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Basic Ratty Care -

First and foremost, as any reputable breeder or anyone who is knowledgeable about rats will tell you, DO NOT EVER USE PINE OR CEDAR WITH RATS EVER!!! Pine and cedar are both soft woods which contain oils (the name currently escapes me at the moment) which the rats can breathe in with dust from the bedding and can cause at the very least sneezing and at the worst, death. Normally what you would get would be a middle ground which is a respiratory infection leading to congestion and eventually scarring in the lungs. For hairless rats, do not use Carefresh either as it can severly dry out their skin.

Rats need a healthy diet and a safe place to sleep and play. Now, opinions with rat care vary as greatly as the colors and markings of the rats we care for. Some ppl will swear by one diet, while others will say that diet does not work. This is the same when it comes to breeding. If you do some honest to goodness research, you will find that breeding ages vary from breeder to breeder and expert to expert. Some say as young as 4 months, some 6 months, some not until 1 year. Some will say they should not be bred past 1 year, some 18 months and some 2 years. My personal opinion is no younger than 6 months, no older than 18 months. Some breeders will say wait 6 months between breedings, some say 2 weeks after weaning. Again, I like to wait at least 4-6 weeks after weaning before I plan a new litter. This is ASSUMING that I have room and ppl interested in that litter or mating. So, by keeping this in mind, here is my opinion as far as rat care.

Cage - for a pair of rats (same sex or one that is fixed) Petco's Rat Manor is a decent size. This cage is easily  big enough to hold up to 4 full grown girls or 3 full grown boys. Boys can get up to 2 lbs, where girls are more likely to be about 1 lb. So boys would need more room than girls. However girls can be more hyper than boys, so that would account for needing a bit more space than just the actual size of them.

I would always recommend a wheel for females as it helps them to use up some of their energy and helps to keep them in shape. SOme boys, if exposed to it early enough, will run in a wheel as well.

Ratty Myths and Facts ~

Myth: Rats are good for nothing more than feeding to snakes

Fact: Rats not only make wonderful pets, they are also responsible for alot, dare I say most, of our current medical treatments and cures. Rats have been used, in conjunction with mice, in scientific and labratory settings for decades, if not centuries.

Myth: Rats are just stupid rodents.

Fact: Rats are actually highly intelligent as anyone who has ever owned a "Houdini" will attest to. A Houdini rat is one, usually female, who can escape most cages.  With the majority of rats, they are happy in their cage and, provided they have things to keep them occupied in the cage, will stay in the cage without issues. However, there are those rats that when put into a cage will search the cage for any weaknesses to use to escape it. If you are using a new cage (purchased used) then you will want to put the Houdini in the cage befor eyou put any other rat in there. They will find the weaknesses in the cage pretty quickly, possibly faster than you will. Worse yet is that the Houdini will remember that weakness and will go back multiple times to see if they can find a way to make it an escape hatch again. Rats can be trained to come to a sound, or even their name, they can be trained to run agility courses and they can be trained to even find landmines, although it is usually the Gambian Pouch Rat that is used for this purpose. They can map things out in their heads as well. If you have ever been infested by wild rats, then you may know how hard it is to get them out of your home bcause they learn and will avoid bad spots, like traps.

Myth: Rats are nothing like humans

Fact: Rats are more like humans than dogs or cats are. They are surprisingly self aware, not only can they make predictions about the future as humans can, not like fortune teller predictions, but they can anticipate when a positive or negative event may occur. There have been scientific studies done to study how a rat will react to certain situations, such as a treat with a sound and it has been determined that when a rat is shocked when a certain tone is sounded, by the 2nd or 3rd time the tone is sounded, the rat will expect to be shocked and will react accordingly. They can also anticipate what we will do, which is why they are so easily trained, more so that a dog in most cases. A dog may take a week or longer to learn to come when called. With a rat and a dedicated owner, this can be learned within a matter of days. Rats can actually be trained to do things without an owner even being aware of the training. As humans can be trained to do things, rats will learn about as fast with certain things.

Myth: Rats breed or mate out of a biological instinct:

Fact: While most rodents do breed out of a biological need, rats also mate for the sheer pleasure of it, just as humans and dolphins do. Females, even when not in heat, which occurs every 4 days or so, if they are bonded with a male, will allow, or even initiate, intercourse if they are interested. A female can also be forced into heat if paired with an incistant male.

Myth: Rats are filthy, disease ridden animals.

Fact: Rats spend about a third of their awake time grooming themselves and each other. They also do not carry any deadly bacteria. Any bacteria known to be deadly to humans would also be deadly to a rat. Their physiology is very similiar to humans, which makes them so perfect for medical testing and testing of new drugs. A lab animal must be free of disease and bacteria to be able to be useful in these types of experiments. Rats can be litter trained, similiar to litter training a ferret, by moving their feces into a litter pan, they will realize, quite quickly, this is where feces goes, so will use the litter pan. Although it is recommended to clip your rats back nails and to wash your hands after handling them as they still could have traces of urine or feces on their feet.

Myth: Rats spread the Black Plague

Fact: although some rats helped transmit the plague, so did humans with their own lack of hygiene. Rats never carried the plague themselves. It was the fleas that they carried that helped to spread the plague, but the fleas on all animals were spreading it. It was attributed to rats simply because of the amount of rats that were in the cities. Keep in mind that this is also the same time that cats were being killed on site because they indicated the presence of witches. Where there was a cat, it was likely it was a witches familiar and must mean that she had cursed someone. I also want to point out that domestic or Fancy rats are Norway rats and the rats that carried the fleas that carried the plague were not Norway rats, but Black rats, also known as roof rats.

Myth: Rats don't make good pets

Fact: On the contrary, rats make wonderful pets, especially for school age children. Rats teach them responsibility, compassion and how to train an animal, if worked with properly. In addition, with a rat's short lifespan, (2-3 years for a normal rat, 3-5 for an exceptional rat) they also teach children about grief and dealing with the death of a loved one. It is better for a child to learn early about losing a loved one, so later in life it makes it easier to deal with. Death is a fact of life and rat will live each day to their fullest and bond well with humans. When it comes time for a rat to pass on to the Rainbow Bridge, it gives us, as parents, a chance to help them through their grief and learn how to deal with grief and still be able to open their hearts to another pet.

A Baby's Journey - The first 28 days.