Rat FAQ

Yes, rats can potentially get lonely and unhappy if they are alone in their cage for extended periods of time.  And they might develop behavioural problems, or become less friendly as a consequence.

However, some rats actually prefer having a cage to themselves.  And, if you are willing to spend a lot of time with your rat, then you can keep it from feeling lonely and isolated.  The problem is, most people work or have other responsibilities competing for their time and attention, so the rat may not get enough from you.  If he or she has a cagemate, that won’t be as much of a problem, which is why we generally recommend you get more than one.

Of course, it is possible to start with one and add more later, but keep in mind that an older, established rat may reject newcomers–sometimes violently.  So, if you think you might eventually want more than one, best to adopt them together from the same liter.

Yes, it is possible for Norway Rats to share a cage with Roof Rats.

Norway rats will be bigger and stronger than Roof rats of the same age and sex, but if your Norway rat  is friendly and non-aggressive, it will generally be OK.  Dwarf Norway rats have similar size and activity levels as Roof Rats, so are an especially good fit!  As with all all introductions between strange rats, you should be careful the first time they meet in case they fight.  It is usually easier to introduce rats when they are very young (like 5-8 weeks old.)  If you would like to try to introduce your rat to one of our rats, please let us know because we can help!

Of special note: Roof Rats and Norway Rats are a different species and cannot make babies together!  However, male rats usually won’t fight with female rats, so if you have a male or female Norway rat that cannot get along with any same sex cage mate, it is possible that he or she will accept an opposite sex Roof Rat as a friend.

In the wild, most Roof Rats are agouti colored, like Roofy:

But we bred some with light or white facial markings:

Then white tipped tails:

And now we have bred all black and even pale gray roof rats!

Snowflake is simply beautiful and such a sweetie!  We are so proud of her.

This is a baby roof rat

It is believed that black rats originally came from India.

Rats make great emotional support animals!  We have calm, loving and well socialized adult rats available for immediate adoption that would make fantastic Emotional Support animals.  We do not charge for adoptions and you are welcome to visit the rat house to meet them and chose the ones that are most compatible with you.

Yes, people have reported to us that their cat or dog and rats accepted each other and even become good friends!

It usually works best when they are younger so they can grow up together.  And it is very important to supervise your pets carefully whenever they are together until you are sure that they are friends.  Obviously, a cat or dog can injure or kill a rat, but it is also possible for a rat to inflict a very nasty bite if provoked.

Even if your pets seem to like each other, it is always possible for them to have a bad day and fight, so be careful (that is true with any animals that share the same space, regardless of species)

Just like dogs, often rats urine mark.

They don’t do this because they urgently have to pee, and just cannot hold it in!

Rather, like with dogs, it seems to be a form of social communication and marking of territory.  They seem to be saying “I was here. This is part of my territory.  This belongs to me.”  That thing might be their cage, hammock, toy, or another rat (where it might also be a show of dominance as well as friendship.)

They will even do it to you: I know that sounds kind of gross, but try to take it as a sign of affection!

When you put a rat in a new cage, especially a male, don’t be surprised if the rat immediately starts peeing over every accessible surface.

Male rats do it more than female rats, but both sexes will urine mark.  Roof Rats mark, too, but not as much (they are smaller, which also helps with that!)

Some say that neutering might reduce marking, but I, personally, cannot vouch for that.

We breed two kinds of Rats: Roof Rats and Norway Rats.  Roof Rats are highly vocal and make sounds to express emotions like fear, anger, contentment and joy or amusement.  When they are contented, curious or mentally engaged, they make a chittering noise.  They mostly seem to do it around people, not other rats. Roof rats make various chirping noises at other rats for social, ratty reasons.  Sometimes, if two Roof rats are annoyed with each other, they will tell each other off with an “eee eee eee” noise.  If one is really fearful or angry, it will hiss like an angry cat to warn the other to “back off.”

And, yes, when Roof Rats are especially happy and playful, they make a kind of giggling noise that I am certain is their equivalent of laughter!  While recording Qiong playing with Kitty, I just happened to catch him clearing doing it at 5:08 in the video.  I’ve linked directly to the spot below: turn your sound up so you can hear it better!

I know what you are thinking: “But what about Dumbo Rats?  Do they laugh, too?”  Yes, they can.  Researchers found that Norway rats also laugh, but it’s unfortunately at a higher frequency than most people can hear.  Here’s a video where they’ve recorded Norway rat laughter in ultrasonic frequencies:

Yes!  Rats are very social animals, and show friendship and love by reciprocal grooming and cuddling together for companionship.

So, your pet rats will definitely welcome and enjoy anything that feels like grooming if they are calm enough to hold still receive it.  This is a great way to bond with your pet rat.  Don’t be surprised if your rat tries to groom you, too!

Most rats enjoy face rubs.  This guy loves it so much, he makes a cute “licky face!”

Here’s more examples of rat face and belly rubbing:

And here we demonstrate how to stroke the top of the head, back and ears, just like you would a puppy:

And, finally, here are some examples of rats socially grooming me!  A rat grooming my face and hair:

Some baby rats grooming the hairs off my arm and hand (pretty pushy little rascals!)

And, last but not least, this little fellow decided to poke his head in my mouth and groom my teeth!

Yes, you can generally keep it as a pet as long as it is tame, and it was still very young when you found it.

If it’s eyes were still closed and it had little fur when you found it, it is very likely that it will view you as a friend when it grows up, and unlikely it will have any parasites (internal or external.)  As with any animal in the wild, once it has fur there is the chance it could have external parasites, and once it is no longer protected by antibodies from it’s mother and her milk, and starts eating solid food, it can be exposed to internal parasites, viruses and etc.  As a general rule of thumb, the dividing line is around the time it’s eyes open.

If it’s eyes were already open when you found it, it is not totally hopeless, but you should probably have it checked by a vet.  At that age, it should be able to easily escape (and it will normally want to) unless it has some injury or illness.  After you treat the underlying issues, then you can evaluate what to do based on it’s behaviour.

Once it’s eyes are open, and both you and the rat will need to decide its future.  Mostly the rat will decide:  If it seems to want to run away, then find someplace to release it safely.  You will both be happier.

But, if it seems to like being with you, doesn’t seem fearful, accepts handling and isn’t trying to escape, then you should consider keeping it as a pet.  It will probably live a longer, happier life with you than in the wild and, besides, it has developed feelings for you at this point.  Rats are intelligent and social animals.  Although they are small and their lives are sadly all too short, they are capable of love and friendship just like us, and if your rat has developed an emotional bond with you, turning it out into the wild to fend for itself would seem, well, inhuman.  So, if your rat loves you (and you’ll know if it does), my heartfelt advice is to love and care for it for the rest of it life if at all possible.

Yes, bare wire cage floors are safe for Roof Rats.  It’s OK if you don’t cover them.  Your rats will not suffer any discomfort or develop and foot problems.

You can cover you floors if you wish.  However, be aware that Roof Rats chew on everything, and will attempt to shred any material that is soft enough to use for their own nests.  They may also attempt to hide underneath the floor covers, which is unsafe as it will put additional pressure on their feet and bodies, may make it harder for them to breath, and prevent them from interacting with you or their cage mates.

For these reasons, we do not recommend that you cover your floors.  If you do, we recommend that you use a metal plate which is completely welded on all sides so that they cannot go underneath it and there are no sharp edges that they can reach with their paws or nose.  Any other material, such as cardboard, felt or plastic, may potentially cause more harm than good.

Many people believe that Norway rats will develop foot problems if they live in a cage with wire floors.  For this reason, if you post any photos or videos of Roof Rats in a cage with visible wire floors, you will attract negative comments and helpful advice about what you are doing wrong.

Many well intentioned and experienced owners of Norway rats are simply unaware of the differences between Roof Rats and Norway Rats.  They reason that because metal wire is hard and applies pressure to a relatively small area, it must be equally hard on the feet of all species.  But, not all feet are made the same.  Roof Rat feet are adapted for climbing hard, rough surfaces, and hard tough, thick pads that Norway rat feet lack.  Their feet and legs are much larger and more muscular for the rat’s size, and more nimble and flexible.  They can climb around upside down on a wire cage almost as easily as walking horizontally.  In fact, they do it for enjoyment.  The wire doesn’t appear to bother them.

While they are resting, they will normally be in their hammocks.  If they do chose to rest on a wire floor, they naturally distribute their weight such that there are no uncomfortable pressure points, just as they would if they were in a nest made of twigs in a treetop.

Finally, because they evolved for a life climbing and jumping nimbly in trees, Roof Rats are longer and more muscular and slender for their size than Norway rats.  They walk lightly and silently on their feet, as you would expect for a rat that is able to quitely navigate twigs and leaves a hundred feet above the ground while avoiding the attention of predatory birds.  Therefore, they do not put the same pressures on their feet that Norway rats do.

None of this will probably be enough to convince experts you encounter online that what they know is true about wire floors for rats isn’t true for your Roof Rats.  That’s just the nature of the Internet.  If you do post any videos on Reddit with visible wire floors, especially, be prepared to be downvoted and lectured by some people.  My advice is to ignore it: your concern is making your pets happy, not some anonymous strangers!

But, if you can, try to take photos and videos where the cage floors are not visible!

Rats don’t intentionally bite hard enough to hurt you while playing with you.  But, sometimes, they get too excited and they don’t realize their own strength (and how sharp their little teeth are!)

When that happens, you should immediately stop playing, pull your finger away (assuming that’s what your rat was biting), and say “Ouch” and/or Squeak loudly like a rat would.  The rat will (usually) realize it has hurt you, and be more careful in the future.  Some rats might take several attempts before they remember this lesson, but they all seem to get it, eventually!

If the rat trusts you, often the rat will let you pick it up when you calmly and gently hold out your hand to it.  The rat in the video is a Roof Rat, but this will also work for Norway rats.

Rats can be quick and hard to hold onto if they don’t want you to.  So, your first goal should be to get your new rat to trust you.  That way, it is less likely that it will jump down and, if it does, it will allow you to pick it up again.

If your rat doesn’t trust you yet, it may evade your attempts at picking it up, and possibly hide someplace.  As you can imagine, rats are very good at hiding, and the more places where it can hide, the harder it will be to recapture.  So, word to the wise, while your rat is first getting to know you, try to play with it someplace with limited places to hide.  For example, we made a simple play area for socializing out baby rats from leftover cardboard boxes.  Again, the rats in the video are Roof Rats, but the same principle applies for Norway rats.

If the rat has already escaped someplace in your house, you will want to quickly try to narrow down where the rat is to the best of your ability.  Then, close doors and block as many escape routes as possible to keep the rat confined to the smallest possible area.

Next, give the rat a chance to calm down and it might either let you pick it up or return to it’s cage on its own.  You’d be surprised how often this works if you are patient and friendly to the rat.

However, if the rat is too frightened or traumatized, that might not be an option, so in the meantime go order a no kill trap from Amazon or pick one up from Lowes or Home Depot.  If your rat is a baby, you need a mouse sized one.

You will need a bigger one for adult rats

You just need to bait the trap with something tasty (cooked rice seems to work), put it where you think the rat probably is and leave it be overnight.  If you have a camera that can see in the dark (like a Nest), you can watch the area around the trap to see if the rat is coming out, and if it gets trapped.

Now, you will need to carefully socialize it and gain its trust so this doesn’t happen again.  Until it finally trusts you, your little Houdini will be a flight risk, so handle him/her accordingly!

Absolutely!  Rats are super smart, social animals.  Especially Roof Rats, which will learn to do tricks almost without any effort.

This family adopted a baby Roof Rat from us, and within days had taught it to do a trick.  Watch what happens when the rat hears the command word: isn’t that just adorable?

The best way to pick up a rat is to scoop it up from underneath.  You can put one hand or arm next to or in front of the rat, then use the other hand or arm to gently guide or nudge the rat in that direction.  If you do it right, the rat will hop onto you, and run up your arm!

You should avoid grabbing a rat from behind because they don’t like that: it reminds them that they are prey animals, and could be  captured and eaten. They will often squeak and try to escape or defend themselves.

Rats like it when you pretend to be another rat, and pretend to groom or play fight with them!

Free Ranging is where you let your rat explore on it’s own outside of it’s cage.  Free Ranging can be a lot of fun for both you and your rats, as long as your rat is well behaved and the Free Ranging area is “rat safe.”

• If your rat likes chewing on things it shouldn’t, make sure the Free Ranging area has nothing dangerous or valuable that it can chew on.
• If the rat is nervous and likes hiding, make sure the area doesn’t have any places that it can get into and hide, or gaps under the door where it can escape.
• A cage with an open door, hammock, food and water will be the rat’s “safe place” that it can return to throughout the day.
• If possible, teach your rat to come when you call it’s name.  That will make it easier to find and retrieve.
• Practice putting your rat down and picking it up, so you are confident that you can collect your rat when it is time to go home or to keep it safe.

Yes, you can easily teach a rat it’s name and to come when you call it.  You just need to call it’s name whenever you offer it a treat.  Rats are very intelligent, and they will quickly learn to associate the sound of their name with getting a reward, and will come running whenever they hear it!

Rats love fruit, and many fruits are healthy treats for rats!  Here are some fruits that rats like which are safe for them to eat:

• Melons.  Watermelon, cantelope, honeydew melon.
• Seedless Grapes or raisins
• Apple, including the skin if it is washed, but not the seeds or stem.
• Seedless berries.  Blueberries, strawberries.  But avoid berries with seeds that they can choke on like blackberries.
• Most pitted fruits.  Peach, plum, apricot.  But do not give them the pits

Roof Rats come in Agouti and Black colors.

Norway Rats have Rex and Smooth coated rats.  There are also hairless Norway Rats.

The markings range from capped barebacked, hooded, and berkshire.  Some of rats also have variegated and/or blazed markings with attractive white spotting or even full split capped.  These markings are not associated with High White genetics in well bred lines.

Norway Rat colors include albino, black, agouti, mink, pearl, amber and blue.

We do not charge anything for rat adoptions to good homes.

Roof Rat Babies and Adult Roof Rats are both a free gift from us.

You must convince us that you know what a Roof Rat is, why you want them, and that you are capable of caring for them.

There is no charge or deposit to get on our waiting list for rats.  You cannot pay for them in advance of picking them up.

We used to feed our rats Envigo Teklad Global Lab Blocks  In Florida that is hard to buy, so we switched to Mazuri Rat Breeder pellets.

If you can get Teklad, then for young, growing rats (up to 1 year) you should feed them the 2018 diet with 18% protein.  Mazuri Rat Breeder is also 18% protein.

If your older male rat is gaining weight, you should consider switching him to a lower protein diet, such as 2014 diet with 14% protein.  This will help him maintain a healthy weight.

You can purchase these products online (Amazon, etc.), from a local Animal Feed Store such as Kissimmee Valley Feed Store, or from us.  There are other good brands, such as Oxbow, but make sure whichever you chose is specific for rats and has the appropriate protein percentage for your rat’s age.

Lab blocks should make up the majority (90%) of your rat’s diet, as they as specially formulated to be healthy, nutritious and rats like the taste.

But, they will get very boring, so it’s OK to give your rats the occasional treat.  Mostly, anything that you would feed a child is also OK, keeping in mind that too much fat, sugar, salt, preservatives, artificial colors and flavors and etc., are just as bad for rats as they are for you!

Things that rats especially love are: unsalted nuts (in moderation as they are fattening), frozen sweet peas (either frozen like ice cream, or defrosted, like pudding!), Cheerios, lightly salted microwavable pork rinds (i.e. Carolina Gold), whole wheat bread, some fruits (apple, pear, grape, melon), yogurt.  Roof Rats just LOVE almonds: check out the video below…

There are a few things that you should avoid feeding a rat: citrus fruits, gas producing foods or drinks (soda, cabbage, beans, etc.), certain raw foods (potatoes), candy, chocolate, spinach, artificial sweeteners.

If you have any questions or are unsure, please feel free to ask us!

We recommend that you use a litter which is made from recycled paper, such as Carefresh White Small Pet Bedding, or So Phresh.  Avoid wood shavings, as they do not absorb odor and urine as well, and some (pine) might be harmful.  Avoid any liter with baking soda or other additives, as your rat may ingest it.

A Roof Rat, official name Rattus Rattus, is the native rat species in warmer, coastal parts of the USA.  Norway Rats (Rattus Norvegicus, also called Sewer Rats or Fancy Rats) are the native rat species in the other parts of the USA.  If you see a wild rat here in Florida, or discover an abandoned litter, chances are they are Roof rats.  Dumbo Rats are Norway Rats with funny ears.

Roof rats share a common ancestor with Norway rats, and there are many similarities in their behaviour and appearance.  However, Roof rats have some distinguishing characteristics:

1. They are smaller than Norway rats, more petite, longer tail, larger eyes and ears, and a more pointed nose.  They have subtle markings and different shades, but right now they are all basically agouti. update: we now have black and pale gray Roof Rats!  They are also all top eared.
2. Roof Rats are more playful, gentler and less aggressive than Norway rats, so they are a better choice for people who are fearful of rats.  We prefer to breed and own Roof Rats.  We’ve found that once people own a pet Roof Rat, most prefer them over Norway Rats.
3. To promote Roof Rats as pets, adoptions and no obligation are 100% free of charge.
4. Young Roof Rats are more active and athletic for their size.  They are better at climbing and jumping, and than Norway Rats of the same age.
5. Adult Roof Rats mellow out and get lazy.  The activity level of both male and female Roof Rats is similar to that of an adult female Norway Rat.
6. They are generally healthier and longer lived than Norway rats.  They are less prone to tumors and obesity.  Unlike male Norway Rats, male Roof Rats do not become excessively fat and lazy with age.
7. They are probably more intelligent than Norway rats.  They can be taught tricks, like coming when called, if you can properly motivate them.  Nuts seem to work as will social interaction once your rat has bonded with you. We easily taught Roofy tricks that felt like fun and games for her.
8. Roof Rats are so smart that they can learn to do tricks all on their own!  They love playing in water, and some learn how to push the little ball up in their water bottle so they can enjoy a shower!  They let the water run down their bodies, and scrub themselves clean like a tiny person!
9. Wild Roof Rats are shy and skittish but not aggressive like Wild Norway rats.  Our domesticated, pet quality Roof Rats enjoy human contact, and are very gentle and friendly.
10. All of our Roof Rats are descended from Roofy our amazingly tame Roof Rat.  She had a tameness mutation which was passed on to many of her offspring, which we selected and bred.  These rats also have noticeable white markings on their face and even white tipped tails!
11. Roof Rats were challenging to breed in captivity, until we learned their specific behaviours.  For example, they exhibit some interesting tail wiggling mating behaviour which appears to be different than Norway rats.
12. Although they are different species, Roof Rats and Norway Rats can play together.  Their behaviors are similar, but notice that the Roof Rats spend more time climbing on and interacting with Qiong in the video?  This is because Roof Rats are more playful and vertically orientated than Norway Rats.  And they tend to be more attached to their owners.
13. We feed our Roof rats basically the same food as Norway rats.  They are skinnier and more active, so we continue to give them Teklad 2018 as adults.  We also supplement their diet with nuts, seeds and bits of fruit.
14. Roof Rats look similar to Norway Rats, but they are not the same species.  Their energy level can be higher when they are young and they can be more timid until they know you.  You are welcome to visit and play with our baby and adult Roof Rats, and we will answer questions about their personalities and care.

You are invited to take our online training course: Rat Care and Ownership. This course contains accumulated knowledge and advice drawn from our many years of experience and research about Roof Rats. There is simply nothing else like it available on the Internet! It’s free for a limited time only.

Our complete collection of Roof Rat Youtube videos.  Watch us feeding them by hand, playing with them, showing them mating, exercising and other behaviours.

Surprisingly, yet, many rats can use a litter box as their toilet.

Of course, rats don’t have the same instinctive urge to bury their waste like cats.

But rats will often choose a specific area in their cage to poo and, sometimes, pee.  And, if you put a “litter box” at that spot, the rat will then use the litter box.  After a while, the rat may become conditioned to use the litter box wherever it happens to be.

Some of our rats are even more clever, in that they have figured out all on their own that they need to poo inside of a litter box filled with cat litter.  My wife suggested that they would, and insisted that we keep a litter box on the sofa when we play with them.  I admit I was skeptical at first, but here is a video which proves she was right: Butter making poo in a litter box all on her own

I want to point out that I didn’t try to “train” Butter in any way: I just provided the option, and she did it on her own.  Several of my other rats will use the litter box and, when the other rats see them do it (or smell the results), they will, too.  So, the litter box method works for us, and it might work for you, too.

Give it a try and let me know what happens!

Norway (Dumbo) rats rarely bite, and our Roof Rats never bite (even nursing females.)  If biting is a concern for you, we recommend Roof rats over Norway rats.  The differences between Norway rats (rattus norvegicus) and Roof rats (Rattus rattus.)

If a female rat is nursing young, and you try to disturb them, even the tamest new mommy might become aggressive and snap at you.  I breed rats, so I certainly have been bitten by some moms with babies.  Sometimes it took some gentle prying to get the rat to release it’s grip.

But you cannot fault them for just trying their best to be good momies.  It’s touching, really. to see how hard rat moms work to feed and care for their young, bless their little hearts!

Aside from that, I’ve never been intentionally bitten by one of my rats.  I’ve met some rats owned by others that I wouldn’t trust with my fingertips, but they were abused and neglected.  And even abused and neglected rats can be surprisingly friendly, because most rats crave friendship and companionship.

Rats have teeth, and any animal with teeth is capable of biting.  But most rats would prefer to make friends than enemies.  So, unless you go out of your way to torment and abuse your pet, and corner them so they cannot escape or avoid you, you will most likely not be intentionally bitten.

Yes, especially if the rats are both still younger than 4 months or so.

When rats are full grown, they may feel they need to defend their territory from newcomers.  This is true for both male and female rats.  In the case of male rats, if you can get the alpha rat to accept the newcomer, the others will follow his lead.  Females have less of a strict hierarchy, which means that each rat will make her own independent judgement: some females can be very nasty with younger rats for some reason, so some suggest to wait until young females are 8 weeks old before introducing them into a colony.

The easiest way to introduce new rats is to let them play together, supervised, in a neutral place.  You can also try putting some vanilla extract on the new rat’s belly, chest and rump, so they don’t smell more like a milkshake than a strange rat.  Keep a water sprayer handy to break up fights.  If it doesn’t work out at first, try again later.  Don’t force things, and be prepared for the possibility that you may need to keep some rats separate from others.

Good luck!