Choosing your rats
So you've decided to enter the mad world of pet rat ownership! You've chosen your cage, you know what to feed them, you've sorted out a safe place for them to play. There's just one thing left to do - actually get your rats! This article will discuss some of the things you will have to consider.
- How many?
- Boys or Girls?
- Where from?
- Say 'no' to pet shops
- Rescuing a rat
- Finding a reputable breeder
How many Rats?
As I have said elsewhere on this site - rats are sociable animals so you should get at least two. Unfortunately, there are still many resources, especially older books, that say a lone rat will bond better with you than two rats will as they will prefer to play with each other. This simply isn't true. A rat with a ratty friend is happier and often more confident than a lone rat so will be more willing to come out to play. You can always take out each rat separately for cuddles anyway.
When considering a lone rat consider this scenario - you live on a planet where humans are kept as pets. You are kept in fantastic accomodation, fed excellent food, taken out every day and allowed to play. Your keeper is kind to you and you love to play with them and share cuddles. However, you have no human company, no-one that communicates how you do and for 22 hours of the day you are in your cage alone. How lonely and depressing would that be? That is what life is like for a lone rat. You only have to observe six rats all crammed in a heap in one hammock to see how happy they are in company.
So, you know to have at least two - how many is a good number? I would reccomend to start with two or three. If you have three you won't end up in the situation of having a lone rat when one passes away. You then have the chance to find a pair of young rats to introduce to the remaining pair. You may well end up enchanted by fancy rats and decide to have more in the future. Your maximum number will be different to someone else's. You need to ensure you have the time and money to give each rat the attention and care it requires, regardless of whether you have 2 or 22!
Boys or Girls?
As a general rule boys (called bucks) are larger, heavier and have coarser coats than girls (call does). They are also generally lazier and slower so more likely to stop on your lap for a cuddle. Does are more playful and busier. They aren't less friendly than bucks but are more likely to use you as a climbing frame than snuggle up for a cuddle!
Bucks are often recomended for first time rat owners because they are slower and therefore easier to handle. If are planning on training your rats, you are better off getting does as they are more inclined to learn and are more enthusiastic. If you are planning on showing your rats, it is worth checking to see if bucks or does in your chosen variety show better.
I personally love my girls. I love their business and their playfulness, how they have to run everywhere and are so determined to get wherever they want to go, regardless of all obstacles. If you are planning on keeping does you will need to be dedicated about rat-proofing and be prepared to do it all over again, when they show you the bits you've missed! Does are eaier to introduce to newcomers but they still need to be introduced carefully as adults as it is not unknown for them to seriously fight, though this rarely happens.
The main worry with does is their likelihood of developing mammary tumours. Even though these often seem to be benign, surgery is still required to remove them which can be expensive. It has been suggested that spaying is an option that reduces the risk, however any operation on a rat is a risk, so it is up to the individual to decide whether to risk spaying as a just in case form of prevention. The risk of tumours is one of the health risks that reputable breeders are attempting to reduce from their lines, so it might be worth speaking to breeders if you are interested in does and they will have details of their line's incidences of tumours. The correct diet will also help as tumours are more likely in fat does.
I don't have bucks myself, except for one I fostered for a couple of months, so any information I have on them comes from discussions with other people or things I have read in books and on the internet. As I said, generally they are more laid back - as they mature their idea of 'free ranging' is to come out and go to sleep on your lap! Many pet owners love their squishy bucks purely for this reason. They are larger than does, though their adult size will depend on their lines and their diet, particularly their early diet when still kittens. They also have enormous testicles which put some people off.
The main downside of owning bucks is the higher chances of aggression than with does. Particularly when adults, some bucks will be very aggressive with newcomers and introductions are often best done with kittens, though adult to adult introductions are possible with a lot of patience. You do need to be aware of the chance that your new rats and your old ones will never get on and you will end up with another cage. Bucks can sometimes cause serious damage to another buck, resulting in veterinary treatment being required. If you have a buck that becomes aggresive around the age of 4 - 6 months it is likely to be hormonal and castration is likely to solve this problem. You will then be able to introduce him to girls if he still won't accept other bucks as companions. Some people castrate bucks purely so they can live with girls, however I personally wouldn't do this as I think the risks involved in an operation are to great to put a rat through simply for convenience.
As I said, the above points are general in nature - you will get soft, cuddly girls and busy, playful boys. If you are unsure of what sex you might like it is worth going along to a show or a breeder's house and meeting their rats so you get a better idea of the differences.
Please do not purchase a boy and a girl to live together - breeding rats is something that needs to be entered into after considerable research and thought has been undertaken and a serious time and financial commitment is required. On a practical note - if you keep them together permanently, your female rat is able to become pregnant as soon as she gives birth, rats can have up to 22 babies in a litter, males and females will need separating at 4.5 weeks to prevent pregnancy amongst the siblings. If they are not separated you can easily end up with literally hundreds of rats in a very short space of time!
Where do I get them from?
There are basically three different routes to getting rats - pet shops, breeders or rescues.
Many people, me included, get their first rats from a pet shop. Pet shops are a convenient place to purchase rats from - you can get cage, food, accessories, bedding and toys all under one roof when you get your new friends. The rats are normally babies and you get a choice of different colours and markings. Please see the next section for reasons not to purchase rats from a pet shop.
When I say rat breeders, I mean those reputable breeders that breed fancy rats for show or pets, concentrating on health and temperment above all else, who take care when homing their kittens and give their own rats the attention, healthcare and general care they require.
There are bad breeders out there - those that breed rats purely to make money. To make money breeding rats you need to cut corners and this will be done by providing inadequate housing, diet and healthcare. To my mind, these types of 'backyard' breeders are worse than rodent farms and pet shops. Rodent farms and pet shops are monitored by the government to ensure they provide adequate standards of care. People breeding in their own homes aren't, they can get away with anything!
A reputable breeder is not into breeding for the money - they breed because they genuinely care about producing healthy, friendly individuals that will be a pleasure to own. With all animals there is a show scene so breeders will also take into account colour and type but temperment and health should be at the forefront of any breeding decision. They will keep records of all their rats going back generations, with details of health, temperment, genetics and any problems that arose and if there are any problems those rats are not bred from. Rats will not be bred from continuously, eg: most rat breeders will only breed once from a female rat, twice at the most. This means their rats spend their lives as happy pets instead of constantly raising litters. Babies from reputable breeders will be handled regularly so when they go to their new homes they are confident and friendly with people. Their rats will be fed a high quality diet to ensure they get enough nutrients to grow and thrive. Rats fed well as youngsters will grow up with a healthy immune system, therefore being able to fight off infections and diseases easier than those with a weak immune system. You will also get an aftercare service with a reputable breeder. They will follow up on the progress of your new rats and they will be happy to take them back if the situation arises that you have to re-home your rats, in fact with many breeders it is a condition of sale that the rats are returned to them if you are unable to keep them for any reason. They will be happy to help with any problems that arise.
You have to remember that there will be some rats from breeders that do have problems - not all rats are perfect and they are all different, but buying from a reputable breeder should give you a better change of getting healthy and friendly rats that will stay that way throughout their lives. There is information here on finding a reputable breeder.
The third option is rescue. Many many rats end up in rescue every year. This often seems to be due to genuine accidental litters, people breeding and not separating the offspring, thereby causing a population explosion or simply getting fed up with their rats. If you are looking for new rats and have no preference on colour then I would suggest checking out a rescue. Rescues often have babies as well as adults looking for new homes, and there's nothing more satisfying than providing a caring, loving home for a ratty in need! More information is provided under Rats from a rescue
Reasons not to support Pet Shops
Firstly, I want to say I work in a pet shop. Until I started my job in the pet shop I didn't consider it a problem that pet shops sold animals. There are several issues regarding the sale of pets in pet shops - mainly the care they receive whilst in the shop, the support of the rodent farm trade and how the animals are sold. It was the third item in this list that first made me question how ethical it was to sell rats and other pets in pet shops. The first experience that started me changing my mind was on the weekend I spent training for my current job. I was on the fish section and a woman and her son wanted to get Goldfish but changed their minds when he couldn't take the fish and the tank all in the same day. As they walked away she said to him 'oh well, lets go look at the Hamsters instead'. Now that has stayed in my mind ever since and made me aware of the snap decisions people make when getting a pet - those people had decided today they were getting a pet - it didn't matter what sort of pet, I mean a Goldfish or a Hamster - they're similar aren't they?! The other thing that surprised me and still does is the number of people who simply change their minds and bring their pets back, we've had Guinea Pigs back that people got bored with, Syrian Hamsters exchanged for Russian Hamsters and vice versa, a Rat returned (my Treacle) as the customer had just found out their landlord didn't allow rats. It makes me sad that people view pets simply as a commodity that can be swapped like an item of clothing!
The second item on the list is the support of Rodent farms. Generally, (and there are exceptions) most pet shops purchase their rats (and other small pets) wholesale from rodent farms. These rodent farms breed small animals purely for money and, though they are governed as is any establishment breeding or caring for animals, the pets that are bred are kept in the smallest size cages acceptable, fed an adequate rather than optimum diet and bred without thought of temperment or long-term health.
The animals are taken from their mum's at an early age - rats, gerbils and hamsters arrive in a pet shop between 4 and 6 weeks of age. At this stage in their development they should be fed on a high protein diet and foods rich in calcium, phosphorus and other vitamins and minerals to give their rapidly growing bodies all the nutrients it needs. However, most are fed on a dry food mix, supplemented in the better shops with veg and fruit. This means most pet shop rats are small and undernourished compared to well bred animals of the same age. Two of my rats were rescues from a litter from a rat purchased pregnant from a pet shop. However, they were looked after by a reputable rat breeder and when I collected them at eight weeks old they were nearly twice the size of the eight week old does we had in the pet shop at the time. Undernourished animals will also often suffer from weakened immune systems, therefore making them more susceptible to illness and infection. No records are kept on the long term health of pet shop animals (how can they, when pet shops just sell pets with no aftercare?) so there is no way of knowing if a particular line is susceptible to specific problems ie: tumours
Temperment is another factor closely related to farm bred rats. As well as temperment not being taken into account when breeding, so an ill-tempered animal is likely to be bred from as much as a friendly one, the rats are not handled at the rodent farm. When they reach the pet shops they only get minimal handling - when they are cleaned out or if a particular member of staff makes the effort to give extra cuddles. (The rats in the pet shop I work in are given extra cuddles!). A rat that has spent it's life in a tank will not have been exposed to the experiences that a home-bred one will have been. Again using my two rescue rats as an example, when they came home they were immediately full of mischief and very confident, they took no time to settle in and be happy free ranging, whereas it took one of my pet shop girls about 3 weeks to stop hiding under the furniture whenever she left the cage.
The quality of care received by the rats whilst in the pet shop varies enormously. Where I work we are told to tell potential rat owners the importance of providing a large cage with plenty of stimulation, yet we keep them in two foot glass tanks with little more than a tube to play in with bright lights shining down on them all day! Often rats are sold individually by pet shops or one rat will get left behind when two of it's companions are sold together. Unfortunately many pet shops are unaware, or simply don't care, that rats can be introduced to one another pretty easily so these poor lone rats are often destined to remain lone rats forever. I have also heard horror stories of rats kept in overcrowded, dirty conditions, not being treated by a vet if they become ill and being picked up by their tails! Luckily, I haven't witnessed this for mydelf but I don't doubt that in some places it does happen.
Another thing to be aware of is pet shops are notoriously useless at sexing animals, even rats, and boy rats have enormous testicals!! Unfortunately many people have ended up with a pregnant rat purchased in that condition from the pet shop, or gone on to have a surprise litter when one of the two 'boys' they purchased gives birth.
The most important thing to remember when you are faced with that beautiful whiskery face and those big eyes staring at you through the glass is that you are not 'rescueing' that rat, you are buying it, therefore supporting the pet shop and rodent farm trades. The more people that refuse to purchase pets from pet shops, the more likely it will be that eventually they will stop selling animals. I do understand that it's hard and i'm not really the right person to be lecturing on such things - after all I purchased Treacle and Charlotte, my first two rats, from a pet shop! I do feel it is important however, to ensure people are aware of the issues.
Rats from a rescue
Some people are fussy about their definition of a rescue rat. They differentiate between those in bad conditions in need of rescue and those that are simply being re-homed. I personally define a rescue rat as one that is no longer wanted and is being advertised for re-homing, either for free, or in return for a donation to a rescue. I wouldn't pay a private individual for rats they are re-homing (unless they are foster carers) as this is just rewarding them for giving up their pets.
Unfortunately a large number of rats end up needing new homes every year.
There are a variety of sources from which to get rescue rats. Large national rescue organisations often have small animal sections at their re-homing centres, there are internet forums and websites for people to advertise rats they need to rehome or you could always check out your local free-ads paper.
Often the best place to go though is to a smaller, private rescue. These are run by a few highly dedicated individuals who are passionate about the rats in their care and are often more knowledgeable than staff at larger national organisations.
Unfortunately some people believe that rescue rats are all problem rats, but this isn't normally the case. Rats end up in rescue for all kinds of reasons. It is true that you won't know the rats history or what problems it may have in the future but you don't know that with a pet shop rat either. Of course, there are rescue rats out there with problems - aggression, excessive fearfulness and health problems are the main ones - and it takes an experienced, patient owner to deal with these types of cases. You get far more that are alm and friendly or need just a little bit of love to bring them out of their shells. It is also very common to find baby rats in rescues. Mnay people will hand over an unexpected litter or a pregnant doe or a whole group of pregnant rats when people allow them to breed out of control.
Unfortunately, there are bad rescues out there. When visiting a rescue to visit the rats you need to ensure they are housed in clean, adequately sized accomodation with mental stimulation, they should be fed the correct diet, be handled regularly and receive medical treatment when required. A good rescue is very fussy about who it re-homes animals too. You will normally have to fill out an adoption questionnaire and some rescues may insist on a home check. You will have to sign a pet only adoption contract and they will want the rats returned to them if for any reason you are unable to keep them in the future.
Owning rescue rats is very rewarding. If you aren't fussy about the variety of your rats please do consider offering a forever home for a couple of needy ratties.
Finding a reputable breeder
So you've decided to get your new rats from a reputable breeder instead of a pet shop. So, where do I find a reputable breeder?'
A reputable breeder is not likely to advertise in free ads or free advertising website. Most of their customers will come from word of mouth and rat clubs. The internet is a good place to start looking. You will find many internet forums (Fancy Rats is a good one to start with) and some of these will be welcoming to breeders and will have a list of reputable breeders in their directories. The National Fancy Rat Society (NFRS) have a list of registered breeders which you can obtain by emailing kitbag@nfrs.org. If you find you are close to a show it is worth going along to actually meet people who are breeding so you can see their rats and it is always easier to get an impression of someone when meeting them in person. For details of NFRS shows visit their website, or you can check out these websites of regional clubs: North of England Rat Society (NERS), London and Southern Counties Mouse and Rat Club (LSCMRC), Midlands Rat Club (MRC), Scottish Rat Club (SRC, Yorkshire Rat Club (YRC) and the Estuary Rat Club (ERC). Word of mouth is always a good way to get recomendations as well. If you like a particular variety a friend owns or a variety you have seen on a forum, ask them where they got it from. People are always happy to pass on information, whether it is good or bad.
When looking for a breeder the important thing to remember is the importance of the 'reputable' bit. It's easy to become a breeder - all you need is a male and female of the species and let nature take it's course. However, there is more to being a reputable breeder than simply producing off-spring. The temperment and health of the parents needs to be taken into consideration. An rat that is agressive shouldn't be bred from, neither should one that is suffering from a hereditary health problem - ie: tumours, or even one that has a weak immune system as this could also possibly be passed on. The babies and mum need to be fed an optimum diet to ensure they develop correctly and are healthy. And no rat should be used simply as a breeding machine. Rats used in this way are weak, become unhealthy and unhappy and will start to produce weak, unhealthy off-spring.
So, how do you know whether the breeder you've approached is a good or bad one? Always meet the breeder in their own home if possible. Even if you aren't ready yet for rats, a good breeder will still be happy for you to visit. Avoid anyone that isn't keen on this or offers to meet you to deliver your new rats. What are they hiding? Look at how they keep their rats. Research the housing, stimulation and nutritional requirements and ensure they adhere to all these requirements. Make sure the rats aren't overcrowded or in dirty accommodation. Ask to handle them. Are they friendly and confident? If they are cowering in a corner or bite when picked up these are signs of unsocialised animals and while they may make good pets eventually, a lot of work and patience will be required and some may never come round at all. Some will be naturally cautious but look for rats that are alert and interested in what's going on, if a little bit unsure of new people. While you are handling them give them a health check. Check eyes and noses for a red discharge called poryphrin, listen for sneezing, check the coat is smooth (unless it shouldn't be!) and not patchy, check for lumps, bumps and scabs and scratches on the body. Look at bottoms for signs of diaorhea. Do they generally look bright, alert and interested?
Meet the parents. If not Dad, then definitely Mum. The temperments of the parents are a good indication of how your own baby will end up.
Beware of a breeder that doesn't ask questions. You should expect to be interogated by a good breeder. They will want to ensure their rats are going to a good home where they will be loved and cared for for their whole lives. Some will ask you to fill in a questionnaire. A good breeder won't home a single rat unless it is going to live with other rats of a similar age. Many breeders will want you to give them updates of how your rats are getting on, if any health problems or temperment issues have arisen. This is so they have the maximum amount of information when breeding the next generation. A reputable breeder will take into account health and temperment of the siblings as well as the animals they kept. A breeder who doesn't ask any questions is likely to be breeding simply for money and they won't be interested in the quality of the rats they breed, just the quantity, so you don't know what sort of problems the cute little bundle you're welcoming into the family may bring with it. Also they should be willing to answer any of your questions honestly and completely. Be wary of anyone who doesn't answer your questions properly.
Don't be afraid to walk away. If there is anything at all you are unhapy with, even if it's just a gut feeling don't feel pressured to buy - just walk away. Most times in life following your instincts is the best bet! Also -try not to give in to the desire to 'rescue' an rat, getting the sick one because it looks sad or buy a rat from bad conditions because by buying a pet you are encouraging the breeder to breed more. When they are making sales they breed more to 'fill the gaps' regardless of the reasons behind the purchase. As horrid as it is to leave an animal that is suffering, the more people who do this, the less sales the breeder will make so hopefully putting them off breeding. If you are really worried about any conditions you've seen you should phone the RSPCA or SSPCA and also the local Council.