Must have's for Rats!

I've decided to include a section of decent list of things you should consider having to make your little ratlets as happy as can be! This is not a comprehensive list, and it's all based on my own opinion, and whats been rattie approved in my home ;).

Cage:

One of the most obvious things, you will need a cage for your little kiddos. I made the (common) mistake of putting my first rats in a tank, this is NOT recommended-theres just not enough ventilation or room in one of those things to make your kiddos happy. I upgraded to the Super Pet Cage-Deluxe My First home:


This was a pretty decent cage and quite suitable if you have around 3 rats, I wouldn't put too many more though- they need room to play! I was recently lucky enough to upgrade to A critter nation! This thing is like rattie heaven! Plenty of room for lots of rats (you can fit at least 8 in here) for the double level. And with the double level you can seperate the top and bottom section if you want to keep both boys and girls (but obviously keep them seperate--or you'll end up with a million babies!). As I said this comes in both the single and double level as seen below:


The next thing you'll want to have is food bowls and water bottles such as:


Another thing you're pet will love you for is to get them a wheel! Rats (well most of them) love to run on wheel- especially girls, I'ts important to give your rats lots of stimulation and things to do! A good wheel is the Super Pet, Silent Spinner Wheel:

 Something you might be interested in is litter training your rats. Some are better at this then others--but I keep one in there, even if it only catches some of the poops. I personally like the ferret corner litter box like this one:

Also you'll want something to go in the litter box. You NEVER EVER want to use cat litter! I the three things I use are either aspen wood chips (NEVER pine), carefresh or yesterdays news:

You'll also want something for your kiddos to play with, especially when you aren't around..some good options are bird toys or cat toys like the ones below:

Last but not least you want FOOD for your rats! The 2 best foods for your rats that I've come accross so far are Harlen Teklad (which can be found online if you look for it) or Oxbow Regal rat, which can be found in a lot of pet stores, or online through amazon and many other online retailers.