Rats or sugar gliders

Ezio · 01-14-2017, 03:54 PM

Hello everyone, I'm either going to get a couple rats or sugar gliders in a couple of days and have done a lot of research on both but was wondering if anyone here had any experience or advice with either. Thank you

AmityvilleHams · 01-14-2017, 04:15 PM

Rats will probably be the easiest to provide adequate care for!You probably already know of the Critter Nation for rat housing,but Drs Foster and Smith sell it at a reasonable price for a single unit or even to get extensions.

Ezio · 01-14-2017, 04:27 PM

That's what I've been reading so far as well, although I've had many pets and actually find one of the most fun parts to be making all the food, cleaning their cages, becoming friends with them etc. The biggest problems I've found with both of them is that rats don't live very long and It hurts so get attached to them but have them leave in such a short time period. And the biggest problem with sugar gliders even more than the biting, special diets, big cage and all that is that some of them can bark for hours at night. It's such a tough decision to make, haha. And thank you! Also I'll look into those cages

AmityvilleHams · 01-14-2017, 04:37 PM

They really are wonderful cages for animals that don't burrow!You could modify them for burrowing animals though,just like they can even be modified to house certain birds.They can be extended in every possible way,even to make a less expensive parrot cage,so if you found yourself wanting to reuse them they're endlessly useful for such a large variety of pets that it is worth the investment

Drago · 01-14-2017, 04:39 PM

Definitely rats! They're intelligent, fun, and generally inexpensive. They make excellent companions, if you're looking for a rodent to be a good friend, rats are for you

AmityvilleHams · 01-14-2017, 04:50 PM

https://www.viovet.co.uk/Supreme_Sci...at_Food/c1096/ The best rat pellets I've ever heard of!They have no hay or alfalfa which is important for rats as they can't digest any sort of hay very well,and if given as the base of a diet along with adding some animal protein and healthy seeds,nuts,grains,etc they're absolutely perfect!

squeakylittlepaws · 01-14-2017, 05:58 PM

I have quite a few videos on the rats I had, on my YouTube channel - squeakysmallpaws

Rats are awesome!

I've had 16 rats in total! They are the funniest things with huge personalities.

If you're in the UK, the best website is Ratrations. Rats shouldn't really be given pellets. It won't hurt them but they can eat pretty much anything humans can - they are a scavenger animal, so a wide and varied diet will keep them happiest. Ratrations do the best mixes - I used to feed mine number 11a. Their food is all human grade I.e no nasty pet food additives.

Best bit is that you can feed them your dinner scraps and they'll love you forever, haha. Pasta is a huge fav!

Only thing is male rats shouldn't be given citrus fruits. It won't kill them but it's not good for their kidneys.

They don't live all that long - similar to a hamster really. The oldest rat I had lived to be 3.5yrs, but I had a couple who died young at 18mths. I found the average age to be around 28 months.

They can suffer health issues, they aren't as hardy as hamsters, but in some ways they are easier to treat - every medicine you've ever been given your whole life - was first tested on rats/mice...

In terms of enjoyment though......You will bond with them so much. Once settled in and they trust you, they just love to be with their human!xx

AmityvilleHams · 01-14-2017, 06:28 PM

Rats do fine with a base pellet and then offering additional extras,such as a high quality seed mix.It was never mentioned to be the sole diet,which of course would be detrimental to their mental health much like it would be detrimental to the mental health of many animals to be fed just pellets.

It does not by any means take out all foraging opportunities to have a base pellet in the diet.That would only happen if you had no extras,no additional seed mix,and never offered treats and such.If used properly and not as a sole diet,pellets are not unhealthy if you get high quality pellets.

squeakylittlepaws · 01-14-2017, 06:50 PM

How many rats have you had AmityvilleHams?

Are you involved in the fancy?

squeakylittlepaws · 01-14-2017, 07:02 PM

Ezio - may I recommend the book, the scuttling gourmet by Alison Campbell.

Very very highly regarded in the fancy and it's all about rat nutrition and how to make your own mixes - if you wanted to.

Ratrations essentially has the mixes ready to go but some people prefer to make their own.

Also the book common diseases of the fancy rat by the NFRS. It's written by Ann Storey who is arguably the UK's most informed rat lady and also a biologist type person! Knows all there is to know about viruses and bacteria!

she was a life saver to me in the past when I kept rats. She pretty much heads up the fancy in the UK xx