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Care Sheet: Norway Rats
Pet Rat Care Sheet
Scientific Name: Rattus norvegicus
Enclosure Size: Minimum enclosure size for two rats is 20 gallons (or the Rat Resort Starter Kit by Hagen, 25" x 16" x 23.75" ). You should allow a minimum of 10 gallons per rat, more space will be appreciated and used by the rats. Popular favourites by many rat enthusiasts are Martin Cages and the Ferret Nation or Critter Nation cages by Midwest
Substrate: Aspen Shavings (hard wood), Care fresh, Boxo, Yesterdays News Kitty Litter (newspaper pellets), and hardwood pellets. I like doing a mix of Aspen shavings with hardwood pellets.
These are the hardwood pellets that I use, these are sold for pellet stoves, I buy them at Canadian Tire, they are $6.00/40 pound bag.
http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brows...sp?locale=en .
***Never use Pine or Cedar as rats will develop respiratory infections from it, this bedding is very dangerous to small animals***
Temps: Rats are best kept between 7° C-24° C (45° F-75° F), they will tolerate higher temps up to 90° F. They are happiest at “average” room temperature.
Humidity: 30-50% is ideal
Lighting: Have no special lighting requirements, but a 12 on-12 off is appreciated
Diet : Omnivores. Rats are very opportunistic feeders and a wide variety of foods can be offered to them. I feed mine a sort of “3 part diet”. I find that offering a varied diet is essential to happy and healthy pets.
****** Do not offer Peanut Butter or Peanuts to your rats! They can choke on this very easily ********
Part 1 is a dry mix: This would include commercial rat foods, (mixes and lab blocks); dry unsweetened cereals (cheerios, bran flakes, corn flakes, puffed wheat, puffed kamut, puffed rice, etc...); dry roasted soy beans/nuts; dried fruits (raisins, bananas, cranberries, etc...), hog feed, chicken feed, whole oats, millet, black oil sunflower seeds, stripped sunflower seeds, etc...
Part 2 is the fresh foods: This includes dark leafy veggies that contain Vitamin K, such as Kale, collard greens, dandelion greens, etc...; corn; fresh fruits; carrots
***** Do not feed oranges to male rats, females it's fine for ********
Part 3 is the Protein: This can include live feeder insects such as earthworms, crickets, Meal Worms, Super Worms, etc...; high quality dry dog or cat food that is low in fat; meat such as cooked chicken. My rats really enjoy live feeder insects, it is always a good day when they get a cricket or a worm to eat!
Water: I find using a glass water bottle works best. They drink lots, so buy the largest one available. I recommend getting the 26 oz glass water bottle by Hagen or Super Pet.
Dechlorinating the water is a good idea prior to serving it to your pet.
***Some people have reported problems using glass water bottles having them leak in the tank. This is very easy to fix; when refilling up the water bottle, be sure to run the metal drinking spout under hot tap water for a few minutes. Reattach it to the glass bottle making sure it is screwed on tight, and put back in the tank.***
Life Span: Up to 5 years, however 2 years is average.
Social Structure: Rats are are like potato chips, you can't have just one! Rats are very communal creatures and need the company of their own kind. It is cruel to keep them singly. It is recommended to keep them in pairs, however larger groups are always better! A group of rats is referred to as a “mischief”.
Morphs/Varieties: There are many different color morphs and markings available, but rats also come in a variety of physical features, such as:
"Standard" - These are the normal "fancy" pet shop rats that you will most often encounter at the pet store.
"Rex" - These rats have a thick curly coat, even their whiskers are curly.
"Tailless" - These rats are born without a tail, and have a rounder rear end than rats that are born with tails.
"Hairless" - These rats have no fur at all, and some don't even have whiskers!
"Satin" - These rats have very shiny soft feeling fur, the hair shaft is different on these rats than other varieties.
"Dumbo" - These rats have very large ears that sit on the side of their head.
"Dwarf Rats" - These rats are 1/3 of the size of normal rats, and come in all the varieties and colours that the normal sized rats come in.
Average Adult Sizes For Both Sexes: 9-11 inches long (SVL) plus the tail 7-9 inches long.
Females are 300-340 grams; Males are 450-650 grams
Supplements: Supplements can be used with rats, I buy the ones that they make for reptiles and that can be sprinkled onto their food. Do not use Vitamin C, as it is toxic for male rats (females it's fine for). Rats do not need “salt licks”, do not add extra salt to their diet.
Sexing: Sexing adult rats is very easy, males are larger and have large prominent testicles that are visible, females are smaller.
Diurnal or Nocturnal: Mostly Nocturnal
Tank Maintenance: All bedding materials should be removed weekly, enclosure should be wiped down and sanitized and new bedding added.
Water bottles or bowls should be cleaned daily, new food should be added daily.
Toys: All types of toys can be used with rats!
Rodent wheels are very popular choices, I use the 11-inch wheel by Superpet, this is a great size wheel for rats. Female rats will use the wheel more then male rats do.
Antler Chews, these are a chew that are normally sold for dogs, but rats need to chew, and this is a great choice for them. Pick smaller portions that have been cut in half.
Cat Toys, all sorts of cat toys make great toys for rats, little plastic balls with bells in them are lots of fun and a good size for the rats to play with
Wooden Rodent Chews, There are all sorts made, and will be well used with your rats. Wooden chews that are made from Apple Wood are good choices as well.
Hammocks: these are popular choices for sleeping areas
Bird Toys and Accessories: Such as ladders, toys, and nesting boxes
“Der-Ders” cardboard tubes, especially the large ones made from thick cardboard, rats can climb and hide inside them. These can be bought or collected from various home products (saran wrap, toilet paper, paper towel rolls).
Why rats make great pets: Rats make awesome pets. They are far superior to many other rodents that are commonly kept as pets. You can teach a rat to do tricks, you can even teach your rat it's name and to come when called! This is especially good if loose your rat you can call his name and they will come out from where ever they are hiding. Other rodents won't.
They stink far less than other rodents, and they are very clean animals. You can even teach your rat to use a litter box!
