Are you a proud new mommy or daddy to a cute rat that melts your heart with its beady little eyes?
As a new parent to your pet rat, we understand your mind may be abuzz with dozens of questions.
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Read on to find some useful tips that could come handy when raising your fur baby.
Are apples good for your rat?
We all know how an apple a day keeps the doctor away for us humans.
But are you wondering if they are good for your pet rat as well?
The good news is apples are not toxic for rats. In fact, they can make for a healthy snack for your pet.
Ensure to remove all seeds before feeding your rat.
Apple seeds have cyanide which is a very toxic substance.
Make sure to chop apples into little pieces before serving them to your pet to make it easier for it to eat.
Also, remember that green fruits can sometimes cause indigestion and diarrhea.
Hence you need to ensure not to indulge your furry friends with large quantities of fruits.
Keep the cage clean. If you see any bits and pieces of half-eaten food lying around, clean it up before it starts rotting.
If they accidentally feed on spoiled fruits, it can lead to food poisoning.
How to Keep Your Rat Stress Free
Where you put up your pet rat determines how stressed he or she would feel.
Rats are nocturnal animals which means they love to sleep during the day and wander around at night!
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Let’s say you decide to keep your rat’s cage in your living room.
A place where you spend most of your daytime watching TV in loud volume or hanging out with your human buddies.
So much noise and activity could cause your baby a lot of stress and discomfort.
A good idea would be to place its cage in a quiet corner of your house that would have less disturbance during day time.
The other way you could keep your buddy stress free is by not forcing it to try out something it doesn’t want to.
For example, you may enjoy watching your pet swim in the tub, but the poor rat may not enjoy it at all!
Forcing such activities on the creature in such cases would cause it to stress out.
Let your pet decide what games he would want to play.
Rats are curious but shy creatures.
Which is why you will often see if they are too stressed out or feel scared, they would run away and try to hide in a corner.
If your pet is acting like that, dial down your enthusiasm by a notch and let your pet be the way it likes to.
Keep Your Rat Active
Rats tend to bloat up from lack of enough physical activity.
Inside a cage with a steady supply of food and not much space for moving about, they get obese fast.
Hence you as your furball’s parent need to ensure to keep lots of toys inside their cage to make them stay active.
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Keep toy ladders or building blocks inside the cage.
Next, keep some treats on the top of these structures.
The smell of the food would lure your rat to climb up the distance to get the treat.
This is one way it gets some physical activity.
Rats are intelligent creatures and learn fast.
Give Your Pet The Gift Of Companionship
Rats, like all other animals, can get lonely without a playmate of their own kind.
So if you are your furbaby’s only friend, it’s time to change that.
Consider bringing home another rat so that your baby doesn’t get too depressed and lonely.
Rats also learn by imitating their companion’s activities.
Consider buying rats in pairs instead of getting a single one.
Keep Your Rat Hydrated
Rats can beat camels in the length of time they can go without water.
Despite that, giving them regular access to clean water is always recommended.
Throw away stale water from your pet’s water tray and refill it daily.
Rats are great groomers!
People treat rats as disease-causing pests that lurk in murky places.
The fact is rats are one of the cleanest animals you would ever come across.
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They are great groomers. They spend an average of 2 hours every day cleaning themselves and their fellow mates.
They are also very caring with injured members of their group.
They have high levels of personal hygiene.
This makes them less likely to spread diseases compared to an average cat or dog.
Conclusion
Keep your pet rat in a healthy and safe environment.
Consult your vet before adding any new food items to its diet and shower him with loads of love and attention.
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If you remember to follow these three things, you can be the ideal parent to your furball!
