Info

Caging, the most important and most confusing aspect to owning rats. There is so much misinformation going around on proper caging for rats. This is because one gets an opinion, and spreads it around as a fact and new owners not knowing better believe them and then they spread it around etc.

Rats need to be kept inside, in a well ventilated and temperature controllable area. Many cages that are an ideal size for rats are designed for other, larger animals, always check out chinchilla and bird cages are good ones to look for.

Rats are fossorial animals. This means that they live on and under the ground. When choosing a cage, you must make sure it has adequate floor space to meet the rats needs try to find a cage with a minimum base of 80cm x 45cm. Tall, skinny cages are a huge no! Climbing space is important too, just not as important as floor space is. Climbing space is still important because it provides the rats with more space, and enrichment (hanging toys, hammocks, hides, ropes, etc), therefore a minimum height of 60cm is recommended. 

When choosing a cage, you also need to make sure it's the correct size for the number of rats you will be housing in it. Rats require at least 2.0 cubic feet of space each, but 2.5 cubic feet of space is better. Another cage requirements to look for are correct bar spacing (1/2in). 

Suitable cages for rats include: 

Plastic based cages - These cages are easy to clean and stop most litter and bedding from leaving the cage compared to cages with just metal bars. They work well for older rats who are not as much up to climbing as they might have once been. In my opinion the best plastic based cage is a "strong rat cage", you can buy these easily from Animates and other pet stores, they can comfortably house up to 5 rats, they also come with tunnels, a level/shelf, a litter tray, a food bowl and a water bottle.

Large converted bird cages - there is a very large variety of large bird cages that work for rats; The bar spacing is usually an ideal size for rats, they usually have large doors which make cleaning the cage easier and you can easily put levels, houses and wheels in easily. Bird cages like the Avi One 604t tall and the Avi One 604 are great options for cages and will give your ratties lots of space.

There are other options for cages like Critter Nation/ Ferret Nation, they are one of the best cage options out there however they are very hard to get in NZ as they are not sold in pet stores or anywhere new (can be imported with Amazon but is very pricey), and they are hard to get second hand.

Unsuitable cages for rats include:

- Aquariums/tanks

- Mouse cages

-Wooden cages/hutches

- Tall, skinny cages

- Cages with wire or grated floors and/or shelves

 -RSK/Pet one rat cages (They do not have enough space in general or base wise.)

-Avi one 603 (While the 604 is great the 603 is too small and doesn't give them enough space especially males.)

A lot of new owners of rats, especially ones who have owned/own mice tend to use fish tanks, these are not ideal housing for rats and are not good for them, so please avoid using a fish tank as a home for your rats. Fish tanks pose serious health risks to rats, they lack proper ventilation, rat pee tends to get trapped in the tank and the ammonia in it is harmful to rats. It is also hard for a rat to climb around a tank and as rats love to climb and be up high at times this is not ideal.

Wooden cages get very smelly, fast. They are also chewed up much faster. It’s much more cost effective to buy a suitable full metal cage from the start. 

Food

Diet is the most important aspect regarding your rat's health and length of life. Rats need to eat a food that has been specially formulated to be nutritionally complete for them.

Rats are opportunistic omnivores. This means that they eat just about anything they can find. They will eat things from grains, veggies and berries to bugs, fish and smaller mammals. Because of this, lots of owners believe that their rats will be okay eating scraps and other random foods/random mixes. Sure, they will survive off it for a while, because that's their nature, but they most definitely will be unhealthy and have shortened lifespans.

There are so many foods out there marketed for rats, but very few are nutritionally complete. A lot of pet store bought mixes are not good- Topflite is a brand that you need to avoid, it is not a nutritionally complete mix and contains too many seeds. It is very important to make sure your rats nutritional needs are being met. Foods that are recommended include:

- Supreme Selective Rat Food

- Burgess Excel Rat Nuggets

- A Rats Tail, Specialized Rat Food

- A Rats Tail, Premium Rat Mix

- Rat Rescue Premium quality rat food

- Rat Rescue Lab Blocks

- Rat Rescue Combo mix

Please note 

Fruits and veggies are an important part of a rats diet, they need fresh fruits and veggies daily. Here's a short list of safe foods primarily fruits and veggies;

-Peas

-Avocado

-Corn

-Kale

-Cucumber

- Pear

-Carrots

-Tomatoes

-Courgette

-Grapes

-Raspberries

-Spring mix greens

-Green/yellow beans

-Watermelon

-Strawberries

-Capsicum

-Cauliflower

-Broccoli

-Cherries

-Apples

-Peaches

-Bananas

-Spinach

-Lettuce

-Plums

-Chicken

-Eggs (boiled or scrambled)

-Captive bred live or dried mealworms

There are some foods that are unsafe for rats to eat, these include:

Avocado skin and pit, apple seeds, citrus fruits, chocolate, mango, green potatoes, uncooked or dry beans, blue cheese, poppy seeds, raw peanuts, licorice, carbonated drinks.

If you are unsure about wether a food is safe make sure to research before feeding it to your rats.

Bedding

Choosing proper bedding is another one of the most important, and contradicting parts of owning rats. Using the right bedding is very important for your rat's health because they have very sensitive respiratory systems. Choosing the right bedding is also important for enrichment purposes. 

There is an extremely high number of myths and opinions being spread around regarding the best beddings to use for rats. This is because uneducated people spread incorrect information to new owners, even owners that have had rats for years that just don't know any better, and then those people spread it and so on. 

As stated above, bedding is super important to your rat's health and well-being. It is super important to use a bedding that absorbs ammonia. Ammonia is the number one cause of respiratory infections, myco flare ups and lung irritation/scaring. It is also very important for rats to have loose bedding to dig, burrow and forage in because these are natural behaviours of fossorial animals. Digging, burrowing and foraging are important to keep your rat entertained, busy and stimulated.

For those reasons wood beddings are recommended - Kiln dried pine, aspen and hemp.

Kiln dried pine, kiln dried aspen and hemp beddings all naturally absorb ammonia and odour. This makes them the best bedding choices because they lower ammonia levels a lot more than other beddings do.

Paper beddings and fleece do not absorb any odour or ammonia. Some people claim using an absorbent layer under fleece etc will help control ammonia or odour, however this is false - It will absorb the urine, so that it's not pooling up under the fleece, but it will just hold it there, still allowing the urine to break down and make ammonia. Therefore this makes paper beddings and fleece unsuitable beddings.

Pelleted bedding is also not ideal, they are too heavy and can hurt to walk on, however pellets like paper cat litter are great for litter trays.

Cage Enrichment

Rats are very active creatures, if they are left with an empty cage this can cause issues. Rats will barber themselves and cage mates, chew cage bars, and often chew down anything placed in the cage, all due to lack of proper enrichment.

Rats need lots of enrichment items and things to chew on, rats chew on most things they can get their paws on as their teeth are constantly growing and they need to wear them down, putting wooden toys and branches (from safe trees like apple trees) are great options for them.

You can buy a lot of cage fillers from dollar stores and places like Kmart and the Warehouse, such as ropes and plastic baskets, and making things like nets and perches can be very cost affective. Many try to focus on the bare necessities, but we need to look at the big picture. Rats need opportunities to forage, climb, jump, chew, and more (all explained below) so the bare necessities will not cut it. They need stimulation, they need enrichment. A cage full of fleece is extremely boring.

The goal is to make the cage as full as possible with items like ropes. bridges, baskets hammocks etc. 

The best option for rats is to remove any sort of level or ramp as having none in the cage encourages them an active layout. Levels also aren't great as they are pee magnets and any sort of wire one will hurt their feet to walk on and can cause an infection called bumblefoot. If you do choose to keep a level in you cage it needs to be covered at all times with something along the lines of lino or fabric (fleece or bathmats are okay options)

The following below will cover the necessities for a cage, and items that can further enrich their home and life. 

Wheels - While wheels are not ‘necessary’ for rats, they can really enjoy them when introduced from a young age. With proper sizing, and suitability, they can be a great addition to their enrichment. Monitor if their spines bend, this type of curving can cause injuries, be very careful. Large plastic/metal ferret/chinchilla wheels are great for rats. Males need a minimum of 16in wheels and females 14in. 

Digging -For rats, digging is very stimulating. This encourages natural behaviours, as they burrow naturally in the wild. Rats are fossorial, floorspace and a good amount of adsorbent substrate is important as mentioned In the bedding section. If you are able to provide them with a very deep layer of bedding, or a bio-active set up, that is ideal. 

Chewing - Chewing is a very natural behaviour for rats. Providing chews is pretty important, they can get bored and chew, they enjoy the feeling. You can offer shelled nuts, cooked unseasoned chicken bones, or raw pasta noodles to help satisfy their chewing needs. Offering things within the cage like parrot toys, wooden chews, pumice and branches will help, but oftentimes they will continue to just be rats and chew whatever they please (including their hammocks).

Sleeping spots - Offering multiple sleeping spots is vital. Try not to over do it with one item like hammocks, we see many cages packed full of hammocks and that’s it. Offering both high and low sleeping places can be beneficial. Bins, peg baskets, sputniks, and plastic hides are all great ones.

Variety - Too much of one material/fabric can be extreme boring for them, rats want to explore new textures, and have variety. Plastics, fabrics, natural ropes, wood, pumice, all of this combined creates amazing variety. Rats aren’t stupid, they are highly intelligent. They need proper stimulation.

Mischief

Rats are very social animals and cannot be kept alone. Rats that are kept alone;

- Become stressed

- Become depressed

- Become mentally unstable

- Become aggressive

- Will over eat or have loss of appetite

- Will have a shorter lifespan 

- Will sleep all the time

- Will be bored

Even if you already have rats, rats need to grow up with a rat of the same age to develop correctly, mentally. 

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