Anybody have tips on how to take care of a rat?

[iNSOMNiAC]

Alright, so basically we kind of got stuck with taking care of a rat. A girl in my little brother's class was "sharing" her pet with classmates by letting them take her rat home for a week, and then passing it on to another classmate. When our turn was over and we tried to give it back, she wouldn't take it because she had just gotten a couple pet cats. So we didn't really have any choice.

Anyways... I've noticed the rat gets a swollen/infected eye every once in a while, and that made me realize I really don't know how to take care of this animal.

Does anybody have any tips they can give me? For example...

- What is okay/not okay to feed it? I know rats are scavengers, so I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have a very picky diet, but it can't hurt to know. A friend of ours recommended not to feed it meat, or else it will start biting us once it gets a taste of it. I'm not sure how true that is, but we haven't given it any meat just in case.
- How often should its cage be cleaned?
- Are there any obvious signs if there is something wrong with it?

That's all I can think of to ask right now, I just want to make sure we take care of it right. Thank you in advance.

[JTchinoy]

veggies and pellets?
i think you're supposed to put tissue paper/ toilet paper in its cage and replace it regularly.  my sis had some mice/ rats and i know they loved tearing it up for their beds.
that's all i really know.

[Mister_E]

Clean the cage once a week. And if you see any lumps on in it most likey has a Tumor on it's common for Rats. Give it veggies, my rats liked Oats and some nuts. Check the water.

[Squeeky_Moonkin]

I have 2 male rats myself and have a long history of caring for pet rats.

His eye may be be swollen or infected for multiple reasons: A dirty cage, scratching himself due to mites, etc. You really should find an exotic vet to take the lil critter into to start it on antibiotics.

Eats: No chocolate, and no citrus. Fruit or okay in moderation but can cause them to have diarrhea. There are pellets you can buy at the pot store. I have always feed my rats Kaytee Forti-diet. meat is kay like chicken but once again in small amounts. If you feed it to much people food it wont eat the rat diet pellets. The pellets have all the nutrition they need and human food should only be a treat. When giving the rat a treat, place it in the palm of your hand and make it come to you. This will show trust. Dont place food in a plastic bowl as plastic is dangerous to chew on. you'll need a glazed ceramic bowl.

-The beading should be changed at least one a week and the cage rinsed out with hot water as well. The best bedding is the recycled stuff known as carefresh. Newspaper is bad due to the ink. cedar can carry mites and then your rat will constantly scratch causing itself t scab and need antibiotics. Tissue paper can be ingested and kill. Shirts are bad because most rats like to chew and the shirt can frey and fiber strands swallowed. Rats do like to cuddle. I give min a small piece of fleece to sleep under and chew on as its a chew safe material.

-Obvious signs of ill health:
Scabs from scratching =mites possibly.
breathing not smooth but more of a jittery in and out could be respiratory problems. A LOT OF PET STORE RATS HAVE THIS @_@
bleeding from the nose or a constant drip of pink like goo


If you just want to chat and ask any questions at all feel free to pm me here or emial me. I have raised about 8 rats since my first one. I currently as mentioned have 2 males. They live separate because one can not get along with the other. One is blind and deaf the other perfectly normal. But by having one pet rat you need t give it alt of attention and love. They love to cuddle so sit on the couch and stroke its back and rub its cheeks.  chitter sound normally indicates happiness. They'll even sometimes start to groom you. make sure you have either a tw tier cage or a long cage  s they have room to run around.


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[protocol7]

Anything they have here for sale is good product. http://www.rmca-socal.org/products.html

I've been to several of their meetings and they are great people especially when it comes to helping with rat care.

From what I've been told, Kaytee products are BAD mostly corn filler and a perserver that might cause cancer from what I'm told, Mazuri is a good brand, some dog foods are good as well, http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dogformulas/RedCalDog.html or http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/dog_wellness_dry_super5mix_complete_healthy_weight.html?page=dog_wellness_dry_super5mix_weight_management

[Squeeky_Moonkin]

Anything they have here for sale is good product. http://www.rmca-socal.org/products.html

I've been to several of their meetings and they are great people especially when it comes to helping with rat care.

From what I've been told, Kaytee products are BAD mostly corn filler and a perserver that might cause cancer from what I'm told, Mazuri is a good brand, some dog foods are good as well, http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dogformulas/RedCalDog.html or http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/dog_wellness_dry_super5mix_complete_healthy_weight.html?page=dog_wellness_dry_super5mix_weight_management

I use kaytee-products because thats what my vet recommended back when I had my 1st rat. Mazuri wasn't available then. None of my rats have ever had problems with this product.

There are a  lot of rat yahoo groups as well, that  you can get great tips and pointers from.

[satanic_mechanic]

they sell standard rat feed at most pet stores. 

aside from litter placed at the bottom of the cage, fabric scraps and tissue paper (the kind you use for gifts) are great.  also soda boxes make great rat houses. make sure to play with the rat often; it will develop a more defined personality and be very social.

rats love strawberries.  and it makes the cage and rat smell good too.

i had rats from 13-20, and i never had to deal with an eye injury.  call a vet ASAP. your rat may need antibiotics immediately.

keep the cage away from high foot traffic areas; the draft will make the poor thing more prone to lung infection, which is a scary thing to watch.  if you can HEAR your rat breathing, listen closely - thats usually sign one.  if there is sneezing or wheezing take them to the vet immediately; every hour is crucial.  in rats, lung infections can develop rapidly into pneumonia, which then will kill them. as an owner who has had to deal with many lung infections, its the scariest thing to have to see happen to your pet.

care for them, and they will care for you right back and brighten up your life.

[XpHoBiaX]

Rats are wonderful pets to have. I will get another one eventually.
I had a hairless, he was awesome. I do reccomend buying terramoxcyn (sp?) for the eyes. It comes in a tube like a travel size neosporin. I believe you can get it at any pet store or even a vet.

[iNSOMNiAC]

Oh wow, thanks so much everyone! Everything that has been said here has been incredibly helpful, and I really appreciate the advice. I'm a lot more confident that we can take care of him better now.

And thanks especially for the advice for the eye thing. We've been getting worried. At one point the eyeball itself seemed to swell to almost twice its size, and it bugged out irregularly. It scared us mostly because we didn't know what to do, but it seemed to get better all on its own soon enough. But we don't want that to happen again, so anything to prevent it is more than helpful.

Thanks again guys.

Oh and XpHoBiaX, ours is a hairless as well. <3

[protocol7]

Anything they have here for sale is good product. http://www.rmca-socal.org/products.html

I've been to several of their meetings and they are great people especially when it comes to helping with rat care.

From what I've been told, Kaytee products are BAD mostly corn filler and a perserver that might cause cancer from what I'm told, Mazuri is a good brand, some dog foods are good as well, http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dogformulas/RedCalDog.html or http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/dog_wellness_dry_super5mix_complete_healthy_weight.html?page=dog_wellness_dry_super5mix_weight_management

I use kaytee-products because thats what my vet recommended back when I had my 1st rat. Mazuri wasn't available then. None of my rats have ever had problems with this product.

There are a  lot of rat yahoo groups as well, that  you can get great tips and pointers from.

I used it at first too, but then the RMCA told me about that and I was like "ok, no more" :)

[XpHoBiaX]

Thanks again guys.

Oh and XpHoBiaX, ours is a hairless as well. <3

Okay, then you have yourself a handful then, Hairless need more attention then a regular rat. For obvious reasons. They have no hair to protect their skin and you should give them a bath more often to keep their skin clean. Not so much to make it dry, cuz that isn't good either. I used non scented organic lotion. I think it was Aveeno, and I used nutregena body wash. I did this in a massive tub with just a few drops. It's always nice to give your buddy a snack after bathtime to reassure him that it's a good thing.

DON'T put him in the sun. Hairless get sunburnt easily. Also, NEVER use ceder bedding. It is toxic, and can cuase respiratory problems that can kill your pet.
Here are some links I found very useful.
http://www.goosemoose.com/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,118/forum,rat
I am apart of GooseMoose forumns, just joined up.

http://merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/171542.htm
I used this site to diagnose my rat when he had gotten ill. There is a lot of good info for a lot of different animals as well.


http://www.ratballs.com/RatTails/_medical.html
Rat Tails is also another good site that I benefitted from.
The link will take you to the medical section, but on the left side menu you can search around the site for tips on bathing and socializing your pet and tips like that.