Should I Take the Plunge and Get a Rat?

[Die Fledermaus]

Should I Take the Plunge and Get a Rat?

I am very knowledgeable and experienced with all other major types of rodent, except rats. Everyone says how great they are with people.

But I have concerns, so please indulge me. . .

1. Is one female OK, or must she have a rat friend? If not, I will have to wait a while.

2. Can one live in a 20 gallon tank (with time out, of course)?

3. I assume they don't need wheels.

4. To what extent can they be potty trained? How likely would it be they would poop and pee on me when handled? (My rabbit, GPs, hamsters, and gerbils, almost never do; some of the GPs only if I handle them over half an hour).

5. How much time out and with the human per day is needed - what is the minimum?

6. Will they attempt to escape and hide from the human? (A major concern as they could hide forever in this place if they wanted to).

7. Most of my rodents just die quietly in their sleep, or after a very brief illness. How likely is it that a rat will pass away that way, or is it LIKELY they will need expensive vet care - a concern especially as they have lives shorter than gerbils.

So, please give me some advice.

[rasputin]

zouave said:

Should I Take the Plunge and Get a Rat?

There's a German contraction / idiom: "Jein." It comes out to Yes/No. It's not an easy question to boil down to a quick answer. If you are already spending a lot of time with other pets, don't burden yourself with rats - they will make you feel guilty for having other animals - a pair of rats would be all the pets I would ever need, if I didn't have five already. On the other hand, if attrition and natural tragedies have your apartment feeling a little vacant right now, you'll never get it fuller than by adding a pair of rats. You'll be looking at a big cage, and at a big smell unless it is cleaned at least weekly. Unlike gerbs, rats make an odor that is very easy to detect - it is more than a little aggressive in affronting your senses. Guests will notice and not want to come back, unless you keep a very steady and proactive maintenance regime on their domicile. Expect the litter budget to go up sharply. Also, expect to sweep and scrub the floor around their cage regularly, as they will innocuously manage to get litter, waste pellets, and stray urine spots far enough from the cage that you are certain they are letting rip from the top bars with an eye to cause mischief.

zouave said:

I am very knowledgeable and experienced with all other major types of rodent, except rats. Everyone says how great they are with people.

They are exceptional with people, in my experience. But as with all rodents, they are more exceptional if you regularly spend time with them and stimulate them mentally. Mine react very well to a little pampering and a couple show appreciation when they feel good, licking my fingers for no apparent reason but to try to repay the happiness I have brough them. Boys are not as affectionate as girls, but they usually grow huskier and move a little more oafishly, which gives them a certain charm. Girls are also a little more frisky about climbing *all* over, though both boys and girls will appreciate a few minutes of sitting on your belly or on your lap and being stroked into a slit-eyed dolor.

zouave said:

But I have concerns, so please indulge me. . .
1. Is one female OK, or must she have a rat friend? If not, I will have to wait a while.

Best to have a pair or better. They are social, even though they will really enjoy your company. I have seen lonely rats become clingy toward their person when not otherwise occupied - cute but very inconvenient. Good to go with females, if you want a pet that will reciprocate affection. Boys will, but to a lesser extent. Given experience with both, I'd take girls for a first pair.

zouave said:

2. Can one live in a 20 gallon tank (with time out, of course)?

Not easily, unless you want rats to go nuts and scrap all day. You'd probably want a cage, the larger the better. Shelves, a hammock, climbing ropes - the more stuff and space, the better.

zouave said:

3. I assume they don't need wheels.

Not true. I have only two rats that regularly use their wheels, and for them it is the only thing keeping them from being totally bonkers - I also have a trio of boys who don't care about theirs except when I'm vacuuming, then they all climb in it to huddle up and watch. Their wheels are much bigger, but they don't destroy them as gerbils do.

zouave said:

4. To what extent can they be potty trained? How likely would it be they would poop and pee on me when handled? (My rabbit, GPs, hamsters, and gerbils, almost never do; some of the GPs only if I handle them over half an hour).

I almost always expect spotting from my boys, they seem to love marking me up - it's been very hard to accept that they each just want me to be their sole territory. And when I take them out driving, they love to share their solid biology as well in the rat-friendly shops, sometimes to my embarassment. My girl Hectic hardly does any more - a droplet or two every now and then, if she gets nervous. I admit I haven't put her to the test, but she seems to have great fortitude of the bladder. If they sit on you or walk on you, be ready to have a pee-spot on your slacks or shirt when they move, until they decide you are not in the least intimidating or interesting. The girls stopped peeing when they came to know I was the best thing since sunflower seeds - the boys still leave me many "happy trails."

zouave said:

5. How much time out and with the human per day is needed - what is the minimum?

I'd have to say, the more the better. But about a half hour to an hour would be a good starting point. A new rat will be skittish but within a few weeks you'll be the best thing it does in a day. My baby girl Hectic is always happy to crawl around my shoulders, rub against my beard, and lick my mustache.

zouave said:

6. Will they attempt to escape and hide from the human? (A major concern as they could hide forever in this place if they wanted to).

Perhaps. They sometimes have a very independent streak. While they eventually would feel the impulse to return home, they might take to the hidey hole where they go to more than the one they came from. Problem with rodents on the loose is that you can't ask them where they're going and when they're coming back - if they can fit, they might just go. Still, when I've escape-proofed my bedroom (at the previous apartment) the worst I got was a rat who loved being in the far corner under my bed and left me about a dozen pellet-form reminders of his hermitage. And he was very afraid at me when I moved the bed (had to) to put him back in his cage an hour into his sojourn.

zouave said:

7. Most of my rodents just die quietly in their sleep, or after a very brief illness. How likely is it that a rat will pass away that way, or is it LIKELY they will need expensive vet care - a concern especially as they have lives shorter than gerbils.

Not sure about the lives shorter than gerbils. Being larger animals you may notice ailments quicker, but as with gerbils, they answer the urge to keep you from knowing they are sick until it is bad. Hectic's littermate Scanty passed away practically over a day's time, and I thought she was just feeling under the weather - was going to call and get her to the vet but she went only a half hour or so after I cleaned her up and put her back in her cage. There's a good chance you'll be looking at veterinary care as with any animal, but it depends - the two rat passings (which I've known the details of) were sudden and unexpected, but that shouldn't be taken to say that they all are, or even a large portion.

zouave said:

So, please give me some advice.

Hope it's been helpful.

[Die Fledermaus]

Yeow. I am to tired to read that, but THANKS.

After I initially posted that I was convinced by others that two females are best, not spaying them is OK for various cost effective reasons, and a cage ismthe way to go, not a tank.

I will examine your comments when I am less sleep-deprived. . .

[Die Fledermaus]

>> a slit-eyed dolor. <<

You have a way with words!

I read it all. A female pair, with a wheel, confined in a rat-proofed room (bedroom). But that creates a problem owing to the great array of wires in here, more than any other place.

As you said, natural attrition of other critters needs to occur to open more space and more time.

I got my rabbit, and first two GPs, as rescues. If they had been rats I would have them.

Eventually. Thanks for the advice.

[rasputin]

zouave said:

not spaying them is OK for various cost effective reasons

I know a rat keeper who has not spayed his girls yet. I'll be getting Hectic spayed when time allows, because the life expectancy goes up remarkably, and the rick of certain cancers including the ubiquitous mammary cancer goes way down.

I also don't like surprises, and Hectic gets along well enough with Bertrand during supervised playtime that I might go ahead and get him snipped and her spayed so they can be cagemates.

[Die Fledermaus]

Many of the rat people on forums (Petshub, Rat & Mouse) gave me the impression that spaying has the possibility of being dangerous, it's expensive, and it does not necessarily assure life extension to any great amount.

If a good rat vet was available; if money was not an issue, then maybe. I am just accumulating info right now.

[rasputin]

I generally look for that kind of info on the websites of rat associations and ratteries. As much as I love my fellow forum-goers, there are just some topics on which everyone has a strong opinion.

I think my vet would do the operation for under $75 - I don't live right down the hill anymore, though . I just want Hectic to grow to young adulthood first, without getting cut up as a girl and deciding she hates people. If she's to hate anyone, let it be the vet - he's got to be used to certain animals hating him by now.