Rat help please

[Genny]

Hey everyone,
My brother still hasn't got a rat yet, but he still wants one and is going to. (When, i don't know!) Anyway, I've been begging him to get a white rat if he gets one, but he wants a dark brown or either a black rat. So, like are they both sweet? Like I know different breeds of hamsters can be more nippier than others, so is it the same with rats that are dif. colors, or are they all the same??

Also, he had planned on getting 2, but now he's thinking if he got 2 then it might not bond with him and want to be with him. So, is that true????

Also, what do you guys feed your rats?? I use to have one and I fed him hamster food and fruits and vegetables. He loved strawberries!!!
I couldn't ever find food made just for rats at the stores.

Anyway, thanks for any help any body can give!

[sweetpatata6]

It would make since to me that whites tend to be albino, or just have red eyes. And some who are colored have red eyes. I would concider the fact that red/pink eyed animals tend to go blind or grow cataracts, so they could become nipper with age as their eye site goes. Ya following?

[sweetpatata6]

Moral of my rambiling, I would go with a dark colored fur and eyes... Or just try to pick ones with dark eyes, though it all bubbles down to personality

[sweetpatata6]

sorry for all these posts, but I see things I havn't covered!!! lol sich as that There is mice / rat food(( I know cause I accisently got it for my gerbil)) They have special rat pellets in them. ((I just took it ou and fed it to Valintine because I had already opened it!!))

[Christmas_Hamster]

Make sure he gets more then one and a very large cage. Rats love to have buddies and can get very lonely with out one.

[Marigold2]

My daughter has two rats and they are sweet girls. Rats are very social creatures and do not want to be alone, make sure to get two. They are super intelligent and loving, need a lot of attention and playtime. Sort of like a puppy. The pet stores have special food so they get all their vitamins. I always spoil our two girls, they are rats and love all foods. Fruits, meat, cookies. I suggest going to the library and getting some books on rats, looking on the internet and knowing more then anything that they need a lot of love and time and toys. Good luck before you know it you will be in love with those sweet faces and gentle nature.

[Chilli]

Don't worry about the rats bonding to eachother and not to your brother. Believe me, I have nine rats and each one of them has a special bond with me. Back when I only had four or so, I still had close bonds, too.
Always have rats in same-sex pairs! They're pack animals... they thrive much better with another furry friend of their own species.

And I find that homemade mixes supplimented with fresh fruits/veggies and mineral blocks are the best. Just google up "homemade rat mix" and you should get plenty of examples.

And about the color of rats. I have various colors... anything from blue to agouti(brown) to almost pure white. I don't see a different in their personality when it comes to color. My agouti hooded is super sweet & squishy while my other agouti is shy and timid. Same color, different attitudes. Remember, rats are all the same breed... just different colors.

And I previously had a PEW(albino), and he didn't have any problems. He wasn't nippy, but they do tend to have poorer eyesight than others. As long as you make sure not to scare or sneak up on a PEW, its usually not a problem. Plus, I've seen plenty of BEW(black eyed whites) around... so thats a possibility, also.

Hope I was of some help. =]

[Genny]

HEY EVERYONE,

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE HELP!

I WAS WONDERING...AT OUT PETSHOP THEY NEVER HAVE BABY RATS. THEY ALWAYS HAVE LARGE RATS AND THEY SAY THOSE ARE GROWN. THEY HAVE SMALL RATS (WHICH I THOUGHT WAS BABY RATS UP UNTIL A MONTH AGO WHEN I ASKED THEM) BUT THEY SAID THE SMALLER RATS ARE GROWN THAT THEY ARE JUST SMALLER RATS THAT WON'T GET AS BIG AS A NORMAL SIZED RAT.

WE WANT A BABY RAT THAT WILL GET BIG LIKE A REG. RAT. I NEVER KNEW THERE WAS LARGE RATS AND SMALL RATS. OH, AND THE PETSHOP ALSO HAS MEDIUM RATS TOO. WHAT KIND OF RAT DO YOU HAVE???

[Chilli]

Well... our petstore had their rats labeled the same way, but its for feeder purposes. The "small" rats are really just young rats that haven't gotten fully grown. How small are the small rats at your petstore? It doesn't sound right that they're small and full grown.

[Genny]

Well, I'll try to tell you the best I can what size the small ones are. They are a little bigger than a fully grown hamster. (not a dwarf hamster, but a regular hamster)

They have large rats there too, and it's the kind we're wanting, but we wanted to get it from a baby and raise it our selves, because a lot of the full grown ones are scared to let you hold them and they run from you when you reach inside to pet them.

[Muddy4paws]

Your brother needent worry about them not bonding with him, my rats thrive on human interaction! They are extremly friendly and they are a siamese and a champagne hooded rat with ruby eyes, The colour or breed doesnt matter as long as you handle them well and interact with them daily for at least an hour, I find that along as they have a big cage with plenty of hammocks and toys then they are perfectly happy!