Rat Care
Intro
Caging
Diet
Play time
Rat introductions
Rats are social animals. The more time you spend with them, the more friendly and loving they will become. I recommend that you spend at least 1 hr every day with your rats outside their cage. This time can be with them on your shoulders, in your jumper, or running free in a safe area. Rats, especially females, love to be let out to free-range in rat-proof areas where there is enough room for them to run around. These areas could be your bed, a sofa, the bathroom, or a corridor or rat-proofed room. For a room to be considered rat proof, there needs to be no small holes they can hide in where you can't get them out from, no way for them to escape from the area, and nothing lying around that they should not chew. Forbidden chewing items include all electrical cables and anything you don't want damaged! A happy rat is one that feels loved and is stimulated by its environment.
Caging
Rats need well ventilated cages so there is no amonia buildup. This means that solid plastic and tank-style cages are not suitable for keeping rats in. Rats kept in these types of cages are prone to developing respiratory problems as the fumes damage their respiratory system. For 2 or 3 rats, the masterpet rat cage is the classic starter cage. This is a wire cage with 3 levels, and measures 62 cm x 60 cm x 37 cm. This is one of the largest 'rat' cages sold in petshops, but in my opinion is the smallest cage that rats should ever be kept in. Rats love to climb, so tall cages with wire on at least one side are ideal. Converted bird cages and averies make good rat cages provided levels are added. You can also construct your own cage out of recycled bookshelves and cabnets. See the caging section on RatClub for ideas on building and decorating cages. Another good site for make-your-own cages is the Grotto on the Dapper Rat website.
The type of bedding/litter you use in the cage is also very important. Safe beddings include Aspen shavings and Breeders Select kitty litter. Both of these can ususally be purchased from normal petshops, as well as through the ratclub shop. Do NOT use pine shavings, as these release phenols which are bad for your rat's health. Unfortunately, pine is still sold and recommended in most petstores. Also, regular kitty litters should be avoided as they can be very dusty and cause your rat breathing problems.
Rats require a well balanced diet to maintain a healthy condition. Most rat food mixes sold in petstores do not provide this - they contain a far too high content of seeds, many of which are indigestable by rats, and also frequently contain raw peanuts and dried corn which are hazardous for rats. For a complete diet a lab-block formulation is recommended, and can be purchased through the ratclub shop.
While lab-blocks form a complete diet for rats, it is rather boring if it is the only thing given. Rats love to have variety, and will generally eat most things. If you are supplementing the diet it is important to given a healthy balance of other foods, and also in such quantity that the rats will still eat everything including the lab-blocks. I make up my own dry mix which I feed to my rats as a quick breakfast. I will often also give them some yoghurt, cooked egg or fresh fruit with breakfast as well. In the evenings my rats usually share in what I have cooked for dinner. Fruit and veges are important additions to their diets, as well as a small serving of meats. A strictly vegetarian diet is not recommended. Favourite foods amongst my rats include: peas and corn, avacado, lettuce, spagetti, egg and custard baby food and chicken.
For a list of forbidden foods, please refer to the NZ RatClub website.
All rats love to play. They play both with each other inside their cages, as well as with you. One of the easiest games you can play with your rat is 'chase the hand'. Simply 'walk' your fingers around in front of your ratties and they will usually give chase. Allow them to catch your often, and catch them as well by flipping them onto their backs and rubbing their tummies or just fluffing up their fur a bit. This game is especially popular with girls and young rats. Other things you can do are make tents with yourself for the rats to hide under you, put out tunnels for them to run through, and let them play in boxes. More adventurous rats also enjoy playing 'flying rat'. For this, you gently toss you rat into the air and either catch them or let them land on a soft pillow or bedding. Several of my rats love this game and keep running back for more. I would not reccommend trying this with rats that suffer from excessive nervousness though.
The Dapper rat site offers many play ideas. Favourites amongst my crew include fishing for peas (and corn) and the digging box. Remember - the more variety your rat has with different games and toys inside the cage the more happy and stimulated it will be. Change the decor of their cages regularly - leave favourite hammocks, but cycle through adding tunnels, digging boxes, pools, ropes and hanging foodstuffs regularly so there is always something 'new' for your rats to explore. The best toys are often not the ones that cost $20 from the petshop but that are recycled out of things lying around the house. An empty tissue box provides hours of fun as your rats chew it, hide in it, and later shred it to pieces! When they've finished, you can toss it into the bin without having wasted any money.
Rats of different ages and from different litters can live happily together, despite what many sites and petstores might say. My boys live in one cage, and the girls in another, with most of them completely unrelated. Rats will fight with each other though if they are housed together without being properly introduced to each other first. A detailed introduction process can be found on the ratclub site.
There are occasionally rats that will take dislike to each other, but this is rare. If you are a first time rat owner and are unsure of introductions we recommend that you get two or three (same sex) rats from the same litter until you become more confident handling rats.