Ratties Oh No! Rat Fever!

I had rats in high school. I really liked them. They are so friendly and smart but compared to other small animals I have owned they smell. I have had gerbils, hamsters, mice, guinea pigs, rabbits, birds and any assortment of reptiles and fish and the only thing that has topped the rats were the mice.

I have been told by people that I needed to clean the cage more. Take it from me that wasn't it. Every animal has a scent to it. Some aren't bad, like guinea pigs they hardly smell at all and some are noticeable clean cage or not and rats are one of those. Just be aware. I love rats they are great and cool pets but I don't think I will ever have them again because of the ambient smell of them. Just my opinion and maybe one to think about if your mother doesn't like animal smells.

Hey! When I first got rats, when I was in high school, my mom was a teacher and she had a snake as a class pet >( Anyways, she usually got frozen mice, but this time they were out of frozen mice, so she got a live rat. So, I felt horrible for the little guy and basically told her that we kept the rat or I move out....hehe. So we kept him, got him a cage, and my mom quickly fell in love with him, and a few months later we got him a friend. That story probably won't help you, but I guess the point is, rats are irresistible, so just maybe get your mom to spend some time with some and she will most likely fall in love

As for the smell, one of my rats smells and one doesn't. (they live in different cages, as they were both traumatized as babies - both attacked by their father b/c some irresponsible owner kept the babies in with their father). To this day I'm not sure if one is weird for stinking or one is weird for not smelling.

I thought I might also add in a few nutrition tips. The best rat foods are either Harlan Teklad Lab Blocks or Oxbow Regal Rat. I give my rats veggies every day, whole grain/wheat bread every other day, and small amounts of fruit twice a week.

Also, try to get an already bonded pair, as you don't have to quarantine and they already get along.
Good luck!

We had many rats over a period of 5 years or so. All girls, all ages and anywhere from 2-4 rats at a time. They all smelled. The girls seemed to be more smelly a few times a month than other times. I'm guessing it was their cycle time but they were smelly either way. IMO.

I have fallen in love with these guys! Oh, @nibbler100, I tagged you because I know you have rats! (broken link removed)
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How long does a well - cared for rat with the best food and medical care live?

Rats generally live from anywhere to 2-3 years all the way up to 5 years! Typically they live to be 2.5-3 years of age. @couchon

I think rats are very cute and I know they are smart and fun but I have to agree with @(broken link removed) they are quite smelly! My room mate has a rat she cleans the cage often and uses the same bedding I do for the guinea pigs, carefresh, but he still is a stinky little thing! I totally see the appeal of rats but I'm not a rat person, I'm a guinea pig and rabbit person! The other hard thing is that I believe even with good diet/medical care all that their lifespans are quite short, I want to say average is 2 years. I couldn't handle that I don't think. I know loss is a part of pet ownership but I have a hard time with it. There are of course rats who live longer but I do believe that's average. Anyone please correct me if I am mistaken, the only real information source I have is a care book and if it is anything like most guinea pig care books it may not be too accurate.

Oh, Jelly, they are all so cute! I would love to have rats or mice but I don't think I have time for any more animals, and my mother hates anything that looks like a mouse. That apparently includes hamsters too. :grumpy: May I ask, how do you have time? I couldn't manage what you do. I mean, you have school, and your piggies, and Chevy, and soon quite possibly rats too!

@SophieBunny, you don't know the half of it! Mon-Wed, I am at home, Thurs-Saturday I am bouncing around! lol I always spend time with my pigs when I am home, and I make sure that Thurs-Fri I spend at least 1 hour snuggling or talking with the girls. The only day I am never at home is Saturday! Its really crazy actually, I always end up with time for snuggles and floor time though! As of right now, I have time for my girls, my horse, my dog's obedience training, and rats! I have no time for friends, or extra curriculars unless I crunch my times or I don't have as long of floor times, or that gets skipped all together. I am OK with that though. My animals deserve the best they can get.

YourSoJelly said:

@SophieBunny , you don't know the half of it! Mon-Wed, I am at home, Thurs-Saturday I am bouncing around! lol I always spend time with my pigs when I am home, and I make sure that Thurs-Fri I spend at least 1 hour snuggling or talking with the girls. The only day I am never at home is Saturday! Its really crazy actually, I always end up with time for snuggles and floor time though! As of right now, I have time for my girls, my horse, my dog's obedience training, and rats! I have no time for friends, or extra curriculars unless I crunch my times or I don't have as long of floor times, or that gets skipped all together. I am OK with that though. My animals deserve the best they can get.

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You are so lucky to have so much time for your animals! I couldn't handle having any more, I am busy busy busy as it is! Good luck convincing your mom to get you ratties!

Rats are one of those animals that take a lot of money to set up for. my cage i have mine in know cost 100, but i am upgrading it soon due to the fact they can chew threw the base. I lined the bottom of it with a wire mesh but my boy Adolf cut himself pretty badly on it. the cage I'm upgrading to cost 240 something. When looking for a cage for a rat always get a cage that is completely metal! Other wise you'll spend half the afternoon looking for your rats hoping your cat doesn't find them first... I would look into diet's and everything.. with rats it is vary simple.. so when i got mine i was kinda shell shocked after being so used to how complex the piggies diets are. I feed mine oxbow and then i give them treats.. they can eat almost anything! so if I'm eating crackers ill give them a cracker.. if I'm eating penutes ill give them nuts. but you need to watch them little buggers too.. I lost a hole slice of pizza once due to some greedy rats. i didn't let them eat it but i wasn't going to after they dragged it a crossed the floor lol.

my boys Adolf and Himmler

nibbler100 said:

but you need to watch them little buggers too.. I lost a hole slice of pizza once due to some greedy rats. i didn't let them eat it but i wasn't going to after they dragged it a crossed the floor lol.

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This reminds me of when we got our first baby rat. She was small enough to squeeze through the bars of the cage and escaped one night. She spent the entire night going from one end of the house where her cage was to the other carrying the dog's food. In the morning when the family awoke she was under her cage which was on a stand with a pile of dog food just looking at us like "I'm ready to go home now!" We let her keep the dog food after so much work all night to bring it over to her cage. I'm sure the collies wondered what she was up to with their food. lol

What rat forum on you on I've been looking for a good rat forum?

I've been on ratforum.com learning about rats.

Inle_Rabbit said:

This reminds me of when we got our first baby rat. She was small enough to squeeze through the bars of the cage and escaped one night. She spent the entire night going from one end of the house where her cage was to the other carrying the dog's food. In the morning when the family awoke she was under her cage which was on a stand with a pile of dog food just looking at us like "I'm ready to go home now!" We let her keep the dog food after so much work all night to bring it over to her cage. I'm sure the collies wondered what she was up to with their food. lol

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Omigod too funny!!!!

YourSoJelly said:

I want rats. Plain and simple! I have the time and money to have them but mom doesn't want them. Actually, she has no clue that I want rats! I have to wait till November/December to ask because that is right in between my birthday and Christmas! lol I have joined a rat forum and got loads of info off of them, but I could really use help from you guys too. If your a mom, or a kid who had to pursuade a mo to let you get rats, please help! What are some strong points I can bring up for the rats? I owuld be getting a pair, becasue they are social animals. Thank you guys SOOO much! Any tips, info, hints would be GREATLY appreciated!

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I can speak from a mom's perspective. (Though I should say that I do enjoy pets.) I already have rabbits and (of course) piggies. One of my son's was very much into reptiles and I took him to a few reptile shows. He brought home some critters, but eventually I succumbed and came home with a beautiful corn snake!
I give you that background just to be fair in letting you know my thoughts on pets.

Another son had his hamster die and wanted to try a more interactive pet. He first thought ferrets, but my free-range rabbits made that a not good idea. Then he thought about rats.

Now, I must admit here, that rats are the one pet that never, ever, ever interested me in the least. I knew them to be a fairly popular pet, but, for the life of me, I couldn't see their appeal. I started researching more, and the one thing that kept coming up was how interactive they are. I learned that they can learn their name and learn tricks. In short, the more I learned about them, the more intriguing and interesting they became.

If your mom is anything like me, then she doesn't know about rats either. I would think that the more she learns/knows the more she may give consideration to allowing them as a pet. Your going on a ratforum and learning interesting tidbits or any adorable little stories that people reveal on such a forum, can all serve to make rats more endearing. My son and I learned quite a bit on a forum and then found a reputable breeder that was highly recommended on that forum. We visited and are preparing to pick up our rats this weekend.

Gandalf said:

Your going on a ratforum and learning interesting tidbits or any adorable little stories that people reveal on such a forum, can all serve to make rats more endearing. My son and I learned quite a bit on a forum and then found a reputable breeder that was highly recommended on that forum.

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What forum did you use I've been looking for a good one. Thanks

Starthecavy123 said:

What forum did you use I've been looking for a good one. Thanks

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Ratforum.com

And I just now saw that the OP was posted back in April! Oh, well...