The Rat Room

Rats secrete a type of “snot” or “tears” through the nose and/or eyes. It is red in color and not at all blood, it’s produced by the Harderian gland.
There can be very little or quite a lot which is alarming. The causes can be anything from stress to illness. Any kind of stress can affect a rat and make them less then top health. Stresses to avoid for rats are loud noises, too many changes like cages and rooms, smoking, fragrances, drafts, unsuitable habitats and new pets in the home.
Small amount of porphyrin is not much to be concerned about, you might want to think about dusty bedding and/or better diet.
But a lot of porphyin could indicate illnesses such as respiratory infections, internal infections, pituitary tumors and other serious health issues. In this case a vet appointment is a must.
Bleeding from the nose is extremely rare in rats but not impossible. Some rats do get polyps in the nasal passages. This will bleed and can be controlled for a short time.

Rats are from the order Rodentia but that doesn’t mean you can put them all together to play.
In fact, rats are known to become very territorial and instinctual when faced with a different and smaller species. Rats can attack and cause severe damage if not death to other species like hamsters, mice, degus…
I’ve heard a few horror stories with people wanting their rats to play with their other pocket pets.
Not just small animals, but also birds, cats and dogs should be supervised when around rats. There are dogs that would love nothing more than to bite down on a rat and make him/her his lunch.
Don’t force an unnatural friendship between rats and bunnies, rats and guinea pigs, rats and chinchilla, rats and ferrets… the results could be disastrous.

Please keep your pet rats happy and healthy with their own kind. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.

In March of 2006, I picked up two brothers from Small Victories Rodent Rescue based in Montreal. These two were already 12 months old and had been living together all their lives. They were born at the rescue.
They were quite adorable the pair but they were causing quite a ruckus in the cage. Each time, I would run to the cage, I always caught Pascal on top of Vincent. Poor Vincent was screaming bloody murder and seemed quite petrified to me. I would then take Pascal out and give him a good talking to. This went on for a couple of days. I was at my wits end and about to neuter the both of them and do the unthinkable…separate the brothers.
Instead of going through with these drastic measures, I decided to hide behind the couch and observe the two.
It was 1am. I’m squatting behind the arm of the couch, it’s dark except for a dim night light but I could see perfectly into the cage. I observe Vincent walking up the ramp onto the top shelf. He positions himself just so, waits a moment and jumps down right onto his brother Pascal. Pascal gets up and proceeds to flip Vincent and hold him there in a dominant position all the while Vincent is squeaking like a tortured soul.
Finally Pascal lets him go… Vincent moves off and slowly climbs up the ramp again. What does he do next? Yep, he positions himself just so, and jumps on Pascal again. Pascal somewhat annoyed knows the routine and flips his brother who is now again squealing with delight. This went on and on. I knew then and there that rats don’t always scream when in pain or in protest. They do it for fun too. I never separated the deeply bonded brothers. They went on to live together until Vincent passed away at 39 months old. Pascal stayed with me another 4 months after that.
Simply wonderful rats.

It’s really quite simple… rats need good air ventilation so cages are really the only habitat suitable for rats.
Tanks are usually too small, have no shelves and have very poor air flow.
Rats thrive on lots of interaction and being part of the family. A tank limits his involvement, not only can’t he see properly but he can’t smell nor hear when in a tank. Rats need constant mental stimulation, as they are highly intelligent.
Wire cages are the best but need to be a good size. I know the old saying goes 2 cubic feet per rat but honestly, even that is too small. Rats are active animals, they need room to run, climb and explore. His habitat needs to contain several nesting areas as well as a clean spot for his food and water.
For two rats, start with a base of 30 x 18… the height is important as well, this means it can hold shelves or levels as well as hammocks and other nests and beds.
Be careful of the bar spacing. Babies, females and small males can squeeze through a 1″ gap in the bars.
Unfortunately most cages with suitable bar spacing aren’t big enough and mainly suitable for hamsters.
Luckily, there are a few cages available to the pet rat and these cages are great.
Martin’s cages make an excellent rat cage.
Midwest’s Critter Nation is also an excellent cage for rats.

Over the years, I’ve tried all kinds… except not the dreaded cedar and pine. The softwood chips contain phenols which in turn can harm the rat’s respiratory systems and kidneys since it cannot keep up with filtering the toxins as well as their liver.
Aspen is another choice but again, I’ve found a study that suggest it’s also not the best to use with rats not as bad as pine and cedar though. Also, aspen is dusty and can get rather stinky once it’s been urinated on.
There are other types of commercial bedding marketed for small animals like Carefresh. I have used this brand in the past and found it excessively too dusty.
Clumping clay cat litter is definitely a no-no. Rats could easily ingest it when cleaning themselves. This litter clumps when moisture is added, think of the issues this can cause in ratty tummies.
Another issue for tummies would be corncob bedding. If not cleaned fast enough it will mold and rats do find it palatable. Corncob bedding is also too absorbent which can cause a condition called ringtail in rats, from which they can lose their tail unless treated. It sucks the moisture from the tail.
The best I’ve found so far is Yesterday’s News… a cat litter made of recycled material. The odor control if fantastic, it’s very absorbent and easy to clean as well.
I have yet to try Boxo which is a shredded box board. I’m hesitant to change since using fleece on my floors and YN in litter trays, my cages haven’t been stinky and it’s a breeze to do daily cleanups.

What’s the harm in buying a rat from that pet store?
Most rats in pet stores come from rat mills or worse yet, bred in a back room.
Rat mills produce rats by the thousands. These rats are housed in small containers in overcrowded conditions. Moms are bred back to back which ends up producing unhealthy babies. When you buy from a pet store with stock from a rat mill, you are most certainly buying a sick and unsocial rat.
A pet store that breeds their own also keeps their stock in unfavorable conditions. They usually have their rats in with mixed genders, rats are constantly inbreeding and not socialized either.

Keep in mind, when you buy from a pet store, you are filling a need which sends the message to the pet store that they need to acquire or produce more stock thus creating more unhealthy rats.
It is hard to not buy that sad little face in that pet store tank but he will be replaced by a dozen more sad little faces. Most of which will end up as live reptile food… a most horrific end to their young lives.

Send out a message to these pet stores selling animals for profit. Try not to purchase supplies from a rat-selling petstore. Support the shops without animals. Stop the demand… end the supply.

Rats have always had a terrible reputation. Not only are they considered vermin, but they are also used in lab experiments.
When in fact, rats are wonderful, intelligent, sweet and loving little creatures. But with their less than desirable history, these small furry animals are plagued with diseases and illnesses. Society doesn’t have a problem with using them for experimentation but they won’t take the time to find out what can be done to cure them of their short lifespan.
The state of their lives is due to society: a society driven by greed, impulse and curiosity.
We can’t just blame the laboratories for the state of our rats. But the pet stores as well. Some, sadly most pet stores keep rats in worst conditions. How can rats thrive or become healthy when they are subjected at such an early age to toxic bedding, dirty water and cramped housing. How can the female rats produce healthy babies when she is constantly in a pregnant state and her babies are taken away at 3 weeks of age. Where does socializing fit in to all this? Rats learn from rats.
Then we have home breeding, breeding for fun or accidental litters. There should be so much consideration before even thinking of breeding your rat.
Where does this rat come from?
Is he healthy?
What is carried in his genes?
Does he have a good pedigree?
What about his temperament.
Why do I want to breed this particular rat?
Am I filling a need?
Will bringing more rats into the world benefit anyone or anything?
Then there’s the birthing process: do you have a vet that is extremely rat savvy? Does the vet know of your intentions and is willing to help?
There could be a number of things that can go wrong with the birthing process, are you ready for that?
Breeding your pet rat should not be an experiment, it should be done with careful consideration. Breeding pet store rats or worse yet, shelter rats will not help in the long process of creating a healthier stronger and more docile animal.
Please be careful, please think about it… breeding is not a game.

Litter training is possible in most rats but you must be patient and diligent in keeping up with it.
First off, don’t even think of trying it with babies. Baby rats are poop machines, keeping up with keeping the cage clear of poops will drive you mad.
But when the rats reach 3+ months, it would be time to start.
1. Observe your rats. Watch to see where they go to relieve themselves, usually after waking up. Most times rats will back up into a corner.
2. Place a litter pan in that corner or corners, it might be best to add several litter pans in several corners. Rats like to change it up some, especially if their sleeping quarters change.
3. Make sure the bedding in the litter pan is different from the bedding in the bottom of the cage.
4. Find all loose poops around the cage and place them in the litter pan. Every day empty the litter pans but keep a few poops in there. Now, come on, wipe that grimace off your face, it’s a necessary dirty job.

You must keep the cage clean of all loose poops, clean it up several times a day. Most rats will catch on but then you’ve got those that are not so smart. I’d say 80% of my rats are litter trained.
As for the urine, you might never be able to contain it in one spot, especially if you have several males in the colony. Rats will mark and scent their areas, it’s a natural thing to do. All animals do it.

Pituitary adenomas are very common in rats. It seems to affect them at any age whereas it used to be only seen in older rats.

My vet has done tons of research and post mortems with PTs and has come to the conclusion that there are at least three types or three occurrences.
1. Your typical pituitary tumour growth where as the usual symptoms of confusion, loss of rear end mobility, head tilt, knuckling, loss of sense of smell are a slow progression and can take several months for it to become fatal.
2. A bleeding pituitary tumour. The symptoms are sudden and leads to a quick death.
3. A pituitary tumour that presses against a vein on top of the gland. When this occurs, it usually causes a stroke in rats. Symptoms, loss of complete mobility or one sided, fetal position in rats, loss of appetite usually occurs but some rats can and do recover from the stroke but don’t recover 100% because they still have that pituitary tumour growth. The rat can have several strokes before finally succumbing to the tumour.

Dexamethasone/prednisone/prednisolone works in some cases, it can help with just the pituitary tumour and also the strokes but not in a bleeding tumour.
It reduces the swelling in the brain to the point where the rat is given some quality of life before the tumour grows too big.
My vet has seen cases where the tumour has squished the brain like a pancake. In these cases the symptoms were severe: circling, complete loss of awareness and massive porphyrin.

In each case, I would say it’s important to catch it early and to administer Dex or pred as soon as possible to give your rat a fighting chance and more good times with you before the inevitable end.

I’m not a vet but this is based on our discussions with my exotic vet.
If you suspect a PT in your rat the best course of action is seeing your vet and discussing the options with them.

I’ve been researching rat nutrition on and off for the last 6 years, ever since getting my first rats.
There are several factors that contribute to happy healthy ratties. Clean habitat, mental and physical stimulation, low caloric diet and proper nutrition.
It has been common practice to give rats a high protein diet. Mine didn’t do well on it, not only for the protein levels in dog food but also the lack of proper nutrients in a grain mix diet.
Following my vet’s advice and her top international exotic colleagues and an animal nutritionist, I switched my crew to a block specifically formulated for rats. But even then, it wasn’t good enough as most blocks have high protein and fat levels.

My research consisted of several links and articles.

Those that made an impact on me is the Nutrient Requirements of the Laboratory Rat.

Also,
The China Study: the most comprehensive study on nutrition ever conducted by T. Colin Campbell

And
The affect of sugar on the body:

FAT
It has been noted that rats fair better on a low fat diet. Research have shown that 5% dietary lipid is optimum for energy retention. Energy retention was smaller when decreased and increased, meaning, if the fat was less than 5% the rats had less energy but… if more than 5% again, they had less energy.
An experiment regarding mammary tumours and increased fat showed that mammary tumours are better nourished in rats fed a high fat diet.
Also, lactating rats fed a 5% fat diet demonstrated that rat pups developed equally as well when mom was on a low fat diet.

PROTEIN
Protein requirements decline from 28% at 30 days old to 10% at 50 days old in rats. Studies have shown the maintenance requirement to be 5% when the source is of high quality.

The China Study has shown that rats fed an optimum diet of only 5% protein are less likely to develop cancer even when given a toxin. Rats when fed a 20% protein diet and given a toxin went on to develop cancer. This strengthens the theory that 5% protein is the optimum protein intake for rats.

An animal nutritionist goes on to confirm that rats actually need a lot less protein than what was first developed by Harlan labs for rat blocks. He states that an adult rat only needs about 9 % crude protein or less to function properly.

The effects of a diet high in protein can cause kidney and liver damage.
The breakdown of protein into chemical energy by the body creates by-products of ammonia which is filtered through the kidneys into urea. Too much of this filtering can cause damage to the kidneys. The liver is damaged by free ammonia particles in the blood.

SUGAR
White sugar is a major contributor to several health risk.
Here are just a few of them:

Sugar contributes to the reduction in the defence against bacterial infections.
Sugar upsets the mineral relationship in the body.
Sugar can cause premature aging.
Sugar can cause tooth decay (tooth abscesses)
Sugar contributes to obesity.
Sugar can increase the amount of liver fat.
Sugar can cause a permanent altering of the way the protein act in the body.
Sugar can damage the pancreas.
… and so much more, so think twice before feeding yogies to your rat.