Today I will be teaching you how to care for a pet rat. Rats are very clean pets to own and are not hard to care for if you are doing it right. There are many ways rats can be stressed and this can lead to a very young death . The rats im talking about are not the street rats that scurry around and steal food. These rats are bred to be god pet (pls do not just pick up a random rat off the street and name it yours)

I advise you to buy rats from a breeder instead of a pet store, pet store rats are often sick and meant to be feeder rats.

1.Rats should never be alone
You should not just buy one rat. rats are meant to live in groups of two or more. Two rats are okay, I just advise you get three so it's like a pack. A lonely rat can be very stressed. No matter how much you take them out, they need a cage mate.

2.play-time
You should take your pet rat out 2-3 times a day for at least 30 minutes.

3. cage quality and size
Do NOT use thin wire cages. these can be bad for your rat to chew on. Hamster cages are not okay for rats, they are too small and thin. cages should be at least 29" x 15" x18"(inch).You should not use tanks like they do in pet stores because rats love to climb and can get very stressed or bored without bars.

4.cage cleaning
Cages should be cleaned once a week. Any longer than that, they'll stink.

5.Feeding
Rats diet should include nuts, vegetables, and bits of kibble, you could probably find rat food at a pet store.
Rats should avoid onions, cinnamon, gum, mints, large amounts of cheese, salt, and soda. These things could kill them painfully.
You could feed them pasta noodles, they are extremely healthy for rats but should be a snack instead of an everyday meal.

6.Toys
Their toys should mostly be wooden. They need wood to chew on.

That is all I have for this blog. Soon I will make a blog of signs of stress and happiness. Bye-bye!