Rat Care Sheet

Rats make a fantastic pet. They are very curious, highly intelligent and are a very social animal. This means they need to be housed with more than one, ideally of the same sex. Single rats can become very depressed and even die of loneliness. Human contact is not the same even if you are planning on spending lots of time with your rat.

Life Span:

The average life span of a rat is 2.5 – 3 years. They grow on average to about 20-25cm

Enclosure:

A large wire cage with a solid bottom is best to house your rat. The ideal enclosure should include fun things like, wheels, sputniks which are hanging houses, hammocks or ground house, even cardboard boxes are fun to entertain your rats.  

Bedding:

It is important to avoid wood shavings or sawdust as this can cause respiratory problems. Shredded news paper will do the job.

Food:

Like us, rats need a varied and healthy diet. Our rats are eating Topflite Rat and Mice mix, treats of Sunflower seeds, live mealworms, freeze dried mealworms, freeze dried krill, raw carrots, apples, mixed veg and pasta shell. Fresh water should always be available, the pet drink bottles work perfectly for this.