What They Do NOT Tell You.
There is so much mis information about rodent care that I felt that it was worth outlining some of the things that are not mentioned or are ignored when you purchase your animals from a shop type setting.
Not all shops are bad, some themselves are rat owners and are more than willing to point you in the right direction when it comes to the animals care however there are other shops who we feel are in it for the profit and not so much for the animals. This is a guide only about certain things that are incorrect about housing, bedding, foods that are normally recommended by people that we, as customers, believe should know best.
Pine & Cedar – These types of wood in any form are NOT good for the health of your small animal. Avoid this and ask for something like breeders choice litter or similar recycled paper product. For more ideas about what is safe have a look HERE and we also have a list of unsafe beddings also which can be found .
Aquariums are not a suitable long term home for rodents. Again we have a full length article about this HERE
Mouse cages are not suitable for the long term housing of Rats. Most shops have a large range of mouse cages which they will quite happily sell you for a couple of rats. However what they do not tell you is this!!. Rats require approx 2 cubic feet minimum space per rat, it sounds like a lot but we are talking about animals that can range in size, when fully grown, from around 200 grams each up to 1kg in some cases (average is around 400 –600 grams). Mouse cages are quite easy to spot as they are fairly small, generally have a small wheel and other small accessories within the cage which comes as a “pack”. Mouse cages will normally set you back around $50.00 or so.
What you really should be looking for is a larger cage, something suitable for a parrot or 2 or more rabbits, guinea pigs or ferrets OR you could even try making your own cage however be careful with the woods you choose to use as some can be dangerous to rats. Generally speaking, for a new cage suitable for a couple of rats you will be looking at a cage that sells from about $80.00 and upwards (normally around $120.00 and up).
Rats are not cheap pets. Ok to purchase the actual animals they are one of the cheapest starting price animals available however they quickly can become more expensive than the price of a $300.00 puppy. Rats have a history of getting respiratory infections, it is something that I would guarantee your rat gets at least once in their life and without vet attention the animal will suffer and die. For a vet visit alone you would be looking at a consult fee from $30.00 and up plus your medications on top of this. That becomes very costly especially if the rats are not from good healthy parents, which unfortunately most rats found in the shops are just bred without any care for the parents health.
Male and Female rats should NOT be housed together unless one or both are sterilised. Rats can start breeding from as early as 6 weeks old, if the male is present with the female when the delivery occurs he can mate with her almost immediately resulting in more babies. Please choose the sex you wish to keep and stick with that until you can provide sterilisation for one of the sexes (or both) or have 2 cages that are away from each other and you have time for both the males and females. If you are unsure how to tell the difference then look at the animals bottoms, males have testicles that most of the time you can not miss while females obviously do not. Females also have nipples while males do not. If in doubt and the sales people can not tell you for sure have a look at a shop that can tell the difference for you.