Newbie questions

Hey guys!

So my gorgeous little hamster just died recently and I was surfing around the Scottish SPCA website looking to see if they had any hamsters in (I know it seems a bit soon but she was OLD, her sister died 6 months ago and I've been expecting her to go ever since!). Anyway, no hamsters but they do have some gorgeous white ratties. 10 four month old males and 2 ten month old females.

"Ooh, ratties!" says I. "I could have a rattie..." I says.

So it's not definite yet but a friend and I are going to go have a look at them next week, when I have some time off work (Golf Open + pub work = ZOMG STUPID HOURS!). If they're still there I'm pretty sure I'll end up with cute ratties, I find it hard to say no to fuzzies!

I'm not a complete newbie to rats, my older sister and younger brother had 5 between them when I was growing up (in fact, we had 33 at one point. Stupid pet store sold us 3 females and one, uh.. wasn't. 2 litters of fifteen babies later...) but they weren't mine. I had mice and hamsters and rabbits instead. Also, I know now that a lot of the way we treated our rabbits could have been improved so I want to make sure I'm not making mistakes with rats just because "that's how I've always done it!" (sorry, that's what my Mum says when I talk to her about how she keeps her current rabbit and it really pisses me off).

So, newbie questions. Behind cuts, because I'm nice like that.

I know enough to know that rats can be kept in same sex pairs without much of a problem, as long as they have enough space. Is there a difference between males and females and how they get on? I mean, is there one pairing that's easier to keep together than the other? Is it necessary to have them fixed to keep them together or just reccomended?

Are there any differences between keeping males and females as pets? I know males are larger but anything other than that? Do they smell more? I know male mice do! If you, personally, were getting a new pair would you go for males or females?



Is a pellet/nugget or muesli diet the preferred choice for rat owners? I'd be adding to whatever I feed with "extras" like fresh veggies (kale, broccoli, spinach, carrots, darker lettuces). Rats are proper omnivores, right? I assume, being scavengers, that giving them things like eggs and meat would be good for them too. Is there anything I should definitely NOT feed them? What things are reccomended?



I was looking into getting this cage. Would you say that was large enough for 2 rats? It's 42" x 27" x 17"  and on three levels for those who don't want to click the link. Would it be OK with the wire flooring or would I need to find something to put over that? A layer of fleece on the levels maybe. I'd need to find climby things and hammocks and sleepy places to put in it, obviously. How about bedding? And litter? I use a wood puld based stuff called Megazorb for my bunnies (originally made for horses), I assume that would be OK for rats too. Can you litter train rats like you can litter train rabbits or is it a case of they go when and where they want?



Rat teeth grow constantly, right? So they need to chew to wear them down? What chewy things do your rats like? Again, is there anything I should avoid? What else do they like to play with? Climby things as well, I presume. Ropes and sticks and things.


Is there anything else I should have asked but have forgotten?

Cheers everyone! Will be back with pictures if/when I get my rats.

Oh! Do albinos/PEWs (which is what I assume these are) have problems with their sight like my PEW bunny does? It doesn't seem to affect her that much, you just occasionally catch her swaying from side to side looking at something. Silly girl.