How To Care For Rats
- Videojug
- Videojug
- 2:44
- Yes
- 360p
- 640x360
- Flash
- h.264
- 900kbps
How To Care For Rats
The pet rat, or fancy rat, makes a great pet, especially for young children. Like many rodents, rats need the right bedding, food, cage, and toys to be kept happy. Care for the rat properly, and he will be an enjoyable pet to look after and raise.
Step 1: Background information
The pet rat, or Fancy rat, originates from Asia, but now lives worldwide. They can grow up to 20-30cm (seven to twelve inches) in length, and usually live from 2-3 years.
Step 2: Buying
When buying a rat, especially for a child, it must be young so that it is easy to tame. Too young though and it may have nutritional and behavioural problems.
Perform a health check on the ears, teeth, feet and fur. You want to avoid bare patches, parasites, diarrhoea, arched backs, and swelling joints.
To sex the rat, note that the gap between the anus and sexual opening in the male is wider than in the female.
Always look for a clean sparkly eye and a zest for life!
Step 3: Behaviour
Rats are intelligent and active creatures. They are social and live well in groups, but make sure they are all introduced at a young age.
They need lots of attention or they will become bored. When handling, always lift at the base of the tail, and support the body underneath. They bond well with a handler, and with enough time and effort, can even learn to respond to their name.
Step 4: Housing
If the rat is allowed out often, the cage need be no bigger than 60 x 40cms (25 x 15 ins). You can use a wire cage, but glass with good ventilation contains mess and smell much better.
Rats can open doors, so make sure your's are secure.
Cover the cage's bottom in aspen, corn cob, or cat litter. If using paper avoid newspaper, as recent research suggests the ink may well be toxic to rodents. Remove this and disinfect the cage weekly.
For a house use a tube, or even a bird box, and fill this with hay, and provide toys to relieve boredom.
Step 5: Feeding
Rats are omnivorous and will leave nothing. Provide mixed rodent feed as a staple, and insects or cooked meat for protein. Also provide fruit and veg, and other healthy tid-bits.
For water, use a drinking bottle, and preferably use bottled water.
-
02:50
Start Breeding Rats
-
05:33
Gather Pet Rat Supplies
-
03:49
Make Rat Toys
-
02:32
Choose Pet Rat Cages
Tips & Comments
...Never pick a rat by it's tail, don't use ANY wood because it WILL make your rat sick, hay is also bad.... Never use a glass cage. Never feed them citrus, it can cause cancer. Paper bedding (Not newspaper) Is best...
AS for the sawdust thats fine cuz its aspen it doesnt affect the rats resparitory system the way regular sawdust does!
YOU SHOULD NEVER EVER PICK A RAT UP AT ANY PART OF THE TAIL! SO MUCH FOR 35 YEARS OF KNOWLEDGE! STUPID MAN! IF YOU HAD A HALF A BRAIN CELL YOU WOULD KNOW THAT PICKING THEM UP BY THE TAIL CAN EASILY BREAK IT! IDIOTIC MAN!!! GOD VIDEOS LIKE THIS MAKE ME MAD!
ross is right. if you do that hte weight of the rat and its struggeling might break its tail or worse break it off. since rats use it as their way of koosing heat its not good for them to loose their tail(imagine loosing the abilaty to sweat) also a big cage is best for rats. especially when you have more then two. That way they can choose to stick together or spend some time alone
What the hell,I have two rats and dont listen dont ever pick a rat up by its tail no matter what...you just dont do it.
Uhh, you never ever ever pick a rat up by it's tail and anyone who does should be slapped repeatedly and then picked up by an arm or finger or anything else that sticks out.
Terrible. I'm 16 and have been keeping rats since I was 10 years old, NEVER EVERRRR pick up the rat by it's tail, NEVER keep it in a glass cage because they love to climb, NEVER keep it with sawdust and especially not paper or hay as this can hurt them. Pellets are fine. Food I agreed with, any rodent food will suffice and any rat will eat almost any normal human food you feed it for a snack or treat. Also the video forgot to mention a mineral block or even dog biscuits to keep their teeth trim and healthy, and they can indeed be kept on their own so long as you give them regular attention and love (which you should with any pet) and they actually make better companions when kept alone. They do tend to respond to their name, too. :)
This information as many people gave said already it totaly foax, any first time buyers dont listen to this stupidaty they are trying to get you bit!! Rats hate being picked up by the tail (i had many cuts to show that when i first started owning them) people on these types of websites dont know a thing, if you want true information watch animal planet or ask all of us that have said this info it highly untrue. If you follow this video..............well good luck!!!:|
This is rather... inacturate... you shouldn't pick the rat up by the tail at all. Just let them walk onto your hand, or pick them up from below (grabing from above is similar to a hawk). Paper or wood pulp based litter is the best choice, since it's relativly cheap and non-toxic. Pine and cedar bedding is like haveing your nose in a bottle of pine-sol all day, and can cause lung and other problems. Cat litter is semi-toxic if consumed, and grass-based litter is expensive. I keep my rats (moska and big rat) in a large bird cage with the bottom grate removed.
rtas rae great pets and do not actually need all that much, a large cage, a mixture of rat food and fresh food is preferable, waterbottle (you can give them tap water) and another rat to play with. they are extreamly friendly and sociable and much smarter than hamsters. they are not inherently prone to biting, they will only bite of they have not received enough attention when young.