Advice on pet rats

peace36 · 02-08-2007, 11:51 AM

My daughters just got a pet rat well one each so that would make 2. Now we left them be for the 1st day and now we were wondering should do now? Should we just take them out and hold them or would that scare them too much. They are both female and the pet store guy said they were 3 or 4 weeks old.

I think I should have posted this on the OTHER PETS forum sorry

Have I lost my mind

I am on THE OTHER PETS FORUM

Now crazy computer is going to post all my seperate posts all into one and I will seem even more goofy

sorry

FranMan · 02-08-2007, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peace36

My daughters just got a pet rat well one each so that would make 2. Now we left them be for the 1st day and now we were wondering should do now? Should we just take them out and hold them or would that scare them too much. They are both female and the pet store guy said they were 3 or 4 weeks old.

I think I should have posted this on the OTHER PETS forum sorry

Have I lost my mind

I am on THE OTHER PETS FORUM

Now crazy computer is going to post all my seperate posts all into one and I will seem even more goofy

sorry

They are rats. I don't think they care if you hold them or not.

Tankstar · 02-08-2007, 01:13 PM

They are so young. i would hold them yet. Rats are timid. i would just gang out around there cage for the next week or so let them get used to your smell and apperence. Put your hand in the cage and let them run up to you. Rats are very fragile, so becarfull wiht them for now.

Keno's Mom · 02-08-2007, 01:39 PM

If you don't want to pick them up too much, at least pet them and let them crawl in your hand a few times a day. You want them to be friendly - if you don't handle them, they will get worse as they get older.

Remember too, the proper way to pick them up is at the BASE of the tail - not the tip and to get your other hand under their feet quickly so they are not struggling

I sure HOPE they are 2 females if they are housed together

britishbandit · 02-08-2007, 02:19 PM

I don't see any problem with you handling them now. I used to have 23 rats, and after the intial "get used to humans", they are quite social and friendly rodents. I used to let my rats out in the yard with me and my dog...LOL. They loved it, and followed me around everywhere. Of course I started them out by having them on a harness at first. But rats are very smart, and yes, you can teach them "tricks".

I'll see if I can find a pic.

peace36 · 02-08-2007, 02:48 PM

We had 2 female rats years ago. I just can not remember what we did when we 1st got them to get them used to us. I do know they were older when we first got them. I was amazed at what and awesome pet they made. We would leave their cage open while we watched tv or what ever and they would just run around collecting thing putting them in their cage and crawl up on us to be pet then go back about it s business. One of them would even come outside with us and hang around the bon fire waiting for us to drop crumbs. Never ran away. I just could not believe how friendly they were. And they dont poop all over when you take them out like mice do, yuck!

oh yeah thanks for the advice

Jessica&Crew · 03-03-2007, 05:40 AM

Rats are very people social, friendly and fun.

It is best to handle them, play with them and make them art of your daily lives.

You may be suprised at how fun they can be, but like others said - make sure they get andled so they dont become timid.

briteday · 03-03-2007, 10:41 AM

My teenage daughter loves her pet rats. She also has two young females right now. We have them in the family room so we see them a lot and take them out to snuggle and play. They are very smart animals. Just double check to be sure that they are both females, although it's hard not to notice the male parts even at a very young age!
If their nails get a bit long they can feel very scratchy. We've had a few that we just trimmed the pointy tips of their nails on ocassion.
They like interesting treats. My daughter gives them the leftover bits from the bottom of cereal boxes and cracker boxes. They also like whole, in the shell, UNSALTED peanuts once in a while. We give them bits of fruit and a few greens. All treats should be given sparingly so that they eat their food. And we put the treats in a different place in the cage each time, sort of a treasure hunt for the rats. If you are feeding the green pellets and they don't seem to like them there are a number of other good foods on the market. We stay away from the ones with the seeds. Most of the seed portion of the food that you are paying for gets scattered and wasted on the floor of the cage. Ours like the rainbow fiesta or something like that. We get it at Petco, by the pound, much cheaper than the pre-bagged stuff. All of the food is solid pieces in rainbow colors, no seeds. We supplement with larger seeds like sunflower seeds in the shell. Anything fed in the shell gives them the chance to wear down their teeth and a little extra entertainment.
The correct bedding is important for rodents. Although the pine or other wood shaving stuff might smell better the aromatic oils are not good for rodent lungs. And we've heard it can contain little critters like lice and such. We use the recycled paper stuff, comes in small bales. The paper is heat treated to kill any pests.
The lifespan of most of our rats has been 3-4 years. The downside of female rats is that they have a tendency to form mammary tumors as they get old. Otherwise they make fantastic pets.

opokki · 03-03-2007, 11:15 AM

Do you have any pictures you can post?

peace36 · 03-03-2007, 03:41 PM

My girls have been taking little Sarah and Sweetie (the rats) out very often. Already now they just run up in their hands when they put them in thier cage.

One day I will get a digi camera or a scanner. Maybe I will borrow my moms and take a roll of all our pets so I can finally post some pics.