Getting Started

1. A nice, safe, and roomy cage!

     A cage is not a cheap item but it is an important one. Without the proper cage, you really should not have any pet rats. This is where they will spend most of their time. It will be their home where they will eat, sleep, play, exercise, learn, and use the bathroom.  Everyone likes a nice clean house with enough room to live comfortably so apply your personal preferences to your rats. They need levels to climb on and room to run around. You also want enough room for hammocks, toys, hidey houses, and a wheel. Stay away from cages with wire bottoms and large bar spacing as rats can fit through some tight spaces. You can research cages online even if you choose to purchase them from a store. All websites will tell you the cage measurements on the website. You should take these measurements and input them in to a cage calculator. This will tell you how many rats can fit in to the cage comfortably and will help you better decide what type of cage you would like to have for the amount of rats your getting or own. A cage calculator can be found here: http://www.fancy-rats.co.uk/information/habitat/cagecalculator/ 

     It is also important to have a powder coated cage. This prevents rusting, and is easy to clean and does not hold in odors. A good website to find cages that are appropriate for rats is www.martinscages.com however, remember to use the cage calculator because even some of their rats cages are too small. For older rats that are large enough to not fit through the cage bars, I highly recommend Ferret Nation Cages. We personally use these for all our adults. www.ferret.com

2. Bedding

Bedding is also extremely important to your rats health. They need it to burrow in for warmth, and it also absorbs odors and wetness. Without bedding you would have an extremely messy cage bottom within a few hours time. Pine and cedar bedding are usually a top choice for pet owners because of the pleasant smell, cheap price, and large quantities. However, Pine and Cedar are very dangerous for your little pets. Rats have extremely sensitive respiratory systems. Particals that they breath in just in their daily environment can eventually wreak havoc on their systems so while keeping the cage clean and using bedding that is not too dusty and not smoking around your pets can help them it is also important to think about what TYPE of bedding you are using. Pine and Cedar bedding contains phenols that are released from the bedding and become worse with exposure to moisture like rat urine. In my experience, aspen is the best bedding out there. It is odorless, controls odors well, is absorbant, and will not cause your rats harm. It is also very inexpensive. I prefer the finely shaved aspen bedding as it is softer and more comfy for your rats but you can also buy it in chips in bulk at some pet stores.

3. Food bowl and water bottle

     These are important items for obvious reasons, you need a place to put your rats food and water! There are no wrong food bowls or water bottles but I will say that you should never give your rats water from a bowl. It becomes contaminated in seconds from them crawling in it and it will just cause a huge mess and will be hard to keep clean. I like the large 32 oz lixit water bottles that hook to the outside of the cage. They have a slanted top so that your rats can not chew on the edge of the bottle and destroy it. For food bowls, it's really just a preference. I like the large plastic crock bowls because they are hard for them to top, they don't really seem to chew on them, and they are cheap to purchase and easy to clean.

4. Food and water!

     These are very very important! Your rats food and water supply will determine the health of your rats! If they are eating low quality food and drinking tap water, the liklihood that they will become ill is high. A person is as healthy as the environment around them. I prefer an organic diet that I mix myself and bottled water that is filtered by reverse osmosis. But even if you are not as strict as me, diet is still important. Stay away from seedy diets, alf alfa (rats can not digest it), and always stay far away from any rat block whose first ingredient is corn. If you want to go the route of a lab block, harlan teklad is best but I also recommend Oxbow rat food. You can read all about a rats diet needs by clicking HERE.

5. Toys

     Your rats will play! And they will be very happy if their environment contains a lot of healthy stimulation. You can purchase bird hanging toys from most pet shops that your rats will love. They also like cat ball toys with bells in them, hanging ropes to climb on ect.. Here is a page to give you some toy ideas: http://www.pixiesworld.com/toyz.htm

6. Hammocks

     Almost all rats will love hammocks! Pet stores all over sell them geared towards ferrets but they are very expensive and since your rats will chew them up quickly it is best to make your own. What I do is purchase the scrap fabrics from walmart. You can normally find them in the fabric section on an end isle. I have been able for find up to 1 to 2 yards of cotton and fleece fabrics for as little as $2. Also purchase a packet of large safety pins. The ones that I use are about an inch long. All you have to do is cut the fabric in to good sized rectangles (I would estimate that mine tend to be about 15 inches long and 12 inches wide). Then safety pin each corner (I double up my corners so a thicker amount of fabric is being pinned), and then hang it in the cage. I love to put 3 or 4 hammocks in each cage. One up top and another hammock under each different level in the cage. It gives the rats lots of variety and the option of getting away from eachother for a nice nap. Generally when a hammock needs to be replaced it is because it is either heavily soiled, or chewed up. If they are heavily soiled and re-usable you can wash them in the washing machine. I use detergent and also white distilled vinegar which helps eliminate the odor better than just detergent. If they are chewed, just take the safety pins to reuse and toss the old hammock. Easy, cheap, and your rats will love you for it!

7. Hidey houses

     Rats like dark small places to hide. It makes them feel more comfortable and gives them a chance to get away and relax. I like the medium and large plastic igloos that you can find in pet stores such as petco and petsmart, even some locally owned shops will carry them. They are so easy to clean and are reusable and the rats love them. They are also very inexpensive. The largest igloo is around $9, and the medium size around $5. They also sell small and mini igloos but they are not suitable for adult rats. You can also use other things like soda can boxes, shoe boxes ect... These have to be thrown away after about a week but are also a good way to put things to good use that would otherwise just be thrown away. And no one ever said you cant have only 1 box in a cage! I often will zippy tie a long fridge pack soda box to a top level in the cage (I zippy tie it so it won't fall), even though I have an igloo in the cage as well.

8. A veterinarian!

     Aside from needing to make sure your rats daily life at home is safe and comfortable, a vet that has experience in the care of pet rats is also very important. Rats do not need regular check ups (although it doesn't hurt and is good preventative medicine) they do however need a vet in case of an illness or injury. Rats DO need to see a vet. Many people think of rats as disposable animals that would not need a vet like a cat or dog does, but this is a very wrong assumption. Rats are prone to tumors, cancer, respiratory infections and injuries from falls or being dropped. Find a vet in your area that has knowledge and treats pet rats. It is extremely likely that you will need a vet at some point in your rats lives.

Now that you have all of these items you are ready to bring home your new pet rats! Remember that rats should stay in same sex groups of at least 2 or more. They are very social and need the company to be fully happy.

I highly recommend adopting rescue rats that are in need of homes from your local Humane Society, Pound, or a small animal rescue facility. If your looking for an extremely healthy rattie A breeder is the route to go since most times breeders are aiming to improve the health and longivity of their rats.