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As I have always said rats actually make very good pets in my experience …

 

From Scott Nimmo BVMS

As promised here is my rat follow up article ….

I have recently read that demand for rats as pets has surged recently thanks to a film called “Ratatouille,” the hero of which is a gourmet rat named Remy who demonstrates his culinary prowess in a romp round Paris. Much the same thing happened with donkeys after the release of ” Shrek “, no animal should be bought on an impulse but I suppose rats bought on the spur of the moment will be easier to look after than donkeys! Seems like ‘Ratatouille’ has done wonders for the image of rats, which is good as their previous image what with the plague and everything was in need of a makeover.

As I have always said rats actually make very good pets in my experience. These aren’t sewer rats we’re talking about they are pet rats, or fancy rats as they’re sometimes called, and they have been domesticated and bred in captivity for at least 150 years. Rats are very intelligent animals, some authorities consider rats to have intelligence close or equal to that of dogs, they are capable of learning to come when their names are called and they can even be litter trained like a cat. Anyone looking for a new pet that is clean, socialised, entertaining and is very unlikely to bite could do worse, they are good pets if you live in a small flat where it would be impractical to keep a dog or cat.

As a vet I do see rats at my clinic quite frequently, they present with tumours, chronic respiratory disease, head tilt which is the result of middle ear infections and sometimes mouth and teeth problems. If the rats are brought to me quickly enough I can usually sort things out although respiratory disease needs long courses of antibiotics to get rid of it. Anyway here are a few tips on looking after pet rats:

1. Boredom : Rats are sociable and it’s a good idea to keep a pair, obviously choose two males or two females so that they don’t breed. If they’re from the same litter they are less unlikely to fight remember rats can be territorial so be careful at first when introducing new ones.

2. Feeding : Rats are adapted to eat a great variety of different foods the best thing is to buy commercial rat food and supplement it with fruit and vegetables every now and again. Make sure that your rat can always have access to water and remember that drip bottles can sometimes get blocked, finally rats should never be given chocolate as it is toxic to them.

3. Housing : You should provide your rats with as big a cage as your space and pocket allows, avoid wire flooring as this leads to your rat getting sores on its feet. Do not place the cage in direct sunlight or in the way of draughts, you should provide a sleeping area where the rat can have privacy and provide bedding materials, avoid cotton wool of nylon based products here.

4. Handling and exercise : Your rats should be handled each day which will keep them tame and comfortable with you, provision should also be made for means of exercise such as climbing ladders and seperate floors within the cage.