# Focusing on the rats, putting there needs first



## Isamurat (Jul 27, 2012)

I've been thinking of posting this for a while, its not so much a rant as a challenge to think about. I've notice many occasions, often with the best intentions where people tend to put there own wants before there rats. In the vast majority of cases they do put the rats basic needs first, but often forget there are other important things our rats really thrive at that can be at odds with our idea of a perfectly neat house, or cage, easy food or adding an extra ra to the family. Sometimes the basic needs also come second, I think the most inspiring thing ive seen on this forum was someone giving up a rat to a good home because they couldnt afford the cost of vet treatment to save its life.

This isnt to say that making our rats happy and us are mutually exclusive, but do think its worth each of us questioning what we do regularly, to see who it actually benefits, remembering that underneath it all our rats have instincts and behaviours closely tied to there wild relatives.

Some of the things i think are good start (and that ive found myself improving on with some re thinking) are:

1, habitat - a cage can look pretty and meet a rats needs, but you need to focus on meeting their natural behaviours first, then prettyfying second. Jumping, climbing, running, digging, balancing, gnawing, foraging, problem solving, and so on are important to keep rats fit and healthy both mentally and physically. 

2, friends - to a rat its friends are very important, and so is them being happy and settled in a group. Its well worth trying to add youngsters in pairs (similiar aged companionship avoids a lot of tension with adults), its also well worth considering neutering a rat who wont live witn others if all else has failed. This could result in them living happily with there previous cagemates or with the opposite sex. Its also worth looking into other groups for them as sometimes personalities class, if this means them having to leave you and go elsewhere but having a lovely group of friends that they value ot may be the best thing for them (depending on how besotted they are with you vs other rats).

3, number of rats - always think before adding to your group, or even getting rats to start with, can I give them a good life, can I afford if they fall ill. There will likley be times that are beyond even the best plans for vet bills, but having a good plan to try and avoid this and only keeping the number of rats you can afford and give enough time is important to the rats as well as your relationship with them.

4, focus less ln what the rats "should" give to you (for example how you want a cuddly lap rat, or lots of affection) instead focus on how you can enrich there lives, you may find that they come up with even more than you expected. Thats not to say you wlnt have the occasional moment where you think your rats dlnt like you and it bothers you, or find it hard socialising a difficult rat, but its worth remembering that you chose to own a rat, with all the responsibility that brings, they had no choice in the matter.

5, food - think about what is good and bad for your rats, they can enjoy healthy foods just as much as things you consider treats. Avoiding lots of sugar, salt etc is not that hard and very beneficial. Also think about feeding in interesting ways, replicating there natural behaviours such as foraging. Try and make sure you offer good healthy variety, even if it takes a little more work gettingit right, this could range from making your own mix, to feeding a nice range of veg and occasional meals alongside a good quality block. A good diet really shows and its lne of the biggest imlacts you can have on your rats health and life

I do see lots of great examples of the above on here, but also lots of examples where the rats needs have got a little lost. I also dont mean this to be preachy, ive been on this journey for a lot of years now and have done just about everything wrong at some point (short of accidental pregnancy, but thats part luck and part only keeping 1 sex most of the time). I just would love to encourage more people to question what theh do and believe when it comes to rats. 

I would also love to hear ideas from others on how youve questioned or changed your norm to put the rats first. Hopefully I will get some good new ideas too


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## Phantom (Apr 4, 2012)

These are some really good ideas. I'm currently in the process of trying something more interesting when it comes to my rat's food, but I have to wait for the package to arrive first. Going back to the first time I first owned rats, the standard of living for my rats has changed drastically compared to what I started out with. I hope in the future I can improve even more on what needs to be improved on. My rats are very much apart of my family. =P

I do think that time could possibly be added to the list as well. There needs to be enough time for cleaning, socializing, feeding, and taking care of every rats own personal needs. Some of my rats are more active and require more attention than others who are a bit more laid back. I also have a few rats who either have or have developed medical problems or handicapped problems over the time that I've had them. Those rats need more time than others do sometimes.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

I completely agree. This should be in the general section.

It's not my favorite thing, but providing digging/nesting opportunities, branches, new chews, new toys, rope toys, ladders, etc. It makes for a cage that doesn't picture well but fits their needs well.

I also find myself constantly talking to people whose rats are like mine, buttholes and hyper and finicky. 

I'm always looking for ways to improve, but it is important to me to be able to do so frugaly. Luckily, rats can be easy with this (eating healthy human meals, toys that are normally trash, etc.).


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## MaryLiz (Jun 15, 2014)

These are all really good points. I'm so glad that I found this forum (after an incident of aggression between my two males), it has really helped me understand things about them I had never thought of before and I believe it's improved their quality of life as well.
I've only owned rats for 6 to 7 months now but it feels like it's been much longer... the changes in their behavior, growing up, and me learning constantly. I fell in love with my roommates rats, which led me to want one, and thankfully she talked me out of getting "just one", and I'm so glad because now I see how important their companionship to each other is. In turn, I convinced her to help me make our own mix of food because the walmart-brand crappy food she was feeding them stunk and I was convinced it wasn't the good for them. I'm still trying to perfect my mix on a budget (I recently found some really cool whole grain cereals to add to their dry mix, and my mother bought me my very own food dehydrator for Christmas so I've started drying vegetables and small amounts of fruit to add to the mix along with a few different protein sources I've tried), using slightly altered versions of recipes I've found online and I also recently added a vitamin supplement to their diet. I'm aware that their diet still isn't perfect but just by reading things on here I've started to be much more conscious about it, ad I think this last time I remixed their food I did a lot better job than the last time.
I also did not realize just how much out of cage time rats needed before I started reading more things on here... now they have much more free range time, and it almost instantly solved the apparent aggression between my two half-brother rats.


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## ksaxton (Apr 20, 2014)

One of my biggest strenths and weaknesses as a rat owner is I am extremely frugal, maybe even a cheapskate. I rarely buy anything for myself anymore, and when I do its always from Goodwill or places similar. Because of my thriftyness and frugality, I'm able to stretch every penny to give my rats everything they need. But I also have a really hard time spending money, and I always have to price check everything and spend up to 15 minutes in a store just debating what to buy. Because of this I have yet to buy my four the lava ledges I have been meaning to get. I also always try to wait as long as possible before spending money on anything, which can have really bad consequences if I wait too long.

Another thing I could be better at is free range time. My four get at least an hour a day, but they want more and with school being out theres really no good excuse for them not getting it other than I'm just a lazy selfish rat parent. Sometimes I feel especially bad for my girl Naydeen because she is always begging to get out of the cage. No matter what time of day it is, as soon as she hears me near the cage she will spring out of bed and run to the door, ready to go. She's so smart and clearly needs more stimulation than the others, but usually she only gets out during group time. Her personality makes me think she would make a really good true shoulder rat if only I had the patience and bravery. I need to start giving her extra attention, shes always so eager to get involved in anything I'm doing.


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## mimsy (Jun 8, 2014)

Ksaxton, funny you mention the lava ledges, I've been waiting to get them myself. But for me it's because I want enough things to buy to get free shipping. So far on my list is those and I found a great food my conure will eat, i need a little more then I can hit send. I got laid off awhile back so I'm extremely careful with the funds.

My rats are only caged while I sleep. Buttercup sometimes stays in bed with me cause I'm having problems with her having some anxiety if she is not glued to part of me. That's a story I'll save for another time though.


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## Isamurat (Jul 27, 2012)

I must say i manage to not spend that much on kitting my rat cage out, theres a lot you can get / find / make. I tend to use a lot of brnaches and such which are free and as good as lava ledges at keeping nails short. As are intersting pebbles off the beach. I use a lot of "not sold for rat" things as well which are a lot cheaper generally like plant pots and dog rope toys which can make great rat stuff with minimal adaptions


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## Kitterpuss (May 9, 2014)

Great rant Isamurat - lots of food for thought. I must say that the part about being 'at odds with our idea of a perfectly neat house' rang true for me. I'm a neat/clean freak who is a tad obsessive about order and things being in their 'proper' place. The arrival of the rats comes clutter, smell, rat proofing, cardboard box forts and all manner of junk that makes my living space look less than pretty. Worrying about these things is something I'm learning to let go of. The trade off is my wonderful little furry loves who are bringing much joy and fun into my life.


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## Marie5656 (Jun 1, 2014)

Very good advice, especially for us new rat owners. Sometimes I feel badly if I have a busy day, and cannot give them as much attention as I would like. I try to at least sit with them and give them lap time when I cannot take them out to play. My husband often has sleepless nights. If he cannot sleep in the middle of the night, he will sit with them too. In fact, I heard him in the living room last night talking with them, using my words and calling them "pretty girls".


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## mimsy (Jun 8, 2014)

something we learned back when we first had rats is we can use their fear of jumping from heights to both the rats and ours advantage. There has been plenty of times in the past where I had been working a lot of overtime and didn't have the time to let them out for as long as I like. Even small spaces that are new are interesting. I've moved them from room to room with me and let them explore by letting them run around coffee table, dining table, bathroom counter, ect. This makes it so I can get more time out with them, while I'm doing necessary things like taking a bath, cooking dinner and other householdy things.

I should give credit where it's due-My first introduction to pet rats was a friend of mines when we were teenagers. (that was like 30 years ago) She had 10 brothers and sisters and their parents had a big den with old furniture, tv and a ping pong table for the kids. They also had their own fridge in that room. They were only allowed rats as pets. (with 10 kids who can blame them for not wanting a bunch of pets too) The rats main house was the top of the fridge. They had no cage, just a little bird table top play gym on there, stuff to climb in and hide in. With that many kids they were always on shoulders and helping to play ping pong ect.


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## Charlottesmom (Nov 27, 2013)

I think my biggest pet peeve with any potential pet owner is those who do not do their research BEFORE they get a pet, then are "stuck" with a pet they have no clue how to care for, or doesn't fit well into their family. I worked in a pet shop for 2 years and it was amazing how many people came in for pets and had no clue how to care for them, they were buying them because the critter was "cute". Impulse buying can sometime be good but more often than not the animal will suffer due to the owner's lack of knowledge.


So my number one would be a knowledge of the critter you are buying/adopting and then all of your excellent suggestions. 


Also add in: a separate vet account which with rats is necessary IMO. We never expected to have to spend $300 on one of my last boys but thank goodness had the $ set aside just incase.


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