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Rats aren't a conventional animal to choose to have as a pet but they are coming more popular. From years of breeding fancy' rats are now produced, these are different from the typical black rat that is known for being vermin.
Rats do actually make nice pets as they are both intelligent animals, but they are also sociable pets too, they have the ability to be taught some simple tricks and are an ideal pet for children as they are very rarely aggressive and enjoy the company of humans. Though most people won't think it, rats are actually very clean animals, more so than creatures like mice that tend to smell, rats don't. Rats don't have a particularly long life span so you don't have to think about them as a long term commitment, which is also a reason as to why they make good pets for children.
Rats have the general needs of every other pets, you will need to buy them a cage, they are more suited to wire cages as they like to climb, however they should have a solid base. In the bas e of the cage it is also advised to fill with wood-shavings as well as a separate bedding area filled with hay. You can feed rats meat, though due to them being high in protein they can cause health problems, in general a vegetarian diet is suited to rats, they also need fresh water. As stated before rats are sociable creatures and so getting them toys to play with is a good idea, rats should also be handled as soon as you get them, this will mean they get used to your voice and small as well as being handled, though you should never pick them up by their tail.
You can get rats from independent breeders, pet shops or from rescue centres, when getting a rat from an independent breeder it is always a good idea to ask to see their mother or father as this will give you the idea off the temperament of your pet and also to see what your rat should look like. Due to rescue centres getting unwanted baby and adult rats you probably won't be able to see their parents, but you can ask them what the rat's behaviour is like. Pet shop rats tend to be seen as the last option to go for due to their lack of human interaction which results in them being harder to handle.
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