Believe it or not, choosing a rat is more difficult than you might think. It’s a decision that you are going to have to live with for the entire life span of the rat you choose. So not only is it important to choose a rat that is healthy, but also to choose one that is bonded to you, that loves you, and that wants to be with you–and vice versa. You also must make decisions about gender, color, and pattern, not to mention where to buy your rat–which is going to take some researching.
It might be a good idea to print this out for future reference–you never know when you’re gonna “need” another rattie, right?
Step 1
Getting Prepared
Before we go over the actual choice, you need to get prepared. Get your phone book, or find your favorite online yellow pages. Look up pets and breeders. Look in the Classified ads in your local and
statewide newspapers. Look up rats and rodents. It is very important to know where you want to go, and have a wide choice of places to get rats from. If you don’t, you may end up only being able to choose from a variety of sick rats. There are many places to go to. Namely, breeders, pet shops, humane societies, and maybe even laboratories. Rats from Labs are generally myco-free, which is a VERY big plus. Mentally, you need to be prepared for several things:
- You may see a lot of sick rats that you may be tempted to save. Keep your heart where it belongs–you need to be strong. You’re on the search for the perfect rat, and a sick rat is not perfect.
- You may see a cute rat that’s healthy, but doesn’t do much. We’re talking BOND here, so don’t get a rat that doesn’t show an interest in you.
- You are going to see people buying rats for snake food. Don’t flip out. You are CERTAINLY allowed to give them a piece of your mind (”Rats are sweet, kind…”), but don’t buy out the stores stock of rats in order to save them. There are SO many more where those guys came from (sadly) and you can’t save the whole world.
- You may have some breeders pushing that their rats are the best. If you don’t have a good feeling about it, don’t buy from that breeder.
The main thing is to be strong. If anyone knows about buying ratties on impulse, it’s me, and I’m telling you right now: You do not want to regret this decision later, so BE CAREFUL!
Step 2
Questions to ask yourself
The following are questions you need to ask yourself. You probably already know that you want a rat. The main thing to keep in mind is not to be too picky. Don’t limit yourself to blue hooded tailless odd-eyed rats, because you’re not going to end up with a lot of rats to choose from.
- Do I want a male or a female?
- Consider the differences. Do you want a lap rat (male) or a playmate (female)? Are you going to want to breed? Are you going to want to deal with tumors (if not, it’s probably a good idea to get a male)? Are you going to want to deal with lots of rat pee and utter ‘manliness’ (if not, get a male and neuter him, or get a female)? Consider all these questions and think of others.
- Is color or pattern important to me?
- Am I ready to get another rat?
- Did a rat just recently die? Is it time, emotionally? Am I trying to fill the void in my heart without thinking about this rationally?
- Do I have the means to care for a rat?
- Do I have the space, time, etc. for a rat?
- How many rats do I want to get?
- The only reason this is important is to make sure you get the same sex and that you put them in the cage at the same time.
- Do I want to look at mainly breeders, or are pet stores okay as well?
- What advantages to breeders offer? What kind of conditions does the pet store have?
This should give you an idea as to where to start.
Step 3
Checking out the surroundings
When you walk into a pet store or a breeder’s rat area, look to see if the place is clean. This is a clue as to what the conditions are that the rats are facing. When you see the cages, first look to see if they’re clean. How long has it been since the litter was changed? Then look and see what kind of litter is used. Is it pine or cedar? If it 
is, leave. See what kind of food they’re using. Rodent blocks are good. Hamster or rodent MIXES are bad, the rats aren’t getting proper nutrition. How long has it been since the water was changed? What color is the water? Are the rats crowded in the cage? Are the males separated from the females? Look at the atmosphere. Would you treat your rats this way? Would you like to live this way?
If you have an opportunity to talk to a breeder, ask them these questions:
- Are you breeding rats for attractiveness, or are you trying to breed out health problems?
- The answer can be either, but this breeder is a great find if the answer is “yes” to breeding out health problems.
- How many litters has the mother rat had? Have the babies turned out to be healthy?
- The answer should be yes.
- Does the mother rat or the father rat have any known diseases, such as mycoplasma?
- The answer should be no. If the answer is yes, ask if the rats have been treated.
If you’re happy with what you see, great! But if you’re not, move on to the next store or breeder on your list.
Step 4
Checking the rats
This is one of the most important parts of choosing a rat. It’s important to check to see how healthy the rats are in the batch you’re looking at. Pick up a random rat. The following are MUSTs:
- Hold the rat up to your ear and listen to its breathing.
- What do you hear? It is necessary to listen for sneezing, wheezing, and gasping as a sign of Mycoplasma. Wheezing is more apparent after exercise, so have the rat run around for a while.
- Turn the rat over and gently feel his belly.
- Do you feel any hard lumps? Anything feel abnormal? Do you see any tumors?
- Check the rats nose, eyes, and ears.
- Are there red spots around the nose, eyes and ears? Are the eyes cloudy, misty, etc.?
- Feel the rat as you pick it up.
- It should feel hefty, not frail or thin.
- Do the rats have any other apparent health problems?
- Sick rats tend to hunch up and be unresponsive. Although fear can cause a rat to tense up, in time it should relax. By the way, diarrhea can also be caused by fear.
- Does the rat look bloated at all?
- This is a sign of sickness.
- Is it a male or a female?
Step 5
Options
If you’ve found a place to buy rats from, you may or may not want to get your rat checked out by your vet. If you do, ask the breeder, owner, pet store employee, etc. if this is okay. Then make an appointment, and have the vet see if the rats are healthy by giving he/she a checkup.
Step 6
Choosing your new pet
This is by far the most important part of choosing. The actual choosing! In order to get the perfect bond between you and your new pet, you’re going to want the rat to be curious, friendly, and sweet. Put your hand in the cage and let the rats come up and sniff you. Shy rats take more socialization than friendly rats, and if your rat chooses you, then it’s a mutual decision. Good luck!
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