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rat owners (rodent, not snake)

Also are there any major differences in personality between the variations? Rex, Fancy, Dumbo, American Blue, African Soft, etc

I have to stress to you that African Soft Furred Rats (Natal Rats) are not pets, especially for kids. They do not like to be handled and will bite fast and hard.

Some tolerate humans better than others but I still use heavy leather gloves to move them for cleaning. Most develop tumors at around nine months and rarely live two years.

I only keep them for food for ball pythons.

BTW, I have fancy rats as pets and they're super friendly. Good luck.
 
Amen to that not pets thing. There ARE exceptions, yes, but for the most part... count your fingers and toes going in, and going out.
 
Sounds great! Now you probably already know the drill and don't need to be told, but we are definitely going to need pictures! Of the rats for sure but if you decide to make your own cage, pictures of that too are a necessity.
Started the cage. The main box is formed. I bought a rabbit bottom pan and cut it down and re-riveted it. I wanted the pan to be deeper anyway so it worked out good. It is now 4" deep instead of 2". It will have 3 levels. An upper balcony shelf, a main middle shelf and the bottom pan level. I made it so the cage is actually bottomless and sits down in the 4" deep pan to make cleaning easy. Just lift cage out and the bedding stays in the pan. I plan to put 2 doors in the front and one in the top. The white in the picture is macrame material that I plan to use as shelf liner on top of the cage shelves to be easier on the feet.
 

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Just out of curiosity which are the ones that look like they have stripes of fur and stripes of no fur? The ones I saw a picture of were black.
 
That is the problem can't find the picture. Or I would, I have to learn to save stuff to a file one of these days if I find it worth looking at.
 
Are you referring to a patchwork/double rex rat by any chance?

NettiesFacewHair.jpg


(NOT My photo, I found it on the goosemoose forum in a thread about patchwork rats!)

Patchwork double rexes are NEAT! Their entire lives the fur falls out and grows in in different places, so they never quite look the same twice!
 
Yes that is them! They are extremely cool. I am thinking they are illegal here in Alberta (rat ban here), but I would love to have one otherwise.
 
Tsst, the only problem with that cage that I see is the lack of coating on the wires. Rat pee can be TERRIBLE on galvanized metal. Just something to keep in mind.

I had one galvanized cage, and I had to use something specific on it to clean it and then rinse/dry really well. It may have been vinegar. Don't remember.

I used to run Little Villains Rattery, had quite a few rats, up to 30 at one time. 5 groups of 2 or 3 males (and one giant rescue male who DID NOT like other rats) and a cage of 12 girls. Girls are interior decorators, and HILARIOUS to watch. Boys are furry slugs, good for cuddling.

I never had any live past 2 and a half, some that lived MUCH less (kidney tumors, lung tumors, myco infections, etc etc).

One other thing I always liked was putting a normal brick under the water bottle so that they had to hop up on it to get the water. It was JUST abrasive enough to get the points off of their claws, and helped absorb any dripping water and avoid fouling the bedding.

Harlan Teklad or Mazuri blocks were all I fed as staples, and then treats galore. Use glass water bottles, just trust me.

I built a 3-part giant melamine cage on wheels with multiple levels and hardware clothe on the back and the front that worked pretty well, multiple levels per cage. I don't have any pictures though.

Good luck! I loved my rats, but I watched too many die.
 
The cage. Lower level is a giant igloo and a pvc maze. Middle level is the wheel, food bowl and water area. Upper level will have small igloo and hammock.

darcpixie, Thanks for the info. I guess at this point we will see how it holds up and go from there.
 

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