We have obtained permission to republish a comprehensive exotic animal care site in English and French called Poils et Plumes.

The most comprehensive sources of information on how to take care of pet rats can be found at Pet Rats Canada and Rat and Mouse Club of America. For basic information, you should know the following:

Companionship

Companionship is so important that it is our #1 priority. If you have a single rat now, please upgrade your cage to a size large enough for two or more, and adopt a rat from an animal rescue (where they are sometimes abandoned by people who become bored with their lonely, single rat that sleeps too much). Rats need to be in same-sex pairs (unless the boy is neutered or the girl is spayed. Rats are fertile as of 5 weeks and remain that way for life). They sleep, groom, and play together, are much happier, and are more sociable with you as a result.

The same is true for both sexes of gerbils and guinea pigs and female mice. However, male mice must remain single once they have been separated from their litter-mate brothers, they cannot be integrated with other males. Integration stress kills them. This is very well-documented. Believe it. Also, only a few breeds of hamster remain sociable with family members - most are solitary and they fight. Boys attack each other's private bits.

Quarantine and integration

When you bring a new companion home, he/she/it can't be thrust in a cage together with your resident rodent immediately; it needs to go through a quarantine period so that you are sure it is in good health (breeder, pet store rats, and shelter rats alike). It is generally recommended to quarantine your new pet for several weeks before starting the introduction process, but the information on the internet is generally alarmist to make you think about it.

More information about the rat viruses SDA or Sendai (a concern in certain areas such as Michigan) is available at Pet Rats Canada and Rat and Mouse Club of America. SDA and Sendai are a potential threat in Canada. SDA is a respiratory virus; once the rat has recovered, it is no longer contagious or a carrier, and it is now immune.

Regardless of quarantine, you should be giving your new pet a few days to settle in and get used to you and its new environment - especially if it has travelled some distance to get to you. Give it some time to rest and recover.

Animals who are new to each other need a slow introduction period on neutral territory. They should have opportunities to get used to each other's smell by trading items from cages and being able to see each other at a safe distance.

Please join a forum and ask for guidance and encouragement, don't go it alone your first time, because it can be scary to see your pets fight! However, so long as blood isn't drawn (they can injure each other, obviously), it is a normal part of the integration process, taking longer for boys than for girls in rats (some girls are successfully integrated within a day, with the new social order established in about a week), and longer for girls than boys for guinea pigs and rabbits.

Cage, accessories, and exercise

Check your cage size by using a Google search for “cage calculator” for your species of pet, and input the cage measurements for the cage you have or want.

Hamster cages are too small for rats, they need dwarf rabbit size (1-2 rats), chinchilla size (2-3 rats), and rabbit or ferret (2 - 4+ rats) cages. In their cage, they must have a house, igloo, or a hiding box - any old cardboard box will do, it can be thrown out when it's dirty - even 4L ice cream bins with a door cut into the lid or the side.They should also have hammocks and toys, particularly chewable wooden beads on a string, PVC plumbing tubes, empty fruit baskets and boxes.

To ensure their comfort and health, rodents must have the proper bedding - NO CEDAR or PINE, but aspen, hemp, and recycled paper products are good on the bottom of the cage. Almost all rat and small animal owners I know use rags for the sleeping compartments of their pets. Hamster fluff, or sani-chips, is greatly appreciated by mice.

Remember to give your rats, chinchilla, guinea pigs an hour a day out of the cage, interacting with you and exploring a rat-proofed part of your home (holes sealed, cords protected, chewable items out of reach unless they're there as chew toys).

Food

Seed mix is not enough for any small animal. It is often inappropriate. They need "lab blocks," or extrusion pellets - a complete diet formula. I also give my rats a cooked mixture of oatmeal and Red River cereal (Canada only; what is in Red River is cracked rye and barley and flax seed) in the morning for breakfast - the most important meal of the day from the rats' perspective, too.

For added protein while pregnant or nursing, recovering from surgery, or old and sick, I give them soymilk, tofu, scrambled eggs, oily canned fish and mussels, fish skin and bones, or chicken bones. When they are on antibiotics, I also give them yogourt. Everyday they should have some fruits or vegetables. They can have table scraps too. For more information though, we have a Feeding page.

Other health considerations, such as symptoms of illnesses you must be aware of, can be found at the above websites. Debbie Ducommon's Rat Health Care booklet is also very informative; it costs $10, payable by money order or PayPal. She ships this guide promptly, and updates it every year.

(Reminder: There is also a comprehensive care guide in French and in English for many species at Poils et plumes.)

(graphic credit: House Mouse Designs®, www.house-mouse.com/ )

If you are in the Montreal area, these are vets I have gone to in the past:

1. •Clinique Vétérinaire Villeray-Papineau Veterinary Clinic
   7655 Papineau Avenue, Montreal, QC H2E 2H1
   (514) 593-6777
   

1. •l'Hôpital Vétérinaire pour Oiseaux et Animaux Exotiques - Montreal Bird and Exotic Animal Hospital
   6090 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, QC H4A 1Y1
   (514) 486-5258
   

1. •L'Hôpital Vétérinaire Vimont (Dr. Peter Woodlock)
   4790 Boul Des Laurentides, Laval QC, H7K 2J5
   (450) 622-3804
   Open 8:30 - 8 pm M-F and 8:30 - 4 on Saturday and Sunday.
   Take the metro to Cartier and take any Laurentide bus (e.g. 17, 31) to the first stop after Belgrade.
   
   

There are others that I have not visited myself - feel free send us a message to submit your preferrred exotic vet. Include the clinic name, vet's name, address, phone number, and website.