Rats are incredible pets and I’m not just being biased. They are much more interactive and social than a hamster, bunny or guinea pig. I always imagine them as small cats or dogs, they want to socialise with you and will bite the bars of their cage or try to reach for you to get your attention. It's like they're saying "Get me out, I want to play!" Bonding with your rats is relatively easy. Talking to them and tempting them towards you with multi-vitamin paste, vegetables and other tasty treats works well.

 

You can also put a blanket on your bed and get them out with you for snuggles (rats are incontinent and will always loose a bit of pee, so you might want a waterproof bed cover). 9 times out of 10 your rat won't jump off the bed, they have more of a survival instinct than other rodents that will just jump out of your hand or off your bed. If you are scared of losing your rats and aren’t used to holding them then you could get them out in an EMPTY bathtub. This lets them get used to your smell and allows you to learn how to handle them without the fear of dropping them and losing them.

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Originally Lisa had many rats when she was younger and loved them so much, she used to take them everywhere! She quickly learnt they were very clever and had big personalities and she taught them to do tricks and litter trained them. Yes, you can litter train your rats.

 

I was wary of rats and had never had them before so I wasn’t sure if they would make good pets but agreed to get some and I’m so glad I did. We started with four girls and straight away you could see the different personalities; the trouble maker, the loving one, the adventurer and the lazy food-obsessed one. After this, I began working at a pet shop where I sell many animals as well as rats. I have become a bit of an expert now and there’s nothing more fulfilling than finding customers the perfect pets that suit them and helping them with everything they need to know. I love teaching people how to look after their pets and hearing their stories when they come back and show me pictures of their beautiful animals.

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Our rats are our pride and joy, we enrich their lives with free-roaming and cuddle time every day. We change and add different toys weekly besides that we like to set them some tasks to get to their food. I studied conservation biology and know a lot about animal enrichment. Our rats are well socialised and all have very different personalities. They all are tame, friendly and do not bite.

 

However, rats can nibble you, this is to test who you are or as part of them cleaning you. Some of our does are obsessed with cleaning and licking us, this is a sign of affection. Nibbling doesn’t hurt if a rat has bitten you and drawn blood that is a different matter. This can be caused bu them being terrified or having aggression. We don’t breed rats with aggression, all of our bucks and does have a lovely temperament and enjoy social interactions with humans.