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Is your rat definately a girl? lol because male rats leave pee trails when they 'mark' you - i end up covered when i have my two boys out and i have to wash my clothes after. If you have a small litter tray outside of the cage, put her poops in it, and everytime she does a poop or pee on you or anywhere but the tray, just pick her up and put her in the tray. maybe treat her after aswell. She'll eventually get the idea
 
How old is she and is she a lone rat, or does she live with a buddy? Rats often "potty" out of fear, so try to make her feel more comfortable with her surroundings. Lone rats are usually more fearful and very young rats take a while to be litter trained. Be patient.
 
Pooing is usually fear poo. You've only had her a couple of days so she still needs to get used to you.

Young girls are notorious for peeing and not just males like to "mark" their people! She's probably young so with a little time she'll develop a stronger bladder also.

Honestly, to own rats you need to deal with a certain amount of pee and poo. For now, only wear clothes that you don't mind if they get a little messy! :giggle:
 
Yes, she is definately a girl. No bawlz on her. :) lol

She's a lone rat, but i will hopefully be getting her a buddy sometime soon. (gotta work on convincing mom lol)

Any tips on helping her get used to me?

thankz!
 
One of the best things to do is layer up with a long sleeve shirt and a sweatshirt, and stuff her in there :D Also, giving her yummy things from your hands in cage can help her get used to your hands.
 
is it, like, "horrible" that i only have one rat?

i asked my mom about getting another one cause i have a bigger tank, and she says we dont have room for a larger tank...

im like, crying cuz im
A. dissapointed
B. I feel bad cause idk if my rat will ever have a friend
C. im mad....


help?
 
Yes, they DO need another rat around. You can not groom them or communicate with them the way another rat can.

Also, tanks are not good homes for ratties at all. Their super sensitive respiratory systems need fresh air that tanks can not provide like cages can. And, well, they can't climb tanks, or enjoy hanging toys or hammocks the same way! And that's half the fun.
 
By "Tank" do you mean aquarium? If it's an issue of space, you should get her a cage, rather than an aquarium. Cages allow much, much more airflow in addition to many other benefits and also allow you to do more with decorating which can give you more space by creating additional space with hammocks and shelves that can be hard to create in an aquarium. a large cage which gives lots of room is always best but when you have an issue with where to put the cage due to lack of space an aquarium-sized cage will work wonders.

As for getting a buddy for your rattie, It's something that you'd have to look at financially in addition to looking at it in means of socialization and your rats needs. 2 is better than 1 and 3 is better than 2, really, but if you can't afford the extra vet visits and medication if and when they occur it's best to have none. Rats are social creatures and will, most times, be happier with a companion. If you are able to spend a LOT of time with your rat and give her a ton of out time and attention you can pull off the mystery of the one-rat home for a little while but you will need a friend for her soon. (Mystery isn't the right word but I literally spent 10 minutes trying to figure out the right word >.< )

I think I'm just talking at this point and words are falling out of my mouth/fingers, LOL!!!
 
Willow Bean, it is NEVER better to only have one rat. NEVER. Sometimes you get a rat who will not allow cagemates, but even then if you are a good rat parent you work with them until they do!

The cost of caring for two rats is hardly any different from caring for one. Telling someone that having a lone rat is better than 2 for financial reasons is like saying it is perfectly safe to leave a spare tire on your car if you can't afford a new one. It may be an option for a short while but in the long run it's a bad idea.
 
Hi LHR,

A cagemate for your rat is pretty important, and a tank really isn't ideal.

As a mom, I have a couple of suggestions for negotiation....

Wait for things to calm down, it's tough to have a rational discussion when one or both of you are upset.

Do your research. There are plenty of sites that will explain why a cagemate is so important. There are also cage calculators online that will give you an idea of how much space you need per rat. Find out how much an appropriate sized cage would cost used, there are usually some available on kijiji.

Think about what her objections are, is it cost....what can you do to contribute i.e. babysitting money, selling your old cage online...etc. If it's space wise, check dimensions, because they use space more efficiently, they may not take up as much room as a large aquarium.

When you are ready, ask to talk things over. Explain that you want to present your side of the case, but you don't want an answer right away. You'd prefer if she could take the information away and review before making her decision. Bookmark or have your information printed out for her to look at.

Remember, mom's do get the fiinal say in the matter. She was kind enough to allow you one rat, don't forget to tell her how much you appreciate that!

P.S. Congratulations on your new pet!

Stacey
 
:eek:fftopic: :eek:fftopic: :eek:fftopic: :eek:fftopic: :eek:fftopic: :eek:fftopic: :eek:fftopic: :eek:fftopic: :eek:fftopic:

If a person is able to provide money for food, necessities and vet visits for only one rat then YES it is better to have just one rather than risk the health of both animals by having more than one. That is what I was saying, as I said just before that, 2 is better than 1 and 3 is better than 2. I was NOT saying that it was BEST to keep just one rat, I was saying that if you cannot provide for more than one that it is best to not go getting extra rats that cannot be cared for or to not have one at all. (one of the parts of having a rat is knowing that you need 2 or 3, to provide proper care this is needed) That's how a lot of people end up being called bad rat parents, when they have a whole horde of rats and can only provide proper care and vet attention for a couple. The cost of CARE isn't much different at all, but once you add to that the cost of a VET VISIT it does raise the cost.

I would never advocate having just one rat for it's whole life, but I would advocate having one rat until a person is financially able to care for more than one. Otherwise we'd be saying that if you can't care for 2 or more don't have them at all, as far as being able to get a rat that is rat aggressive into a situation where it can be with other rats, that isn't always possible. There are several members here, myself included, who have had a rat or two that were NEVER able to be put in with other rats no matter how much work was put into them. We worked on Baby Girl for a year and she was NEVER able to go in with other rats... She would attack them and nearly killed Ghost at one point. She would even attack Willow. I don't think that is the situation that is happening here, so it's quite off-topic, but it does happen. When it does happen that rat just needs a LOT more attention so that it gets the socialization that it's missing by being alone. Often times it does eventually work out, but I don't think that it's always the fault of the rat-parent.
 
Pretty much if you can definitely provide the food, litter, toys etc as well as the Vet care that they will almost certainly need (Our babies weren't blessed with having great health afterall) you should always have more than one rat. As it was previously said, rats comfort and communicate in ways that we cannot and they need that to be happy. A lone rat is a sad rat, even if you spend 24-hours-a-day with it, it will always be missing something. I like to think that rats are born in large litters because they were never meant to be alone.
 
I feel that if you cannot give the necessities to an animal (i.e. food, bedding, home, or in the case of rats... a buddy) then maybe you don't have enough for one rat. Two rats is really not that much more then one rat. A cage for two rats is pretty much the same size as a cage for one. They eat double the food but they don't eat a large majority, nothing compared to a dog IMO. I rat needs a buddy, we can all agree they are VERY social beings and we can't be around them enough to give them the time unless you stay home all the time.

My opinion.
 
Willow Bean, I didn't say you said it was best to have one, you said it would be better to have one if you don't have the money.
I also said that the only reason to have a lone rat would be for aggression issues, but a good rat parent would work on it. But even then, it's not ideal for the rat. It's necessary to have them alone in that situation, but not ideal.

As I said, the costs for having one rat are pretty close to having two. If you can't afford to feed two rats, you probably can't afford to properly feed one either. Obviously someone shouldn't take in more rats than they can afford, but if you can't afford 2 when the basic daily costs are so minimal, then you shouldn't have them at all. Vet costs are a different situation but every rat owner, no matter how many they have, should be putting aside money for veterinary intervention. And, rats are healthier physically and mentally with a buddy! A depressed rat is more likely to need to go to the vet more.

It is just so frustrating when family friends call you and say "but the people at the store said that rats are fine alone" (this actually happened to me the other day) when the forum works SO HARD to educate people otherwise.. and then an established member says it might be better to have one for financial reasons.

It is never BETTER to have a lone rat. You may be able to argue for it being necessary in certain situations, but never BETTER.
 
Rats need to be in pairs. My last rat was a lone rat. I did eventually get a friend for him after he spent 1 and a half years on his own. He refused to be paired with the new rat and was seriously agressive. I worked for months trying to intro them in many different ways and it failed. I personally think that if he was introduced to another rat when he was younger, then it all would have been fine. I didn't know better at the time and it was totally my fault. Saying you can give a rat enough socialising and attention is really wrong. If you have a lone rat they require a LOT of attention, and i found my lone rat to need too much attention - and i didn't have enough hours in the day to give him all the attention he required.

I ended up with two rats, in two seperate cages, which became more hassle than i needed at the time. When my lone rat passed, i got a baby friend for the now elderly rat that was originally the 'friend' for the lone rat. The baby rat has bullied him, and they aren't living together. The few months they spent together before my little guy got a bit over hormonal - was amazing. Its amazing to see two rats living together, sleeping together, playing and grooming.

Now i have an old guy living in a cat box, who has free-roam all day.. and a baby rat in a massive cage on his own. My older guy is perfectly happy on his own. He isn't a social rat, and never really has been. But, I would NEVER dream of leaving the baby rat in there on his own. He is miserable, won't sleep in his hammocks anymore, pines for attention from anyone walking past, grooms me frantically when i put my hand in the cage. I'm unemployed, but the difference in food and cat litter etc. isnt that much different for having two. I will be getting another baby, or possibly two to house with my baby boy in the very near future.

I think, if you can't afford to look after an animal properly then you shouldn't at all. And, you should do thorough and proper research before you bring any animal home, and also think of the future and possible circumstances (financial etc.), because if you take an animal on your in it for the long run (imo)
 
Hi everyone,
I got another rattie yesterday (April 3rd) and they are getting along GREAT!! i didnt really even have to "introduce" them in any way. I put the new one in the cage with Eliszka, listened and watched for any fighting/arguing, then had to leave for a little bit, i come back, and there curled up sleeping together. A few minutes ago, i went to pick up the new one (shes a baby still) and Eliszka started...not really biting me, but scraping me with her teeth, kinda like "Dont you dare touch my sister!!" it was cute. :)
 
Awwwww that would be so cute to see!!!

Im really happy to hear you got another rattie! And it sounds like they will be the best of friends. Just keep an eye out for a while to make sure everything is good.

Also, in response to your question about socializing, when my ratties were babies (and even now) I wear a zip up hoodie with a tight elastic around the bottom so it is tight against me and then put the zipper half way up. I then just stick the rats in the sweater and they have a field day... IT TICKLES SO MUCH too!!! Its fun :)

Anyway have fun with your little ratties :)
 
too late now, but I want to mention that when getting one or more new rats it is important to quarantine them for 4 weeks. This is important everywhere but especially in places like the USA where fatal rat diseases such as SDA are common.

You can even carry fatal airborne diseases home to your rats (in your nose) from ill animals at a pet store ....
 

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