World Rat Day 2024 is on Thursday, April 4, 2024: Considering buying a rat? HELP!?

Thursday, April 4, 2024 is World Rat Day 2024. WORLD RAT DAY - by J. Patrick Lewis and Anna Raff on Vimeo WORLD RAT DAY - by J. Patrick

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Acquire two points directly promptly-- rodents aren't grimy, and James Cagney never said it anyway! These are merely two of the myths and mistaken beliefs that World Rat Day expects to dispel as it commemorates the joys of elegant rats.

Anyone that keeps rodents as pet dogs or friends is already in on the trick: these pets get along, dedicated, smart, and really endearing. Regrettably they have actually had a little bad press for many years, just what with the Black Death, Bubonic Plague and a many thousand Pacific isles which have actually had their indigenous wildlife munched down to ground level and past. Yet just what's a couple of environmental and social disasters in between close friends?

The moment you learn more about betray a one-to-one basis, after that all their finer qualities will come forward. Why not come by to your neighborhood World Rat Day event and discover simply how adorably adorable they really are?

Welcome to the world of rats! You'll never go back.

1) Pros: Rats are adorable, incredibly cute, very comical characters. They are intelligent and easy to train. They can bond really well with people and other rats and I really can't imagine better pets.

Cons: They can be expensive. The rats themselves are generally pretty cheap, but cages can be expensive, especially the better ones, and vet bills do mount up. Rats are prone to respiratory diseases and mammary tumours are quite prevalent in females. Not to mention that you'll begin to feel guilty if you walk past a petshop without buying them a new toy (or maybe that's just me).

2) It is definitely better to get two rats (justm ake sure they are the same gender, or you will be constantly inundated with babies and the female will have a much shorter lifespan from constant pregnancies). If you only have one rat, you'll need to spend at least six hours with it every day, and that still won't be the same as if they had another ratty companion. Not to mention there is nothing cuter than a big pile of rats all snuggled together in a hammock or bed. Plus, you can't be around at night when they are most active.

3) I personally prefer males, but many people prefer females. Females are smaller, softer and far more active. They have a slightly shorter attention span but are easier to litter train (they pee in the litter tray, whilst males generally only poop there). Females weigh about 200-300 grams.

Males are a lot larger (my adults both weigh in excess of 600 grams and are at least 9 inches long) and a lot lazier. They won't run around like females and turn into total laprats as adults. They are lovely to squish and cuddle. :) They are easier to train with things like responding to their name, as they have a longer attention span. They have a slight musky scent that some love, some hate. I love. :)

4) Females probably smell a little better as they pee more in their litter trays whereas boys tend to pee wherever and do dribble urine when they walk. I have to clean their cage every three days to keep the pongs at bay, but I do have four, two of whom are babies that haven't grasped the litter tray concept so well yet. My breeders have a cage with many females that they clean once a week (but they do very rigorous spot cleaning, which I don't so much).

The rats themselves are very clean, washing themselves head to toe at least six times a day. Occaisionally one rat may fall asleep in a puddle or in the litter tray, or a runt may get peed on by the alpha and you'll have to give them a bath, but that's pretty rare. (Thank goodness - my rats hate baths).

5) Other info. Don't keep them on cedar or pine shavings. Recycled paper is popular, but my breeders and I both use fabric (I use towels, very absorbent) which can just be whipped out, washed and replaced, saving stacks of money.

Make sure they stay well hydrated by providing clean water every day (a bottle is better).

I have four males in the same cage. My first two boys are rescue rats from the RSPCA and were raised together. I introduced two 5.5 week old breeder rats when Jekyll and Hyde were about 9 months and they took to them just fine. It's gorgeous to see them all together. You just need to do a proper introduction process. Some dominance scraps are usual with both genders, but if there is no blood, it's fine. My babies fight all the time when playing. Two females fine too, but don't introduce them to strange babies as they can get vicious with litters not their own.

Avoid buying from petshops if possible - buy from breeders or from a shelter. They'll be better socialised. :)

Please email me if you have any further questions about these gorgeous little creatures. I'm happy to help any rat lovers :)

Information on Pet rats?

Ahhh.... Rats, the best most loyal pets in the world!

I have owned 10 rest in my 16 years on this planet and I would Definately recommend them.

First off is the cage, I would recommend a cage with atleast two different levels and horizontal bars so they can climb. You can buy many different toys from your local pet store such as ladders and hoops. I would recommend getting a tube so your rats can climb in them (or sleep in them! As I found out.) and also a hammock and houses or something for them to hide under and sleep in but I would deffinatelu say a hammock is a must rats LOVE hammocks! :)

For bedding you can buy bags of saw dust, which is what I use, and bags of hay. Start with a layer of saw dust and then a layer of hay (Rats love to build little nests out of hay!) you should clean their cage atleast twice each week.

For food, you can just buy either a mixture of seeds and nuts or you can buy rat food from your pet store.

Rats need to be played with daily for at least 20 minutes and are very curious so keep an eye on them and remove anything chewable! Depending on the breed rats only live from 3-6 years and also I would avoid Albino rats as they are more prone to blindness and other illnesses. Also rats are prone to tumors both benine and cancerous.

Unless you have a lot of time to spend with rats you should get atleast 2, they make great cagemates for each other so they aren't lonely. I have also noticed that rats are very unsocial and shy for the first 2-3 weeks so be patient! They need time to adjust. Also your rat may sleep a lot during the day because rats are nocturnal and sleep a lot more as babies!

You do not need to wash rats as they are very clean animals, but if you feel the need, use Luke warm water and very mild BABY shampoo. Make sure they are completely dry before putting them back in the cage. You can use a towel if a hair dryer on a VERY low setting.

Finally Look for a healthy rat, if the rat is puffed up with any type of discharge around the mouth, eyes or nose then this is not a healthy rat.

Good luck with your new pet I can assure your you are not going to regret this decision. :)xxx

Rat Day ideas?

Face painting/masks.

Maybe a ratty craft? If everyone coming to the party is a ratty lover, you can make some sort of thing to take home to your rats, I know I take home doggy bags from everywhere I go for that purpose, so why not something that was actually meant for them? haha.

You can modify one of those toys to make it easy to make as a craft. Like the toilet paper ratty pinata. Gather up tubes, grab some ratty friendly treats, stuff them, close them, and you can even wrap them to make them decorative. My rats LOVE stuff like that.

Visit a dollar-type stuff (you know, everythings a dollar) and raid their kids aisle for rat shaped toys as prizes for ratty trivia.

If people are going to bring their rats, maybe you can have a contest for cutest rat, or something of that sort and get ribbons for each one, I know I've seen blank ribbons/certificates at walmart.

Theres a show on foodTV called Ace of Cakes, and they made a rat cake for a wedding...it was adorable (and expensive)

Theres a world rat day 'event' listed on their website for may 20th that I'm going to TRY to attend and hope that nothing messes it up.