RATTIES! ATTN Rat people!!

[ChloeLove]

I am going to get a rat...I absolutely fell in love with them at a rat show near my house. (This was a couple of weeks ago) I was wondering if anyone knew any good websites for the care of rats? Also, which gender do you prefer? And about how much do they cost? And how much do the supplies cost? I just need to know how much money I should put aside from work.
THANKS!!
-Amanda

[GoldenRetrLuver]

I would first do research before you buy decide to buy ANY pet. Ive asked questions abou rats on this board, and have found they are difficult to take care of. Lots of time, care, money, etc.. Ill let the rattie owners answer this.:)

[ChloeLove]

lol, yeah, I have done research on them for a little while before I actually wanted one. They look really, really tough to take care of, but I think I'm up to it. :)

[tikeyas_mom]

you should join a rat forum. like www.rodentfancy.com or www.petratscanada.com they are both good sites. you shouldent get one rat, you should get two because they are highly social. make sure you have the following things:

raw hid,

food mix with *shreddies, ice cream cones, dog treats, dog food(Nutro), Cherios, oat meal, lil bit of meat, freash veggies, and small amopunts of fruit, only feed at bed time :D*

Dentibone,

Hammock,

good drinking water bottle *place water bottle at top level of cage so ratties dont pee on it*,

Toys *cat bells bird toys*,

litter box,

house *igloo type house*,

Cage *BIG cage 2 or more levels*,

Soft baby shampoo for the occasional bath ;),

yesterdays news bedding, carefresh bedding, or Aspen bedding. *any will due*. NEVER house small animals on pine bedding or Cedar.

That is really all I can think of right now lol.

But yes be sure to join one of thoughs forums ubove. they are great sites and have great ppl on them to give info.

I think that both females and males are great both have their ups and downs. Males tend to *Spot pee* and thats how they mark their territory. Females dont do this but females are generally less cuddly. Males will sit on your sholder and rid around and cuddle you, females are more curious.

[ChloeLove]

Whoa, thanks! :)

[Desert Arabian]

Originally posted by ChloeLove
I am going to get a rat...I absolutely fell in love with them at a rat show near my house. (This was a couple of weeks ago) I was wondering if anyone knew any good websites for the care of rats? Also, which gender do you prefer? And about how much do they cost? And how much do the supplies cost? I just need to know how much money I should put aside from work.
THANKS!!
-Amanda

First of all, I would just like to say a lot of reserach needs to be done before you get a rat. They may appear to look easy to care for, since they are small, but that is far from true. Rats can cost anywhere from $4.99-10.99. Violette was $12.99, since she was a blue and it is extremely hard to find blues in pet stores. Last year we spent about $1,500 on rat supplies (since I have 9 rats). What I mean by that is food, toys, treats, and cages. You have to get two (or more) rats, rats are extremely social animals, if you don't they become bored, depressed, sad and lonely- which can lead to destructive behaviors.

As far as best gender they are both great. Social wise, males are more cudly and will lay in your lap. My females will not lay on my lap until they have explored every single nook and cranny around.

Before you get your ratties, do at least a month or so on reading/learning about ratties. Here are some excellent rattie sites. This one is my personal favorite, I love it a lot: Virginia's Rat Page (http://www.interlog.com/~audiotre/rats/)
Rat Club Sites:
http://www.rmca.org/ American Fancy Rat & Mouse Association (http://www.afrma.org/) National Facny Rat Society (http://www.nfrs.org/) The Rat Fan Club (http://www.ratfanclub.org/)

Rat Care Sites:
Fat Rat Central (http://mutantspud.com/frc/) Pet Web Site: Rat Care (http://www.petwebsite.com/rat_care.htm)
Ratz R Us (http://www.ratzrus.co.uk/) Rat Sauce (http://www.ratsauce.com/) PetSmart: Fancy Rat (http://www.petsmart.com/small_animal/answers/breed_guide/articles/article_4080.shtml)
Fancy Rats (http://www.fancy-rats.co.uk/information/health/)

I also suggest that you go to your local library and check out ALL of their rat books. That's what I did, and I found information in there, which I couldn't locate on the Internet.

Treats to regualarly feed your rat:
* Baby food
* Yogurt
* Veggies- stay away from lettuce & cabbage
* Cooked meat- chicken, beef, liver, etc
* Meal worms, live, my rats love them
* Cooked eggs
* Canned dog food
* Oatmeal/Creme of wheat
* Cooked Pasta/non-cooked
* Healthy non-sugary cereal: no Trix, Lucky Charms, etc
* Fruit: strawberries, pears, pumpkin,grapes, blueberries, starfruit, bananas, kiwi, etc. Do not give oranges to males: causes cancer; prevents cancer in females
* Dog biscuits/treats: Dentibones, Milkbones, Rawhides, etc
* Unsweetened applesauce
* Graham crackers
* Gerber Banana Cereal Snackin' Squares
* Cornbread/Biscuits
* Cottage Cheese
* ...the list goes on...

My rats live in a Super Pet ferret cage it is 5 feet high, and has many many levels. I also have a Super Pet Igloo in there, a PH wooden box, PVC tubing, Super Pet hammocks, Super Pet chinchilla dust bath box, and more. You can go to Petco. com or PetSmart.com and look around on their websites to look at rat supplies, cages, food selections, etc.

If you have anymore questions, be sure to post them.

[Desert Arabian]

Originally posted by tikeyas_mom
Males tend to *Spot pee* and thats how they mark their territory. Females dont do this but females are generally less cuddly.

Females spot pee...mine do it all the time, more than Fred & Oscar do.

[tikeyas_mom]

that is just what I herd and read. I dont know it from experience.

[ChloeLove]

Thank you all for all that information!!! :)

[luckies4me]

I have been owning, breeding and showing rats for several years and let me tell you , they are NOT cheap animals to keep as pets. However they do make very wonderful pets. I am not going to repeat everything YLL said but she has it right on the button.

Get two, for the sake of the animals and try to go to a breeder if you can. Breeder breed for health and temperament, and the animals are usually very social and healthy. They are less prone to tumours, Myco and othe ailments. I have yet to have a doe affected with a tumour, and am still keeping my fingers crossed. Of course I have rescues here too who are not so healthy.


Price for a breeder rat can vary tremendously. I charge $25 dollars for all pet dumbos, and $30 for dumbo breeder or show rats. Tailless bucks can sell for as much as $50 dollars. All my babies are sold with adoption agreements as well. If you do go to a breeder, I would suggest looking them over very thorougly. Make sure their cages are clean and big, that the animals are well socialized, and ask to see the parents. Ask the breeder where she keeps her older does and bucks, and retired animals. If they come up empty handed with older animals I would think they are breeding just for money.

As far as male/female, I have one doe here who is so squishy and lovable. Bucks can be spazzes too, trust me. I have one boy here who is so full of energy!

:D

I would direct you to my website which contains a heck of a lot info, but it is in the process of being redone by myself. :p Of course you can still browse it if you want, and look at the pics. :)

[wolfsoul]

I didn't read alot of what some said, but I do agree with the price. VERY expensive. From a breeder they are usually between 15 and 50 dollars, depending on cetain traits. They are also very hard to care for if you want them to live long. They are much tougher to keep alive than a dog. This is mainly because there are SO many foods to watch out for, there are so many illnesses that they can pick up, and they need to be kept on strict diets. If you are looking for an animal that stays in it's cage all day, than they are VERY easy to care for, only they wouldn't be happy and they wouldn't live long.

I'd also suggest getting more than one rat. ;)

Keep in mind that these little buggers like to chew :p For my rats, I have several kinds of rawhide, and dentabones.

Also, cages are quite expensive. I'd suggest you buy a permanant cage before buying a rat...They are usually between 100 and 500 dollars (atleast they are here). you might be able to find some at thrift shops for cheap though. Icarus has a cage made of three cages put together. The first cage cost 30 dollars (cuz it's a hamster cage), the second cage was originally 50 dollars (it's a hammy cage too, my friend gave it to me), and the other cage I'm not sure about....Frisco's cage cost 15 dollars at a garage sale, but was originally 100 dollars.

I'd go to petratscanada.com/forum but don't get too attached lol.

I'm pretty sure everyone else has given you very much info. I didn't feel like reading it all lol.

[CathyBogart]

I would like to reiterate thet you should get more than one rat. I'd also like to suggest stopping by the forums at www.goosemoose.com/rfc and talking to the people there. It's the best rat resource I've ever come across!