Keeping Your Rat Happy

Keeping Your Rat Happy

The BIGGEST rule when picking out a home for your rat (or any rodent for that matter) is to NOT salvage an aquarium! Be 100% determined you score a cage! An aquarium has solid walls which doesn't allow for ventilation. This allows ammonia to make up from the urine which, in turn, is detrimental to your rat's health. It also doesn't let the aquarium's air circulate which, on warmer days, can perform your diminutive buddy quite hot. prefer a nice cage from either your local pet store or from an online pet retailer. perform determined it's not too runt. You want your rat to have enough room to travel around and to have toys to play with. It's going to be very hard for your rat to have a wheel in a slight cage.

If you're like most starting out rat owners, you'll opt for the cheap pine bedding. However, this should be AVOIDED! The fibers in the pine that float around your rat's cage are inhaled and can cause respiratory injure. It's kind of like what smoking is to humans. But don't contemplate there aren't other bedding materials. The best option, and the only one I spend in my cages, is newspaper bedding. This can easily be purchased from your local pet store. While it does cost a runt bit more than cedar ($9-$10), it is well worth your pet's health!

gather Friends! Probably the biggest overall rule when owning a rat is to never have only one. Rats are highly gregarious animals. Meaning they like to live in groups. They need somebody to socialize with, whether this be for breeding or objective for playing. Having a lonely rat is very awful. They will visibly have less energy and be stressed.