Pet Rat Care & Information Guide
If you currently have or have thought about getting a pet rat, there is a goo chance that you have run into several people who were naysayers. When it comes to rats, it really does seem like people are simply disgusted by them and can’t understand why you would want to have one as a pet. However, the entire image of rats being disease-ridden, dirty rodents is actually quite far from the truth.
If you already do have a pet rat, you know first hand that all of these negative misconceptions about them are just plain wrong. But nonetheless, there is no doubt that you are going to hear these assumptions no matter what. This can include your family, friends, teachers, or even your parents.
While lots of people have been conditioned to believe of rats in the most negative of lights, they may not even be open to the fact that this misconceptions might not actually be true. But if you do find somebody who does have negative views about pet rats and are open to hearing other opinions about them, it would be wise of you to educate them on some of the common misconceptions that people have.
If you are able to reveal that pet rats really are not dirty, disease carrying rodents who will give you the plague if you touch them, you may be able to get them to see that pet rats are actually great companions.
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Here are some of the most common misconceptions about pet rats and what the truth really is.
Pet Rats Are Just Clean Street Rats
Most people think that a rat is a rat, is a rat. In fact, as soon as they hear the word rat, they immediately think of wild street rats that they saw in the city during their last visit. They may even think of the rat that lives out in their backyard under their garden. While it does not matter where they last saw a rat, the thought is the absolute same, rats are dirty and mean.
While this does make sense because most of the interactions people have with rats are in dirty, scary, unkempt places. On top of that, rats are portrayed in movies and television shows as being dirty little spreaders of diseases with mean personalities. So when you think about it, if this is the only experience that a person does have with rats, they are going to believe all the negatives that they have heard and seen.
However, in all actuality the pet rats that people have are a completely different species than street rats or barn rats. The rats that are kept as pets are known as ‘fancy rats’ and are not related in any way to their street rat counterparts, which are known as ‘common rats’. To break it down even further, street rats are from a species that is known as the brown rat, and the barn rats are a species known as the black rat.
The difference between the different these different breeds of rats is that the fancy rats have been bred to be much more friendly than the other two species. In fact, more often than not, Fancy rats manifest a very loving and attached type of behavior.
This is why fancy rats act very similar to other pets such as a cat or dog. They will grow attached to you and start to display certain types of loving behavior, some of which includes burrowing and nuzzling. On top of this, fancy rats are also known to be quite playful, characteristics that not many people realize.
When your pet rat is kept happy and healthy, they love to play in the form of treasure hunts, as well as playing with different toys or with other rat siblings. It is this loving and playful personality trait that open up all kinds of possibilities for different positive interactions. And again, none of the fancy rat’s behavior is going to include any ‘mean’ type of behavior that most would expect from street rats.
Aside from the black and brown rats that would make terrible pets, people also think of rats as lab animals, which the lab rat is also a different species than fancy rats. Laboratory rats are actually variations of the more common brown rat. These rats are not commonly found in the lab as often as their little cousin the mouse is, but are often times preferred due tot heir higher intelligence.
So if you are speaking with someone who has experience working with laboratory rats, these are what they may be thinking of when you start to tell them about your pet rat. But again, this breed of rat is completely different than your pet fancy rat and the traits they have will be different as well.
Healthy Fancy Rats Don’t Spread Diseases
One of the biggest fears that people have when it comes to rats is that they carry dangerous diseases. After all, it was rats that started the bubonic plague back in the 1300s. And in all fairness this particular time in history was devastating, as over 200 million people would die from the plague. Due to this, it is a very valid reason that some people would fear rats and the diseases that they carry.
However, the rat species that carried those diseases was not the fancy rat. In fact, having a healthy pet rat that you consistently take care of is not going to have or spread any diseases at all. You didn’t go out and scoop up your pet rat off the street did you?
You more than likely got your pet rat from a reputable breeder and it probably comes from a healthy line of happy rats. Just like any other pet you may have, as long as you take good care of them, they are going to remain healthy. This is especially true if your rat is an indoor rat and doesn’t go outside at all.
This is actually important to note as fancy rats that are allowed to go outside and do interact with other species of rats can potentially develop diseases. These diseases can then be transmitted to humans, causing them to become sick. But if your pet rat is not allowed an opportunity to interact with the wild rat population, chances of them carrying diseases are slim to none.
The only concern that you may have to deal with when it comes to your pet rat is if they develop rat-bite fever. This happens if you are bitten by our pet rate. You can become ill with a fever, aches and even the shakes. But as long as you purchased your pet rat from a reputable rat breeder, you shouldn’t have anything to worry about. In fact, this symptom is more commonly reserved to the pet rats that wee bought from poorly run, not up to standards pet stores, such as the big box chain stores.
To make sure that you don’t have to deal with rat-bite fever, just make sure that you only get your pet rats from one of the reputable breeders in your area who truly understand what they are doing. While it may be a little more expensive initially, it will definitely pay off in the long run when your new pet is happy and healthy.
While having your pet rat live indoors all of the time will help eliminate it from developing diseases that are normally found in wild rats, they can potentially develop some other diseases. Now keep in mind that most of these diseases will not have any affect on you, they can potentially hinder your pet’s overall wellbeing and health.
But there is nothing to worry about, as the solution is a very simple one. All you need to do is make sure that your pet rat has plenty of space to move around and play in, as well as do routine maintenance on their living quarters. Partner this with plenty of nutritious food and water and there is nothing to worry about. Your rat will remain healthy and will decrease any possibility of developing or spreading any types of diseases.
The Fancy Rat Species Are Extremely Clean
One of the other main misconceptions about rats is that they are a dirty species. As mentioned earlier, this is mainly due to people associating street rats with dark, dirty places. But in reality, this is just plain not true. In fact, fancy rats are extremely clean animals, grooming themselves several times per day so that they are always clean. The same is true for mice, even though most think them as a dirty animal as well. On top of this, they also do an exceptional job at keeping their living space clean too.
While there are many people out there that would be skeptical if you told them that rats are a clean and tidy animal, you can easily combat this by allowing them to meet yours.
In all honesty however, if you wish to keep your pet rat clean, they are going to need a little help from you. Since they live in a cage, it would be impossible for them to keep their cage clean all on their own. In order for them to stay clean, you must give them the tools they need to succeed.
This includes changing out their bedding, water and food on a regular basis. A good cage cleaning may also be necessarily upon occasion as well. This means taking your pet rat out of their cage and cleaning all of their toys and bedding by wiping everything down with cleaning wipes. Doing this on a regular basis will help to keep your rat’s cage from smelling, as well as allow them the opportunity to stay nice and clean all the time.
While fancy rats do bathe themselves several times per day, it may also be a good idea to actually give them a real bath every once In a while. This will help make sure any potential smells are never accumulated.
Now keep in mind that you don’t need to bathe them as they bathe themselves, but if you do decide to give them a bath you want to use a quality animal shampoo. Having a clean pet rat is great, but just remember that you do not want to give them baths too often. This can lead to their skin and fur becoming unhealthy and dry. But again, an occasional bath is definitely a good idea and can even make them smell especially clean.
If you notice that your rat stops grooming themselves or keeping themselves clean, this is a sign that they may be sick. If they have any changes in their behavior, you are going to want to take them to your vet to make sure there are no underlying illnesses.
Sings to look for can include a change in their grooming schedule and behavior, excess grooming, or even excessive itching. All of these symptoms are reasons to take your rat in for a checkup. Just keep in mind that pets are unable to tell you when they are not feeling well, so it is your job to pay attention to them and make sure there are no sudden changes in their behaviors. If there are, be sure to take action quickly and do your best to get them healthy again.
Give Them a Chance
Talking about how great a pet rat is will only go so far at the end of the day. The absolute best way to prove to everyone that fancy rats make great pets is to actually experience them for yourself. If you want to see how loving and sweet that pet rats really are, the best thing you can do is to find somebody who already has one, or go to a fancy rat breeder to meet one. In fact, there have been many people who were opposed to rats as pets until they had the chance to actually meet one.
As with any pet however, you never want to put your pet or potential pet rat into a situation that is going to make them feel uncomfortable. Kind of like how you let a strange dog that you are meeting for the first time sniff you before you pet them, the same is true with pet rats. Just allow them some time to sniff you and get used to your presence before you try to grab and pick them up. The last thing that you want to do is scare them or traumatize them.
If they do not take to you right away, remember to stay calm and not get frustrated. If it takes some time for them to get used to you, rest assured that it will all be worth it in the end and it will be glorious. Once you experience the love and friendship that a rat has to give firsthand, you will be convinced that fancy rats are one of the best pets that you can have.
While there are many common misconceptions about pet rats, almost none of them are true. Not all rats are the same and pet rats are completely different than the nastier brown and black varieties. Once you are able to get over the falsities that are believed about pet rats, it will allow you to experience just how loving and friendly that they can really be.
To keep it simple, whatever you think about the common street rat, the complete opposite is true about fancy rats. They are not only a completely different species than the street rats, but they also do not carry or spread diseases as long as they are taken care of, and are even one of the cleanest pets that you will ever have.
Similar to any other pet that you have ever had, you are going to want to interact with a fancy rat prior to purchasing one. This will allow you the opportunity to make sure that a pet rat is the pet that you are actually looking for. The last thing you want to do is got out and get a pet rat and then realize that it is not a goof fit for you a few months later. This would be a terrible situation to be in, especially knowing that it could have easily been avoided.
While this is a lot of information to take in all at once and may even feel a little hard to digest all at once. So do yourself a favor and take some time for it to sink in. Once it does you will be more willing to give pet rats a try. While you don’t have to go out and adopt a pet rat today, you will want to at least visit a breeder and so that you can see how amazing pet rats really are. Just remember to start by taking small steps at first and go from there!
