Rats

[Desert Arabian]

UABassoon posted the best forum you could ever rely on for rat information. I am Crazy4Rats over there.

I have owned rats since 2001.I currently own 5 rats, two passed away on May 11th. The most I had at one time was 23 when Violette had her (13) babies. I once had 10 rats, without babies. They are extremely expensive to care for the more you own. Their vet bills are henous- $550 for tumor removal, $80 for x-rays, $37 for general vet visit, etc.

You need to make sure you get a same sex pair and get a two story cage or larger if possible. It is best to keep them in a wire cage vs. an aquarium. The ammonia from their urine is due to build up faster in an aquarium, making it an unsafe habitat for the rats. They are extremely social, you have to spend over an hour playing with them. They need lots of toys in the cage such as hammocks, hide boxes,tubes, various bird and cat toys, etc. Rats are omivores and eat all sorts of food. My rats love to eat waxworms, deer, duck, beef, liver, bologna, turkey, chicken, ham, small amounts of tuna, watermelon, strawberries, bananas, oatmeal, and more. They get Nylabones and Jumbones regularly to make sure their teeth stay in shape, and it gives them something other than their hammock to destroy. Here is a picture of my rats' cage. It looks a little different now than in the picture. There are guards on the edges of the shelves and there is aspen shavings for bedding instead of towels.


I have 4 females and 1 neutered male. The girls are Violette, Phoebe, Suzie and Chloe, the male is Oscar. Chloe's sister and Oscar's brother are the two who passed away. Violette and Phoebe are mother and daughter. Chloe is an Agouti Hooded, Suzie is a Black Hooded, Violette is an American Blue Berkshire, Phoebe is a Silvered Black Berkshire, and Oscar is a Black Capped Dumbo. My rats who are up at the rainbow bridge are Peanut (Lilac verigated rex), Nugget (Agouti Berkshire), Sweet Pea (Agouti Berkshire), Oreo (Black Hooded), Punkin (Black Hooded), Skittles (Russian Blue Berkshire rex), Fred (Black Capped dumbo), and Daisy (Agouti Hooded).

Luckies4Me is a breeder and I won't bother giving you anymore advice because a) it will be repetative and b) she gives better advice. She will post here soon, give her a while to find the thread.


-YLL