How to Double Your Pet Rat’s Life Span
October 22, 2009 by RatsRatsRats
Filed under Rat Care, Rat Health
The biggest problem with pet rats is that they just don’t live long enough! Here we have these wonderful, intelligent animals who we can train like dogs and love to pieces and yet it is all over so quickly.
When I first researched pet rats online I read that rats can live up to 4 years and felt rather optimistic. Little did I know that with respiratory infections and nasty tumors to contend with that age would be so hard to achieve. The truth is that the average age for our ratty friends is only 2 years and for most of us that is not nearly long enough. The worst bit is seeing our little darlings poorly, as we try and nurse them back to health.
So what can we do to help our pet rat’s reach that elusive 4 year birthday? Well luckily there are a few things you can do which can reduce the risk of tumors, respiratory infections and other illness and help to prolong your rat’s life span. Let’s take a look at them now.
1. Soy Milk - My rats adore the taste of chocolate soy milk and it is also good for their health. You can get a small bowl to clip on the side of the cage and fill it with yummy soy milk every day. This will help keep tumors at bay and provide a taste sensation for your pets.
2. Clean the Cage to Within an Inch of it’s Life – Of course you already clean out your rat’s cage on a regular basis, but many people simply do not do it thoroughly enough. A cage that is not completely clean or ventilated is the Number 1 cause of deadly respiratory infections.
Every week take all the toys and other equipment out of the rat cage. Place everything from the cage (except the rats!!!) in hot water with antibacterial bleach. After soaking everything scrub it hard with an old toothbrush and rinse with clean water. Throw out any toys and accessories that can’t be cleaned such as egg cartons etc and replace them. Wash your rat’s hammocks in the machine.
Go about your usual cleaning , removing old bedding and cleaning the cage floor. Buy a spray from your local pet store or online especially for pet cages and scrub the bars of the cage. You can then put everything back and arrange the cage so it is interesting for your rodent pals.
3. Bedding and Ventilation – You have probably already read this during your research, but ventilation is key for a healthy pet rat. Aquarium tanks are not suitable, as they are a great breeding ground for bacteria and the air flow is not good enough, which can lead to respiratory infections. Choose a wire cage and clean it regularly (see above).
As for bedding, never keep your rats on shavings, as the dust is very bad for the lungs and pine shavings are actually poisonous to rats.
I use recycled paper as a base on the cage and then I tear up sheets of unprinted newspaper (so they do not ingest ink) for comfy bedding. Some old rags are also great to cut up for extra comfy bedding as long as you replace (or wash) them weekly.
4. Companionship - It has been proven time and time again that happy rats live longer. This is why it is so important to keep rats in pairs (or more). The fact is you cannot be around all the time. You have to sleep! This is when your rat needs a playmate, a grooming partner and someone to snuggle with. You should also spend plenty of time with your pet rats. Set aside time for them every day and be sure to handle them a lot and give them loads of attention.
Free range time is also really important, as rats need things to explore and play with.
5. Inositol - This is an ingredient found in brown rice that has been proven (in horrible labs) to extend the lives of rats and help prevent cancer and promote better health. Simply cook some brown rice for your rats daily. They will probably like it and it is great for their little bodies.You will also need to supplement your rat’s diet with Iron or your rat’s may not be able to absorb the mineral.
If you are worried about weight gain from too many carbs go to your local health food shop and ask for the powdered version of Inositol. This can be ordered in if they do not have it. Simply add a sprinkling to your rat’s water daily and they will love the slightly sweet taste. You should not have your rat’s cage in direct light anyway, but if you do be aware that you will need to cover the water bottle as Inositol is light sensitive.
6. Food and Weight Management - The only thing that has been proven beyond doubt, time and time again is that slimmer rats live longer. It is important to make sure your rat gets all the nutrients they need, as without this a low calorie diet will be no good at all, but by reducing calories you can ensure better health for your rat. The best base food is Rat Block available online, or from your local pet store. This has all the nutrients that your rat needs. You can then add some more exciting things to the mix, but if you are feeding high calorie items such as crisps, only do this very occasionally. Your rat may love them, but their body won’t.
By following these guidelines you may be able to increase your rat’s life span and improve their overall health. There are other supplements you may wish to consider such as flax seed oil, which is great for keeping joints supple and garlic, which helps to open up the lungs and is good for the heart.
Be aware that pet rats who are descended from lab rats will be more prone to tumors, as they were bred for this purpose. On the same note rats you save from feeder snakes may not be in tip top health. Just try your best for these rats to provide them with the happiest and healthiest time possible, but do not beat yourself up if they do pass away at an early age. However, you should never breed from these animals, as bad health traits will be passed to the babies.
The main thing is to shower your fuzzy friends with love and attention and enjoy the relatively short time you have together. Make every day of your rats’ little lives a great day.
Similar Pet Rat Info:
- Mycoplasma Pulmonis in Pet Rats Sadly our ratty friends are very prone to nasty respiratory...
- Rat Care Checklist Make sure you are caring for your pet rat correctly...
- Rat Food Pet Rats really enjoy their food and by providing them...
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I appreciate the good tips, especially with flaxseed oil and inositol. I’ll be using those. However, soy milk may be a healthy treat, but I don’t totally agree that it helps reduces the occurrence of tumors. If that evidence was true, it certainly did not reflect on my rats.
What I do suggest is spaying female rats to prevent mammary tumors. To avoid a lengthy comment, please read this article to support my statement: http://ratfanclub.org/spay.html
I also highly recommend giving rats a vitamin supplement called chromium that is known for extending rat’s lifespan. Please review this article as well for further evidence: http://www.ratfanclub.org/chromium.html
The rest of the article with prevention of respiratory illnesses is a good start.
Thanks for your comments and resource links Renee. I am sure they will be useful to a lot of rat lovers. Whilst some research suggests soy milk may help lower the risk of tumors, it is certainly not a fool proof prevention method. Mind you my rats adore it (especially chocolate flavored), so I will keep giving it to them.
I am on my 4th 5th and 6th rats right now. I like to get them in groups of 3. Binx, Eufer, and Raisin are their names. Love them crazy rats. My family takes all are rats to a vet named AllPets. The owner’s name is Dr. Nancy Harrington. She is one of the best animal care takers ive ever known. When I had my first 3 rats the first time i took them in to see Nancy she also informed about mammary tumors and their potential spawning in female rats. her advice was to spade them. i didnt even know that was possible at the time being tiny little cute rats. anyways i considered it but being my first set of rats i didnt know the trouble to come. about a year and a half later i found out first hand. I wish id got them fixed at a young age because i spent a fortune on surgeries to remove the tumors that would develope.I miss those rats
Today I realized Binx has a bald spot growing on her back. its on her neck right be hand the ears. all the way across and about 1/2 inch down her back. does anyone know why she suddenly started balding back there?
Your rats sound lovely. Could it be that one of the other rats is power grooming Binx? My rat Mingles loves to groom Pea and Pea seems to enjoy it (most of the time), however the hair on her neck is thinner than the rest of her hair, due to the grooming.
Another possibility could be mites. The best idea would be to take Binx to the vets to get her checked out.
I give my ratties soy milk in the hope that it will be a healthy addition to their diet…the one thing I am very careful about is to NOT give them Genetically Modified Soy
We cannot get a good rat block where I live so I have had to prepare my ratties diets myself as best I can. My ratties get quality human grade food, much of it organic and I try to balance their diet with what I read to be right for them
I am a vegetarian so my ratties do get a goodly proportion of vegetarian protein, but I also feed them sardines, tuna and egg and they have a chicken and vegie organic baby food mixed with organic rice cereal one time per week.
I try to give them a variety of grains and they love their nuts, seeds, fruits and vegies. IN fact some dinners I make for my ratties have more care and are healthier than I can find the time or energy to prepare for myself.
I have 15 ratties (9 girls and 6 boys) and they live in two double Ferret Kingdom cages – Aussie versions of the Critter Nation cage
I wish that I could get my ratties a quality lab block because it would be a lot less work for me and more time then that I could spend playng with my little sweet cuties, cheers
It sounds like you are a perfect rat Mum! I am in the same position with lab blocks (I can’t find any!) My rats enjoy a varied diet as well.
It certainly takes some work to sort it all out, but I am sure they love their food more than if they had the same old boring lab block.
Thank you for your comment. I bet every rat wishes they had a human like you!
Indeed, Seren’s diet seems great.
My rats were my eating companions, and enjoyed a fish supplemented vegetarian diet as well.
I did use rat blocks, however. They liked to bury them more than anything, but would occasionally go to town on them. Especially when I didn’t make rice.
It used to be you had to order them online from specialty providers but in the past three months a load of commercial variations have been showing up on the shelves of the local pet stores. I wonder if you guys could check out a some pet retailers’ websites and get them more easily now, or just make a request for stock at local pet shops? The market really has grown recently, at least as I’ve seen it.
But, honestly, my rats didn’t do much besides play with theirs.
Thanks for the advice. My rats are similar in that they hide their more ‘boring’ food and devour the more exciting human food leftovers etc.
Hi, everyone. I am new to finding this site, and it is wonderful so far, thank you for putting all these resources together in one spot
I just lost 2 of my 3 ratties due to age complications (one just age from what I can tell, the other mammary tumor at 2+ years) I am looking forward to adding the food varieties to their diet to see if it helps their life span! I have just added two more ratties to be companions for Aimee, the last of the original three. Whew, long story to let you all know that I have found rat blocks at my local feed store (if you have one near you), it was an unexpected place for me to find it, but it is good quality rodent blocks for a great price, much lower than the pet stores. Just thought maybe this might help someone.
Thank you for the tip Sandy. I am sorry to hear about your recent ratty loss. It is so sad to lose a beloved pet. I am so glad you adopted some friends for Aimee. I hope they are getting along well.
I breed feeder rats and have for almost a decade. The thing about pine shavings being toxic is false. I have 5-6 year old rats raised on them. One thing I DO find that helps them is mixing up electrolyte/ vitamin c water fresh daily for them. I mix the following in 16 ounces of water (for every 5 adult rats and babies): 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt, 2 tsp sugar, 1000mg vit c.
I feed meat daily (meat, bones organs), a balanced livestock feed, veggies, seeds, a small bit of fruit, insects and table scraps. It costs me next to nothing to keep hundreds of rats healthy and thriving. It works too considering I have 5-6 year old rats having back to back litters their whole lives. Rarely, do i have breeders die before 4 years of age (unless I kill them).
Processed, dry rat food should make up a very small part of the diet, if any. The bulk of the diet should be whole foods, not kibble.
Michelle,
I disagree with you re: pine shavings. They have been proven to worsen mycoplasma pulmonis and are terrible for the respiratory system. Your tips on keeping rats healthy may be useful, although I think everything a feeder rat breeder says about rat care should be taken with a pinch of salt. .
To be honest I am incensed that you would even comment on this site, since you breed feeder rats and kill them. You are not someone whose opinion we value as rat lovers. Since you have ‘hundreds of rats’ how can you possibly provide them with quality of life? Rats need time out of the cage. They are intelligent, mischevious and a lot of fun when given a chance to be more than snake food. Just because your rats may live long lives (if given the chance) does not mean they are happy or have good quality of life.
I just stumbled upon this and i really appreciate it! The way you were writing about rats, i.e when you mentioned how hard it was to see ‘our little darlings poorly’ is exactly how i would talk about them! They are amazing animals and get a bad reputation, when really they make the most wonderful pets!
I have one rat currently, and he is my 6th as i always got them in groups of two. His name is Fred (his late brother was George!)
Unfortunately i think it is too late for me to try and extend the life of my current ratty, although he is about 3/3 and a half years old, which is getting close! However, i wish i had known this when i first got my rats, as my current rat’s brother died a while ago as he got two internal tumours. It was so so so awful watching him be ill, and my healthy rat trying to comfort him, but eventually his heart gave out and he died in my arms…very sad i know, haha! Even if it is too late for the rats i have had in the past i will DEFINITELY be noting this information down for rats i will have in the future, Thanks a lot!!
Hello Edith,
Thank you for your lovely comment. I am glad that you have found the tips useful. I wish our ratties lived longer. It is so sad when they pass away, but at least we know we have given them the best life possible.
3 – 3.5 years is a great age for your rat. You should be proud.