brittanyfork
Well-Known Member
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.
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
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 canât 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 ratâs whole head vibrating and their eye balls moving in and out itâs 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 (âdegloveâ).
- 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