To all you Rat people...

You may remember that I had a Rat that went to the RB ( :( ) and if not, that's OK this isn't about her anyway :p. What this post is actually about is, I *may* be getting one or two Rats around the end of this year :D. I have a nice cage, but I am not sure if it would be big enough for two Rats, also how do you make sure that both Rats get there fair share of food? One more question :o, I was thinking of getting two male Rats, but would there be a territory(sp?)/Dominince (sp :o) issue, so I thought about getting a famale and a male, but then I thought wait... Can you spay Rats? :p, I really want atleast one male, so any help would be appreciated. Oh one more question, these will be my only Rats would I have to quarintine them from each other? If so how only would the process take?

So far as I know, Male rats once they reach adolecence have a real issue with other males. However, the breeder I got Rogue from said that as long as the ratties were rasied together, they get along just fine. She had two really huge males living together and they just played with each other lol, no hurting each other at all. As far as the food thing, just keep an eye on them and see if one is picking on the other. My two girls tend to keep things even although they can get obnoxious at times. The best thing like I said is just to keep an eye on them and make sure one isn't being shorted. To answer your question, yes you can spay and nuter rats. The surgery is expensive though and not a lot of people do it. I hear though that nutering males adds to thier lifespan but I don't know for sure if this is true. If you get your rats from the same place *same breeder or store* you don't need to quarrentne them from each other as they have obviously been in contact before. If you get them from two seperate places its wise to keep them apart for a while. I don't know for sure how long though. My reccomendation is get a pair of littermates if you can. I've noticed littermates tend not to get into fights nearly as often, in both male and female rats.

Hope that helped! Im not a total expert, but Ive had a few ratties :D. If anyone would like to correct me, please do so I can learn more!

Actually 2 male rats that have never met each other before can be introduced... slowly. It just takes time, and patience.

If I was you, since you want a male, I would just get 2 males from the same place, it will be a lot easier that way if you get a pair that has already been living together.

Like DJ said, spay and neuter surgery is very expensive. However, getting a female rat spayed reduces the chance of tumors they will get when they get older.

Here are 2 great rat forums that you might want to join and ask more questions on. I am a member of both, and everyone is always very helpful.

www.goosemoose.com/rfc
&
www.ratpalace.com

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Originally posted by Doggirl
I have a nice cage, but I am not sure if it would be big enough for two Rats

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Measure the cage and go here: Cage Calculator It will tell you how many rats your cage can house

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Also how do you make sure that both Rats get there fair share of food?

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Watch them eat, make sure they are both eating all the treats you give them. Most rats don't have an eating problem, they are little piggies. Just simply watch them eat. If one starts to look a little skinny, then you need to do some more investigating.

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I was thinking of getting two male Rats, but would there be a territory(sp?)/Dominince (sp :o) issue, so I thought about getting a famale and a male, but then I thought wait... Can you spay Rats?

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Male rats can be territorial, and will fight. Some males get so nasty, there have been cases where they kill eachother, or do serious damage to their cagemates (like chew off tails, etc). You have to be pretty careful. I had two males, Oscar and Fred, from the same litter, they never faught. I also had them neutered at a young age, so I could house them with my girls, and fighting was never an issue. Male rats are sweethearts, especially when neutered. Yes, you can get does spayed. In my area it costs a lot of money. It varies from vet to vet. To spay a rat around here, it is around $350, if I remember correctly. The general cost for a spay can be anywhere from $50 to $500. I have two females who have mammary tumors that need to be removed, and it will cost me $521 EACH, so that is over $1,000 total. Rats are extremely expensive when it comes to veterinary needs- which sucks, because mine are at the vet a lot. :(

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Oh one more question, these will be my only Rats would I have to quarintine them from each other? If so how only would the process take?

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If the rats came from the same place, there is no point in quarintining them, because they would already most likely share the same sicknesses. But, for example, if you got one rat from a rat rescue and bought one from the pet store, then you would, because they were never together and could harbor illinesses that the other one does that have. Each would have to be in its own tank and be in different quarinting areas. They should be kept seperate from anywhere from 2-4 weeks to be really safe.

molucass, had to say thank you for the links and the info, you too YLL :D

just to tell ya, rats do better in pairs.
and they need a fairly big cage.

in the attachment is a pic of my cage.....

At work, we seem to neuter rats a lot. (Haven't seen the vets spay one yet) It costs $87.00 and that's in S. California, typically more expensive.

Two of my co-workers have male rats that they fixed so they wouldn't have a "ratty odor"...not sure what that means though.

:)

Yep, just like Jynelle said- they have to be kept in pairs. Otherwise, they will become depressed and have a high chance of developing behavorial problems. You also want to get the biggest cage you can afford, they have to be kept in a cage no smaller than a guinea pig cage. Hamster and gerbil cages are way to small. Be sure the cage has levels so they have more room to play.

Also, do not use commerical rat food such as Kaytee. They are not formulated with rats nutrional needs in mind. There is corn in commerical rat foods which harbors fungus which is dangerous to rats. There is also a chemical called ethoxyquin in a lot of commerical diets, which causes cancer in humans- why would you want to feed that to your rats? Suebee's Mix is an awesome rat food, which I and many breeders feed their rats. CLICK HERE FOR SUEBEE'S MIX

This is where my 4 ratties are housed:
http://members.aol.com/DesertArabian87/RATCAGE.JPG

I was thinking of getting one of these. (A Martin's R-685)

http://www.martinscages.com/images/full/r-685.jpg

I put it through the Cage Calculator and it said it would house 3 rats what do you think? Also thanks for the tip on food I'll try to stock up on the stuff.

Personally, that is too small for me. I would go even bigger than that, but that's just me. Yeah, I think that would be ok for two rats, but I wouldn't use it. :p My rats need to live in taj mahal's- they are spoiled. :p

The cage calculator gives you a rough idea of how many rats can comfortably fit into a cage. This only shows you so you don't put 15 in a cage that's not big "enough" for 6. However, the Martins R-685 is great for 2 ratties. If you get the flip top added on (I believe you will need to ask for it) it will make cage cleaning tons easier.

Like Molucass said, 2 male rats can be introduced to eachother even if they haven't grown up together. While introducing either sex when they're young is easy, sometimes that just isn't possible. The older they get, the longer introductions can take. Some take weeks, and some take days. But, I do suggest going ahead and getting two from the same litter, or adopting two that have lived together all their lives. It just makes it a whole lot easier than you.

To answer one of your original questions, yes, rats can get neutered. Typically females are more expensive because it's internal, as opposed to external. Both still have their perks. Spaying can reduce the chance of getting mammary tumours among other things. Neutering can reduce chances of cancers that could possibly run in certain lines. And if you have a boy and girl living together, get at least one of them neutered, please.

With the food situation, I also agree to not give a store bought mix, unless it's a reputable brand. Still, even with that, I'd suggest Suebee's, or your version of Suebee's. The Suebee's Mix site tells you exactly what rats need in their diets, how much, and the easiest ways to get them their nutrients. Along with their daily mix, they'll need a staple of some kind. Either a lower protein/fat dog food, or a good lab block. You can order lab blocks from Kim's Ark here.

For my parting words, I second Molucass' recommendation on Ratpalace and RatsRule! Awesome pet rat sites that would love to have you as part of their community! Join us. :D

here are some better pics of my ratties and their cage ...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8...s/fa8d6e90.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8...s/f9e10da6.jpg