Do I have to keep my pet rat in the cage?
My rats had places to sleep, mostly this was a very large wire cage with nesting boxes, shelves and a hammock. The only times the doors were shut with them inside were1) during a training time out2) when the gerbils, the hamster or a non pack rat was exercising3) when I wanted to eat without keeping a careful eye on my supper (pizzas can grow swift and determined feet in a house that contains loose rats)While I consider it cruel to leave rats locked up without frequent and regular exercise and exploring time there are negatives (and guidelines) to having house rats scampering about.no fabric, particularly leather or suede is safe lying around or drapped over chairs: it will develop holes with small scalloped edgesother items will also be at risk of chewing, the glue in book spines, the soap from the soap dish, fabric furniture..wires are a risk; both to property damage and potential danger to rat and human. This can be mostly mitigated by containing them within hose pipe split down the length. Wires are particularly attractive to small and super resilient teeth when they are hidden under or behind furniture.rats can be house trained but this does not extend to marking behaviour by male rats. This means that carpets are a liability and (chewed) curtains and fabrics will require frequent washing. Despite this, male rats are the laziest, sweetest and most affectiomate genderrubbish bins with need rethinking and securing: Objects of all kinds will be found behind furniture, in washing machines, under beds. This is bad enough if you're finding apple cores, used tissues and old teabags. Now imagine feminine items stolen from the bathroom bin moving around with independent agencydespite their savvy instincts, you will need to be a little careful of leaving anything potentially poisonous (bulbs etc) lying aroundyou can no longer wear shoes or hard-soled slippers in the houseyou will need to be aware before you sit, roll in your sleep, open a doorRats are marvellous animals with distinct personalities and the hearts and brains of far larger mammals. They experience a wide range of emotions including sorrow, affection, loneliness, jealousy and happiness. Like a dog, the relationship and interaction you get from them will be in direct correlation to what you put in. Also like a dog, a rat is for life.Don’t even consider getting a single rat unless you are prepared to be his pack and near constant companion.
Are rats good pets?
They have their downsides, like any other kind of pet. The main downside is the little darlings don’t live nearly long enough!They tend to run up expensive vet bills because they are very fragile and, if you don’t do your research before getting rats, you might get a nasty shock when you suddenly need a vet by yesterday and you figured you’d be fine because there’s a vet round the corner, but turns out they only take cats and dogs and your nearest exotics vet is three hours away.If you get them young, they may have been identified as the wrong sex and you’ve got a girl that was kept with her brother. Now you have 15 rats rather than 2!If you get them as adults, it may be too late to litter-train them and they may never really bond with you as they would if you’d raised them from babies.The smell. Even if you keep them clean enough that they don’t stink per se, the odour is distinctive enough that it takes some getting used to. You may find that you invite friends or family over to meet your rats and they find the smell very unpleasant even if you’ve only just cleaned the cage.Related: people can be judgemental, misinformed, and don’t get that their reaction is every bit as insulting as if you’d said “Ewwwwww it’s a dog!”
I have two rats in a 16-gallon cage is that enough space? If not where can I find a cheap one that s an appropriate size.?
I went to two different stores both said 16-gallons was enough but online it says at least 20-gallons. I ve spent a lot of money on the aquarium and can not take it back. I ve been looking for a bigger one but I can t find anything under $30 and I can t spend much more than that at all. I have a cat so a wire cage scares me. Please help
Can I keep a rat in a barred cage?
Rats should not be kept in glass tanks as they do not provide enough ventilation which results in a build up of ammonia, given off by the rats urine, which is harmful to a rats respiratory system. Wire/Barred cages are the best environment for rats as they allow for excellent ventillation and also provide oppertunuites for them to climb which they enjoy very much, especially females. A cage designed for a hamster or gerbil is not suitable however as they are way too small! To find out how many rats a cage is suitable for take the measurements and use the cage calculator at the following link. http://www.fancy-rats.co.uk/information/guides/cagecalculator/ Rats should be kept in a minimum of pairs and never alone as they can suffer greatly from loneliness. You may think that you can offer it plenty of companionship but a rat cannot communicate or play with you in the way it can with another rat. Even if you had your rat out for 12 hours a day there's still 12 hours of loneliness to endure with no one to play with. Rats can even die from being kept alone so if any cage you have is suitable for any less than two rats it cannot be used. Please discourage your friend from keeping a single rat and from keeping rats in a hamster cage, it's simply unfair to the animal! Plus if she can't afford a cage then how can she afford vets bills should anything happen to the little guys? Hope this helps, if you need any more information then feel free to contact me! Lloyd!
SWITCHING RAT CAGES!!! NEED HELP AND IDEAS!!?
rat should NEVER be kept in a cage with tubes like those! The first cage, the all wire one, is what is best for them. At least for now. For my 4 boys, i have a HUGE cage. It gives them tons of room to roam, and lots of room for toys and treats. Here is the cage i have. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=6067+10431+14097&pcatid=14097 I would suggest getting a cage from the Foster and Smith website. They have wonderful pricing, and the best cages on the market. Dont get a 'small animal' cage though. I would get a smaller ferret cage, such as this one: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=6067+10431+11166&pcatid=11166 Especially if you have more than 2 rats. This would be good. But multi-level cages, such as this one would be the best, especially if you have more than 2 rats (rats should be kept in at least pairs, since they are very social animals.) http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=6067+10431+6329&pcatid=6329 In fact, for you, since i'm sure you only have 2 rats (or so), i would suggest this last one for you. It would be your best option. Your ratties would love it. It would encourage them to explore, and its compact enough for you that it wont take up much room. Hope you find this useful!!!
How big should a rat’s cage be?
As big as possible, of course!Seriously, any cage marketed for guinea pigs or rabbits to live in is going to be large enough (note: rats should not be kept on wire floors so pick one with a solid bottom or cover the wire with something they can’t chew/won’t be harmed by chewing). Ferret or chinchilla homes also are large enough, as are large birdcages. DO watch for plastic components that might be chewed and ingested and make sure there aren’t any openings bigger than a quarter or the rat will get out.A good rule of thumb is 2 cubic feet per rat + 2 cubic feet. So a 18x18x24 cage is plenty big for one rat (particularly if that includes some fun multi-leveling!) but a 2′ cube cage would be big enough for three. If the walls are wire, the rats will climb them, and putting in platforms and levels is a great idea, too, as well as boxes, hammocks, etc.
Why do pet rat owner’s houses all stink to high heaven? There’s no need. Every single pet rat owner I have visited has a stinking house, where the smell hits you like a putrid wall.
I'm wondering what kind of sample size you're working with here.Rats, especially males, don't exactly smell like marshmallows. But as long as their cages are kept clean then the smell should be more of a musky, salty smell, a bit like peanut butter, rather than a horrible stink. So if they really stink, either the cage hasn't been cleaned recently or thoroughly enough, or they're not dumping and replacing enough of the litter or bedding when they're doing spot checks.
Is my rat cage too small?
I won’t dwell on reasons your cage is WAY to small, as previous answers have already done that. I’d like to add a link that tells you the bare MINIMUM cage size for rats according to pack size: CageCalc 2. In addition to this, happy rats should also have regular running areas for at LEAST an hour or two a day. I’d recommend at least 2mx2m, though smaller options such as with you on a sofa might also work.I would like to add, however, that rats should NEVER be kept alone. I can only see one rat in your picture. In my opinion, rats should be kept in packs of at LEAST three animals. Some people say at least two - I won’t argue, though my personal experience shows that pack dynamics in a “mischief of rats” only really start at three. Some people will tell you that rats “should” be kept at least in pairs, “unless” you spend a lot of time with them. Seriously: you couldn’t if you tried! Rats need the constant companionship of the pack. They play together, they sleep together and hold each other warm, and they groom each other, which would be rather unsanitary for a human to do. In addition, rats can communicate at frequencies humans cannot even hear, much less imitate, so to keep a single rat also means to deprive them of communication.The fact that you’ve asked your question shows that you are concerned about your ratties welfare, but please, improve your conditions fairly quickly, in both cage size and pack size (if the rat on the pic is indeed your only one) because it’s really really not up to what these beautiful intelligent creatures need to be happy or even just content, or indeed what they deserve.