CrazyRatLady

Oh my! I think I just died of cute! I wish my boys would behave, I gave them a teddy once, they savaged it! They do cuddle each other in very adorable ways though ?

CRL - sorry to hijack but my H has got a bee in his bonnet about getting a pair of dumbo rats. Is this what you have? Do you have any words of advice/how to find a reputable breeder? I'm not keen but he is really doing his research and won't give up on the idea!

My rats are top-eared, not dumbo, the only difference between the two is that dumbo rats have larger ears sort of on the side of their head, whereas top eared have them...on the top of their head lol. There's no other difference in personality or physically, some people prefer the look of dumbos but to be honest any rat will win you over once you get to know it! I do know some very good breeders, where are you based?

Does he think he would prefer males or females? I have only ever had males, a lot of people think they may be aggressive but they really aren't (you might get the odd one that is hormonal but they can be snipped!). Boys are much bigger, lazier and cuddlier, girls are smaller and are mad and pingy! Girls do into heat every 3-5 days usually so can be a bit mad on those days. I would strongly recommend getting at least a trio rather than a pair (and definitely never a lone one), as when one goes the other will be left on its own, and can pine away :-( we've just lost our little Isaac (the grey one in the picture) and his two brothers are only now coming round to being without him, and that's with 2 of them left. It can be very hard to do an intro with older rats should one be left alone, particularly with males. One other thing to bear in mind is that females are very prone to mammary tumours, that's not to say that males can't get lumps but it is a lot less likely. It really is personal preference. An obvious point would be to go to a good breeder and never a pet shop/Pets at Home etc, as their animals are basically battery farmed, but also can have a lot of illnesses. All domestic rats carry the mycoplasma virus in their lungs but ones from a good breeder shouldn't get too many flare ups (my current boys never have).

Other basics (sorry if they sound obvious) are making sure the cage is big enough (I have 3 in a Ferplast Jenny cage), and don't have a wheel with open bars else their tails get trapped. There's a few basic dietary requirements such as male rats cannot eat citrus or black pepper as it damages their kidneys. They shouldn't have too much sugar, and a fairly low protein diet. Rat Rations is a brilliant site to get food mixes from, you can make them up to your own specifications.

Hope that helps, happy to answer any questions! I'm not an expert compared to a lot of people, but I have had rats for years and have nursed poor Isaac through a stroke and heart failure (and my previous 2 had respiratory issues) so am quite adept at dosing up medicine! x

That is really helpful thank you. Sounds like male rats is the way to go. He'll be delighted to know a trio is better than a pair too ?

We're in Northampton too so if there is anywhere local you can recommend visiting then that would be great, thanks

I would highly recommend Brammocks Rattery, they are based in Raunds so just down the A45, and Lyn who runs it knows everything! Our boys came from there. They have a website if you google it, and a Facebook group (not sure if it is private though).

I have a soft spot for big squashy boy rats :-) but like I said it is personal choice, I know a lot of people who only want girls, so boys quite often are easier to get as fewer people put their names down for them. Boys are quite disgusting and like to scent mark everything which puts some people off. We just keep packs of Dettol wipes to hand! They also have dominance struggles which are entertaining, our little Isaac was the alpha male, since he passed the other two don't know what to do with themselves, as neither of them have any inclination to take the lead!

You can get so many things for spoiling them, we have a strawberry cat igloo, a little rat armchair, a little rat bed...it becomes quite addictive!

Thank you very much! I'll pass it all on to him.

We've got two rabbits which are very spoilt so I'm sure if we do get some they will be the same!

They are too flipping cute!

i want a squishy boy rat

How about 3?!

OMG! They're cuddling!

Hijacking the thread a bit, but what are they like with visitors? Friendly? Or do they just avoid them?

Not that I think OH would let me have a pet rat, he has a very strict 'no more animals than humans' policy...

They all have very different personalities, much like people! Out of our 3, if a visitor comes to the house, Archie is all over them like a puppy, climbing on them, licking them and wanting to be their friend, Bailey is very shy, he'll have a little cuddle but then hide his head under your arm like a shy child, and Isaac, well he was a law unto himself and wasn't remotely interested in mere humans! He would just look, yawn and waddle off with disinterest! They seem to know who is nervous of them, Archie in particular, as he is desperate to be loved by everyone. My Dad is wary of them, and last time he was over he ended up sitting on the windowsill with his legs off the floor to stop them climbing on him, while Archie just lay on the floor next to him looking at him, like 'as soon as you put your leg down I'm climbing it'! They are so funny bless them.

You mean these wiggly tails? I think their tails are unusual anatomically but I don't give them a thought, they are just part of my boys!

Do they live in a cage? They're so cute!!!! I want to come to your house to be licked by the puppy rat x

They have a cage...they tend to live on the sofa with us, or on their little bed behind the sofa though! If we're home, the cage is open and they come and go as they please, they just go in the cage at night and when we go out. Archie is hilarious, he just waddles up to people, licks them and plonks himself on their lap!

Do they get on with dogs? I soooooo want a rat family too now. Can I borrow Archie? Pretty please.

Im loving the image in my head of their little bed behind the sofa. Cute!!

Are they toilet trained?

They've never had contact with other animals, I personally wouldn't risk it with dogs as a friendly dog could still accidentally crush them. Toilet trained..,erm...they go in one corner of the cage mostly, they do leave 'gifts' on the sofa though lol! And scent mark everything. Vile creatures! Archie says hi!