hi can anybody give me some infro about rats my son wants one and want 2 no wot there play with and wot 2 put in the cage how often 2 clean the cage etc etc thanks

Ideally, get two or three to live together. They generally aren't happy individually, they are social creatures.

Bigger cage = better. Get biggest you've got room for and fill it with toys/hiding places etc. Giving youngsters plenty of hidy holes will help them settle down faster as they will feel more secure with somewhere to dash.

Clean out minimum of once a week, more if they smell ;)
Use a paper based cat litter as base substrate.

As for toys:
cardboard tubes, boxes, scrunched up paper, try attaching food high on side of cage..encourages climbing, put a couple of treats inside a box or something so they have a bit of a puzzle - mine have had plastic balls with a small hole (specifically made for rats) that could be filled with small treats.

Once they have settled into the cage (and feel secure because they have lots of hidy holes) start tempting them out onto hand by laying hand flat and putting food on it.

Don't try to pick them up straight away, wait till they are happy coming out of their own accord.

Try not to tower over them... easy to do if the cage door is lower than your/your son's head height. Remember how you would appear to something so much smaller.

Good luck - and enjoy them, they make fantastic pets :thumbsup:

Everything DaFoot said!

For a cage, many pet shops will try and sell you a hamster cage claiming it's suitable for rats as a starter cage, it's not! You need a large cage from the word go, there's a cage calculater here: http://www.fancy-rats.co.uk/information/guides/cagecalculator/

Please be sure to get two or three rats of the same sex, rats breed like rabbits and the last thing you want to do is end up with babies and more unwanted animals. If possible - get your rats from a breeder, they are more likely to be well handled and had a better start in life than those that started life in mass breeders/rodent farms who supply the likes of PAH. If you contact the National Fancy Rat Society they will give you a list of registered breeders (there's definitely one in Doncaster).

For substrate I use Walmsley Premier Horse bedding - it's shredded card, I get a bale every couple of months from the farm shop, it's cheap and dust free - I use tear up some newspaper for them. I did use paper based biocatlet but they've changed it and now it's hard and there have been reports of small bits of sharp plastic in it - definitely not good! Stay away from sawdust too - the vast majority of it is very bad for ratty lungs.

Your cage needs to be big and stimulating, so lots of toys (you'd be suprised how much fun a rat can get from a box of value tissues), hammocks are a huge yes, ladders, anything really - you can do this pretty cheaply too if you hunt around.

Health wise, rats can be disproportionaly expensive compared to their initial cost - something to be aware of. For example, a rat may cost 5 quid, but they can rack up health bills that pass the 100+ mark. Female rats are very prone to mammory tumours and most of the time they can be removed by your vet but it is costly - many live for years + months after these ops, certainly mine have. Male rats can be prone to aggression and in that instance you may want to consider neutering, but only if everything else fails. Both sexes are prone to respiratory problems and this can usually be cleared by a course of antibiotics such as baytril or synulux if required.

I'd go register here and have a browse around, loads of useful advice on health, habitat, food etc. www.fancy-rats.co.uk/community Best of luck!

Watch for bar spacing though with babies, they can squeeze out of spaces you never imagined :hihi:

... I use tear up some newspaper for them....

My old boys used to love it when I stuffed the cage full of newspaper...they'd spend hours shredding it all and moving it about to where they wanted it. One wants it in one house, the other wants it in the other house and the 3rd would ... ignore the fuss and eat his food :suspect::D

Always fun watching one poke his head out from under a heap of paper to work out who was on top of the paper he was trying to move to where it should be! :hihi:

I miss my rats :(

Watch for bar spacing though with babies, they can squeeze out of spaces you never imagined :hihi:

Oh yeah, good point, rats can collapse their rib cage and squeeze through some bar spacing! That said - stay away from housing them in tanks as they build up amonia as they can't get full ventilation and will smell faster, in addition - rats love to climb so tanks just won't cut it!

My old boys used to love it when I stuffed the cage full of newspaper...they'd spend hours shredding it all and moving it about to where they wanted it. One wants it in one house, the other wants it in the other house and the 3rd would ... ignore the fuss and eat his food :suspect::D

Always fun watching one poke his head out from under a heap of paper to work out who was on top of the paper he was trying to move to where it should be! :hihi:

I miss my rats :(

Sounds just like my girls! And after they're done shifting newspaper around - they love stuff to chew on, especially cereal hedghogs, who Hope decided didn't actually need its spines, before and after http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o200/helensy/P8200265.jpg :hihi:

Oh wow hels what are they made of and where do they come from? My poor lone rat is still moping at the loss of her mate

.... Hope decided didn't actually need its spines, before and after http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o200/helensy/P8200265.jpg :hihi:
Brilliant! :hihi:

Oh wow hels what are they made of and where do they come from? My poor lone rat is still moping at the loss of her mate

Aww poor girlie, I was wondering how she was getting on the other day, she must be sad :(

I think you can get them in most pet shops, I got mine from the Rat Warehouse but I was too lazy to check in Jolleys and PAH! They're dog chews so I think you'll be able to find them - they come in orange and green if that helps. Hope did that masterpiece in about two weeks. I've managed to integrate her back with the other girls after months and months of building her confidence, it's nice to have them all together again but the destrutive rate of <stuff> appears to have shot up! :hihi:

Here you go: http://www.ratwarehouse.com/shop_detail.php?item=352&cat=23

My 2 used to love to steal tissues from a box of tissues and take it to a snug area of the mantle piece to curl up on :love: I miss them loads. They used to love mash potatoes and carrots as a treat.

Aww poor girlie, I was wondering how she was getting on the other day, she must be sad :(

I think you can get them in most pet shops, I got mine from the Rat Warehouse but I was too lazy to check in Jolleys and PAH! They're dog chews so I think you'll be able to find them - they come in orange and green if that helps. Hope did that masterpiece in about two weeks. I've managed to integrate her back with the other girls after months and months of building her confidence, it's nice to have them all together again but the destrutive rate of <stuff> appears to have shot up! :hihi:

Here you go: http://www.ratwarehouse.com/shop_detail.php?item=352&cat=23

She's still very much sulking with me, seeing I was the one that took her mate away :(

She's still very much sulking with me, seeing I was the one that took her mate away :(

I doubt very much she's sulking at you, rats are just social creatures and they also bond with their cage mates, so she will be grieving for her :( I'd give her lots of cuddles and reassurance, I hope she perks up. :(

Is this the same son you want a puppy for?

I'd advise one pet at a time and see how you get on before getting more :)

Play mates are essential - we have 5 ratties in a Jenny Rat cage. 4 females and a nuetered male. They absolutley love hammocks - although after a few hours you can start to see holes being eaten out of them! They love tubes and shredding things. Also don't put anything next to the rat cage, mine reached through and shredded duvets, carrier bags, the kid's toys etc before I noticed - in less than a few hours! Food, food and food is a good way to get them tame, although they are quite prone to getting a bit chubby so just watch them!

yes it is the same son is dad told him he could have a puppy or a young dog he loves animals

So why not wait for the rats? Check how he gets on with a dog first? Any pet is a huge responsibility for anyone let alone a young child.

I'm not saying it's wrong to have more than one pet (of course! I have 4 and am waiting for the right time to get my ratties and new puppy) but just that one at a time is a better way of easing yourself in and making sure they get enough attention :D

So why not wait for the rats? Check how he gets on with a dog first? Any pet is a huge responsibility for anyone let alone a young child.

I'm not saying it's wrong to have more than one pet (of course! I have 4 and am waiting for the right time to get my ratties and new puppy) but just that one at a time is a better way of easing yourself in and making sure they get enough attention :D

I agree completely. You do need to invest quite a bit of time into ratties to make sure that they are sociable and learn to trust you. You can even start teaching them tricks when they know that you won't hurt them. It will probably take at least a week for the ratties to learn to trust your son, and that's with a lot of time invested into them.

as for dogs - where do I start!!

I agree completely. You do need to invest quite a bit of time into ratties to make sure that they are sociable and learn to trust you. You can even start teaching them tricks when they know that you won't hurt them. It will probably take at least a week for the ratties to learn to trust your son, and that's with a lot of time invested into them.

as for dogs - where do I start!!

I completely agree - I would wait. Rats are surprinsingly time consuming, and sometimes expensive pets that need a lot of handling and attention. I wouldn't think of getting any new pets for at least 6 months to a year after you have your dog. As for rats trusting you - I would say that takes longer than 1 week for them to completely trust you, come to you and settle in; more like 2 - 3 months.

hes had a dog before and it died and thats y my oh said he could have one hes very good with is pets hes got fish and a cat when hes around im hoping 2 put a hold on the dog for a few months hes waiting for is rat hopefully it will be ready to pick up this weekend and hopefully he will b that besy with is rat he wont think about a dog

hes had a dog before and it died and thats y my oh said he could have one hes very good with is pets hes got fish and a cat when hes around im hoping 2 put a hold on the dog for a few months hes waiting for is rat hopefully it will be ready to pick up this weekend and hopefully he will b that besy with is rat he wont think about a dog

Rats are very sociable creatures, and that post reads like he is only getting 1. Please read this article as to why rats need companies, no matter how good your son is with pets, he can't speak rat!! http://www.nfrs.org/company.html

Has he got the cage all set up with the appropriate substrate and material in to entertain his new rats?

yes.the cage is sorted .he as we were getting 2 rats but the woman in the pet shopsaid he only needs 2 get one so would u c he needs 2

yes.the cage is sorted .he as we were getting 2 rats but the woman in the pet shopsaid he only needs 2 get one so would u c he needs 2

Edit - if I've read that wrong, sorry, I struggled a bit!

Okay first things first - pet shops on the whole talk rubbish. If the pet shop says he only needs one - they're wrong, simple as. Please read that article I linked to for a start - it's a lot more reliable than a pet shop.

He most definitely categorically 100% should get at least 2 rats (of the same sex), 99.99% of rats prefer rat company, very very very occasionally you get one who does not - but it's so rare it's negligable.

In addition you don't know the history of any animal bought from a pet shop - if you go to respected breeder (there are those that are not) you know the rat has been well handed, had a good start in life and should you not be able to care for it - the breeder will always take them back, something a pet shop does not offer. Please think twice before supporting the pet shop trade, it's in my opinion a very risky business. :(

kk thanks im glad ihave posted this we will b getting 2 rats were in sheffield would i find a breeder and thanks alot hels1977

kk thanks im glad ihave posted this we will b getting 2 rats were in sheffield would i find a breeder and thanks alot hels1977

I'm going to PM you if that's okay - with an email address and some contact details. I know another forum member got their ratties of a lady in Doncaster who is a registered breeder so I'll ask them for the details. :)

kk thanks a lot

I completely agree - I would wait. Rats are surprinsingly time consuming, and sometimes expensive pets that need a lot of handling and attention. I wouldn't think of getting any new pets for at least 6 months to a year after you have your dog. As for rats trusting you - I would say that takes longer than 1 week for them to completely trust you, come to you and settle in; more like 2 - 3 months.

Ooh yes, come to think about it, it probably was about that long with our first two. we then got the other 3 females babies and they all live together, however these only took about a week to start coming to us etc, probably because they were copying the big ones!:hihi: