Commonly asked Questions

Do rats make good pets?

    Yes, rats make excellent pets for children and adults alike. They require a cage cleaning AT LEAST every 3 weeks (or whenever it starts to stink), water that must not be empty (for most water bottles it should be refilled every 1-2 weeks), and food (normally filled weekly).  They can be very friendly if you spend time with them (every other day at LEAST) or they can become very bitter and shrink into solitude if you ignore them. Though most rats only live for roughly 2 years (one of mine lived for just 3 weeks!) some may live days and some may live up to 7 years.

What different kinds of rats are there?

    There are MANY different kinds of rats out there. If you would like to see some of them click Breeds on the left hand side of this page. 

Where can I buy a rat?

    I've found good luck looking at Petsmart, Atlas pets, and many small pets shop scattered around the area.

Does the Gender of the rat matter?

    Yes, the gender of the rat is HIGHLY important. Female rats smell less, need less cage cleanings, and need more careful hands than the males. Male rats are much more energetic, smell a little more, require more cleanings, and are much more willing for rough play than the females.

Is it possible to Potty-train my rat?

    Yup! you can train a rat to go in a single corner of their cage by doing 4 simple steps.

1. Change the bedding color of your rats "Bathroom" corner
2. When you wake your rat up set him/her in the "bathroom"
3. move any poop that NOT in the bathroom into it before cleaning it up
4. continue until you no longer have to do step 3

Do feeder rats make good pets?

    If your up for a challenge! Feeder rats are rats used for snake feeding. They are VERY jumpy because they are normally handled little to not at all. They tend to not live as long as other rats. I had a feeder rat and it died after just 3 weeks! At the end of my feeder rats time she had calmed down a ton and I had started to teach her tricks! With feeder rats you have to be careful. If your looking for a pet and willing to wait for a little while, I would suggest getting a rat that was bred as a pet. But hey! You could get a good one just as easy!

What is a fancy rat?

     A fancy rat is one of the 2 groups of rats there are. I don't know the name of the other group. They include all of the rats on the breeds page except the standard. If you are looking for a rat, look fr a fancy or a standard because all fancy rats are used as pets and have soft fur.

What is the difference between a mouse and a rat?

     The size. Mice are TINY and don't live as long as rats. Mice are also Primarily nocturnal while rats are not!