NEW RAT OWNER! HALP! HALP!

[brittanyfork]

I'm giving a friend of mine two of Luna's babies.
She's never owned a rat before so I want to get her familiar with a lot of things

I'm sending her this message with facts and information that I've got from this site and other sites that I googled.

I thought I'd fill you with some rat facts that are really important and funny
Just to get yourself familiar!


- They need relatively large cages, a small hamster cage won't really do and they won't enjoy themselves! They love to run around!

-Lots of little houses for them to climb around and sleep in or just to get some privacy are essential.

-Rats are extremely clean pets and are among the most intelligent and curious.

-Rats, with their long tail, have a very acute sense of balance; therefore, they are excellent climbers.

-Pet rats live an average of two to three years.

-Male rats are known as bucks, females are does, and babies are pups or kittens.

-Rats are very social animals and do best when kept with other rat companions (same sex unless spayed or neutered to avoid accidental litters).

-Though generally nocturnal, most rats are crepuscular, which means they are most active for a few hours around dusk and dawn, dividing the rest of the day between hours of lesser activity and sleeping.

-Rats can’t vomit (but they can fart!)

-Rats grind their teeth (also called bruxing) when they are content but can also be a sign of stress and discontent. When you see your rat’s whole head vibrating and their eye balls moving in and out it’s called boggling.

-Never ever pick up a rat by its tail. It is very uncomfortable for the rat and parts of the tail can actually come off (“deglove”).

- A rat cage should never stink. Pet rats are prone to respiratory problems so keeping a clean, odour-free environment is top priority.

-Rats have poor vision. To compensate for this, a red or pink eyed rat will often weave its head side to side to add "motion" to see better. They also don't see in color.

The rats that I own don't have their eyes open yet, but I'm expecting some of them to have red eyes, so if your rattie does this, it's only her trying to see whats going on


Rats can eat a lot of things. But be careful not to give them lots of fatty stuff. They need vegetables like we do!
A good variety of vegetables is good.
But there are a few things you can't feed a rat to look out for

http://www.petratscanada.com/forbidden_foods.htm

Theres a link to a list of forbidden foods, and why

Is there anything else that you guys think I should add?
Other things that are really important she should know?

The forbidden food list is from Moon's post earlyer!
Thanks a lot

 

[Callie<3]

no pine bedding it causes breathing problems

 

[into_my_web]

Pine bedding shouldn't be used at all!
I've had a pet die recently because the pine bedding caused irritation which lead to a terrible infection in his eye.

 

[SQ]

Ask her to educate herself by reading the following sites:
www.petratscanada.com
www.jorats.com
www.ratfanclub.org

 

[brittanyfork]

Thanks guys!

She probably won't even take the time to read the sites, that's why I wanted to email it to her, so she at least read some of it.
I'm so glad my babies aren't going to her anymore. I found a really good home for them

I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt, but when I emailed her this she was like "oh cool! i'll read it later"

 

[Tarah]

and she wanted a boy and a girl so she could have babies. :doh:

 

[brittanyfork]

Yeah, I messaged her after, trying to be nice about that.

Robyn! Random breeding is terrible!
I never meant for Luna to be pregnant! Hahaha, jeeze!
Plus certain types of rats cannot bread with other types of rats. There's a lot of complecations usually, and most of them won't live.

 

[Gummi Bear]

She wanted to breed a brother and sister? Yes I know to a certain degree inbreeding is condoned in the rat breeding community but brother and sister? That's terrible! Odds are the babies would be ok, but I wouldn't risk it, and I certainly wouldn't give anyone a male and female from the same litter. I'm so glad you were able to find them a better home. Especially since the person couldn't be bothered to read up on them. Before I got my rats I read books and books about rats, consulted several friends who have had rats (dispite the fact several of them used pine bedding and saw no problem with it), and learned several important lessons, if you can't afford the vet you can't afford the vet, as well as proper diet, and the fact one rat alone is unkind to the rat unless the owner can spend hours and hours with them, even then they prefer their own kind to cuddle with and bond with.

Maybe you could do up a little info pamphlet to go along with any babies you re-home. I know there are breeders who give a little care booklet with their animals, maybe you could do up one as well.