caring for your rat

Origin

Rats are considered part of the rodent family. Their scientific name is “Rattus norvegicus”.

Life Span

Rats have an average life span of 2-3 years.

Physical Characteristics

Sexing

To properly sex a rat, the distance between the anus and the genital opening is measured. Males have a space twice the distance of females.

Behavioral Characteristics

In general, rats are very cute and popular pets that require minimal care. They do tend to get sick once in a while, and when they do, it is usually severe. rats are definitely cute and small, but they can bite hard. They are usually territorial of their own surroundings. Your rat should feel safe and not try to bite with routine handling. Never abruptly awaken your rat as they tend to hibernate and can scare easily and bite if not approached carefully and gently. It is best to house your rat alone and away from your other pets. He or she will feel safer this way.

Helping your rat feel safe

Here are some of the conditions that can help rats feel safe.

Controlled Environment (people, other animals, cage and room they are in)
Consistency (handling, diet, schedule)
Love and Attention (gentle handling, attention)

Here are some things that may make some rats feel unsafe.

Loud noises
Indifference (handling them with out talking to them)
Inconsistent surroundings
Traveling
Inconsistent diet
Dirty environment
Inconsistent handling
Startling while sleeping/hibernating

What happens if a rat becomes afraid?

There are three basic reactions rats can have to fear.

Fight
Flight
Freeze

All rats will react in one of these 3 ways to fear. These are characteristics that are a result of instinct and the genetic code. There are no bad rats. If a rat is afraid enough it may bite (fight response to fear). Even if we don’t like an animal’s behavior (and the behavior is “bad”), the animal is not bad. Of the three responses rats can have to fear, let’s look at each one and see how they affect our rat.

Fight

This is one way rats react to fear. This presents itself in the form of chewing or biting. These animals are not bad, they are simply afraid, and this is how they deal with it. Unfortunately, it can be challenging in a household to have rats that react to fear with a fight response. Since they are simply afraid (just like rats who react with freeze or flight), if we are emotionally hurt or offended and fight back (hitting, yelling, etc), this will only make them more afraid.

Freeze

rats that freeze stay very still. Sometimes they even hold their breath for long periods of time. They can continue chewing or stop chewing. If you see this (and you probably will), just notice it. If you are observant you will start to notice what you can do to help your rat feel less scared.

Flight

This is when a rat feels unsafe and runs away. Some rats freeze first, then, when the time is right, they run away. Since rats can run from fear, chasing them makes them more afraid, so if you can it’s best to give them the space and let them come to you. Some rats will do this quickly; some may not come to you for weeks to months (or longer). But it always helps to know it’s not you but simply that your rat is afraid. Don’t feel bad or guilty or wrong, just notice when your rat is the least afraid and interact then.

The way rats operate

When a rat is afraid they can react in any of the three ways we discussed, but there are several interesting points.

Whichever way they respond (based on instinct), they will probably always respond this way. This is why it helps to know your rat.
They can respond in more than one of these ways. For example, some rats will always follow this pattern: they become afraid and they run (flight), then, as they become even more afraid, they eventually get afraid enough to go to the next level (fight or freeze). Once you know their pattern you can always predict it.

This is vital information because you can notice where your rat is, and you can make changes to help your rat feel more safe (such as putting your baby down, picking your baby up, stopping petting your rat, or changing the environment).