Keeping Pet Rats – Pros and Cons {2021}

A rodent can seem like an odd choice as pet rats. But they are often purchased both for children and quite adults.

Before buying such an animal, it is worth weighing all the pros and cons. Although an animal is small, caring for it is a responsible undertaking.

Pros:- Advantages Keeping Pet Rats

Keeping Pet Rats - Pros and Cons {2023}

The decorative domestic rats are very different from its ancestor – a pest that eats food from domestic animals and destroys food supplies in humans. This animal is distinguished by a lot of advantages, for which many people choose it for home keeping as pets.

High Intelligence

The pet rat is a very intelligent animal. A long time ago, a person noticed how cleverly this animal avoids poisoned food, pulls out a treat from a rat trap, and transfers information to its fellows. Today, scientists argue that the rodent has a sense of humor and abstract thinking. He makes a lot of sounds and has sign language. This ensures good communication among animals.

For the owner, this will mean that it is interesting to spend time with the pet. The rat is subject to training, it can respond to a call, understand what you want from it, correctly assess your gestures.

 

Pet Rats Are Very Affectionate

This animal is very cute, soft, affectionate. The rat is easily tamed and itself seeks communication with the owner. The rodent will crawl inside your sleeves, sleep on your arms or neck. Some animals can even lick the owner, bite, scratch, dig in their hair.

Domestic rats are not aggressive, they do not bite the owner, but he can defend himself if he gets scared or feels pain. But if they love you and truly trust you, then even in this case, they will most likely just squeak, but they will not bite. Do you want to know more useful information about pets? click here.

THE RAT IS INTERESTING TO WATCH

An intelligent and social animal is always interesting to observe. Especially if you have several pets at once. They have very interesting attitudes and behavior. They can also come up with various activities on purpose: create labyrinths, hidden goodies, and also use various special toys.

EASE OF CARE

Taking care of a rat is easy, even children can do it. It is important to clean the cage on time, change the filler. The rat does not need to be washed, it is not necessary to walk with it, it does not need to cut its claws. Feeding an animal can be really fun.

YOU CAN TAKE WITH YOU EVERYWHERE

The rat is small, and this allows it to be taken everywhere with you, unlike a cat or dog, which is difficult to transport.

QUIET ANIMAL

The pet rats live a secret, quiet life. Their communication is largely based on smells, and the sounds they make are very quiet. You can hear a squeal or squeak when the rodent is scared or in great pain. Also, gnawing something hard can be considered a loud sound.

LARGE SELECTION OF SPECIES

There are a huge number of decorative rats today. There are also gray-brown individuals with an almost “wild” color, there are black, chocolate, blue, beige, as well as rodents with an interesting color-point color. There are smooth-haired species, there are naked-skinned rats, and there are also long-haired ones.

Cons:- Disadvantages Of Pet Rats (DECORATIVE RATS)

It cannot be argued that rodent ownership is smooth and hassle-free. There are also downsides. Let’s briefly list them:

  • The rodent lives a little. His life expectancy is 2.5-3 years, parting with a pet can be very difficult, since deep emotional attachment has time to arise;
  • Urine tags. The rat is a very clean animal, but it cannot be toilet trained. They pee all over the place, so they mark the territory, maybe it will mark its owner as well. Feces also remain everywhere;
  • Rodents gnaw everything around. The strong and sharp teeth of an animal can crush even concrete. But it is difficult for him to constantly restrain an animal in a cage, so it is imperative to arrange walks, after which something will definitely be damaged. But do not forget to hide all expensive things before the walk;
  • Poor health. Rats have a rather weak immune system, they easily catch colds and also get sick with more serious diseases, so it is important to choose the right diet for them and take care of them;
  • Noise at night. The activity of the animal wakes up in the dark, they begin to gnaw metal rods, dig into the bedding, but the ideal option is to place the animal outside a person’s bedroom so that it does not interfere with anyone;
  • The smell from the animal and the cage. Even a healthy and clean rat does not smell very pleasant. Therefore, it is important to regularly change the filler and clean the cage.
  • Keeping a rat at home or not is everyone’s choice. This animal is smart and funny, it will not disappoint you.