page update  15/4/2019

Hints, tips, and thoughts

Be a dare devil, drive out into beautiful countryside and visit where they produce Rupert Rat food.

click to see pics

* When out buying essentials for your pet rats,try the Classic Crystal Hamster 150ml size Drinkers.

Clear, easy to see water level at all times. Good value.

* When you notice a rat banging its drinker bottle up

every few seconds as he tries to drink from the ball

dispenser - best to replace the drinker bottle straight away

because it may well be your rat cannot draw water properly

from it anymore, hardening deposits are blocking  the twin ball valve..

*Please carefully note that you normally have the water dispensers set at a height  that suits the large adults

when they semi-stand erect.   

If you have a litter of baby rats, at 16 - 18 days they crawl around and they cannot reach up for the adults drinker. Now I provide two separate Drinkers, a low level and a high level.

> Don't forget your baby bucks grow much larger and they appreciate a drinker nozzle positioned quite high for them,

About 6 or 7 inches above the cage floor.  Doe prefer a slightly lower setting of the drinker.

* Always try to keep a empty cage, but kitted with toys,

tubes or even crumpled balls of paper ! When cleaning out the rats regular cage - they will be occupied and can have fun in the holding cage while you work.  Much better than dumping them in a dark bucket or container during the cage cleaning period.

* A rat has a keen memory. Also remembers and identifies it's owner's voice, tone and pitch.  They associate a sharp

'stop it !' etc to mean stop the mischief or bullying you

see out of your eye corner beginning to take place. Very much like naughty children - they will stop and attend the cage front - awaiting you.

So normally control the pitch and tone of your voice, mine respond to a soft murmuring voice from me, by remaining at their sleepy best. But talk sharper and they respond differently.

* If one of your small Doe mums has an extra large litter of young, say 15 plus ... then one useful thing which I employ with my own, is to employ a shallow hamster pot ( not plastic) with a single layer of large glass marbles placed in it.

Then when some milk is poured in, up to the marble tops -

the kittens as they fur up, can drink safely, with their  tiny front paws on the marbles, so preventing them 'dropping - in'  the milk. I call it 'Marble Soup'

Seriously,  this enable the tots to start drinking early and very soon reduces the  demand and stress upon their mum.