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You may not want to pick up extremely pregnant female rats by their
tails.
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Her new baby pinkie rats 24 hours later.
Very Friendliest Rodent. Rats
are one of the very few critters you can pick up by the tail and still
expect them to respond in a civilized manner.
After being so rudely hoisted, they still calmly sit on your arm --
directly out of their cage -- without a formal introduction. Nearly
all other small animals take off like Speedy Gonzalez when picked up by
strangers. Most pet rats have
never met a stranger. They
like people.
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Pic
Rats make excellent mothers. Part of her prior litter on the right.
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If one of her babies dies, female rats re-cycle the protein.
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Pic
Mama rat takes excellent care of her babies. Moms will share babies
with other moms.
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Newborn baby rats are called pinkies for some strange reason.
Unlikely Biters. Rats are
the least likely to bite you of any animal.
However, it’s never a good idea to stick your finger in any
animal’s mouth. And leave mama rats with babies alone.
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Young rats really latch on to the faucets.
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Underside view of lactating female rat in cage with other nursing females.
Best Class Pet. If
teachers need a warm, furry critter that will not eat their students,
they can’t beat a pet rat. Rats
seem to enjoy being handled by kids.
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Pic
Rat pups under a week old -- often called pinkies for some reason
Cage Litter. Avoid cedar
chips. Exposure to
these chips seems to trigger respiratory and neurological problems in
rats.
Better choices include pine shavings, ground corn cobs, aspen
pellets, and rabbit pellets (yes, the food pellets).
Pellets look less appealing but have some great odor controlling
capabilities that make us love them. You
can also use newspapers for temporary litter.
Unfortunately, over the long haul, newspapers can discolor your
rats. We’ve seen warnings
for years about the ink used on newspapers harming rodents.
Don’t worry. Most
rodents can’t read. Actually, most papers use soy-based inks -- at
least here in Iowa.
LA
Recycle that rat litter.
Recycle Litter. If you have a
garden, don't throw away your used rat litter. It makes great mulch in
your garden. Rat litter mulch helps reduce your weeding work, helps
keep you soil moister and cooler, eliminates muddy walkways between the
rows, and fertilizes your vegetables. When mixed into your soil, it
also improve your soil's tilth. Your garden gets easier to work every
year.
LA
Pic
Same rat pups a week later. Fuzzies get their color and wiggle around a
lot. Eyes still closed.
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Baby rats eat nothing but mama's milk.
Best Foods. Most rats
will eat anything you’ll eat. But
the best foods for them are the rat pellets manufactured to meet their
exact nutritional needs. Rats
will also eagerly snack on any
of the small animal “treat sticks.”
And you can feed them most gerbil and hamster foods if you can’t
find rat food. (Forget rabbit
and guinea pig foods for your rats.)
Constant Gnawers. Rats
gnaw all the time. Their teeth
will outgrow their mouths unless they have access to hard foods or “chew
toys.” We’ve never seen an
actual case of overgrown teeth in rats -- ever.
We see overgrown teeth mostly in rabbits and less often in
hamsters.
That’s because rats never stop gnawing.
This gnawing habit makes them incredibly destructive if they escape
from their cages. (Oddly
enough, escaped rats love to chew tiny slits in airline tubing.)
Very Smart. If your rats
can possibly escape, they will. Rats
are great escape artists. Happily,
rats are usually easy to recapture, because they’re not afraid of you.
They like you. They’ll
crawl right up on the couch, sit on your lap, and watch TV with you --
especially Animal Planet.
LA
Pic
Several litters of baby rats being shared by several females.
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Left and right halves of a 10-gallon tank rat breeder cage. Six
litters shared by all.
Social Animals. Most
rats enjoy the company of other rats.
Mature males, however, can get into severe arguments at breeding
time. Several males in a cage
without females get along okay. Two
males in a cage with females will occasionally fight.
Breeding Tips. You can
breed rats in a fairly small area – as small as a 10-gallon aquarium.
Most rat ranchers recommend a 12x30 floor area in the breeding
container with one male and multiple females.
The females will share feeding the babies.
Males basically ignore the babies.
They walk all over them. No harm done. Use a soft litter so the moms can make a nest for the babies.
LA
Pic
Rat laboratories use these non-chewable rat cages. Expensive but
easy to use.
Longevity. Rats have the
potential to live four or five years.
Most live two to three years. Cedar
shavings shorten their lives. Use
the aspen or corn cobs, if you want more years from these friendly, little
mammals.
LA
Pic
Once you get to know them, everybody likes pet rats.
Last Word.
The re-make of Willard came out in
2003. Watch it on VHS or DVD. You rat fans will
love it (or hate it). Non-rat fans won’t
even go there. LA.
Go to Rats
I
Go
to Hairless Rats
For Negative Comments go to Rats III
© 1997,
© 2003,
© 2004,
© 2006
LA Productions
3600
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Corner
of Sixth & Euclid Avenues
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Moines, IA 50313
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