Pocket Pets: Know the Ins and Outs of Rat Care and Feeding
Rats don’t always get good press coverage, but pet rats are sociable, playful, intelligent, and often enjoy human company and attention, provided they are properly cared for. Your pet rat can be cuddly and relatively easy to keep in good health, although you need to be aware of some of the illnesses that they can be prone to, which might mean that you need to visit a site like gavageneedle.com to get what you need to help with the feeding of medications or food.
They rely on you
The most important thing that you need to remember about looking after a pet rat or any other small creature that you are going to be keeping in a cage is that they rely on you for their food, water, and healthcare. Before you commit to keeping pet rats make sure that you know what equipment and supplies you need and that you are prepared to be responsible for providing their housing, food, medical care, and anything else that they might need, including some companionship.
The basics
The sort of enclosure that you need to be able to keep your pet rat safe and comfortable will normally be either a cage or maybe an aquarium tank,which has a solid plastic base and a wire caging that has appropriate spacing. You need to bear in mind that rats are really good climbers and they are also quite intelligent, so you need to think about that if you don’t want to find that they have escaped when you go to check on them. Glass tanks don’t normally offer very good ventilation and they can allow too much of a buildup of ammonia from their urine, even if you clean the tank out regularly.
Bedding is equally important, so avoid any bedding made from softwood and in fact, shredded paper (without ink) can work well and will be better for them than materials like pine or spruce shavings.
Looking after their needs
Rats need to be able to explore their surroundings and if you can arrange to have a variety of toys, tubes, and ladders for them to use, this should keep them amused for hours.
Fresh clean water should always be available to your pet rat and a feeder bottle will normally work well to give them access to water whenever they want it, which is quite often, as these little creatures can get dehydrated quite quickly. Remember that their teeth are continually growing, so make sure that they always have something suitable to chew on.
Health issues
You may be surprised to learn that every rat, with the exception of those raised in a laboratory, carries Mycoplasma Pulmonis (Myco), although there is every chance that they will go through their life without displaying any serious symptoms. One of the main symptoms associated with Myco is a variety of respiratory problems, so if you see your pet struggling for breath, sneezing or developing a rough coat, these are some of the symptoms that should prompt you to take them to a vet for a checkup. These pocket pets are a lot of fun to have around and when you take care of them, there is every chance that they will show their affection in return and become a popular furry family member.
[info_box type=”pale_box”]Mark Anderson loves rodents and has both pet rats and mice. Before he got too busy being a Father, he would breed dumbo rats and always had a queue of people wanting to home them. He shares his articles on rodent care online.[/info_box]
