My daughter has a question:
Ok, I think that I may be getting a rat soon and I'd like to make sure that it won't die as soon as I get it.
What foods are bad? I know that caffeine, alcohol, and chocolate are bad but I've also read that alfalfa and corn are bad too.is that true?
Answers:
TO THE PERSON THAT IS FEEDING THEIR RAT GUINEA PIG OR RABBIT FOOD- this is not an approriate food for rats, they are not herbivores they are omnivores they need much more protien than those offer. You can buy rat food at pretty much any pet store and even most walmarts, if you cant find rat food a mixture of hamster food and dog food is much closer to their dietery requirements, however it is still not as good for them as rat food. Also here is a recipie for making your own rat food.
http://www.ratfanclub.org/diet.html.
Rats are wonderful pets, I have four right now, they are very intelligent, clean and friendly animals. Every time I walk into my pets room they are up on the sides of their cage wanting to come out and I have never been bitten by any of my rats however they do kiss alot. They also know their names and the sound of their treat jar. Their basic care is pretty simple, they need their cage cleaned at least once a week and their food dish and water bottle full at all times and they should also get fresh veggies every day. Also they love time out of their cage and should get a minimum of thirty minutes out every night, if you cant spend the time with them on some days you can rat proof a room such as the bathroom and let them play together. Room temperature is fine, try to keep them out of direct sunlight and drafts. The price per month that it takes to care for a rat depends alot on what you are feeding, using for bedding, etc. An average range would be $25-50. And of course you could go up from there and depending on where you buy your food and bedding it could be a little cheaper. This amount does not include any amount for vet bills, they need checkups every six months and they are prone to tumors, respiratory problems and as they age cysts. I would start putting a little money back each month just in case of an emergency. Supplies you will need include
Cage: at least two square feet per rat and wire, aquariums do not give good enough ventilation and can cause illness because of this. Ferret or Guinea pig cages work great. Make sure whatever cage you get does not have wire on the floor this can cause bumble-foot in rats. Also check the bar spacing to make sure a rat could not get out or get its head stuck.
Bedding: AVOID CEDAR AND PINE these cause respiratory problems and liver damage, aspen is safe if you are looking for a cheaper alternative, carefresh and yesterdays news are good as well.
Food dish and water bottle: I recommend a ceramic dish for food because they cant be chewed like plastic and are heavier so dont tip as easily as the stainless steel ones.
Food: Pellets called Lab block or rat block are best because they will pick only what they want out of the seed mixes and leave the rest so they dont get a complete diet. Mazuri is a good brand.
Chews: They need chew sticks to keep their teeth trimmed down whole nuts in the shells, dog biscuits and lab blocks work great for this also.
Hides:A shoebox with a hole in the side works well as does commercially bought hides
Toys: Hammocks, ladders and bird toys are great, rats are very intelligent and will get bored easily without stimulation. Here is a site that shows you how to make your own toys http://www.dapper.com.au/toys.htm..
Treats: Fruits, yogurt, pasta and dog biscuits are great as are hamster and rat treats that you can buy from the pet store.
Another rat: rats are very social and do best in at least pairs (same sex) they groom each other and snuggle and play together they will not bond any less with you if you get pairs and they will enjoy their lives so much more.
Chocolate actually isnt bad for them like it is for dogs, they can have it in moderation (a chocolate chip every couple of days) -moderation is important because it is a treat and is fattning. It is a good idea to have chocolate on hand at all times in case your rat ever has problems breathing it opens up the air passageways for them a little, enough to usually get them to the vet. Alfalfa and corn are ok in moderation but neither should be a staple in thier diet, check the label on the food you buy to make sure that corn is not the first listed ingredient.
Here is a site that lists the foods that are bad for them, it is a little ways down. http://www.ratfanclub.org/diet.html.
Good luck and here are pics of my babies and cage
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y246/mf.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y246/mf.
Also here are some great sites for more info.
http://www.rmca.org/
http://www.rmca.org/Gazette/
Good Luck and thank you for doing some research before you buy the pet.
Get it a cat to play with
just move to NY and you don't have to worry about it.
I think a rat trap, a big one,will be your best choice.
grains are fine, they love them. just feed a good quality rodent food from pet store. i used to feed my mice carrots, too, when i had them. i used to have a senoran desert ground squirrel and fed him my horse's food! He lived to ripe old age of FIVE.OOOOLLLDDDD for a senoran desert ground squirrel!!
I don't know what foods are bad for a rat. A friend of mine had a rat for several years (they generally only have a 3 - 5 year life span I believe), and she fed it a little of everything that she ate. She also let the rat have beer, which it loved. Some things to watch out for - a rat will chew on EVERYTHING so make sure you keep it in a cage when you're not playing with it. Also, as far as I know, you can't potty train a rat, and her rat (Templeton) was always peeing on people. But other than that, he was a nice little pet, and I think she had him for about 3 or 4 years before he died.
Good luck!
I'm not sure about the alfalfa thing, but as for corn, he'll probably just not eat it.
Also, I'd recommend getting a male rat (female rodents always seem to be evil.Voice of experience. *holds up scarred hands*)
To make sure your rat stays healthy, change his cage weekly (or every other week's fine.) and don't use scented woodchips.(It's either pine or cedar that's really bad.Sorry, I don't remember.)
Also, make sure your rat has plenty of cardboard, or even splinterless wood, to chew on for healthy teeth/gums.
In your cage you might want to have two different types of water bottles --- the dripping kind and the kind with the ball. (I learned this the hard way, too. My first gerbil died because it had the drippy kind of water bottle and didn't know how to drink from it.)
Good luck and have fun!
everything your daughter needs to know about the care of a pet rat can be found on the following sites. There are also message boards and support forums for her to find friends just like her.
Rat and Mouse Club of America Site
http://www.rmca.org/
and the Rat Guide under care
http://ratguide.com/
My son has FOUR rats.we feed them rabbit or guinea pig food. Funny thing is, they kick all the alfalfa pellets out of the cage. I have never heard of this stuff being bad. I fed it to my rat when I had one when I was a kid.they usually live about 2 years, maybe more. My son also gives them dry cereal for a treat, and sometimes bits of crackers.
I would never give a rat caffeine or alcohol. We don't give them chocolate either, there are plenty of other things to give them. well maybe a small bite of chocolate cake would be ok occasionally.
We LOVE our rats..they make AWESOME pets!! Get them as young as you can.about 6 weeks old.just old enough to be weaned
Get him a water bottle
Feed Rodent food, Treats for rodents, they also like cheerios, fruits and veggies.
I had three rats (three separate times). Each of them were spectacularly individual characters. They have the loyalty of dogs, the grooming habits of cats, and are very smart.
Unfortunately, despite all the signs in the pet stores and info in rat care books, they don't live to be five. They don't live to be four. Hell, they don't live to be three. Actually, I still visit the rodent section to watch the antics and I've noticed that the stores have now officially changed the age span to 1-2 years, which was my experience.
Because of the brevity of life, and the real fact that every rat I bought from a store ended up having health problems, I just couldn't get any more. It was too damned tragic to lose such characters so quickly.
Make sure that your daughter is aware of this before you actually get one. Additionally, avoid males, if possible, because they put off more of an odor. Don't get her one rat, then later get her another and expect to stick it in with the original rat. there will be blood, possible death, and cannabilism. Not pretty.
They make food specifically for rats, but each one of mine had decided preferences. I had one who would go into a trance upon receiving a cracker (he just about popped a circuit when I put one of those huge matzo crackers in his cage once), another was so finicky that I ended up feeding her baby food, apple sauce, cottage cheese. The third rat was crazy for some rat food that looked like fruit loops cereal.
Well, I am a rat lover and just recently had mine pass away, I had him for a year. They usually live much longer than that. Mine enjoyed eating bread and he liked bugs, they love to eat months, another thing is yogurt and eggs. Its good to by them hamster or rabbit food too, they will eat just about anything, but that doesnt mean feed them everything, they shouldnt have too much sugar, though fruit is very good for them, you can get them hamster or rabbit treats from the pet store. Another thing is the bedding some rats have reactions to pine beddings,or bedding with a lot of wood dust in it, it will make them sneeze and have nose bleeds. I used red cedar bedding its good for keeping mites and fleas of the rats which can be a very bad thing for them. Also keep things in the cage for them to chew on you dont want there teeth to over grow, rats are kinda like over grown hamsters, just a lot smarter. They can be litter trained too, all you have to do is put an area in the cage with a completely different bedding from the rest and move there feces to that area and they will learn to go there, that way you save your self a mess. Never pick up the rat by the tail either this will make them made and cause them to bite. Well, if you have anymore specific questions I guess you can just e-mail me at proctors_baby06@yahoo.com.. Hope this helps!
These articles might give you some useful info:
http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/careofmic.
http://www.aspca.org/site/pageserver?pag.
http://www.afrma.org/rminfo1.htm.
http://mouseranch.com/fyi/orphans.shtml.
http://www.ratfanclub.org/orphans.html.
http://www.rmca.org/articles/orphans.htm.
Best of luck!
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