Rats

[~Tucker&Me~]

Everything and everything please .

I have lately been doing a lot of research on them and am seriously looking into purchasing two.

Some specific questions:

Buck or doe? From what I have read, bucks tend to make better pets. HOWEVER, I have a male mouse who reeks to high heavens. I love him, but he loves to mark and I CONSTANLY have to be on top of cage cleaning (multiple times weekly). So, assuming bucks are also smellier then does, I am honestly leaning towards a pair of does. Opinions?

I also know I can spay/neuter rats, but really would rather not. For such a small animal it seems like an unecessary risky surgery.

Okay, my mouse poops every 10-15 minutes. For this reason, I can't really have him sitting on my shoulder or just hanging out with me. When I bring him out I hold him in my hands and have to supervise him 100% of the time (not that I would let the ratties wander or anything). Are rats similiar to mice in the fact that they do not care where they go to the washroom? Can you litter train them? I suppose I don't REALLY mind, but it is *kinda* gross.

Thanks!

~Tucker

 

[Kase]

I just thought I'd share this link with you, I thought the cages were brilliant and far better than anything bought from a pet shop. I'd love to make something like this in the future for future ratties.

http://www.dapper.com.au/cages.htm

 

[FoxyWench]

bucks tend to be a little more laid back and "cuddly" does tend to be a little more hyper and curious, while they will settle for scritches there much less likely to sit and cuddle with you.
both you will need to clean the cage at least twice a week, rat urine is kinda strong, but males tend to have a more musky odor, i personally dont mind it but some people are very put off by this scent.

in terms of bathroom...unfortunatly rats are 100% incontinent.
in their cage they tend to prefer to go in one general area so i found cleanup was made easier by putting one of those corner litterboxes in their prefered corner with shavings and put their poop and some wet bedding in there...they were 99% of the time using this box which was much easier for cleanup.
outside of the cage though, like mice its every 20mins or so, but it never bothered me, i kept a papertowel handy and a little blacklight and some Natured miracle, the poop is pretty much always solid so thats easy to rid of and a quit squirt of natures miracle takes care of any pee.
when i had mine i had my room ratty proofed and i would let them out to wander my room, when i needed the to go back in their cage their favorite thing was bananna chips so that treat was reserved for only when going back home so all i had to do was shout "ok go home" and they would run to their cages for their treat.

rats are EXTREEMLY inteligent!

through my life ive had 2 pairs of does and 2 pairs of bucks and my sister had a pair of does, i prefered my big lazy boys becuase they loved to spend time with me. the femeles were much more independant.

smell wise, i cleaned the cage throughohly (new bedding and a bleach/water scrubdown) once a week (im sensitive to amonia) and then every other day removed the bedding in their favorite spot to pee and topped up the low spots. we never had a problem with smell and the every other day clean up took mabe 5 minutes tops, the big clean only took 1/2 hour.

rats MUST be caged though, aquariums and glass tanks just make thigns much worse,, ventilation and lots of climbing space.

 

[Kathy29]

I've been told by several people that male mice stink.. a lot! I haven't heard that about rats though, so I would assume with them, males and females don't make too much of a difference in the smell factor.

 

[Paws90]

Im realy not sure about male rats, Ive always had females because the male rats kinda gross me out with there big.. Hehmmm... *area* lol. but ive heard males make calmer pets. as for the poopin questsion, i think it realy depends more on the individual rat. One rat I had would never poop when I would hold her, but others would poop alot. Rats are realy cool pets, and are realy smart, and I have never been bitten by a rat, and Ive had 6 rats! I absalutely love rex rats and dumbo rats, there adorable!!
And you can find Rat Breeders, if your wanting a realy friendly and healthy rat, it might be a good idea to look for a breeder in your area. They might be alittle more expensive, but Ive not realy seen em over $15, except for show rats that are sometimes like $30. just google rat breeders in (where ever you live) and you should find some.
I got my rats from pet shops, but you will most likely have to tame them yourself from them.
I would like to get my next rat from a breeder, I dont have any rats right now
Hope I was of help!!!!