Caring For Pet Rats: Tips For New Pet Parents

Pet rats need other rats, a large cage with a solid floor, a diet built on food made for rats, and regular vet check-ups. The RSPCA, a UK animal welfare charity, says rats "should never be kept alone", so a first rat means a pair.

What Are Fancy Rats?

The RSPCA says pet rats are also known as "fancy rats" and that domestic rats are descended from the brown rat. It lists their lifespan as "around two to three years". Tufts veterinarian Jennifer Graham, head of the zoological companion animal medicine service at Tufts University's Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, puts the short life this way: "One con of rats as pets is that they only live between two and three years on average."

The RSPCA calls rats "small, clean, friendly, smart and playful" but "still a big commitment", and says there are several kinds of rat "varying mainly in colour". Sarah Armstrong, an animal care technician for Humane Pennsylvania, gives five reasons in a BCTV post why rats make excellent pets. Our guide on whether pet rats attract wild rats and other rodents covers how pet rats and wild rats are related. The RSPCA also says rats form close bonds with their cage-mates and with the people who keep them, and that when you look after them well and treat them with kindness, you and your rat "can form a deep bond." The American Fancy Rat & Mouse Association publishes a general care sheet for pet rats and mice.

Rats are active at night, at dusk, and at dawn, and they sleep in the day. The RSPCA says that because rats are daytime sleepers, "it's best to feed and handle them in the morning and evening."

Choosing The Right Pet Rat

Rats Live In Pairs Or Trios

The RSPCA says: "We recommend adopting a pair, or a trio, of bonded rats in same-sex groupings, or spayed and neutered if they're different sexes." It says pet rats should be housed together from a young age and should ideally be siblings. If you keep mixed pairs or groups, it says all males must be neutered to prevent unwanted litters.

Spaying also matters for health. Tufts Now reports that rats, "especially female ones", frequently develop mammary tumors, and that spaying at a young age reduces how often they occur.

What A Healthy Rat Looks Like

The RSPCA tells pet parents to check that each rat is "moving, breathing well, sitting normally and has bright eyes and a shiny coat." Its list of reasons to call a vet includes sneezing, wheezing or breathing strangely, discharge from the eyes or nose, and a hunched, stiff body posture.

Respiratory disease is "by far the most common killer of pet rats", according to Tufts Now. Graham said that 90 to 100 percent of animals in ratteries, where pets are bred, screen positive for respiratory pathogens, and that "rats get infections established at time of birth." Tufts Now adds that some rats appear fine and show no clinical signs, while others struggle with illness from a young age.

Adopt If You Can

The RSPCA, which rehomes rats in the UK, says: "consider adopting rats instead." Tufts Now says many rats need good homes and lists Mainely Rat Rescue, the MSPCA, and the Animal Rescue League of Boston as places to find them.

Setting Up A Cage

Size And Space

The RSPCA says rats "are active and need space to run, stretch up on their hind legs, climb and explore." It says the cage should "Be as large as possible", and Tufts' veterinarians recommend getting as large a cage as you can accommodate. Our guide to the best rat cages compares seven cages by size, bar spacing, and floor.

A Solid Floor

The RSPCA says a rat cage should "Have a solid floor, not wire mesh, as wire floors can lead to foot problems."

Bars, Shelters, And Places To Climb

Rats chew and squeeze through gaps. The RSPCA says to check the cage often "as rats can chew through some materials such as wood and plastic", and that the bar spacing "should be small enough to stop your rats from being able to poke their head through". It wants "places to hide, climb and investigate at different heights", and says "the number of available shelters should exceed the number of rats by one." For two rats, that is three shelters.

Bedding And Nesting Material

The RSPCA recommends "a generous layer of suitable bedding material, such as wood chips (non-aspen), cellulose-based chips or shredded filter paper." It says to avoid dusty bedding such as sawdust and any bedding made of aspen. Tufts' veterinarians say not to use pine or cedar shavings. For nesting material, the RSPCA lists hay, shredded paper, and paper strips, and it warns that cotton wool and similar fluffy products "pose a serious risk to their health and welfare".

Chewing, Climbing, And Exercise

A rat's teeth keep growing, so the RSPCA says gnawing helps wear them down. It names "commercially available wooden items, bits of fruit wood branches (such as apple wood) or low-calorie dog biscuits" as suitable gnawing materials. Ropes for climbing should be made of natural fibres such as cotton and replaced when they wear out, because rats chew them. The RSPCA says rats "should never be placed in exercise balls", and that time outside the cage should always be supervised.

Where To Put The Cage

The RSPCA says to keep the cage in one place, out of direct sunlight, and in a part of the house that does not get very hot or cold, not in a conservatory, garage, or shed. It gives an ideal temperature for rats of 19 to 23 degrees Celsius. It also says to keep the cage away from sudden or high-pitched noise such as vacuum cleaners, stereos, and speakers.

What Can Your Pet Rats Eat?

Pet rats eat a different diet from other small pets. The RSPCA says to feed "food designed specifically for rats, rather than pellets for rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters or other herbivores", because those pellets will not give rats the nutrients they need.

The RSPCA calls rats omnivores and says you can add "small amounts of fruit, vegetables, cooked egg, grains and seeds" as part of the daily food allowance, not on top of it, or it could cause obesity or health problems. It lists onion, citrus fruits, walnuts, rhubarb, grapes, raisins, and chocolate as harmful foods, and says sugary and high-fat foods such as dairy are only for treats and training rewards.

Tufts Now says seed mixes from the pet store are high in carbohydrates and fat and are not healthy for rats. The Tufts team recommends "a pellet-type diet supplemented with fruits and vegetables", with only the occasional seed treat.

The RSPCA says to feed rats twice a day, in the morning and evening, and to take away uneaten food. It says to use open ceramic bowls rather than metal, because metal makes ultrasound noise, and to give fresh water in bottles rather than bowls.

Vet Checkups For Proper Pet Care

The RSPCA says that even when rats are well, regular vet check-ups are a good idea. It says to ask the vet whether their teeth are growing correctly and for advice on vaccination, worming, and neutering.

Rats hide pain. The RSPCA says "as prey animals they don't show outward signs of it and may suffer greatly before you realise they're hurting." Its signs to call a vet include not eating or drinking, losing or gaining weight quickly, diarrhea, sneezing, wheezing or breathing strangely, sunken or dull-looking eyes, a hunched stiff posture, and reduced activity. It also says to use only medicines a vet has prescribed for that rat, because human medicines and medicines for other animals can be very dangerous to rats.

Pet Rat Care FAQs

Do rats like to be held?

The RSPCA says rats "often enjoy the human interactions", but that they can find people stressful until they have formed a positive relationship, so it says to build up contact gradually. Start by getting a rat used to your voice and presence, let it sniff your hand, and reward it with treats. Handle rats in the morning or evening.

To pick one up, the RSPCA says to let it sniff your hand, then lift it "with one hand placed under the body and the other loosely over their back." It says never to pick a rat up by the tail or scruff it. The RSPCA also says rats laugh when tickled, with very high-pitched squeaks too high for people to hear. A Berlin study of rats and tickling is covered on our page about gentle tickles.

Do rats make good pets for kids?

The RSPCA says rats often enjoy human interaction but "can bite when frightened, like all small animals do", so adults need to supervise children and teach them to be gentle. It says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not recommend pet rodents, including rats, for families with children aged 5 or younger, pregnant women, or people with weaker immune systems. Tufts Now says rats can transmit the bacterium that causes rat-bite fever, which it calls "a very serious disease if left untreated". Tufts veterinarian Marjorie Bercier says "rats are not recommended for children under age five", and that everyone in the household should wash their hands well after handling pet rats.

What's the best way to introduce my pet rat to my existing ones?

The RSPCA says to introduce cage-mates soon after weaning, at three weeks old, because they fight less. When adult rats who do not know each other are housed together, it says there will be a period of high aggression, "but this shouldn't last long". It says to watch for one rat hiding from another, one rat injuring another, or the attacking rat having raised fur. If one rat is hurt or frightened by the other and it lasts more than a few days, it says to consider separating them. It also says to avoid removing familiar rats from a group or adding unfamiliar ones when you can, because that can lead to aggression.

How often do I need to clean my rat's cage?

Rats are notoriously clean creatures, and Tufts veterinarian Jennifer Graham says "rats groom more frequently and thoroughly than cats." Their cage still needs cleaning. The RSPCA says to clean it out once a week, when the rats are awake and not in the middle of the day, and to spot-clean through the week by removing droppings, soiled bedding, and food that is likely to go off. It says to leave a handful of unsoiled nesting material behind so familiar smells stay in the cage. Tufts' veterinarians say to change the litter material at least weekly.

Sources

• RSPCA, Pet rats in the UK, Creating a good home for rats, What to feed rats, Rat health and welfare, Rat behaviour, and Keeping pet rats together.
• Tufts Now, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Genevieve Rajewski, "Five Things to Know About Rats" (January 13, 2020).

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