What kind of bedding is best which bedings are bad?
Which one would make a more suitable pet a male or a female? What kinds of foods are not good for rats?
Answers:
I always used pine bedding for my rats. Don't use cedar - it hurts their sinuses.
I prefer females, becasue males tend the "leak" a little trail of urine wherever they go. It's pretty nasty. And I think the females have a nicer "look" to them.
Foods that are bad for rats include the really light-green veggies (iceberg lettuce, cucumbers), candy, etc. If it's bad for you, it's bad for them, too! Of course, they love the bad stuff, so once a week or so you might give them a TINY taste of something (like ice cream). LOL.
Things they LOVE include popcorn and any kind of fruit!
Try this site out. I have 4 pet rats and use this site alot for basic info.
http://www.quite.co.uk/rats/
my rat has a straw bedding and she eats anything but fatty foods and sugary are really bad for rats as they cause growths and cysts and i think female rats are the best
I use care fresh bedding its less messy than pine bedding and does not smell. There is a difference between make and female rats it depends what our looking for. Male rats are less active, mine just sits on my lap while I'm watching TV. Females are more active, how much i don't know i have never owned one. I use a pellet food that way he gets all his nutrients and its less messy than seeds. I do however use sunflower seeds as treats, which he loves. Try to find a breeder before you go and buy one from a pet store. Have fun with your new rattie.
I prefer to use bath towels for their bedding. It's less messy, and they love to snuggle up inside of them. It's cheaper too, depending on how much of a chewer you got. I replace mine every 3 to 4 months or so once they have too many holes. For cleaning I just shake out the rattie raisins and everything over the garbage and then put them in the washer and dryer.
Either male or female rats make very good pets. Make sure you get a same sex pair, as a single rat won't be as happy, no matter how much time you spend with it.
Males tend to mark more, meaning they will dribble pee wherever they go, and they are more likely to poop on you to. You can chose to get them neutered, usually that takes care of the problem, yet isn't always successful in eliminating marking behavior completely.
The foods that are not good for rats that I have heard of are oranges - it will cause cancer. Also avoid giving fizzy drinks. Too much salad can cause diarrhea, a little bit here and there is ok though. With fruits you want to make sure you don't give them any seeds, since they are toxic.
I give mine a food mix that I make myself. Here's what I put in it:
Dog food kibbles, spiral shaped pasta, oatmeal, barley, cheerios, rice krispies, dried banana slices.
They get this every morning, and in the evening it is either a piece of fruit or vegetable.
Question #1. Pine and cedar shavings are horrible for all rodents. My personal preferance is Carefresh. You can get it in all different colors (purple, blue, pink, yellow) and it is dust free and helps prevent rodents devolping alageas. It is a little more expensive then beddings made out of wood, but if you buy the biggst size bag they have for I think for 20 bucks it should last a month for 2 rats.
Normal Carefresh- http://www.petco.com/product/10791/caref...
Colors- http://www.petco.com/product/14454/caref...
2nd Question- Well it depends on what type of personality you want your rats to have I guess.
Males- Will sit on your lap or shoulders for long periods of time (while reading a book or watching tv,) tend to become a little lazy as they age so they need a lot of exercise to prevent getting fat, usually bigger then females, have a slight odor (nothing bad though)
Females- Will only sit on you for a short period of time usually, say pretty active through out their whole lives, don't like to be held as much as males, smaller then males, really don't have an odor
So if you want rats that will run through mazes and climb up toys and obstocales you build them, then females are for you. If you want rats that will sit and cuddle with you while relaxing and stay more put when roaming then males are for you. I have had 2 girl rats (Ratcy and Clover) and 3 boy rats (Brownie, Butterscotch, and Cody) The males would fall asleep sometimes on my lap.
3rd Question- Foods that are not good for rats are the following- Forbidden Foods
Generally, if you would eat a food, you can give it to your rats. Here are some exceptions and notables:
raw dry beans or peanuts鈥攃ontains antinutrients that destroy vitamin A and enzymes needed to digest protein and starches, and causes red blood cells to clump
raw sweet potato鈥攃ontains compounds that form cyanide in the stomach
green bananas鈥攊nhibits starch-digesting enzymes
green potato skin and eyes鈥攃ontain solanine, a toxin
wild insects鈥攃an carry internal parasites and diseases
raw bulk tofu鈥攃an contain bacteria, packaged raw tofu is safe
orange juice鈥攆orbidden for male rats only, d-limonene in the skin oil, which gets into the orange juice during squeezing, can cause kidney damage and kidney cancer due to a protein that only male rats have in their kidneys. Pieces of the orange fruit are okay if you wash the orange-skin oil off of it after peeling it.
Foods to Feed with Caution
carbonated beverages鈥攔ats can鈥檛 burp (but they can fart!)
Dried corn can contain high levels of fungal contaminates which has been shown to cause liver cancer in rats. Corn also contains high levels of both nitrates and amines. These two compounds can combine in the stomach to form nitrosamines which are carcinogenic. Other foods high in nitrates include beets, celery, eggplant, lettuce, cucumber, radishes, spinach, collards and turnip greens. Therefore, I suggest you limit the amount of these foods in your rat鈥檚 diet. Some fresh corn is fine, but if you feed your rats blocks, try to avoid brands which have corn as the first ingredient.
Mold Warning
Spoiled or moldy food can contain deadly toxins. Never give nuts, grains, vegies or other food that looks or smells odd or spoiled. Don鈥檛 buy too much food ahead. Molds can grow even in sealed plastic bags. When cutting up veggies, cut off the dried part that has been exposed from previous cutting and throw it away. If you see mold growing on a food, throw the whole thing away. Do not attempt to cut away the moldy section. Invisible mold filaments penetrate deep into the food.
These foods have some antibiotic properties: banana, prunes/plums, garlic, tea, eggplant, raspberries, onion, mustard.
These foods may have some anti-virus properties: cranberries, prunes/plums, strawberries, onion.
These foods are good for arthritis: clove, dates, ginger, garlic.
Hope This Helps!!
Good Luck With Your Rats!!!
Wood chips or fluff that you buy at a pet store is good for bedding. As far as I know male and female rats are both suitable for pets, but it depends on how you want them to look, female rats can sometimes be easier on the eyes. As for food, you can buy special rat food at a pet store, or you can feed them things like cat food and corn. They also really like fruits and veggie's for snacks ;)
females are probably better as they are more active and do look a bit prettier than the male. You need to keep at least 2 as they are very social animals and would get lonely on their own. They love to rip up paper for their nest and it keeps them amused for hours. In their cage I use a mix of coarse sand coarse sawdust and shavings and kitty litter--- the granulated not the pellets. I also sometimes mix a bit of sodium bicarbonate into the mix as this absorbs the smell. They also love their hammock made out of old jeans and hangs at the top of the cage. They will carry the ripped up paper into it as well. If you haven't bought them yet get young ones as they are a lot easier to tame and they only have a life span of 3-5 years. Foods that are not good for humans are not good for rats. So we should be eating more vegetables more fruit and cereals (grains) and a bone is good to chew on --raw or cooked ---a bit of meat is a also good treat and citrus fruit delicious--- and please not too hot on the porridge as they will hoe in and not be happy when they find it too hot so good luck and have fun with your new pets.
Don't give your rat chocolate and do not give your rat pine.
Get Critter Care Odor Control. I used is for my male gerbil and it worked great!
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