Not ready for a large, free-roaming pet, but don’t want something scaly or slimy? Pet rats can be a good compromise.
Pet rats typically live between two and three years. Males (bucks) tend to be larger than females (does), but the average rat is between nine and eleven inches long in the body. A rat’s tail can add another eight inches of length! Several different varieties of rats are available as pets, including long-haired, short-haired, hairless, and even tailless!
Rats are social animals, so it’s a good idea to keep them in same-sex pairs or same-sex groups. Males or females can live together in same-sex groups, especially if they were raised together or come from the same litter. However, rats reach puberty relatively quickly — at about six or eight weeks old — so you’ll need to keep males and females apart before they reach this age. Female rats can go into heat every five days, making it relatively easy to end up with a litter if both sexes are caged together.
Though rats tend to be nocturnal, many pet rats will change their schedules to match their owners’ lifestyle — your pet rat may wake up to play when people are around. Expect some night-time activity; it’s only natural to your rat.
A pet rat will enjoy out-of-cage playtime with human family members — at least an hour of play time every day. Watch for urine marking when your rat is out of his cage! (The piddle amounts are often small enough to not be noticeable.) Rats are curious and intelligent and love to climb and explore. You may find that female rats are more playful than male rats.
Warning: Rats will chew just about anything and everything. Make sure you rat-proof your play area, and make sure electrical wires are out of reach or otherwise protected.
A rat’s social nature makes him easily tamed. Many rat owners compare the companionship level of their rats with the companionship level of a dog! This is not the kind of pet you can stick in a cage and forget; a rat needs a lot of socialization.