These are a few items that I would say are important to have before you bring any rats home.

1. Good sized cage - minimum of a Critter 2 or Savic Freddy 2
Cages are important as there a large number of cages on the market which aren't suitable for rats. You can use calculators like the one on Fancy Rats which will give you a guide to how many rats your cage can house. A list of most of the cages are available to view on this page.

Critter 2 and Savic Freddy 2

2. Water bottles - 2 for water & 1 for supplements
I always have 2 water bottles on my cages just in case one should fail there is a back up. I also have an additional bottle per cage for putting any suppliments in

3. Food bowls - 1 for dry mix and 2 for fresh foods
I have one large bowl per cage for using putting the dry mix in to then a range of others for feeding the fresh foods. Ikea sell dog food bowls for a small amount and I find these are ideal. If you wish to scatter feed (throwing their food on the cage floor to encourage natural scavanging behaviours) then you won't need any food bowls.

4. Suitable substrate/bedding - auboise, woodshavings, cardboard strips/squares, megazorb etc
I have a guide on my website, which you can view here, of suitable substrate for rats. It is a case of trail and error and finding out what you can source locally and what works best.

5. Suitable dry mix - shunamite diet or straights
Diet is very important to rats and I wouldn't recommend a diet just on rat nuggets. They don't really provide enough nutrition. I would recommend a diet called "Shunamite" which is what I feed mine on. For more information and diets please click here.

6. Suitable Housing - Igloo, sputnik, circus, cardboard boxes etc
Rats should have a least one "house" in their cages. Somewhere nice and cosy for them to feel safe.

Left to right: Savic Circus, Savic Sputnik & Savic Rody Igloos

7. Hammocks (various styles)
Hammocks come in various styles and shapes and it's up to you what you prefer to use. I would recommend 2 or 3 different items in your cage to give your rats some choice. I would also say that it is worth getting 2 sets so you have one in use and one in the wash.

There are lots of hammock makers out there so you have plenty to choose from, some examples:

8. Suitable carrier
Carriers are available in a range of sizes and shapes and it is important that you have one for the safety of your rats whilst being transported. The smallest I would recommend is 13” (33cm) long, 9” (23cm) high, and 9” (23cm) wide which can hold 2 adults. You can also use cat carriers but becareful as small does and kittens can get out through any bars!


9. Toys - ropes, tunnels/tubes, plastic pots etc
Toys come in various shapes and sizes and not nessesarily for a pet shop. Cardboard boxes, tissues box and lots of other things you can buy from a pound shop, ikea or Wilkinsons can make great toys. I do have a section on toys which I try and update regularly. You can even make games for your rats, such as, pea fishing and digging boxes.

10. Treats - dog chocolate drops, dog biscuits, seeds, fruit etc
It's nice to have a few treats every now and again but don't go too mad and overfeed them. Dog chocolate drops make nice rewards and there are so many items available now. I make treats for my rats and you can find more details on my feeding pages.

11. Litter tray (if you wish to continue using or wish to start)
I do my best to litter train my rats to help make cleaning quicker and easy for me. Rats tend to pick this up quite easily and more or less stick to it. I find it works best if you use a different substrate in the litter trays to the main cage.

12. A Vet & Vet Fund
Always worth having yourself registered with a vet before collecting kittens. Rats are regarded as exotic pets so you will better off finding a specialist should a problem arise. Having a small pot of money which you add to each week so should you need to take you pets to the vets you have some money available as cost can vary greatly around the country