C.B EXOTICS

When you are at the store, picking out a rat, you should

be careful to watch out for the following things...

Pet rat care starts with selecting a healthy individual.

·  Red mucus around eyes.

·  Sniffing, wheezing, and coughing very audibly.

·  Bare patches.

·  Lethargy when held, weakness of muscles.

These are all signs of an unhealthy rat. You want to look

for the following good signs.

·  Eyes should be clear and bright

·  Should be very curious when held

·  Shouldn’t be able to hear breathing,

unless it is sniffing your ear!

Pet Rat Care Housing Information

Rats are very active at night, the girls especially,

and do need a nice size cage. The larger the cage the

happier the rat, is the basic pet rat care rule. Each rat

should have at least a foot square of floor.

They are also great climbers so wire walled cages

are perfect.  However,   rats are also escape artists.

They can easily escape through the wires of a cage if it

is wide enough. As a general rule, make sure the gap

between the wire is no bigger than the rats head.

A rat can squish it’s body up to squeeze under doors,

I’m pretty sure it can escape through wide-gapped-wire.

Rats can get bored very easily, so plenty of toys and

puzzles are essential to keep them from going crazy with

boredom and gnawing the cage. Chew toys, and ferret

toys where they have to find a way to get the treat out

of the middle are great. One toy that rats don’t find

too impressive, however, is the wheel.

Rats are very clever little critters, and unlike hamsters,

regard the wheel as a bit useless. For the most part

they will give it a look that says “You want me to keep

running on that when it doesn’t go anywhere?  not a

chance .lol.” They know it’s pointless, the same goes

for the hamster ball. I'll agree they look cute in them,

but your hard earned pet rat care money can be used

elsewhere.

Pet Rat Care Bedding Information

Rats bedding should comprise of the shavings you find in

most pet stores, usually compacted in air-tight bags

with pictures of cute hamsters or bunnies on the front.

They could also be kept on Care Fresh, which is made

from wood that was not made into paper for whatever

reason. Either one is fine.

Rats should have some nest bedding. The stuff that looks

like shredded j-cloth is fine for this, but you should not

use the hairy stuff, as this can strangle and suffocate

small animals.

Company and Reproduction

Proper pet rat care would require us to buy other

rats to keep each other company. In the wild, rats

are very social animals, and it would be terrible to

deprive them of social interaction.

The best way to do this, is to select same-sex rats

from the same litter. If, however, you need to get

them separately, it is best to introduce them while

they are still juveniles, as fights can occur

between adults. For most pets, it is the male who

is most aggressive but in rat-world that is not the

case.

In rat world, you can take a young boy rat,

introduce it to an adult and they should get along

fine. The males of the species, just like in humans,

are generally lazy and get along well with other

males.  There sometimes may be some fighting

between hormonal males.

Typically males will sleep a lot, and are more docile

while being held.

The female rats seem to be quicker at times than

their male counterparts.

If you introduce two strange females to each other

they can fight and seriously injure, if not kill one

another. If you want to introduce two adult

females, it is best to place them in cages next to

each other, to see what the reaction is. If they

sniff each other through the wire with no sign of

aggression, it should be safe.

I wouldn’t recommend keeping a boy and girl

together unless you want a house over run with

rats. I know it seems like a sweet idea for your

pets to be parents, but the reality is that people

would rather go to pet shops and professional

breeders for their pets so it may be difficult placing

the offspring in good homes.

Remember that females come into heat about

every 4/5 days.  The gestation is around a mere

22 days, and each litter is about 10-12 babies.

They reach sexual maturity at 5 weeks, so should

be separated before then, as rats have no clue

about incest.

Brothers, sisters, parents… lovely eh?

Pet Rat Care Nutrition

Pet rat care, as far as nutrition is goes, isn't

difficult at all.

Rats are omnivores, and survive well on the

rat pellets you can find in most pet stores.

This is better than muesli-type products as it

gets rid of any desire to pick and choose

favourite foods, meaning they get all the

goodness they need. However, you can also

get your rats treats.

In the wild, rats would snack on anything from

bugs to baby birds,so a mealworm

(available at most exotic pet shops) or some

fatless grilled chicken would not go astray.

Red meats, however, should be avoided.

Rats needs a constant supply of clean fresh water,

so a gravity operated ball point bottle is perfect.

Bowls could be used, but would probably get

knocked over,pooed in and made quite unsanitary.

Everyday Pet Rat Care

Rats need to be held every day. To pick a rat up,

you can scoop it up under the belly, or grasp it just

beneath the shoulders. Make sure the rat knows

you are there before you pick it up, as a surprised

rat may nip.

If your rat suffers from ailments such as:

coughing or wheezing, the best thing to do is to

change all the bedding. If it continues, make an

appointment at the vet.

Another common ailment is tilting head.

This involves a permanently cocked head, and

usually means: an inner ear infection. A course of

anti-biotics from the vets should do the trick.

Yet another common ailment is lumps. Rats are

prone to tumours. Especially girls.

A good protection against this is to get the young

ladies spayed. These tumours are either cancerous

or benign (harmless)

A quick trip to the vet is needed to find out.

But not all lumps are tumours.

Some are abscesses,an infected scratch, and it

doesn’t take long for a vet to get the pus out,

and some anti-biotics will clear up any remaining

infection.

What to Expect From Your Pet Rat

Rats can be friendly creatures who pretty soon will

love hanging out with you. The girls will like to

climb all over you, the boys just to relax and

watch television.

If you treat them right, they’ll treat you right.

I told you pet rat care would be a snap.