Rats Vs. Mice as Pets
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When debating between a mouse or a rat there are several things that you should consider before making a purchase.
CAGE:
Naturally, rats get larger than mice and require a larger cage. Larger cages are more expensive than smaller cages. And, with a larger cage, you have to have somewhere to put it. Do you have room for a medium - large sized cage?
DIET:
When it comes to diet, nothing is different. Rats and mice have the same diet. You can purchase rat/mouse food at your local petstore and feed it to either a rat or a mouse. You do want to consider the brand of food. Where Kaytee Forti-Diet maybe be great in the sense of it's for hamsters, gerbils, mice, and rats, so if you already have a hamster or a gerbil, you, technically, could purchase this and feed either a mouse or a rat, too. But, with this particular food, it is high in fat, and should not be used as a staple diet. Seeded diets are not the best for rats, as they too, are fatty. You're best best is to find a rat/mouse block
SMELL:
Personally, I feel that mice have a stronger odor than rats do.
Female rats and mice will smell less than male rats and mice, but I have three female rats in one cage, and one male mouse in another. My one, small male mouse smells worse than my three. larger female rats.
If you clean the cage out weekly, the smell will be reduced. I have to clean, or at least rinse, everything in my mouse's cage in order to reduce the smell to near nothing.
SOCIALIBILITY:
This may be the biggest concern when deciding between a rat or a mouse.
Mice will play on you and around you, but not with you. Rats will play on you, around you, and with you, but only if socialized properly. Rats are friendlier than mice when it comes to people interaction, but that does not always mean that they will always play with you.
If you're looking for a sit on the couch and watch tv pet, neither will sit for long periods of time and hang out, but a rat would be the better option of the two.
If you're interested in more than one mouse or more than one rat, both are social towards their own kind. It's best to house two females (mice or rats), versus two males. Although, it's not impossible to have two males housed together, sometimes, it can create territorial concerns. When housing two males together, you;re best bet is to bring home two males together, versus introduce one at a later time. I personally, think that you're best bet is to stick with two females of either mice or rats.
Fancy Mice
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Fancy Rats
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Rat Information
- Toys for Pet Rats
Find fun games for you and your pet rat(s). - Signs of Illness in Your Rat
Make sure that you are aware of the signs of illness in your pet rat(s). - Rat Munchies
Proper treats for you pet rat(s). - Housing Pet Rats
Finding the perfect cage is a must for pet rats. Make sure you know what you're looking for in a cage and accessories - Homemade Rat Diets
Make a healthy, homemade rat diet for your favorit pet. Find out about proper nutrition. What you can and can't feed your rats. - Homemade Rat Recipes
Find out more fun and yummy recipes that you can make for your pet rat(s). - Homemade Rat Treats
Make yummy homemade treats for your beloved pet rat(s).
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Comments
Tiffany, I have 3 female rats.
Aren't rats something ! My rat is gray and has a black spot on her ear .
Those are very cute rats. I'm gonna get another rat. What do you think I should name it ? If this helps she is gonna be a hooded rat. A freind is giving her to me .
I don't think that I've seen a gray rat. I've seen blue and silver ones, maybe that's what I'm thinking.
When you introduce the new rats, do so slowly. You may want to try two cages next to each other for a while and letting them play together outside the cage. Then try putting both in the bigger of the 2 cages for a little bit to see how it goes. Just a tip.
You may want to check out the new rat's personality. Does it already have a name? Some rats will respond to a name, but that doesn't mean that you can't change it.
My hooded female (in the picture above) is named Zoe, she'll come out of her house when I say Doe-Doe. her pet name started as Zo and progressed to Doe, then Doe-Doe.
No, she does'nt have a name yet. I'm going to get her on this Sunday . My other rat "Ratella" is kinda darker than the male mouse picture. Ratella is very sweet . And very tame. So put them in 2 cages for about 2weeks ? or play it by ear and see how it goes? I've gone over to see it and it is very playful.
no no no no no ! what are you saying ?!! male rats are PERFECTLY capable, if not more capable of living together with their own gender despite whether or not they are related. rats, disregarding gender, must ALWAYS, ALWAYS be kept in pairs or more.
Actually, that's not 100% true. Male rats and male mice can have territorial problems if not introduced young. They don't necessarily have to be related, when it comes to males, it's best to introduce young.
I've had male rats, unrelated, fine to start, but after a few months start bullying each other, more than normal rat wrestling and play.
That's because they're trying to take position of the alpha rat. The rough play will only last for a while until it's certain between the two which one is more dominant than the other. It's common in a lot of animals.
Not necessarily... There is a big difference in determining dominance, rough housing, and fighting... My girls rough house and have decided dominance. Males can have serious territorial concerns, especially when adding a new male to an existing male. It may work for you, but it's not suggested by most long term rat raisers and such. I will admit, though, that it's not impossible to house two or more males in the same cage.
I've housed up to eight bucks in the same cage at any one time. But usually, before and after they went, I only had 4 max together at any one time because I wanted to move onto concentrating on does (I kept bucks for about eight years). There was hardly any rough play, apart from when they were going through their hormonal stages or fighting for dominance, and the most that resulted from that was
the occasionally abscess. If bucks are seriously harming each other for long periods of time, they're probably having hormonal imbalances and need neutering.
I'm not saying it's impossible to house more than one male together, but there are cases where it just doesn't work out. Even with prolonged periods of determining dominance, it can stress out the beta of the two rats.
I'm quite sure that rats will be more stressed living alone than they would be living with a cage mate that harrasses them. I suppose the only responsible thing to resort to in a situation such as that is to get both of them neutered.
I meant to mention earlier, that I have a friend who's male rat has a heart disorder (at this moment, I forget what exactly), but he must live alone. Recommended by the vet.
Neutering is a great idea, but in many cases vets will not neuter them, not just rats, but specialty/exotic pets. One must find a vet who will see rats, and is fluent with their care, as a dog or cat vet is not the best option. So, in many cases, a vet with these requirements, may be accessible.
i h8 rats im getting some mice 2marrow
Hi Whitney- Guess we do have things in common! :-D lol Your rats are so adoreable. Love the info to! I am soo eager to write but afraid I won't have much time this weekend. =/ Sorry! =)
Thank you. And we do have things in common. I have homemade rat treats and homemade rat diet recipes as well. Here on HubPages you have all the time. Make sure that you have time to devote to a hub before you slap something together. I can't wait to read your hubs when you do have the time.
i really want to get two rats (female) but my mum wont let... instead she wants mice :S, ive told her many times over that rats smell less and are more sociable but she doesnt listen... any tips on something i could say to make her change her mind?
Because all parents are different, I'm not sure what exactlyl you could tell her. I will say rats are much more social and less likely to bit than mice are.
Is it possible to keep one rat alone w/o adverse effects on the animal?
Not really. They do so much better in pairs. If you're going to have one, you should have the cage space and the food for 2. Just make sure that you have the cage space, as you don't want to cramp them. A small beginner cage, just won't do for 2; actually it really won't do for 1 rat. They are social animals, and do better in pairs.
I have a hooded pet rat and my sister has a blue rat we love them!
Hi I have one rat named Ruby I love her but she will not play with me. Do you now how I can get her to play with me?
my rat has red eyes and white fur but her ears are a light brown like her nose. what tipe is she ?
Kayla/baby girl rats really don't play with you, but they will play on you. I'm not really sure what you mean by play with. She's an albino from your description.
hey its fine to have male rats housed together, yes if theyre are introduced young its bnest, but if introdocued properly in a nuetral area.. they will be fine. I have four boys Ben, Edy, Breyer and Dasz. I love them to deatha dn try to educate people on rats, i work at a pet store and try to change the "eeeewww rat" person's mind.. i usually suceed.
Sometimes you can be successful at introducing males together early on but there are many cases where they will fight at an older age even if that is done. It really all depends on the rat.
I absolutely love rats, but they are incredibly social creatures so I urge you to get more then one. Even if they do have plenty of toys, their brother and you will be their entertainment most of the time. The have a much healthier upbringing when raised with a friend(s).
How to tell your boy rat has reached puberty
1. You find much chewed copies of PlayRat magazine in his stash when cleaning up his cage. 2. He's given up all his favourite healthy treats in favour of yogurt drops and coke. 3. He demands you put a lockable privacy door on the litter tray. 4. 555-HOTRATS is programmed into your phone's speed dial. 5. You discover that your drivers license has been "fixed" with a photo of your rat, so he can get into clubs. 6. Scritches are no longer acceptable in public places. 7. He dribbles pee all over your house without embarrassment.
hi, my name is amber. I have 3 male mice in one cage. Two are brothers, and the "dominant" one is their dad. He keeps fighting with them, we had 3 mice to start with (1 male, 2 female) and we were breeding them for a snake (not my idea, it was my moms) so we had like 9 males total before we split males and females, and they kept fighting. I had one he was my favorite, and his dad killed him just for running on the wheel. He won't allow any of them in the house now, and I'm not sure what to do. We split them up, the 2 brothers are in the tank, and he's in a pickel jar. Does anybody have any advice?
The younger of the brothers isn't using his back legs, he's draging them everywhere he goes, and they both have wounds from the middle of teh back to they're tails... please help me.
Sounds like you need to separate them asap! First off take the one out of the pickel jar. Mice need more room to play and be a mouse than in a pickel jar. That's really cruel of you to do that. Secondly, get the wounded mouse to a vet for antibiotics. It doesn't sound like he's doing well at all.
The younger of the brothers died this morning :(
I don't really have anywhere to put the dad, besides back in the tank. Which I don't really want to do for a reason, and I can't put him with the females either, because I'm not allwoed to breed them for another month or so...
I'm sorry to hear that.
As for the dad, you need another place to house him. Mice are very smart animals, and you are killing him having him couped up in a pickel jar.
Buy another cage.
ok, well maybe my mom can take me to Petsmart or something to get him a cage :)
I have a male mouse maybe 6 months old, and his back legs are not moving. He appears to be happy, eating and is still able to get around his cage but his back legs are dragging. Anyone know what this might be? My kids are very sad
:(
Paralysis is serious. You may need a vet. There is typically some underlying cause.
i have two adorable rats, bonnie and chloe. they are the sweeetest things alive.. get rats!!!
bonnie is getting a few sores and cuts around her neck and stuff, what is it? what should i do? please help!!! thanx <3
are they bullying each other? rough wrestling?
I have have two rats. they are so cute! but one of them is starting to smell. can i give her a bath?
It's actually not recommended to give them baths. do you know what is causing the smell? is the cage fairly small? is the one sleeping in the bedding where they pee and poo?
do you know how i can get my rat to become more comfortable around me. i've only had him a few days, i understand it takes time. but i just wanna make sure he likes me! and also, he keeps sneezing. i've heard it could be bad, but then again i also heard alot of younger rats sneeze. he has no discharge from his eyes or nose. and one more thing, how fast do rats grow? can i expect to see some size difference in a few weeks? thanks.
sneezing is the first sign of respiratory illness. Yougner rats will sneeze more than older rats, but not an excessive amount of sneezing, and typically only when excited. You will see noticeable size difference in a few weeks. Rats are typically full grown by a few months old.
http://hubpages.com/_rats/hub/Caring-for-Pet-Rats
Can you house rats and mice together? or will they fight?
the rats will kill the mice.
I use a pine bedding for my mice, I'm starting to worry, because other sites I've been on say you can't use them because of dust, and the oils releases from the pine. Is the pine bedding I use ok?
I use the Premier Pet Natural Pine Bedding
It says it's dust-free, and absorbency for healthier pets and eaiser care...
How do you introduce male rats/mice that aren't littermates? (if there is a way.)
I'm gettting a new male rat friend for Kilo and they aren't littermates....and I don't want them to fight/
Samantha, you shouldn't use pine in a small animal's cage. Switch to aspen if you want to use a wood bedding. Pine can cause respiratory concerns.
Kayla, You want to make sure that they are both young, same age, and similar size, and slowly introduce them. You may need multiple cages so that they can sniff and smell each other through the cages, if your current rat/mouse is not a baby. Sometimes you may not have any problems throwing a new rat in with a current one, but sometimes you will encounter bullying. This is even a concern with littermates.
Hi I have a rat that has just grown a tumor. It hasn't become a problem yet. She is still healthy and active, but I'm starting to worry about how long she will be able to survive with it. Do you know how long she can live with it or do you have any comments of what I can do to help her.
I would consult a vet to verify that it is a tumor. If it is a young rat, you may be able to have the tumor removed so that your rat will live a healthy life. Otherwise, how long your rat will life with the tumor will vary on your rats age, how long it's had the tumor, what kind of tumor it is, how big the tumor is, and your rat's overall health.
This is Amber again, I have a new problem with my male mouse. (It the the only male I have left, and is the older brother) He has a 10 gallon tank to himself now, and we've noticed his "battle scars" on his runp have healed quite nicely, but new scars are appearing on his neck, and upper shoulders...He has been scrathing alot. So much near his ears that they are bleeding. Do you have an idea of what this might be? my worst geuss would be like a mange, or flea problem, but out of all the females and him (housed in different cages, as I've mention earlier) he is the only one with this problem, and I was also wondering why? if you have any information please help...
That's good his battle wounds are healing. As for the ones on the neck, they are caused by him scratching, which could be an allergy, mites, or fleas. Since they hve been separated a while, there could have been something in the bedding that you last bought. I'm not sure. You may want to consider a vet for antibiotics..
My mouse bit me, til I bled...will it effect my health in anyway? (She bit the tip of my finger)
It shouldn't affect your health. Just keep the wound cleaned.
Hi Whitney,
I have previously owned mice but never rats and was thinking this time of trying rats. However, I have heard male rats smell more than females? My last female mouse smelt really bad (even though I cleaned her cage at least once a week). I love having rodents as pets but not so keen on the smell. Is there anyway to reduce the smell other than the obvious cleaning? :)
Typically, males smell worse than females. Cleaning is the only way to reduce the smell. I used to use vinegar and peroxide to clean the cage before adding fresh litter, and that helped, but throughout the week, they will start to smell again.
My rat has scars on his back, especially his upper back. There are no other animals that he associates with. I wonder if he gets these from scratching or from a skin condition. What could it be?
The rat is probably scratching itself, which could be attributed to an allergy or mites.
Sorry to bring up an old argument but i have 2 male rats and they were bought from the same shop (brothers) one was at the start growing much quicker then the other and so fights broke out. The large rat (saitan) and the smaller rat (pysco) fought for domince not to kill saitan quickley became dominate. Then pysco began to grow too and they fought again during one of these fights my mother intervened and got bitten by saitan. SHe made the decision to have them de-sexed. Once their balls had gone they didnt pee everywhere and the fighting stopped.
So male rats are fine as long as you can put up with fighting until their old enough to be de-sexed
hi, I have like a bunch of pet mice, and one of them has a tumor...or atleast I think it's a tumor, I've just noticed it today, when I was feeding them. I've tryed to take them to every vet I know, but none of them have experience with mice. I'm not sure what to do...can you help me?
Have you called around or checked the internet for specialty vets in your area. If it is a tumor, a vet will need to look at the mouse to determine the prognosis and any treatment. A vet is also the only person who can properly diagnose the lump.
hi! i have to rats. they are hooded, i think. i love them a lot. but i heard that it is ok to have only 1 rat. i heard that if you only have 1, it will love you more and if you have 2, they wiil love eachother more. do you think that is true?
One rat is fine but you must give it plenty of attention. Two rats are better because they can give each other constant attention. One rat will love you, but two rats will show you more attention as they will fight for your attention. (Not literally fight, but they will both try harder.)
How much does a rat cost? My mom said I should get a pet and i can't choose. I want a Hamster, Rabbit, Mouse, or Rat. It would be very nice for some help but i need it soon. Thanks alot
The price of the rat will vary on size, as most rats sold at petstores are sold as feeders. Breeders are typically about 10-20. You must remember that the actual pet will be much cheaper than the cage, bedding, food, water bowl, and other caging accessories. Plus the ongoing expense of beddingi food, and potential vet bills.
Rats make better pets than any dumb old mice.They stink less(less amonia in their urine) and are more social towards humans. Males do make better lap pets than the more active females(not to say male rats are better) I would just feed the dumb mice to my snakes(like I do every 4 days).However I would never feed my dozens of (all taken good care of) intelligent rats to my gorgeous pythons(I feed rabbits to larger ones.
I guess everyone agrees that rats rule and mice stink(literally and figu(rat)ively.Just remember that rats spelled backwards is "star".
I took my rat to the vet because she had a tumor. She is 17 months old and is healthy except for her tumor. Her type of tumor is a benign mammary tumor. They said they could try to remove the tumor, even though it is very large. They said surgery on rats can be risky due to anthesia and she might chew her stiches out. The vet told me to think it over because sometimes it can do more harm than good. I'm trying to decide whether to let her live her life with her tumor or risk surgery. Can you give me some advice?
It is ultimately your decision to make. What is the average lifespan leaving the tumor? And what is the average statistical lifespan removing the tumor?
I agree with a couple people here, Whitney. From my personal experience I've found male rats to actually be more tame and "lazy," a better companion for a lap rat experience.
Also, I've four rats now (two in each cage) and while they are apt to play and wrestle, they are seldom violent towards each other. I've heard and read also of conflicting reports on this issue. Many will see female rats are actually harder to house, but I think in general all rats love each other. =)
Whitney,I was looking at the hubs you wrote and I noticed this hub.Did you know this is the hub that got me started on hubpages.See,I even still have my post from when I still have not joined.Mice do sometimes make good pets.I never noticed that.I still prefer rats and I still do not like mice though.Thanks for writing this.Without it,I would not have known about hubpages.Are those your rats?They are adorable.Still have them?
Yes, those are my rats. I'm glad that you joined HP; have fun writing.
hi, I might be getting a rat soon, but my parents said I could only get one...is it OK to keep them alone? (if it helps, I'm going to try and get a male) some people say it's perfectly fine to keep them alone, but others say they are social to there own kind... (?)
They can be kept alone, but just typically do better in pairs or small groups so that when you can't play with them and interact, they always have a buddy for mental stimulation and play.
oh, ok.
I'll try to get 2 :)
thanks
Hope I was able to help.
Over the past 22 years of my life i have owned many pets, including mice and now rats. I have enjoyed my rats more than my mice, they are smarter and seem to have more personality. But this is just my opinion.
hi, i just bougth a rat at a local petstore and he is very small( he was the runt) and i noticed that he has the reddish brown stuff around his nose and sneezes alot....but other then that he loves being held and sleeping by me he also eats alot and i give him fresh fruit all the time like apples and he loves them! im not sure whats wrong with him though do you have any idea? hope you can help! thanks.
Sounds like upper respiratory condition that a vet needs to check out.
Hmm I LOVE rats, Mice suck and so do hamsters, they are more likely to bite than a rat and they stink. My females i have owned are always to active and curious to sit with me or even play with me and one of them loved marking me while all others NEVER urinated or defecated on me. Unfortunately i lost both females to tumors. I now have a male, he is so sweet and loves to play tickle games. All my rats have always been housed alone and spent time together during out side play time. I once housed 3 males and 1 female mice together and they males got along with the female unfortuneately even though all were purchased together the smallest male ended up being the most violent and i had to return the larger males to the store due to serious injuries. All in All I have owned mice and rats my whole life and I will always say rats are better pets and Males are better for those who want a pet rat that will be affectionate and focus more on u then exploring everything around it. I have never been bitten by a rat but i have been bitten MANY times by mice and hamsters. (Hamster are moody creatures) LOL Another problem I have always had is EVERY single time i have purchased a rat from a pet store such as petsmart and petco They ALWAYS have URI and have to be returned for treatment the very next day...Luckily petsmart and petco will either replace or treat for free.
I got 2 mice from someone who fed live to their snake and the mice killed the snake. there's a male and a female and the female is already verrry pregnant, and I know this doesn't really have much to do with post thing, but I thought maybe you could help me. Right now I have them together in a 30 gallon tank until I can find something that the male can't escape out of because i put him in a wire cage, and I'm not sure how he did it, but somehow he got out and the cage is brand new so there aren't any holes or anything. I would put the female in there, but I know that her babies might be able to get out of it, so I was thinking of putting her in a drawer from one of the storage things until she has her babies, then putting her in the wire cage with her daughters (if she has any) and putting the sons(if she has any) in with the male mouse. I've had plenty of pet rats before, though all of them were female, so I never had to deal with a pregnant rat, so I just want to make sure that I keep her as happy and healthy as I can so nothing goes wrong with the delivery, and to get to the point of this is there any certain type of food I should be feeding her or anything I should supplement to keep her healthy?
Wow ... Ok... the mice should be kept with the mom for at least 4-6 weeks and immediate sexed then, which can be rather hard to do since they're so small. The adult male mouse will probably bully, if not kill the babies if you put them in there with him. Mice can be very territorial, especially males. You'll want to separate the male mouse from the mom before she has the babies, as she can get pregnant fairly quickly after giving birth. Make sure to use a bedding that cannot suffocate the babies (carefresh and most recycled beddings can easily suffocate them). There's really not a supplement that you could provide, but offer a carrot piece, slice of celery, or some fresh produce as extra nutrients.
Ok, I've decided to put the male in the drawer thing until I can get another cage that he can't escape, so I'm watching him closely to see if he can get out, and if he does then I'll try putting the female in there. I have them on aspen shavings, and in the female's cage I put a little igloo thing and gave her a little toilet paper and shes already made a nest inside the igloo so I'm guessing that she's getting close to delivery. I have some fresh broccoli, would that be ok? And as far as the putting the sons in with the adult male, I was going to wait until they are 5 weeks old, and introduce them in neutral territory such as a cardboard box, in case they don't get along I'll keep the wire cage for the sons.
That's probably a good idea. Just make sure there's enough ventilation and air. Aspen should be fine. The brocoli should be fine. The cardboard box won't last long with mice; even if you set them up in a neutral territory it'll need to be short term, take away, put them back together for a little longer, take them away. You can't monitor whether the male will get along with the boys long-term by just a 20 minute neutral territory trial. I would definitely consider the separate cage, as I highly doubt that it will work leaving the father with the boys long-term. The same thing can fall into place with the boys not getting along, even though they're brothers. Mice can be very territorial and cannibalistic- both males and females.
Ok, thank you. I'll let you know how things are going when she has the babies.
Ok. Sounds good.
hey whitney, i have a male rat named skitz (skittlez) i was wonderin if u believe its better for a male rat to be housed alone or paired up , please reply asap thanks kiera
If you've had the rat for a little bit, it may be hardto integrate another male into the cage. Sometimes male rats get along perfect but not all the time. You could try it out, but if they don't get along after careful quarantine and slow inroductions, you'd need two cages. Typically, rats are better in pairs though.
hi whitney
i just wanted to thank you for helping out these people and their pets. its really nice of you, and im sure the animals appreciate the improved care. i wish people would do the research befoooore getting pets but its never too late i guess.
Thank you Chris. I only hope to help. And, yes research should always be done prior to getting a new pet, but continuous research after as well is always beneficial, as there are potentially going to be changes to proper care and nutrition.
I have two mice they just had babies the people at the pet shop said they where both girls!!!
I love my mice
Hiah Whitney,
I agree with everything you said in your hub - mice do smell more etc. but I think mice are equally as friendly as rats when it comes to socialibility; my mice used to sit quite happily on my shoulder while I watched TV, and loved to meet other people - they were my best friends! :) Whereas all my cousin's rats seemed interested in was chewing my flip-flops! haha
tiffany says:
2 years ago
I think people should get a pet rat because they are smarter, and they give you more effection. I have a rat named Cleoratra! she is a hooded rat.
Do you have a rat Whitney?