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In a lot of ways this FAQ is similar to many others to be found on the Web with one exception,
this FAQ relates to owning rats within Australia.
Many of the products suggested on American Web pages are not available in
Australia but there are equivalent alternatives here.
History Breeds There is no importation law covering importing companion rats at the moment but
both the NSW Fancy Rat & Mouse Club and the Australian Rat Fanciers Society are working
on having a law created to import rats from England. I will update this as soon as I
have any new information.
Where to purchase your rat Responsible breeders do not sell their animals to pet shops!
The domestic rats that are kept as pets today were bred from the wild rats
"Rattus norvegicus" or "brown rats". In the 1800s rats were kept for baiting,
rats with unusual coat colours, like albinos were kept and used for breeding.
Rats were used for scientific research in America from around 1890 and only the
most calm and non-aggressive rats were bred from. Domestic rats have been selectively
bred for over 100 years and are very different from their wild cousins. I am not
sure when rats were first used for scientific research within Australia, if anyone
does please let me know. It is only in the last two years that rats have been commonly
available in pet shops in NSW.
No doubt you would have seen the many beautiful colours and coat types of rats
available in the USA and UK. In Australia, as far as I am aware we only have rats
with the standard or hairless coats and none of the shaded colour patterns such a
Siamese and Himalayan. The hairless rats are still very new and at this time do not
appear to live as long as a standard rat. For this reason I would advise against getting
one as a pet at this time. The most common colours in the NSW Fancy Rat and Mouse Club
seem to be agouti, blue agouti, albino, amber, fawn, black and blue.
I personally do not like pet shops and do not think that anyone should buy from them. If no one purchased their animals they would be forced to only sell supplies. It is for this reason that I do not support pet shops and buy my supplies from pet warehouses where they do not sell live animals.
Check with your local rat club to see if anyone has babies or check the breeders' page on this Web site. It is especially important that you buy from a breeder if you intend to show your animal unless you are already familiar with the standards. Once you have found someone that you are happy with over the phone, make an appointment to see the rats.
Take note of the environment that the rats are living in and ask to handle both the mother and father. The environment should be clean and not smell like urine. The parents should both be friendly enough for you to hold them and have them interact with you. Ask the breeder questions about the health of the parents and look at the other rats in the rattery. They should look healthy with shiny coats and the water bottles should be full. If you are not happy do not purchase a baby thinking that you are saving it. A sick rat can cost a lot in vet fees and even more in emotional terms.
If you decide that you just have to purchase that gorgeous baby at the pet shop be advised that you may be getting a bargain. Many pet shops do not separate the sexes and so one rat can turn into 14 in just a few weeks time. Also, you do not know what the health or temperament of a pet shop baby will be like, as you have not seen the parents. However, many people have purchased their favourite rat from a pet shop so use good judgement if you decide to purchase from a pet shop.
A well-socialised baby rat should approach your hand when you put it in the cage.
If it runs away you will have some work to do with that animal. This doesn't mean that
you shouldn't buy it but you just need to be aware that it will take longer to become a
companion than a socialised baby.
Housing
There are very few rat cages available for purchase from pet shops within Australia. The Ferret cages that a lot of Americans seem to use are not available here but there are a few choices.
Birdcages are the easiest to find, have plastic bottoms and are my personal favourite, it is important to purchase the largest cage that you can afford and then have fun filling it climbing toys etc. Your rats should have plenty of space to play and enough toys to have fun with in the wee hours of the morning when you are asleep but your rat is most playful.
Cages sold in pet shops as rat cages tend to have a wire bottom that needs to be removed to avoid injuries to the rat's feet. Sometimes there is a gap that a rat could escape through once the floor is removed so be sure to check that before you purchase the cage.
In my opinion the climate in Australia precludes using a fish tank, they simply get too hot and can cause the rats to overheat.
A final option would be letting your rat run "free-range" in one room of your house. A lot of people allow their rats to run in the bathroom at night which gives them plenty of room to play tag with their cage-mate and generally have a wonderful time. If you choose to do this be sure that you have left the toilet seat down. Many rats have died from falling into the toilet!
Rats will also chew; some more than others but, be warned that anything left within the rats reach can be destroyed. For this reason you will need to rat-proof whichever room the rats will be in. Aquarium tubing can be used to cover any electrical cords and all plants need to be removed from the room unless you want dirt from one end to the other. Check around the skirting boards and floor for any holes as rats can escape through the smallest of holes. Although this may sound like an arduous task, once it is completed you can let the rats run freely at night and only cage them in the day when they are sleeping anyway.
Any cage that you buy will cost between one and two hundred dollars so be sure that
it is exactly what you want before you buy it. The pet warehouses such as Pet Barn or
Pet Care 2000 sometimes sell cages, bedding and food more cheaply than pet shops.
Check the yellow pages for your nearest pet warehouse.
Bedding
The most common bedding sold for small pets in Australia is pine shavings that
are actually dangerous to small animals. The shavings contain toxic phenols from the
oil that gives the wood its scent. Long term exposure can cause enlarged livers and
an altered immune system; it also makes animals more susceptible to respiratory diseases.
Cedar shavings have the same effect but they are not commonly sold as bedding in Australia.
Other dangerous bedding includes clumping cat litter which can kill a rat if they ingest it and clay cat litter. Clay cat litter is very dusty and far too hard for rats to be walking on all the time.
Sadly, pine shavings are the cheapest but there are safe alternatives. These include paper-based litter such as Breeders Choice and Light & Easy, made from recycled newspaper and telephone books respectively. Breeder's Choice is the only litter that animals can be shown on during a NSW Fancy Rat & Mouse Club show.
Other alternatives include Max' Pet Litter, which is made of rice hulls
supported by the RSPCA or Natty Cat which is made from Lucerne. Small bags of
all of the above litters can be found in Woolworths. Once again larger bags of
these products can be found at a reduced price at any of the Pet Warehouses. I
can buy a 13.3kg bag of Breeders choice for $13.00 from Pet Barn in Liverpool.
Hygiene
Hygiene is one of the most important aspects to good rat husbandry.
The cage needs to be cleaned before it starts to smell. It depends on the
type of cage you have and which litter system you are using as to how often
you clean the cage.
I have a very large homemade cage, which would cost me a fortune in litter, if I were to cover all of the floor space. Instead, I use litter trays in each cage and leave the floor bare. About 99% of the solid waste are deposited in the tray and most of the urine. Each night I sweep out the shell hulls and food that is in the cage, replace the litter tray and replace the bedding in their house which is just thick paper towels.
Toilet training can be difficult and downright disgusting if it doesn't work. If you decide to cover the entire cage floor I would suggest a thin layer of litter that is changed two or three times a week. With only a few rats this is not too much hard work and your rats will be healthier and less susceptible to respiratory infections.
Some people prefer using the deep litter system which means putting down a thick layer of bedding, scooping out the wet corners each day and cleaning the cage once a week. I have yet to find a cage that I am happy to leave for an entire week unless the rats have spent a lot of time out of their cage during the week.
The water bottle should be emptied and refilled each day and scrubbed once a week.
Food bowls should also be washed each day because rats tend to pee on them. I find that
the easiest thing to do is have two sets of bowls for each cage. That way I can put in the
new bowl with food, take the old bowl out and wash it at my leisure.
Feeding
There are no deluxe brands of Lab Blocks available in Australia as there are in America.
The rodent blocks available in the pet shop look disgusting, rarely have the ingredients
listed and my rats refuse to eat them.
Peters sell a rat and mouse food that is approved by the RSPCA as being a complete rat and mouse food and is available at Woolworths for $1.59. The only problem is that it is a seed mix so the rats can pull out their favourite bits and so do not necessarily eat a balanced diet. I supplement this mix with whatever vegetables I am having for dinner and other healthy tidbits from my plate.
Other club members make up a special mix for their rats that includes cereals, nuts, grains, cat food, pasta and the Peters mix. Without having a choice of specifically created rat diets it can be hard to decide what to feed your rat. I suggest that you talk to other rat owners, take note of the condition of their rats and then make your own decision.
Something that may be a health benefit, especially to female rats are
soy products. They contain a small amount of estrogen, which is thought
to help prevent mammary tumors that older female rats can get. Another
benefit of the estrogen in soy is that it can help to calm males with
too much testosterone. Most rats seem to adore soy products and soymilk
is an absolute winner!
Grooming
Rats groom themselves constantly so unless they have gotten into something
or the cage was very dirty they do not need to be bathed. If they smell try cleaning
the cage more often before you try bathing them, often it is the cage that smells and
not the rat.
That being said if you wish to bathe your rat choose a warm day and use a shampoo for kittens. Wear a long sleeved shirt or your arms will be scratched and gently lower your rat, up to his neck into a bowl of warm water in the bath or sink. Once he is wet put him on your lap to soap him up and then rinse him by placing him back in the bowl. Never wet the rat's head as any water inhaled into the lungs can result in a respiratory infection. Water in the ears can cause an ear infection.
Once your rat has been bathed dry him with a towel. For some reason, although they hate the baths they love being towel dried. From there if it is a warm day you can place your rat back into a clean cage or you can dry him with a hairdryer set on low. Be sure to hold the hairdryer a good distance from the rat so as not to burn his skin and never blowdry the rats face.
Rats have sharp claws so a brick in the cage leading up to the water bottle can be a
very useful way of keeping them trim. Some people however, prefer to cut their rats nails.
This can be done with a pair of human baby nail clippers with one person holding the rat
and another cutting. If your rat has clear nails do not clip into the red section which
will cause pain and bleeding. If your rat has dark nails just clip off the tip of the nail and leave it at that.
Responsible Breeding
Think carefully before you decide to breed your rat.
There is not a large market for rat babies within Australia.
Any responsible breeder would not take their surplus babies to a pet shop so before you
breed ask yourself if you have the room and money for an extra 12-22 adult rats. If the
answer is no - don't breed!
Once you have decided that you wish to breed you need to have a doe that is 4-5 months old. She should be extra friendly and not have suffered from any respiratory diseases. Please do not breed from very shy or aggressive females, as they will pass this trait onto their babies. It is dangerous to breed a doe who is over 6-8 months old as her pelvic canal will be fused in a narrow position and it is possible that she would die during labor.
If you do not have males do not rush out and buy one. Check with the local rat club in your area and see if you can borrow a male. The male should also be extra friendly and not have suffered from a respiratory disease in his life. Can you see a common thread here? A responsible breeder breeds for health and temperament above good looks.
Once you have selected a number of males with impeccable health and temperaments, try to pick a male that will produce colourful babies, as they are easier to sell. The agouti colouring is dominant so if you choose a ticked male rat to mate with your beautiful jet-black girl they may just produce 12 standard agouti rat kittens. Talk to other breeders about different options and choose the male most likely to produce beautiful colours.
Once you have a pair of rats, leave them together for two weeks. If your male lives with other males leave him with the female in the evenings and overnight and place him back with his cage-mates each morning. Alternatively you can wait until the female is in season, noticeable because vagina gapes open and leave the male with her for one night only.
The gestation period is normally 22 days but that can vary from 21-23 days, up to a whopping 26 days. You will usually notice the mother's abdomen start to expand about two weeks into the pregnancy. At this stage remove the male if he is still with her. She will go into season immediately after she gives birth. As you can imagine it is not healthy for her to be pregnant with one litter while nursing another. Please ensure that the male is not with her while she gives birth.
If the pregnant female has been living with another female it's OK to leave them together as long as only one of the females is pregnant. Otherwise, house the pregnant female alone for the birth of her babies.
The birth normally takes one to two hours and begins with a bloody discharge from the vagina. Healthy babies will wiggle and squeak, if they do not do this mother may eat them with the rest of the "non-baby" stuff like the placenta or she may push them out of the nest. Poor nutrition and stress can also contribute to a mother canabalising her babies. Generally though, a well cared for pet rat gives birth with no problems to litter of 12-24 rat kittens.
Give the mother 24hrs alone before you try to look at the babies and wait until she is off the nest. Remove her from the cage as she may feel the need to rush and defend the babies if they squeak. Try to handle the babies each day, talk to them even though they can't hear yet and be sure that they have milk in their tummies. You will be able to see white mil in their tummies after they have been fed.
As they get older try to handle them more than once a day and once they reach two weeks of age handle them a s much as you can. The more new experiences they have with the breeder at this young age the better pets they will be.
At two weeks they will also start to eat solid food. You do not need to soften their food as you do for a puppy, just add more of the mothers normal feed to the food bowl. Separate the male babies at 4-5 weeks to prevent any unplanned pregnancies. At 5-6 weeks the babies can go to their new homes.
