Questions About Rats!!

[Vicki S]

So my Oh says when my beloved hammies go we can get rats and i have a few questions about them



Whats the Difference between Dumbo rats and just Rats?

Can you house a Dumbo rat and a normal rat together?

What the best number to keep together in a group?

And do they eat anything weird?


I still have loads of time to obviously do more research on them before we get them



Vicki

[cathface]

1. dumbo rats are the ones whose ears are on the side of their head, rather than on top. example:


dumbo rat


normal fancy rat

I personally LOVE dumbos haha. my bf wants rats when we move into a flat together (current flatmate hates rats), and I am persuading him to get dumbos!

2. yes they can, their only difference is in the ear positioning. of course as with any rodent pet, you will need to remember to keep only one gender together to avoid loads of accidents!

3. I have asked people before about this when I was researching, when my OH first brought up that he wanted rats. the answer seems to be "more than one" lol. it seemed to vary between 2 and 3. some think that 3 is better because, if one dies unexpectedly, then it won't leave just one all alone whilst you try to get another friend for it, if you decide on getting more at all. even with just 2 left, if they both live to ripe old ages, an old rat can deal better with being alone after their friend passes than a young rat would. rats are very social, and regardless of how often you get it out to play with, that cannot substitute for them having friends of their own species.

4. nothing weird really, that I can think of. they are omnivores too, but if you have a hamster, you probably already feed mealworms and the like, so you wouldn't be as iffy about feeding rats that sort of thing as someone who's never had a pet rodent before haha.

[obscura]

Awww I love rats! They are so wonderful and social. You should definitely have more than one, 2 being the minimum. I know people who have huge colonies! I definitely recommend The Rat Shack forums, they're great. The HC-version, but for rat people! I rescued two rats and it was the best experience. My only warning is THEY POOP A TON!!! But not as much a hedgehogs, LOL. I had a Midwest Critter Nation cage, and my boys loved it! The males are more mellow than the females, but it all depends on each rats unique personality.

If you can, try to get two or more from the same litter (same sex, obviously) OR you can introduce an older one to a baby. That's what I did. It's easier to introduce them if one is really young, so he's not a threat to the other rat (not to say there won't be complications later when the baby grows up, but it's a lot easier this way than to throw two strange adults together). Also, on the Rat Shack forums, they can teach you a lot about how to intro rats properly. It takes some time and patience if you don't get them at the same time. I tried to intro a third rat at one point, but it made things really stressful. The third rat was always humping and dominating the Beige male I had, and the poor Beige male ended up getting some nasty bite wounds so we had to find the third rat a new home.

They can eat pretty much anything. I used to give them broccoli, carrots, baby food, and different kinds of meat. The only different between a dumbo rat and a regular rat is the ears. Dumbo rats have big ears like Dumbo the elephant! :P While standard rats just have little normal ears. They can live fine together.

Here are two rat blogs I follow:

where am i going?

rat-a-tat-tat

For the heck of it, here are my boys. They were always getting into mischief together

One is a Black Berkshire (black with white on the tummy), and the other a Self Beige.

[Vicki S]

thank you as i had been thinking of getting 4 males but then would they go into pairs of 2 and not get on if i did?

and they sound sort of similar to guinea pigs in the fact they need company of there own species


and the 2 pics you showed me i think i would like a mix of dumbo and ordinary rats


oh and 1 more question do they need like say i have 4 rats would they need 4 wheels in there cage in etc?


Vicki

[Vicki S]

Originally Posted by obscura

Awww I love rats! They are so wonderful and social. You should definitely have more than one, 2 being the minimum. I know people who have huge colonies! I definitely recommend The Rat Shack forums, they're great. The HC-version, but for rat people! I rescued two rats and it was the best experience. My only warning is THEY POOP A TON!!! But not as much a hedgehogs, LOL. I had a Midwest Critter Nation cage, and my boys loved it! The males are more mellow than the females, but it all depends on each rats unique personality.

If you can, try to get two or more from the same litter (same sex, obviously) OR you can introduce an older one to a baby. That's what I did. It's easier to introduce them if one is really young, so he's not a threat to the other rat (not to say there won't be complications later when the baby grows up, but it's a lot easier this way than to throw two strange adults together). Also, on the Rat Shack forums, they can teach you a lot about how to intro rats properly. It takes some time and patience if you don't get them at the same time. I tried to intro a third rat at one point, but it made things really stressful. The third rat was always humping and dominating the Beige male I had, and the poor Beige male ended up getting some nasty bite wounds so we had to find the third rat a new home.

They can eat pretty much anything. I used to give them broccoli, carrots, baby food, and different kinds of meat. The only different between a dumbo rat and a regular rat is the ears. Dumbo rats have big ears like Dumbo the elephant! :P While standard rats just have little normal ears. They can live fine together.

Here are two rat blogs I follow:

where am i going?

rat-a-tat-tat

For the heck of it, here are my boys. They were always getting into mischief together

your boys are gorgeous i love rats and anything cuddley did you teach yours fetch walk and beg?

is it true that while they are out roaming they actively seek there owner out?


thank you for your reply and sorry about all the questions just wanna make sure that im all ratted out before i get any but i have a good lenght of time anyway to research


Vicki

[obscura]

Mine never used their wheel. I only had one to try it out and they only slept in it. You'll definitely want more than one, but I don't know if you need one per rat. You should probably find out if they're going to use it first. Sometimes they just want to eat their wheels LOL

All four males could live together, but you'll need a very big cage. Look into cages like the Midwest Critter Nation. You might need a double level, but I'd go on the Rat Shack forums and ask what they think. I only had two and I think a third one would have fit fine the cage, but I'm not sure about four (then again I have high standards for the amount of space my rodents get).

[obscura]

Originally Posted by Vicki S

your boys are gorgeous i love rats and anything cuddley did you teach yours fetch walk and beg?

is it true that while they are out roaming they actively seek there owner out?


thank you for your reply and sorry about all the questions just wanna make sure that im all ratted out before i get any but i have a good lenght of time anyway to research


Vicki

Thanks! I didn't teach mine any cool tricks, other than to come over to me. I didn't really consider that a trick, though. They're very intelligent. Rats are literally the dogs of the rodent world. They can learn their names, and (as you already know) cool tricks! I don't know if that statement is true about rats seeking their owners out. You would have to have a very social, bonded rat. My boys were so attached to each other, that they were always looking for each other. But they would always come up to me, too, and get treats and climb up on my shoulder and sit there. They were like Parrots! LOL loved to sit on my shoulders, and sleep in the hood of my hooded sweaters/jackets.

[Vicki S]

thank you i will have a wee look at the cages then go on and stalk the forum lol

and i don't think i will be getting them for at least another 2 years so plenty of time to save up for a nice big cage and toys for them

I love thay way you see videos of them on youtube getting a tummy massage and there sitting there loving it ant theres 1 video i really love of bandit and some other rat stealing food off the table makes me chuckle

i bet there better behaved than dogs to at the min i would easily trade my dog for some rat friends

Vicki

[crazygal330]

Ratties make fabulous pets. currently we have 10living as a single group, mostly neutered males and spayed females. I would never have just 2 again. 2 is a bare minimum but 3 is my personal minimum.they are such social creatures with complex social structure that with 2 alone they don't get quite the same rich social life that they do from larger groups.
However if you plan to start with 4 I would strongly discourage getting 4 at the same age. it makes for a heartbreaking time ahead. then you end up, typically with end of life vets bills all at the same time, and a lot of losses at the same sort of time. mixed age groups are generally preferable. plus youngsters will keep oldies on their toes.

Originally Posted by Vicki S

is it true that while they are out roaming they actively seek there owner out?
Vicki

maybe for a sniff, and to climb all over you but I have yet to have a rat who seeks me out for cuddles or attention.

Don't buy rats from a petshop. there are some fantastic breeders and rescues that get rats. if you buy from a breeder you are much less likely to have health issues. most particularly respiratory problems.

rats are amazing pets! if you have a look about you might find a rat show near you. Although they do have a serious variety side to them they are often more about PR and promoting rats as pets. you usually get to cuddle lots of squishy ratties and have a chat with breeders and rat lovers about all things rat.

[Vicki S]

what size of cage would you recomend for 4 rats?

and i didn't think about them all going at the same time makes more sense to do it the way you said about adding graudually


i have had a look for breeders but so far have had no luck and im not even sure were the rescue centres are over here

so im thinkking if i can't find either of them then i might try gumtree for them

and we don't seem to do many shows for anything other than dogs


And thank you for the advice



Vicki