that the rats could run along them. This created a sense of trust between us and our pets, as well as providing exercise. Sometimes your rat will defecate outside of its cage. This is a sign that it is distressed and your rat should be returned to its cage immediately, both to calm it and to show it that only the cage should be used for toilet purposes. When you have played with your rat away from the cage a few times, this will stop. You just have to be patient.
