You’re new to pet rats…
…and you want to learn how to take the best care possible of your new babies. There’s so much to learn……but how do you get started, where do you go?
Or maybe you’ve had rats for awhile but…
…you thirst for more knowledge. You realize there’s a lot more to pet rats than what you’d previously thought.
But where on earth can you figure out what’s…
- the best diet
- the best cage
And how do you…
- recognize when they’re sick
- decipher whether your new babies are playing or fighting
- clean the cage
- make a room safe for free roaming
- and even know how to play with your pet rats
I’m Jasmine Bachrach…
…and I’ve had pet rats since 1990. I first discovered the magic of rats while observing Suki, the volunteer coordinator at the humane society where I volunteered
and then later became an employee. Suki walked around with her pet rat Filbert on her shoulder—-a sight I’d never seen before and which I found utterly enchanting. Suki received little rat kisses whenever she turned her cheek toward him.
I had recently moved into a condo where dogs and cats weren’t allowed. Desperately wanting a pet of my own I decided to get my first rat. Since there was nothing in the condo rules about pet rats, I brought home my first rat, Bruce, rescued from a tank full of “feeder rats”.
When I first started taking care of my pet rats there wasn’t an internet to look up all my questions. I didn’t even know what I didn’t know. What I did have in the 1990’s was a printed newsletter that came weekly in the mail from Debbie Ducommon, the legendary “Rat Lady”. At that time she also had a stapled-together printed booklet, The Rat Care Handbook, which became my bible.
Working in a humane society and later in veterinary hospitals allowed me to gain even more knowledge about the health care needs of my rats. I found they were so different from dogs and cats. It was almost like learning how to cultivate some sort of exotic plants. While becoming intimately familiar with the different diseases and health needs of pet rats, I also learned how to work with veterinarians so they became part of my team. Not only are pet rat health problems more plentiful than I would have imagined, but rats also have the most endearing personalities and possess more intelligence than your average canine or feline. How to keep their minds occupied and challenged became as important as learning about their healthcare needs.
Thirty years later and what still matters most to me is providing the highest quality of life for my pet rats. Sharing all of the knowledge with you makes me even happier since I’m able to help more than just my own rats. I take great pleasure in providing you with all of the details on feeding, housing, medical care and behavior all in one place on this website. While we can’t make our rats live forever, we can make sure the life they have while they’re with us is filled with all the love and expert care in the world.
