getting rats

[Maddie]

Hello everyone,
I'm gonna get rats soon, but I have a few questions first. Your answers i'm sure will be very helpful and very much appreciated !!

Firstly, is it alright to get three male rats from different litters if we introduce them when they are babies? (We want them to be different colors so we can tell them apart easily). Or is it much better to get them from the same litter?

And also do you think it will be a problem that males scent mark everything with urine? My mum might not like that!

Also do you think I'll beable to get the slightly less comon colors like siamese and cinnamon without fishing around to too many breeders? In pet shops I've only seen black hooded ones and occasionly champagne hooded rats.

Thanx heaps,
Maddie

[Yresim]

One great place to get differently-colored rats is from your local SPCA or Rattie Rescue.  And they often have trouble finding homes for the males, so they will REALLY appreciate your "business".  

I just find it frustrating that we keep encouraging more rats to be bred, when so many already need homes.  

Sorry, I will stop preaching now.    I will admit that I have done it, too.

[Jan]

If you get rats from separate litters, an important point to mention is to be sure to quarantine them (keep them all separate, if they aren't from the same litter - different cages, different rooms if possible, and wash hands between handling) for at least 2 weeks after getting them.  That way, if one is sick, the others won't also get sick.  It doesn't have to be the perfect cage for quarantine, but be sure to add some extra toys and goodies so the two "solo" weeks aren't boring.  Clean everything well (bleach in water, then rinsing well) before using the quarantine cage again.

Also be prepared that the rats might not get along with each other, and you might end up with two cages instead of one happy family (I'm sure they'll get along fine, but it's better to expect the worst from the start, and then you can deal with it better.)

As for scent marking, you don't really notice it, unless you stick your nose right on the spot they've just marked, or if you only let them loose on a small area of, for example carpet, repeatedly and the urine builds up.  If you let them out on your bed, or sofa, cover it with an old sheet and then you don't really have to worry about it.  You only have to wash the sheet about once a week too.

Good luck with finding your rats.  They are wonderful creatures!!

[Joe]

Firstly, is it alright to get three male rats from different litters if we introduce them when they are babies? (We want them to be different colors so we can tell them apart easily).

And also do you think it will be a problem that males scent mark everything with urine?

Also do you think I'll be able to get the slightly less common colors like siamese and cinnamon without fishing around to too many breeders?

  It'd be much better to get them all from one litter. If you got them from seperate litters, you'd have to quarantine them all for st least two weeks, introduce them all, and hope all three accept the others. It's pretty risky, IMO. You shouldn't be worried about telling them apart. I've got three rats from the same litter that are quite easily recognized.

  The scent marking thing isn't really a big deal unless you put your nose right on it, or they mark the same spot (carpet, bed, etc) a lot. The problem most people have with it is having it on them.

  Chances are if you're gonna go to a pet store for them, you're more than likely gonna have to take what you can get. Pet store rats are bred for numbers and nothing else (with the extreemly rare exception), so you probably won't find much more than the more common colors and PEWs (pink-eyed whites). I got lucky when I got mine and got some beautiful boys, but I'd been looking at pet stores and flea markets around here for about eight months.

  Where do you live? I'm sure we can help you in finding one n your area if you decide to go to a breeder (which I would sugget, by the way. I would have, but none in my area).

  Good luck finding your ratties! You'll love 'em!

[Ratty Corner]

You just need to find a litter with a variety of colours in it! We've recently got three boys from the same litter with completely different colouring, one black, one topaz and one cinnamon. Also, a lot of breeders plan for more than one litter at once as insurance against feeding problems, so they might have same-age litters available at the same time.

[SADCAT]

  It'd be much better to get them all from one litter. If you got them from seperate litters, you'd have to quarantine them all for st least two weeks, introduce them all, and hope all three accept the others.

I don't think you have to worry if you get all the rats from different litters from the same pet store. Our Super Pet sometimes has several different litters of rats available at the same time, and they are all in different cages, but in the same room. So if one cage had an illness, it's likely the other cages would have it too. BUT, if you are going to different breeders, then yes, must quarentine...

[Yresim]

  It'd be much better to get them all from one litter. If you got them from seperate litters, you'd have to quarantine them all for st least two weeks, introduce them all, and hope all three accept the others. It's pretty risky, IMO. You shouldn't be worried about telling them apart. I've got three rats from the same litter that are quite easily recognized.

The other nice thing about adopting rats from the local SPCA or rattie rescue is that they usually have rats from different litters that are already bonded to each other (and live together).  

That way, the rescue people do the work, and you get to reap the benefits of having a wonderful variety of ratties.

Okay, I'll stop now.  Really I will.