A Colorado Rat Breeder-Hidden Haven Rattery - H2R

       
      We use a combination of Nutro Ultra Holistic Superfood -Weight Management dog food, scrambled eggs, fresh vegetables, like romaine lettuce (not iceberg), carrots, kale, peas, broccoli, fresh fruits like apples, mangoes, peaches, plain cooked pasta, yogurt and "grain diet" for our ratties. We also feed Harlan Teklad 2016 lab blocks (16% protein) when we can get it fresh through our feed store. This is the only lab blocks we feed.  We don't feed the prepackage food you find in the pet stores. Most of it is just junk. Also you have no idea how long it was sitting in the warehouse before it hit the selves of your local pet shop. It's usually quite stale. 
     
     We believe in a wide variety of quality foods for good health and you will find that rats demand it.  We can feed our dogs  and cats the same food day after day and they usually are happy with just a daily biscuit or treat.  Not so with rats. They seem to be very much like humans. They like variety, just like we do. If I feed my rats the same thing for 3 days in a row, on the third day they won't take the carrot, apple or lab block from my hand. They look up at me and seem to be saying, "What, this again?" So I try to keep them guessing and eager for their meals and treats.

      Fruit (no citrus fruits), dried banana chip, raisins, vegetables, yogurt, cooked eggs, sunflower seeds, pasta, unsweetened breakfast cereals, unsweetened oatmeal, a couple of pieces of high quality low-fat dog biscuit or a peanut make a great treat.  Rats don't need high protein diets like dogs and cats. Diets that are high in protein and fat have even been linked to some types of cancer in rats. Table scrapes are fine as long as they aren't deep fried, fatty, salty, sugary, or highly processed. Just remember, if it's not healthy for you, it's probably not healthy for your rats. Junk food will shorten your friend's life and a rat's life is too short already.  Now I'm not saying I cook for them. (Cooking just isn't my thing.) But it's not hard to rotate healthy food to keep them interested and well fed. We have a choice of what we eat; that's the blessing of thumbs  but our furry friends depend on us to choose the best food for them.

 Grain Diet

1/2 Part flaked barley

1 part sun flower seeds

1  part dog food (Nutro Ultra Holistic Superfood-Weight Management)

1/2 part oat groats or rolled oats/race horse oats.

1/2 part regular cooking oatmeal 

1/8 part raw unsalted peanuts (either in the shell or out of the shell)

1/8 plain unsalted pumpkin seeds

1/4 part unsweetened breakfast cereal just for variety, like puffed rice, rice krispies, bran flakes. 

Wire Cage or Aquarium?

     I don't recommend aquariums under 55 gallons because there isn't enough ventilation or room. The ammonia from the urine builds up very quickly which can cause respiratory infections. And respiratory infections can be fatal.  Aquariums have to be cleaned out more often than wire cages. On my Favorite Links page I have some cage recommendations and their websites. Make sure the bars are no farther apart than 1/2 inch for babies or females or they will escape. Adult males can live in 3/4 inch apart bars like you find in ferret/ guinea pig cages. There is also a link to a cage calculator page so you can get an idea of how many rats can live in different size cages. It's so hard just to look at a cage a guess how many rats it will house without crowding. If rats feel crowded they tend to squabble more.

 Bare minimum Cage Accessories

1.  Exercise Wheel - make sure it's the large size - at least 11".

2.  Wooden chew toys of some kind.

3.  A cozy covered sleeping place like an igloo, small box, multi-cubby,
(see the bottom of the H2R Rat Store page). If you have more than 2 rats,
you will need at least 2 of these. One for each rat is best.

4.  Crockery bowls  (so it doesn't tip over when your rat sits on the edge)

5.  Water bottle  

What else can I do to make sure my rat lives a long and happy life?

1. Mental stimulation: There is some evidence to suggest that enrichment has a profound effect on lifespan. In laboratory rats even assumed enrichments for pet rats such as cage mates and daily human handling significantly added to their lifespan. So change the toys and the interior of the cage often. Changing the shelving, ramps, sleeping nests, or area that you hang the hammock will stimulate your rats mind. You can almost see their minds working as they run and investigate something new in their cage. This doesn't have to be expensive, an empty kleenex box, soft drink 12 pack box, garbage bag box, even a empty toilet paper or paper towel roll will give them something new to play with. It has been found that the brain of a stimulated, enriched rat aged at a slower rate than the brain of an under stimulated, bored rat.

 2. Clean Cage: Whatever litter is used, ammonia will begin to build up within two or three days of cage cleaning, and high levels of ammonia are known to cause damage to respiratory system and eye damage, so cages should be cleaned out regularly.

3. Exercise: Physical activity is a must for long term health care. Many caged animals are under exercised, partly due to poor cage design of single level living. In cage exercise should be encouraged with varied climbing opportunities and cage set ups that do not allow extremely easy access from one level to another. Of course for disabled or old rats, you will have to make exception. Many rats will run on a wheel if given access to a wheel from infancy. Studies show voluntary wheel running alone can raise average life span by almost 10%. So a large exercise wheel is a must.

The Rat Guide - http://ratguide.com/

Medication Usage Chart for Rat Respiratory Illnesses and Other Conditions  http://www.rmca.org/Articles/dchart.htm

Rat Health Care and Information  http://www.ratz.co.uk/index.html 

The Rat Fan Club -  http://ratfanclub.org/helpinfo.html  

     The Rat Fan Club publishes Rat Health Care, a 48-page booklet written by club founder Debbie “The Rat Lady” Ducommun. We highly recommend that you order it so you can have it on hand in case of an emergency. It's very easy to understand and walks you though any health issue step by step. 

Rats:  Practical, Accurate Advice from the Expert
by Debbie "The Rat Lady" Ducommun 

This book is available in pet stores, book stores, and from online bookstores, but books ordered from The Rat Fan Club will be autographed by the author.

Rat Training
by Debbie "The Rat Lady" Ducommun

Great book for learning rat behavior, ticks, and practical training. I haven't seen this book in pet stores yet so you will have to order it though The Rat Fan Club.
All three books make up a great reference library that I find myself rereading often.