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A Good Home:
Provide a large wire cage with horizontal bars so your pet rats can climb on the sides if they wish. Avoid cages with wire flooring which can be hard on the rats’ feet and cause medical problems. If you find a cage with wire balconies and shelves, modify it by covering the floor with a thin sheet of wood, or other solid material.
Minimum cage size should be 12 by 24 inches of floor space. Tall cages with ramps and platforms will give enough room for multiple rats. Aquariums don’t provide good ventilation and have to be cleaned more often.
Your pets’ cage should be placed in a fairly quiet location, but still near the social activity in the home. Don’t place the cage in direct sunlight, or where there’s a draft. Limit access to the cage by other household pets. A rat will feel threatened by a cat or dog hovering outside their home.
Comfortable Bedding:
Use aspen and other hardwood shavings, but avoid cedar and pine wood. Pellet products are very absorbent, but not that comfortable for your pet rats to play and sleep on. Try placing the pellets under a layer of softer loose bedding.
Pet rats should have a nesting box. A simple cardboard box is fine, but has to be replaced often. Wooden boxes can be difficult to clean because any urine will soak into the wood. Plastic boxes will probably get chewed up quite quickly. You can use flowerpots, or a jar placed on its side, or a section of PVC drain pipe with one end covered. Whatever you choose, you will want to provide some nesting material that your pet rats can shred and use to line their nest box. Paper (not inked), tissues, and paper towels all make good nest box linings.
Housekeeping:
Your pet rats will usually choose a bathroom location in one area of the cage. Heavily soiled litter should be scooped out daily and more litter added. The whole cage should be cleaned and new litter and bedding provided at least once a week.
Provide your pet rats with fresh water every day and throw out any uneaten non-dry food, refilling it with new. A monthly disinfecting of the complete rats’ cage is recommended. Use a bleach solution, rinsing the enclosure well afterwards. Bathing and nail clipping once a month will keep your pet well groomed and healthy.
Toys ‘n Stuff:
Rats love to climb. Ladders, ropes, hammocks, tunnels, and platforms are all good accessories for their home. Blocks of wood for chewing, cardboard tubes, and toys designed for ferrets or parrots all make good play things. Choose rope and wood toys as many plastic ones can't stand up to the rats’ constant chewing. Don’t go to great expense for their toys. Cardboard mailing tubes, crumpled paper, paper bags, and cardboard boxes can entertain your pets for hours on end. Rats are intelligent creatures and will get bored with their toys, so change them regularly.
Exercise wheels are a hit and miss item with rats. Some will use them, others won’t. If you do purchase one, don’t buy the common wire kind. Just like the cages, a solid surfaced wheel in preferred.
Heavy ceramic food dishes are sturdy, easy to clean, and don’t tip over easily. A water bottle with a sipper tube can be used for water.
Playtime:
Your pet rats’ should be let out to play for at least an hour every day. Rats love to chew, so you’ll need to do a little rat-proofing. Make sure that electrical wires are out of reach, or encased in plastic tubing. Plants should not be accessible, particularly poisonous ones. Basically, if you don’t want your rats to chew on it, make sure it’s out of their reach.
Provide a large wire cage with horizontal bars so your pet rats can climb on the sides if they wish. Avoid cages with wire flooring which can be hard on the rats’ feet and cause medical problems. If you find a cage with wire balconies and shelves, modify it by covering the floor with a thin sheet of wood, or other solid material.
Minimum cage size should be 12 by 24 inches of floor space. Tall cages with ramps and platforms will give enough room for multiple rats. Aquariums don’t provide good ventilation and have to be cleaned more often.
Your pets’ cage should be placed in a fairly quiet location, but still near the social activity in the home. Don’t place the cage in direct sunlight, or where there’s a draft. Limit access to the cage by other household pets. A rat will feel threatened by a cat or dog hovering outside their home.
Comfortable Bedding:
Use aspen and other hardwood shavings, but avoid cedar and pine wood. Pellet products are very absorbent, but not that comfortable for your pet rats to play and sleep on. Try placing the pellets under a layer of softer loose bedding.
Pet rats should have a nesting box. A simple cardboard box is fine, but has to be replaced often. Wooden boxes can be difficult to clean because any urine will soak into the wood. Plastic boxes will probably get chewed up quite quickly. You can use flowerpots, or a jar placed on its side, or a section of PVC drain pipe with one end covered. Whatever you choose, you will want to provide some nesting material that your pet rats can shred and use to line their nest box. Paper (not inked), tissues, and paper towels all make good nest box linings.
Housekeeping:
Your pet rats will usually choose a bathroom location in one area of the cage. Heavily soiled litter should be scooped out daily and more litter added. The whole cage should be cleaned and new litter and bedding provided at least once a week.
Provide your pet rats with fresh water every day and throw out any uneaten non-dry food, refilling it with new. A monthly disinfecting of the complete rats’ cage is recommended. Use a bleach solution, rinsing the enclosure well afterwards. Bathing and nail clipping once a month will keep your pet well groomed and healthy.
Toys ‘n Stuff:
Rats love to climb. Ladders, ropes, hammocks, tunnels, and platforms are all good accessories for their home. Blocks of wood for chewing, cardboard tubes, and toys designed for ferrets or parrots all make good play things. Choose rope and wood toys as many plastic ones can't stand up to the rats’ constant chewing. Don’t go to great expense for their toys. Cardboard mailing tubes, crumpled paper, paper bags, and cardboard boxes can entertain your pets for hours on end. Rats are intelligent creatures and will get bored with their toys, so change them regularly.
Exercise wheels are a hit and miss item with rats. Some will use them, others won’t. If you do purchase one, don’t buy the common wire kind. Just like the cages, a solid surfaced wheel in preferred.
Heavy ceramic food dishes are sturdy, easy to clean, and don’t tip over easily. A water bottle with a sipper tube can be used for water.
Playtime:
Your pet rats’ should be let out to play for at least an hour every day. Rats love to chew, so you’ll need to do a little rat-proofing. Make sure that electrical wires are out of reach, or encased in plastic tubing. Plants should not be accessible, particularly poisonous ones. Basically, if you don’t want your rats to chew on it, make sure it’s out of their reach.
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