Pet Rats?

[Annie Laurie]

My dd is a big time animal lover like her mama and she has fallen in love with the rats at the pet store. For quite awhile she has expressed her wish for a female rat. She is extremely responsible about feeding and caring for our cats, but I don't think six is a good age for her own pet and have told her we'd keep the rat in mind for the future. From the little bit that I've read about them so far, they sound like they would be a good pet for her.

 

Does anyone here have rats? If so, what how old do you think is the minimum for a child to have a pet rat? And from what I understand, it's best to buy them in pairs so they have a friend, right? Any other rat tips? I'm assuming they need a big cage.

[klmama]

I would look into which varieties of pet rats get fewer tumors, if any, and be sure your dd can handle pets having only a couple of years for a life span.

[LilyK]

I just have one question. "Why?" :D

[Annie Laurie]

I just have one question. "Why?" :D

 

You sound like my husband, he thinks their tails are repulsive. I had a friend when I was in 4th grade, whose teen brother had pet rats and they did tricks and were so much fun to play with.

 

Dd thinks they're adorable. :w00t: I'm wondering how tolerant they are of lots of holding and cuddling, because she'll want to do that a lot. :D

[hornblower]

I'm a quarantine foster home for rats for a small animal rescue. They are great pets, & I'd say 6 is OK.

 

With pets & kids though I always say that the adults have to be the ones to take care of it & take responsibility for it. Give the kids some tasks & expect them to do them early on but it's possible that their interest will wane later on with some of the more tedious tasks esp. If you go into it with that possibility in the back of your mind, you can avoid a lot of angst.

 

I'd strongly recommend you find out if there is a rat rescue or a reputable rat breeder in your area rather than getting one from a pet store. My recent fosters arrived because someone bought one from a shop & it turned out be pregnant..... The person ended up surrendering a whole bunch of babies to the rescue.

 

They do need to be housed in groups of 2 or more, obviously either same sex, or they can be spayed/neutered, but it's expensive & usually only rescues do it.

 

A rat from a reputable rescue or breeder usually has a better description of temperament & you can pick one with a personality which suits you. From a pet shop, you don't know what you're getting & as, with the folks who ended up with a pregnant one, you might be getting more than what you expected!

 

Rats can also have pretty serious upper respiratory viruses - which is why this rescue quarantines for 3 weeks & which is where I come in. Vet care for rats is not cheaper than any other animal really, though the meds are cheaper because they take less, but a vet visit & diagnosis & treatment is still the regular cost. So as much as possible, you want to get a healthy animal.

 

Females overall tend to be more busy, busy, busy. They want to run around & go places. Males are ime more mellow & more likely to be willing to hang out in your lap, or in a pocket and just sit & snuggle. Males are also bigger & a bit more substantial to hold.

 

The rescue's rat care info is here:

http://www.littlemischiefrescue.org/ratcare.html

 

The bigger the cage the better. I've currently got a Martin's R-680. http://www.martinscages.com/products/cages/rat/

Get the powder coated if you choose these cages as the galvanized gets wrecked from urine.

 

You can see pix of the babies I have here now for their quarantine foster.

http://www.littlemischiefrescue.org/availablerats.html

They're near the bottom of the page - I have Pumpkin, Trick, Treat & Goblin. There are actually some others on that page which came through my place for their quarantine & after 3 weeks went into regualar foster homes while they wait for a forever home. Strawberry & Blackberry are pictured playing on my son's playmobil pirate ship. Vegas, Baby & Miga were very ill while here & we bottle fed Miga as she'd been taken away from her mom too early....

 

Rats are great!

[Annie Laurie]

I'm a quarantine foster home for rats for a small animal rescue. They are great pets, & I'd say 6 is OK.

 

With pets & kids though I always say that the adults have to be the ones to take care of it & take responsibility for it. Give the kids some tasks & expect them to do them early on but it's possible that their interest will wane later on with some of the more tedious tasks esp. If you go into it with that possibility in the back of your mind, you can avoid a lot of angst.

 

I'd strongly recommend you find out if there is a rat rescue or a reputable rat breeder in your area rather than getting one from a pet store. My recent fosters arrived because someone bought one from a shop & it turned out be pregnant..... The person ended up surrendering a whole bunch of babies to the rescue.

 

They do need to be housed in groups of 2 or more, obviously either same sex, or they can be spayed/neutered, but it's expensive & usually only rescues do it.

 

A rat from a reputable rescue or breeder usually has a better description of temperament & you can pick one with a personality which suits you. From a pet shop, you don't know what you're getting & as, with the folks who ended up with a pregnant one, you might be getting more than what you expected!

 

Rats can also have pretty serious upper respiratory viruses - which is why this rescue quarantines for 3 weeks & which is where I come in. Vet care for rats is not cheaper than any other animal really, though the meds are cheaper because they take less, but a vet visit & diagnosis & treatment is still the regular cost. So as much as possible, you want to get a healthy animal.

 

Females overall tend to be more busy, busy, busy. They want to run around & go places. Males are ime more mellow & more likely to be willing to hang out in your lap, or in a pocket and just sit & snuggle. Males are also bigger & a bit more substantial to hold.

 

The rescue's rat care info is here:

http://www.littlemischiefrescue.org/ratcare.html

 

The bigger the cage the better. I've currently got a Martin's R-680. http://www.martinscages.com/products/cages/rat/

Get the powder coated if you choose these cages as the galvanized gets wrecked from urine.

 

You can see pix of the babies I have here now for their quarantine foster.

http://www.littlemischiefrescue.org/availablerats.html

They're near the bottom of the page - I have Pumpkin, Trick, Treat & Goblin. There are actually some others on that page which came through my place for their quarantine & after 3 weeks went into regualar foster homes while they wait for a forever home. Strawberry & Blackberry are pictured playing on my son's playmobil pirate ship. Vegas, Baby & Miga were very ill while here & we bottle fed Miga as she'd been taken away from her mom too early....

 

Rats are great!

 

Thanks so much, great info! I'll definitely look into a rescue when we're ready. I loved looking at all of the pics you had up, dd will love it when I show her tommorrow.

 

It sounds like males might be a better fit for her: are they prone to fighting at all, and do they mark when out of their cage if they're not neutered?

 

My other area of concern that I'll have to give some thought to, is if my cats and dog will be a problem. The cats don't go upstairs and that's where the rats would be and where dd would play with them but I can see dd wanting to keep them with her a lot. They're nocturnal though, right?

[hornblower]

Thanks so much, great info! I'll definitely look into a rescue when we're ready. I loved looking at all of the pics you had up, dd will love it when I show her tommorrow.

 

It sounds like males might be a better fit for her: are they prone to fighting at all, and do they mark when out of their cage if they're not neutered?

 

My other area of concern that I'll have to give some thought to, is if my cats and dog will be a problem. The cats don't go upstairs and that's where the rats would be and where dd would play with them but I can see dd wanting to keep them with her a lot. They're nocturnal though, right?

 

Some males will fight with each other. Females can also fight That's yet again the advantage of going the rescue or reputable breeder route - they'll group them in compatable arrangements & they also have experience in handling introductions.

 

They will also make sure they're actually friendly to people as well. They aren't always. I had one here who was a bona fide biter & after his quarantine went to a lady who specializes in rehabbing problem rats. He's come a long way with her but he was quite a cranky dude. He was neutered because he was such an aggressive dork & he did calm down a fair bit afterwards. When rats bite btw, it hurts A LOT - so I've been told! I've managed to avoid it so far! The vast, vast majority of fancies are very tame & social but again, it's a matter of proper breeding, handling & appropriate socialization.

 

They are nocturnal but not nearly as much as hamsters (which we used to have too btw) I don't know if I'd want them in my room at night because they scurry around rearranging their homes & playing. Their night time activity level depends partly on their age - young ones are just so much more active - & how much they're stimulated during the day. It's nice to have them in a room where you spend time during the day. We used to have my hamster near our bookshelves & we could see him while doing our schoolwork; that was really nice.

 

I don't really notice the males marking much. Both sexes will often pee a bit when they're out & about. It's so tiny it's really not an issue.

 

I have a cat, my own dog & I foster dogs for another rescue. My ancient cat just likes to look at the rats once in a while. My dog is a malamute X and she's a little TOO interested in the rats. She can go watch 'rat tv' aka their cage, when I supervise. She's well trained & I have introduced her to some of the rats in my hand but she get very excited and I don't do it too often, or with rats which are very skittish because if one jumped out of my hands, I'm not so sure I'd trust her 'leave it!'. It is nice if you have a rat proof room where you can go & close the door & hang out with the ratties & let them scurry around. Dd (almost 14) will go & read on the floor with them running around her....

 

ETA - most of them, even if they're sleeping during the day, when you walk into the room, they come running to the cage walls to see you & greet you. They're really so sweet.

 

If you like the photos, you'll love the videos :D

http://www.youtube.com/LittleMischiefRescue

[Vida Winter]

My uncle and his family swear that rats make great family pets. The worst thing they said about them is that they do not have a very long lifespan.

 

I, myself, could not ever bring a rat into my home <<shudder>>.

 

But I thought I would pass on the above information.

 

~Dana

[Annie Laurie]

Some males will fight with each other. Females can also fight That's yet again the advantage of going the rescue or reputable breeder route - they'll group them in compatable arrangements & they also have experience in handling introductions.

 

They will also make sure they're actually friendly to people as well. They aren't always. I had one here who was a bona fide biter & after his quarantine went to a lady who specializes in rehabbing problem rats. He's come a long way with her but he was quite a cranky dude. He was neutered because he was such an aggressive dork & he did calm down a fair bit afterwards. When rats bite btw, it hurts A LOT - so I've been told! I've managed to avoid it so far! The vast, vast majority of fancies are very tame & social but again, it's a matter of proper breeding, handling & appropriate socialization.

 

They are nocturnal but not nearly as much as hamsters (which we used to have too btw) I don't know if I'd want them in my room at night because they scurry around rearranging their homes & playing. Their night time activity level depends partly on their age - young ones are just so much more active - & how much they're stimulated during the day. It's nice to have them in a room where you spend time during the day. We used to have my hamster near our bookshelves & we could see him while doing our schoolwork; that was really nice.

 

I don't really notice the males marking much. Both sexes will often pee a bit when they're out & about. It's so tiny it's really not an issue.

 

I have a cat, my own dog & I foster dogs for another rescue. My ancient cat just likes to look at the rats once in a while. My dog is a malamute X and she's a little TOO interested in the rats. She can go watch 'rat tv' aka their cage, when I supervise. She's well trained & I have introduced her to some of the rats in my hand but she get very excited and I don't do it too often, or with rats which are very skittish because if one jumped out of my hands, I'm not so sure I'd trust her 'leave it!'. It is nice if you have a rat proof room where you can go & close the door & hang out with the ratties & let them scurry around. Dd (almost 14) will go & read on the floor with them running around her....

 

ETA - most of them, even if they're sleeping during the day, when you walk into the room, they come running to the cage walls to see you & greet you. They're really so sweet.

 

If you like the photos, you'll love the videos :D

http://www.youtube.com/LittleMischiefRescue

 

Our homeschool room might be a good place for them then, we could shut the doors and let them play while we're in there. Are they like little kids where you have to watch what is out for them to get into? Will they swallow small objects or gnaw on important things?

 

I have a chihuahua who loves to chase birds in our yard and would be more than happy to chase rats too. I'm thinking it might be safest to wait a few years for the kids to get a little older, I just know my 4 yr old would forget and let a rat out and I would hate for it to get injured. The dog and cats do worry me. My dd will want one asap though if I show her the videos!

 

They do sound like great pets, and I really want a couple now!

 

Thanks for all of the help, I'm going to save your posts to refer to again.

[Annie Laurie]

My uncle and his family swear that rats make great family pets. The worst thing they said about them is that they do not have a very long lifespan.

 

I, myself, could not ever bring a rat into my home <<shudder>>.

 

But I thought I would pass on the above information.

 

~Dana

 

Thanks, I'm glad to hear that. I think my kids would absolutely love them.

[dawn of ns]

 

I'd strongly recommend you find out if there is a rat rescue or a reputable rat breeder in your area rather than getting one from a pet store. My recent fosters arrived because someone bought one from a shop & it turned out be pregnant..... The person ended up surrendering a whole bunch of babies to the rescue.

 

Ditto. A pet store, especially a large chain or a pet section of a Wamart, should be the LAST place you ever look for a pet. Even for fish. The animals can be unhealthy, ill-bred, carrying parasites, pregnant, etc.

 

Breeder or rescue. Period.

[dawn of ns]

If you like the photos, you'll love the videos :D

http://www.youtube.com/LittleMischiefRescue

 

Holy cow! If anyne doubts the cuteness of rats scroll down an take a lok at the little rat under ZigZag, Sapphire & Pearl that's peeking out with it's ears perked up.

 

Total sweetness!:)

[KAR120C]

Our homeschool room might be a good place for them then, we could shut the doors and let them play while we're in there. Are they like little kids where you have to watch what is out for them to get into? Will they swallow small objects or gnaw on important things?

I can't add much to what Hornblower has said, but on the getting-into-things line, our rats have been mostly fine. They like fabric and paper... so we need to keep them away from that, having learned on one towel we thought would be good to drape their cage... half of it got pulled into the cage and shredded... oops! And we get all the Legos off the floor before letting them out. I've never seen them actually try to eat a Lego or anything, but it's a good excuse for DS to pick up his mess ;)

 

Our two were female (we're down to one) and the first died after a year, with what appeared to be a pituitary tumor. The second is alive and well at two years. They did fight a bit, but not badly, and they've never bitten, having had plenty of opportunities to do so (toddler friends sticking fingers in cage, etc). We've rat-sat for friends with two males, and one of them was definitely a biter! I wouldn't say the males fought much more than the females, at least while we were keeping them.

 

We didn't have any problem with our cat, but then we had a particularly dim-witted cat! ;) Adorable, but not the brightest bulb iykwim... He was terrified of the rats. There are some breeds of dogs they don't recommend with rats, especially the terrier types (rat terriers in particular having been bred for rat-hunting!) The friends with the male rates haven't had any trouble with their boxer and their large mutt. I don't think they let the rats out when the cat is in the house, but their cat is a hunter... so they probably haven't wanted to test that.

 

DS was 7 when we got our rats, and he is good about feeding them and keeping their water full, but needs a lot of help with cleaning out the cage.

 

Hope this helps! :)

[Nakia]

We have two female rats, Marly and Carly. They are wonderful little pets. The girls love them! I have to agree with whoever posted, that they are very busy!!! But they are also sweet, adorable, and very friendly.

[Night Elf]

We love our pet rats! Their names are Apple and Jelly. I'll confess it took me a little while to get used to the tails but now they don't bother me at all. Our rats are awesome pets. They nibble with their teeth on our fingers but the bites never hurt. It's their way of exploring. Maintenance is really easy. I help my dd10 clean the cage once a week and we do it in less than 5 minutes.

 

We used to have a chinchilla but the rats have been greater pets all around. And yes, I do think you should get a pair. We bought only one at first and she was so frightened and lonely. She got so much better when we introduced a second rat to her cage.

[JFSinIL]

My only concern is that a rat, like a gerbil or hamster, does not have that long a life. My son had a rat and came down in tears one day holding the stiff body of his dead little friend. We have a small graveyard in back with the rat and two gerbils, three hamsters - each had its own teary funeral. SO just be prepared to deal with this bit.

[camibami]

Rats are wonderful pets!

 

They are super- smart, ours learned their names. And clean- they only use one corner of their cage for the potty and while they had a few accidentsts out of the cage, they clearly knew they were to go in the cage, not the whole house. That just floored me. Thye never bit, not once, and are more tolerant of being manhandled than a small rodent (our youngest was 3 when we got them). Please get 2- they get lonely.

 

Ours had 2ish great years, then got tumors. We could have had surgery to remove them, but our rats were geriatric at that point so we did nothing. When the tumors got large and interfered with daily life, I had them put to sleep at the vets. It was well worth the expense to not have them suffer.

 

We want more rats, but are waiting until we move so that we won't have to move rats internationally. I can't imagine how *not fun* that would be!

[The Girls' Mom]

We had pets rats for a while. What I could never heard while researching them was how much they smelled. Don't know if it was just our rats or what but they STUNK! A musky odor that I couldn't stand.

 

They were very sweet pets though. (And make sure you have a good escape proof home for them....they are SMART. Nothing like having house guests that aren't rat savvy see an escapee crawl across the floor early one morning!:lol:)

[The Girls' Mom]

We did have male rats...wish I had known then that the females weren't smelly..lol.

[Jen500]

We loved our female rat. Now we have hamsters (their cages do seem smellier). Hornblower had great advice-I never knew rat rescues existed!:thumbup1:

Our dog cannot be trusted near any rodent cages-learned that the hard way. And some pet stores will sell a pregnant animal-learned that too.

[Cheryl in NM]

My dd is a big time animal lover like her mama and she has fallen in love with the rats at the pet store. For quite awhile she has expressed her wish for a female rat. She is extremely responsible about feeding and caring for our cats, but I don't think six is a good age for her own pet and have told her we'd keep the rat in mind for the future. From the little bit that I've read about them so far, they sound like they would be a good pet for her.

 

Does anyone here have rats? If so, what how old do you think is the minimum for a child to have a pet rat? And from what I understand, it's best to buy them in pairs so they have a friend, right? Any other rat tips? I'm assuming they need a big cage.

 

We have had pet rats for the last several years. They only live for 3-4 years, but they are great pets. They are friendly and clever. It is best to get them in pairs. Get them both at the same time. We introduced a younger one into a cage with an older one after it's cage friend died. The younger one was very aggressive to the older one so now we have 2 cages with only 1 rat in each. It's not ideal.

 

They can eat almost anything. We've fed ours dog food. You don't want to feed them cat food unless they are pregnant. You can give them a chicken leg bone to eat the marrow and clean the meat off. You can give them kitchen vegetable trimmings. Just don't give them sugar. They become highly addicted and will refuse to eat other healful foods. They are really a very easy pet.

 

You wil probably have to help your daughter clean the cage. No wire cages and they will probably eat through parts of the cute plastic habitat cages. We use a glass aquarium with a reptile lid. You can get a reptile aquarium, can't be lifted when it's full of water, for about $10. You'll want to clean the cage frequently, for 2 rats, we clean weekly. They can get respiratory diseases if you don't keep their cage clean or if you use a real smelly cleaner. We put a little Dawn dish soap on a sponge, wet it and wipe the cage out, then rinse really well. They can get mites, but usally only if they are exposed to them or if the cage gets really dirty. We had a death in the family immediately after we got back from vacation. The rat cages suffered and they got mites. The mites are dead after only 1 1/2 weeks of treatment. Poor little girls!

 

That's about all I can tell you off the top of my head. Your daughter, 6 right?, should be fine with them. She just needs to understand not to squeeze them or let them fall, they will jump, also , so she just needs to be aware of those things. If she's old enough to comprehend the dangers they face, then she'll be fine.

 

BTW, our cats and dog are afraid of the rats! They'll back away from the rats and don't want to have anything to do with them at all!

[Margaret in GA]

I have nothing helpful to say, just wanted to tell hornblower, that I love the picture with the rats in the Playmobil Pirate Ship. too funny!

 

Margaret

[AnnetteB]

We had a pair of rats in 1991. They were brothers, very cute if the tails don't bother you ;) They were well-behaved, BUT despite regular cleaning of their large cage our home smelled of rodent...yuck...It was a relief when the two had lived out their days and we could get the smell out. We've had Guinea Pigs, too, and they also smell up the house. We now have a NO rodent policy. It is also true that their short lifespan makes for heartbreak.

[mamaof2andtwins]

We have pet mice. They are fun for my daughter who is 12, but there are a few things I wish I had known up front.

 

First, I wish I had know how common it was for female mice to be pregnant when you get them from a pet store. Needless to day about 3 weeks after our purchase we had 5 more mice which we kept. All these mice meant that my daughter had 4 tanks to clean. One of them was a 20 gallon tank that all 5 girls lived it. Thankfully she was excellent at sexing the babies, and we had no further litters.

 

I also wish I had know how common mycoplasmia is in rats and mice. 3 out of our 5 girls got it and died within the first year. Tumors are another issue that we dealt with in one of our girl mice.

 

I guess what I am saying is that it is important to know up front what you are getting into.

 

If we were to do it all again, I think we would just get one boy mouse. Boy mice can't live together like rats can.

 

Best wishes with you decision.

[KatieJ]

He and his girlfriend brought them home one Friday night when I wasn't looking. Her Dad refuses to have them vacation at her house, so they live here. :glare:

 

The rats, not the girlfriend!

 

WHile I am not involved with the daily care of them, it appears to be very minimal care. We have females and they are sisters and they fight like sisters too! I have seen one pin the other one down and chew on her! Scared, me, but they seem ok with it all.

Their ears and noses are so very cute, and they are very smart, but I can't get past the tails either. They nibble on your finger, well, on some peoples fingers, I don't put mine near them..They have never bit anyone.

The family room does start to smell when the cage needs cleaning.

It is quite fun to watch them rearrange their "condo".

My son also purchased his cage from Martin's cages. It was much cheaper than buying from a pet store and he also was told to buy the galvanzied as the metal ones can rust from them chewing on them.

[Annie Laurie]

 

If you like the photos, you'll love the videos :D

http://www.youtube.com/LittleMischiefRescue

 

We just watched every video clip on there, dd loved it but she's concerned about Mica's leg and wanted me to ask you how she is doing?

Edited November 8, 2008 by Annie Laurie
edited because I found the other answers!

[LisaNY]

We LOVED our ratties! But, be prepared, they do not live long. :sad:

[hornblower]

We just watched every video clip on there, dd loved it but she's concerned about Mica's leg and wanted me to ask you how she is doing?

 

AFAIK, Mica is great! I know she went to her "forever home" at the end of September. She is such a trooper and she never got the memo about taking it easy post-op :D Last I heard she was scrambling about, being a normal rattie girl & getting heaps of loving from her new family.

[hornblower]

I have nothing helpful to say, just wanted to tell hornblower, that I love the picture with the rats in the Playmobil Pirate Ship. too funny!

 

Margaret

 

Thanks! I had a lot of fun with the piRATS. Yeah, I know, a bit of a groaner :D

 

I need a better camera though. Most of my pictures are of 1/2 a rat leaving the frame.... You wouldn't believe how many photos I end up taking of the silly little monsters, and I remember that photo shoot very well. The 'berry' rats were all girls, very active, & they had such a great time climbing up and down the rigging. One stood right by the pirate flag on the mast & I swear she was posing for me, but the camera's shutter lag spoiled the photo :glare:

[Annie Laurie]

AFAIK, Mica is great! I know she went to her "forever home" at the end of September. She is such a trooper and she never got the memo about taking it easy post-op :D Last I heard she was scrambling about, being a normal rattie girl & getting heaps of loving from her new family.

 

 

Dd will be glad to hear that!

 

Thanks, everyone, for sharing your rattie stories and info, it was really helpful. :001_smile: