# Do rats make good pets?



## shaz179 (May 14, 2010)

Hello everyone, im thinking about getting a rat or two but as ive never had one before im wondering do they make good pets?
Ive had loads of hamsters in my life and find them easy to care for wandering if rats are the same.

I know i can look on the internet but i do want to get answers from "real" people before i make my mind up for sure


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## donna.n (Apr 22, 2011)

When I lived at home we had 2 boy rats they were really cute even helped me clean their home out. At the moment me and my hubby have recently got 2 girl rats. Ones been to the vets already but their doin ok. My one is getting used to me and sniffs my nose and has a nibble of my fingers. The boy rats I had were more cuddly, I think my girls are goin to be active. We get them out for a couple of hours in the evening then put them back in their cage and they go straight to sleep. I'm glad we got our 2 girls their now even looking when we call them. 

For bedding we brought a shredder and about 240 sheets of recycled paper and they love it. They use their teeth to cut it up and play with it. Its gunna last for ages. And the best thing about it is it doesn't smell. 

Hope this helps.


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## Snippet (Apr 14, 2011)

Rats make brilliant pets. Here are some photos of my girls being brilliant pets:









































First thing you should know about rats is that they need to be kept in same sex pairs as a minimum. They are social animals that can get very depressed if they don't have company. They're also more likely to become ill. Hamsters are a solitary species, and I find that they don't tend to enjoy the company of humans. Rats crave attention from people. My girls will try and break out of their cage to come and see me.

You should also know that a pair of rats need a cage that fits at least 4 rats by the cage calculator. This is because they need a lot of enrichment to keep their minds active and avoid stereotypical behaviours such as over grooming. You should also use a safe substrate such as shredded card or hemp. You can't use shavings because they release phenols which irritate the respiratory tract. Also, animals that are kept on shavings show signs of elevated liver enzymes.

I prefer female rats. This is because male rats cause me to get wheezy, and if they walk over bare skin I get a lot of red marks. I also like that girls will play with each other and with you as an owner. I also like that they're soft and silky, and it's very rare for them to become aggressive with each other. Girls are prone to benign mammary tumours, but these are easily removed.

Rats as a species suffer from weak chests as well as other health issues. If you keep rats then you should expect large vets bills. For example: from September 2009 to September 2010 I probably spent £450 at the vets, and some people I've talked to have spent many times that in a year! Before you get rats please get a vet fund sorted. It should have between £100 and £200 per rat.

Many commercial rat foods aren't great for rats. They're usually high in fat and protein. A rat fed a high fat diet is more likely to suffer from lumps and heart problems, while a high protein diet for adult rats puts them at risk of kidney damage. You should read this for a basic over view of a rats dietary needs.

When you're ready to get your rats you should go to a breeder or a rescue. You should not get your rats from a pet shop because they get their rats from rodent farms. These are a lot like puppy farms, where the females are kept in tiny tanks and have litter after litter until they're too worn out to have anymore, at which point they're killed. If you want to get your rats from a breeder then you should email the NFRS on [email protected] for the breeders list. Rescue rats can be got from the rehoming board on this forum, or there is also a rehoming board on the Fancy Rats forum. RSPCA rehoming centres often have rats in as well.


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## bulldog200 (Mar 14, 2011)

They are fantastic pets 
we rescued a old rat and he was so affectionate 
he would sit on your shoulder and we even had to bath him ,


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## Guest (May 2, 2011)

Rats make fab pets. I have 4 rescues which I only got a couple of weeks ago and they are coming along nicely. They were all pretty scared when I got them as the owner didn't hold them but 3 out of the 4 almost climb out the cage door as soon as its open as they just want to be with you all the time. I love hamsters but Rats IMO makes the better pet

Here are mine when I first brought them home.


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## Kitty_pig (Apr 9, 2011)

I know I could get into trouble for this but I used to have two rats, I got two boys together (I'd read they needed to be in pairs & same sex)

However one would bite at you constantly and the other one would make a sort of shrieking noise every time I went to pick him up . It got very upsetting, cue my then partner returning to the pet shop and asking for advice, the woman there said she had great experience with rats and had something like ten at home.

The only thing they would suggest was us giving them the rats back (broke my heart). The first one was picking on the second one and that was why he was crying out everytime I went to touch him. We gave them back 

I still believe rats are brilliant animals and fantastic pets, theyre beautiful curious fun loving and just sweet as anything (even though mine obv didnt like me). 

The rats werent bad pets for us, we were silly, inexperienced and didnt know enough about them to look after them properly. If I ever got them again I would do my research more thoroughly (I've done some since). I was stupid and didnt do right by them & I will never forgive myself for letting them go back into the shop.


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## Guest (May 2, 2011)

Rats make awesome pets, I wouldn't be without my squishy lil monsters.
Here is 2 of my boys giving me a morning hug 











Kitty_pig said:


> I know I could get into trouble for this but I used to have two rats, I got two boys together (I'd read they needed to be in pairs & same sex)
> 
> However one would bite at you constantly and the other one would make a sort of shrieking noise every time I went to pick him up . It got very upsetting, cue my then partner returning to the pet shop and asking for advice, the woman there said she had great experience with rats and had something like ten at home.
> 
> ...


I'm afraid when you gets rats from a pet shop this happens  they are very badly bred (think battery farming for rats) and not socialised at all and normally take a long time to come round


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

Rats make terrible pets, I have 17 of the terrible little hooligans, if you like ratty kisses and having snuggly rats in your hoody, or if you like pets who are constantly making you laugh or go awwwww, and are so intelligent you can teach them tricks, and pets who want to interact with you and are always up sor some cuddles then rats might be for you but seriously they do that stuff all the time, its a hard life I have .


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## Kitty_pig (Apr 9, 2011)

B3rnie said:


> Rats make awesome pets, I wouldn't be without my squishy lil monsters.
> Here is 2 of my boys giving me a morning hug
> 
> 
> ...


Oh god  Now i really feel bad  so if I was to get any in the future go to a rescue eg RSPCA?


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## Argent (Oct 18, 2009)

Kitty_pig said:


> Oh god  Now i really feel bad  so if I was to get any in the future go to a rescue eg RSPCA?


RSPCA are useless when it comes to small furries most of the time. I'd go to a private rescue that specialises in rats, there's plenty around.


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## floissie (Jul 11, 2010)

Fancy Rats | Home join this forum and you will find out everything you need to know. It also has a rescue section which is separated into areas so you can find one near you.
Ratties do make the best pets ever i am on 11 at the moment and 2 more rescues coming very soon.


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## manic rose (Mar 12, 2011)

rats make excellent pets. have got three boys - Biffy, Cooper and Moz. They are so intelligent and so entertaining. they love coming out for free ranging and having new toys and objects to explore. would defo recommend them as long as you have enough time to spend with them and enough money for decent cage and vets bills.


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## simplysardonic (Sep 1, 2009)

Rats make great pets, they are endearing, inquisitive & fantastic company, definitely need to have at least 2 same sex though
how could anyone not melt at the sight of rats?


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## shaz179 (May 14, 2010)

Thanks for all your comments, guessing we have loads of rat lovers on here lol

Ive found a breeder thats not far from me, she keeps rats of here own and breeds them so i was thinking bout getting 2 from her. There not ready for another 3 weeks yet thou. Hoping she will send me some pics throu soon.

So does everyone here used paper for there home rather than wood shavings??


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## Snippet (Apr 14, 2011)

I used EcoBed, which is chopped card. It's sold in 20kg bales that are sold for horse bedding. Rats can't be kept on shavings because they release phenols, which will damage the respiratory tract.


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## simplysardonic (Sep 1, 2009)

shaz179 said:


> Thanks for all your comments, guessing we have loads of rat lovers on here lol
> 
> Ive found a breeder thats not far from me, she keeps rats of here own and breeds them so i was thinking bout getting 2 from her. There not ready for another 3 weeks yet thou. Hoping she will send me some pics throu soon.
> 
> So does everyone here used paper for there home rather than wood shavings??


Different people have different preferences, wood shavings are a no-no as it can cause respy problems
I use Ecobed (shredded cardboard) but I've just ordered 20kg of Hemcore (hemp) to see what its like


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## owieprone (Nov 6, 2008)

brilliant pets, they are basically miniture dogs, they're that intelligent.

if you dont' think you can look after a dog, then don't get rats (or anything like a degu or chinchilla), get a stupid hamster instead.

i'm not trying to be mean or put you off but rats and the like are extremely intelligent, they need quite abit of thought and time to keep them happy, and they ARE extremely worthwhile. they can live up to 4 years old (very few of mine have died before they've reached 2.5yrs and most have reached 3, 4 of 10 (all different breeders, rescues and petshops) have reached 3.5 or older.

they will change their daily habits to match yours (so they are awake when you are around) and demand quite alot of attention, they are not good if you're not in a lot. they will not only pick up things from you they will also teach you ratspeak if you watch them closely enough. they will learn their names, their cage mates names, about 20 commands if they are really brainy and if you're very unlucky they're figure out how to open the cage door (if you're lucky and they're already trained they will run to you to show you how clever they are!)  lmao.. highly intelligent.. not so much common sense lmao

if you like the sound of that. they are trainable (just like dogs), and so rewarding and brilliant little buggers! either sex, females are maniacs with untold reaches of energy.. (they rarely sit still) males are lazy big basts. both have their own unique 'stink'. they need a fair bit of space, in and out of cage, lots of interaction and lots of things to do when your'e not there. there are heaps of threads on here about toys for rats so do a quick search 

don't worry about problems anyone else has mentioned, we can talk you through anything that MIGHT happen. rats like dogs have their own wee foibles and personalities it doesn't matter if they are sibilings, they WILL not be the same in any respect 

look for local breeders if you can, they generally aren't that much more than petshop rats and are less likely (not impossible, just less probable) to have major health issues. rescues are also good, but again you don't know their background so be prepared for illnesses.

if you don't have alot of money or space.. have a really good think about what you can afford.. rats can be expensive, especially with rat bills but if you can putmoney away each month incase of problems you should be fine.

hope that didn't put you off, but thought you should have a really clear view on what owning a small dog.. sorry, RAT is all about.


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## Mese (Jun 5, 2008)

I kept rats years ago , they make excellent pets , intelligent and playful , quick to learn and very loving


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## LyndaDanny (Jan 23, 2011)

I've kept rats for the last 20 years. Fantastic little creatures. Can't imagine being without them. Go for it. You won't regret it and plenty of support on here for you, if you need it.


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## shaz179 (May 14, 2010)

Thanks for all your help guys an girls. Were looking into them morenow as its not something we wanna rush into. 
We have found a local breeder so that good, no pet shop for me lol
Keep u all informed


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