Did you know that, contrary to popular belief, rats can be very sweet, very tame and very affectionate if you handle them regularly and look after them properly. They’re very friendly little creatures who will lick you and fight with your hand much like a little dog would do.

If you, or a member of your family tend to suffer from allergies, then owning a rat as a pet is ideal as, unlike most dogs and cats, they won’t shed their fur everywhere.  A art will only urinate outside of his rat cage if he is nervous cleaning up afteryour rat is quite easy. You don’t need to train a rat, just put some damp newspaper in the corner of his rat cage and you will find that your rat will start to use that corner as her or his own toilet area.

Rats are really cheap to cater for as they will eat lots of things or everything !! You can however,  also buy good quality rat food to ensure that your pet stays healthy and happy.  Your rat will also love to play and although you can put some rat toys from your local pet shop into this rat cage, he will also take great delight in a shoe box or similar and this will keep him busy for hours.  His curious nature will also be satisfied with the middles of toilet paper rolls or kitchen rolls, and he will also enjoy the odd dog chew and play with a pair of socks you can dangle from the top of his cage.

You should handle and play with your rat every day to gain his confidence and then your rat will soon learn to trust you and even learn to do tricks for treats.  If you purchase an adult rat, then this might not always be true unless he has been handled regularly by his previous owner. If he hasn’t he may be distrustful and frightened of you.
Ideally, try and purchase a baby rat but always bear in mind that rats are extremely sociable little animals and they need to have company.  If you can’t spend lots of time playing with your rat, then ideas-4-pets suggest you purchase more than one.  A lone rat left on his own for long periods of time will become very bored and very lonely.  Get 2 rats of the same sex if you can so that you are not over-run with babies !!

When choosing your rats, looks for those with clear, sparkling eyes, glossy fur without any bald patches and with no blood on their noses. A rat with blood discharge from his nasal passages will be sure to be suffering from a respiratory infection and will probably not live very long. It’s also a good idea to pick the little rat up to feel for any odd lumps or bumps as he may have cancer.

Finally, we advise you to look for two rats who appear to be friends and like each other. Just like us, some rats just don’t like each other and if this is the case, male rats will fight for dominance of their rat cage.

Once you have your rats at home. don’t just pick them up and start hugging and playing them.  Remember, that you new rats will want to get a feel for their new home, find out where the loo is, where the food is kept and the water, toys etc. Let them settle in quietly on the first day, and then gently and carefully let them sit in your hands or on your shoulder.  Hold them, pet them lightly and hand-feed them so that they learn to trust you. If you feed them something like peanut butter they can’t just take the food and run and when your rats realize that you only want to feed them and play with them and not harm them, they will soon learn to love you.

You will obviously need to purchase a quality rat cage before you bring your rats home and if you do intend to purchase 2 or more, then you need to look at purchasing a large rat cage. Two female rats should be OK in a medium sized rat cage and all rats will love to have two storeys in their cage or ladders and platforms to play and sit on.  There are plenty of rat cages on the market to choose from and ideas-4-pets have a good selection of single, double, triple rat cages and also those with inserts in for the rats to play on.

It’s always a good idea to have any pet looked at by your vet to make sure all is OK and he will also advise you on the type of food to feed your new pets.

Lastly, always make sure your rat or rats have plenty of clean, fresh water available and that their rat cage is kept in a stress-free zone away from any cats or dogs who may be a little too curious about their new lodgers!!  Keep the rat cage scrupulously clean to prevent any disease and also because you wouldn’t want to live in a smelly, dirty house and neither will your rats !!