Pet Care
There are a number of small animals that you may decide to keep as a pet.Here we have decided to provide some basic information that you may find useful in helping you care for your new pet rat.
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Health
Rats are sociable animals and need company from their own species. They generally spend alot of their time grooming and grooming each other can be better for them. If rats are looked after from birth they can become very friendly towards us humans. Its a good idea to keep rats in a minimum of two of the same sex. You can find a number of sites that advise why you should not keep rats on there own.
Here are a few of the reasons:1. Rats with company generally live a more fun and active life. Having a fellow rat to play with can encourage this. As rats are more active in the night, if they have company, they are liklely to spend this time playing with their fellow friend. Without this companionship they wouldn't be as active, as the owner is generally asleep during these hours.
2. Sometimes becausue a rat is left on its own alot it is possible for the rat to devlop behaviour problems or neurotic tendancies. Having a friend to spend time with can help deter this.
3. It is possible that your single rat may become too excited when they are let out of their cage. This is because they realise it is time to play and become hard to handle. They may also object to going back into the cage if there is no company for them to enjoy.
Diet and Feeding
There are many different types of rat foods out on the market. A number of owners believe in making up there own food for there pets. Rats will eat most things but is a good idea to supply them with dry food which can be found in all good pet shops and from breeders together with some forms of breakfast cereal. This together with a selection of fruits and vegetables should provide your pet rat with a healthy diet.
On top of the food that is required for a healthy rat it is essential that they have clean drinking water every day. There are a selection of books on this website that will also contain details of providing a healthy diet.
Litter and Breeding
Before you enter the world of breeding, it is important that you decide that you are doing it for the right reasons and are capabable of being able to support all the requirements of breeding, both financially and ethically.
It seems to many people that to keep pet rats is a pretty inexpensive hobby. When you consider breeding them this is certainly not true. Obviusly, this all depends on the numbers that you are planning to breed, but, the costs for housing, bedding and food etc for a large number can soon add up and become expensive. You also need to consider if you have enough space for this increase in numbers.
It is also important that you are able to spend enough time with each of the rats and handle them on a daily basis. This can help them grow up to be good pets. If you find it hard to spend enough time with each of them then breeding may not be for you.
It is important that you are breeding for the right reason. It is not advisable to breed just for the sake of it or for a bit of fun. There is a large population of rats and mice in the world that do not recieve the care that they need. It is therefore advisable that you are responsible for your actions.
We hope to keep adding to this section of the website in the near future, but if there is anything you feel may need to be added please feel free to contact us above.
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Please note that all the content given on this website is only that of the writer. For any issues regarding your pet you should seek professional advice or speak to your local vet.
