Rat Care

For basic information and general care the Basic Rat Care Guide at ratsrule.com and the Pet Rat Information Sheet both offer some good basic information.

RattyRat.com and Fancy Rats both have a lot of information on proper care, behavior, health, and feeding. Fancy Rats also has a forum and a cage calculator tool to help you to work out how many rats your cage will comfortably house.

The Goosemoose Rats Rule! forum is a great place for information and advice from rat owners.

The Rat Health Guide is an excellent resource on rat health. The site covers topics on basic care such as behavior and diet and has in-depth articles and case studies on illnesses/injuries such as mycoplasmosis, pneumonia, SDA, ear infections, skin problems, and abscesses.

Rat First Aid and First Aid for Small Furries are good guides for emergency situations including respiratory distress, choking, accidents and injuries.

Rat Fan Club and Fat Rat Central both have good information regarding different skin problems that may occur.

Respiratory and Heart Disease in Rats has information on symptoms and treatment.

Bumblefoot briefly covers causes and treatments of bumblefoot.

Note: The above websites should only be used as a guide to help recognize and understand illnesses in a pet rat. If your rat is showing signs of illness or an injury please seek advice and treatment from a qualified veterinarian who can properly evaluate, diagnose, and treat your rat.

Need help finding a good veterinarian?

Finding a Good Rat Veterinarian offers some good advice for selecting a good, qualified veterinarian for your rat.

The Association of Exotic Mammal Veterinarians has a directory of all current members of the AEMV.

Rat Vets is a directory for the Midwest and Eastern U.S.

Rat Vets is a directory for the Western U.S. and Other Countries.

PRC has a list of Canadian veterinarians who treat pet rats.

For those of you in the U.K. you can do a search for veterinarians at RVCS.