Rimsky's Top Twelve Tips for New Rat Owners
Rimsky's Top Twelve Tips
for New Rat Owners
1. Never use cedar or pine (softwood) shavings. Use a bedding made
from safe material such as Yesterday's New Cat Litter (paper-based) or Aspen
Shavings (hardwood).
Some aspen brands should be avoided due to dust. Some good wood beddings are:
Pro-chips, Heat Treated Aspen Hardwood Laboratory Bedding (Northeastern Products
Corp.), or Kaytee brand Aspen. (more
info)
2. Rats are social creatures and need interaction with each other to stay healthy. Please keep rats in groups of two or more. Rats kept alone are often shy and timid. Read: Why Rats need Company
3. Feed lab blocks or a suitably balanced diet. No seed mixes!
4. Avoid drafts.. Rats are prone to respiratory ailments. Rats should not make any sounds when breathing.
5. Wire cages are preferable to aquariums. Wire cages offer much better air circulation which is key to respiratory health. Powder-coated wire (looks like the wire is painted) is much preferable to bare wire. Covering galvanized (uncoated wire) is recommended to prevent foot problems and to prevent the bare wire from absorbing urine and odours. Plastic carpet protector is one material that can be used. Be sure to keep the protector clean because dirty floors may also cause foot problems.
6. Rats can reproduce at 5-6 weeks of age. Keep this in mind when buying rats from pet stores. Educate pet stores when possible.
7. Small cardboard boxes and paper bags = hours of fun. More toy ideas
8. Do not feed treats through cage bars when rats are young and impressionable. This can create undesirable nipping habits.
9. Never pick a rat up by his/her tail. The best way to pick a rat up is to scoop him/her with both hands.
10. If your new rats tend to nip your fingers (this is usually out of curiosity), use the "squeak technique" to stop this behaviour: Each time your rat nips your finger, make a high-pitched, short, loud, sharp "Eeeek!". Rats understand this as "Ouch!". This method works extremely well for nips that are experimental rather than aggressive.
11. If you plan to get more rats in the future to add to your colony, be aware of proper quarantine procedures to protect rats against viruses like SDA.
12. Check out this site and bookmark it http://www.ratguide.com because it is full of great health-related information about pet rats.