Anyone looking for a new pet wants a pet that is clean, socialized and well trained. Most people don't know that these are all qualities of pet rats!

There are many misconceptions about rats. People think that rats are unclean and carry disease. In fact, rats are quite clean and groom themselves several times a day. These aren't sewer rats we're talking about. These pet rats, or fancy rats as they're called, have been domesticated and bred in captivity for at least 150 years.

Pet Rats - Why They Make Great Pets

Rats are very intelligent animals. Some consider rats to have intelligence close or equal to that of dogs. Rats are capable of learning to come when their names are called. They can even be litter trained just as easily as training a cat.

If you have any experience with other rodents such as hamsters, mice or gerbils you may be afraid of biting. This is almost unheard of with domesticated rats. Unlike their rodent cousins, rats are generally docile creatures. Most of the time rats just like to lay around, especially males. Rats can easily be trained to be good lap pets.

In the wild, rats live together and have a complex social structure. These social instincts carry over to pet rats. Pet rats tend to develop strong bonds to humans and to their cage mates. So much so that its common for rats to become very depressed when a cage mate passes away.

Many apartments won't allow dogs or cats, and it may simply be impractical to have larger pets in some houses. In those situations a pet rat is perfect. Cages for pet rats usually don't consume much room at all which makes pet rats great for small apartments.

Rats are friendly and intelligent animals and make great first pets for children. Being clean and easy to care for makes them great companions for the elderly. Go out and get your pet rat today!

by: Scott McHenry

2 comments

  1. Anonymous // August 27, 2009 at 4:21 PM  

    Hi my name is Erik,

    I've been living abroad now for a while and the only thing I miss are my two rats Oskar & Basil (sadly both deceased). Keeping rats as pets is never boring, they learn quicker than one could imagine! I never thought I would have rats as pets but when I saw them in a pet-shop I couldn't resist. I built what I thought would be a suitable cage (typical small animal enclosure) but they always loved my writing desk (1 large draw and 3 smaller) so I adapted! Moral to the story is...Rats learn and adapt! so instead of figuring out where or how you think they should live, simply watch them...

  2. Unknown // August 30, 2009 at 10:29 AM  

    Hi my name is Dianna,
    My family and I rent a house where we can not have a cat or dog,My 3 children wanted something they could call a pet. ( they own 3 parakeets ,not handleable). When I was young I had gerbils and hamsters, Yet they nipped ALOT.While looking at animals to adopt at a local shelter we came across Snowball. The most aborable white,pink eyed domestic rat. There were others to choose from so we looked at each one. Our snowball picked us we did not pick her. She was so friendly and curious we could not resist her.We did alot of research to know what she needs and how to care for her. 5 months later my 5,7,and9 year old can't get enough of her. All she wants is for us to hold and play with her. WE couldn't ask for a better, cleaner pet.

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