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Rat Health Problems

Submitted by Michael Adams on August 6, 2010

As far as pets go, a rat is definitely not one of the more popular choices, but there are a few that tend to house rats as pets and develop a certain sense of kinship with the animal. Rats are nocturnal animals so they tend to be most active during the night and they have an average lifespan of about 2 to 3 years. The most common pet varieties of rats are generally medium sized and measure about 9 to 11 inches of the body with the tail being an additional 7 to 9 inches.

History shows that the relationship between man and rat actually stretches a long way back, as ancient Egyptians are known to have worshipped the animals while in certain cultures, like that of Japan, the rat is a symbol of wealth. Because rats are not a very common pet, a lot of people are unawares of the various natural tendencies that the animal may have and about rat health concerns. For example, rats are actually very easy to tame because of the fact that they are highly intelligent.

When kept in same groups of the same age they tend to make even better pets. The male rats tend to be a little larger and lazier than their female counterparts as well. Another aspect of rat health that one needs to consider is the fact that female rats tend to go into heat every 4 to 5 days and generally seem to be very agitated and restless during this time. The lifespan of a rat is relatively short compared to most other animals, as they tend to only live for a period of up to about 4 years – more often even shorter than that. Some of them have a tendency to dribble urine over the owners’ possessions and belongings as a way of marking their territory. Although the urine does not have any odor, this inclination can be quite disturbing to owners.

Picking up on the more subtle rat health issues and rat health symptoms is much harder because of the fact that there is not much information as one would like on the subject. However, given the fact that rats are generally very hardy animals, they do not fall sick very often. Much like their feline counterparts, rats tend to keep themselves clean, but bathing your pet rat on regular occasions will help. Avoid getting any soap into the rat’s eyes or ears when bathing the animal.

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Rat Health