By The trend for taming a rat is only around 100 years old, but with their smartness and friendly behavior, they proved to be great pets. But caring for this little creature is not as easy. There is a need to choose the right accessories, cage, toys, food, etc. for your pet. So to help you in taming your white rat, here we present you a complete guide to take care of pet rats.
The rats love to cuddle their owner. This feature of a rat makes them great companions for kids and families. Fancy Rats are lovable and playful creature who loves being with humans or prefer human companionship. But taming them requires some guidance or prior experience.
Taking care of fancy rats involves the fulfillment of their all needs. You should provide them with the right cage, accessories, toys, food, etc. on time. Also, they have short-lived pets and thus have a tendency to develop different types of health issues. You will need to give them the necessary level of attention in order to keep them happy and healthy.
A Complete Guide to Take Care of Pet Rats
Though it is easy to take care of rats it is comparatively more difficult than taking care of common rodents like guinea pigs, hamsters, and gerbils. Rats are naturally short-lived creatures and they have 2 to 3 years of life span.
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While purchasing a rat, you should ensure that you are buying the rat from good and reputed breeders only. As some breeders are corrupt or not so reputable, they might give you a rat with some health issues or fatal genetic traits.
Requirements Before Buying a Pet Rats
- Buying a rat from a reputable breeder is not the only thing that is needed to consider. There are several requirements and preparations that need to be done for fulfilling all the requirements of your pet rats.
Here We Present You a Checklist to Be Done Before Getting a Rat
- Rat cage: Having a good rat cage should be your top priority before getting a rat.
- House: Your rat will also require a house to sleep in. So keep a house ready before you get a fancy rat.
- Dust-free bedding: In order to offer the best comfort to your rat, you should spread dust-free bedding on the floor of the cage.
- Rat food: Selecting the best rat food is necessary. You should provide balanced and nutritious rat food to your pet to keep him healthy.
- Water: You can take help from a water bottle to quest the thirst of your dumbo rat.
There is also a need for other accessories and toys to keep your rat entertained all the time.
Don’t forget to get a carry case. This will help you in the emergency case when there is a need for a veterinarian visit.
Best Guide to Take Care of Pet Rats Once They Get in Your Home
- Getting a rat is not as much complicated as taking care of it. But make sure you are getting it from a reputed breeder. Also, don’t forget to check the sex of your dumbo rat. This is most important to avoid unwanted litter and breeding.
- In the case when you are purchasing the pet from the store, make sure that you have checked the sex of the rat either by yourself or some professional.
- Also, the rat is a very sociable creature that lives happily in the company. A rat alone can get stressed. So it is advised to keep your rat in the company of at least two or more. In the case when you are not having any rats before, you should purchase two or more fancy rats together.
Letting Them Settle Comfortably
In the beginning, your house, the cage, and the surrounding is new for your rat. So we recommend you let the rat settle in comfortably for one or two days. No matter how much you are tempted to play with your rat, you should wait for the pet rats to settle in.
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Playing or handling your rat on the very first day can stress them out and it may impact their health. In the starting two or three days, let the rats get comfortable with their new cage, their surroundings, and all the new strange smells.
It is often reported that rats, in the beginning, have more issues of sneezing and it is quite common. But in the case when the sneezing persists even after a few days, you should consult your veterinarian, as the rat may get an allergy or small infection.
So when the sneezing is not stopping even after a few days in your rat, you should decide on a trip to your vet. Even a simple and cheap antibiotic will help.
Keep the Cage Clean
Once you get the rat, you will know that a young rat makes a lot of mess and does lots of fear poos. Actually, this fact is not only limited to young rats; even adult rats are also reported to do lots of smelly and squishy fear poos in the beginning.
So in order to maintain their health and for the establishment of a good cleaning routine, there is a need for regular cleaning of rat cages. Cleaning is also comes in the most important aspect of good rat care. So never take this advice lightly and maintain a regular cleaning routine for the rat cage.
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Also, starting the litter training from the very initial will help you reduce the mess up to much extent. This will also help you save much of your efforts and countless hours in extra cleaning.
Nutrition and Diet
Like all other pets, rat feeding also requires a nutritious and balanced diet for a healthy life. Though the diet requirement for the rat is quite complex, still there are some good positives about them.
- The most incredible role of a nutritious and balanced diet is that it can increase the lifespan of your rat. A rat with proper nutrition can survive for three years while most other rats survive for two years. Additionally, the rat gaining a proper balanced and nutritious diet tends less to fall sick and is more playful. Proper diet and nutrition make them more energetic and happier.
- So while deciding on a good pet care routine and checklist, don’t forget to add a nutritious staple diet for your rat. To provide proper nutrition to your pet rats, we recommend you to use block foods having all the ingredients that your rat might require for proper growth and a healthy lifestyle.
Trust Training
Investing some time to make bonds with your pet rats also comes in a good rat care routine. You must be spending a lot of social time with your rat.
- To make a very strong and special bond between you and your rat requires trust between you. Your rat must trust you. Thus we introduce the section of trust training in the proper rat care guide.
- To begin the trust training, you should allow your rat to eat on your palm and call them by their name. You should not try to handle your rat all of a sudden. First, let the rat be ready for it. Once your rat is ready, you can handle and play with your pet rats.
- Handling the rat before they are prepared for it can be frightening for both you as well as the rat. So give some time to build trust between you and your rat. This way you can develop a strong bond.
Healthcare
Healthcare is always an important aspect of all pet care guides. For proper rat care, you should make sure that your rat is healthy and responding fast. In the case when your pet rat is not responding well and showing some illness, you should consult your vet practitioner.
Avoid the Following Mistakes
Given below are some common mistakes that are done by several rat owners. For the best care for your pet rats, you will need to avoid such mistakes. These are:
- Use bedding that is made of sawdust or that can be allergic to your rat. Many rat owners buy the things that the store wants to sell. But this sawdust bedding can make your rat face several respiratory illnesses and suffering as well.
- Not cleaning the rat cage regularly. Sometimes due to less time or lethargy, many owners consider cleaning the rat cage useless or a waste of effort. Cleaning the rat cage is most important to keep the rat healthy.
- Fasting the rat is another myth to reduce the weight of the rat. It can only lead to the weakness and suffering of your cute pet.
- Keeping so many rats in one cage. Though rats prefer to live in the company, keeping so many rats in the same cage is wrong. It can lead to the development of several diseases.
- Never take your rat outside to roam. Many owners keep their rats entertained and take them outside for a roam. But this requires a lot of rat training. Also, there are several predators like dogs and cats outside waiting for their meal.
The Bottom Line
This is a complete guide to taking care of pet rats. Make sure that you are ready to tame a rat and fulfill all the requirements mentioned above. I hope this article helps you.