Rats are friendly pets that love to chew. They happily nibble snacks. Then they give themselves baths! These critters make great pets, and this title proves it. The book is a guide for pet rat care, including what they eat, where they live, and how they play. The fun text combines with a profile, a supply list, and a care duties checklist to create an engaging primer on pet rats!

Text and photographs follow a twelve-year-old girl as she learns to care for her pet rat.

People have prejudices about and fears towards rats; they are misunderstood creatures. However, for a large segment of the population, the rodents are cherished pets. The fancy rat is the most common breed of domesticated or pet rat. The name fancy rat derives from the idea of animal fancy (the promotion of domesticated animals) or the phrase "to fancy" (meaning to like or appreciate). Wild-caught specimens that become docile and bred for many generations still fall under the fancy type. In this book, animal activist and photographer Diane Ozdamar shares compelling, personality-filled portraits and stories about rats she’s fostered, leading the way to help the countless rats currently living in animal shelters to find loving homes. The stories that accompany the portraits will give readers a sense of each subject’s unique personality, fascinating behaviors, and social interactions. In addition, özdamar provides tips about rats’ care and maintenance and explains how to adopt rescue rats, how many rats to adopt, and why. Readers will also get a behind-the-scenes look at özdamar’s photographic approach, including how she uses a mini photo studio to produce such images. She provides quick photography tips for people who’d like to take pictures of their rats, lending the confidence they need to enjoy their own creative photo shoots.

Nervous pet rat owners (or those who want to get one), if you don't know much about rats but would like your little ratties to be happy and healthy, and stop them from chewing everything, going to the bathroom on you, biting you, and more... then this could be the most important book you'll ever read. Pet rat expert Colin Patterson's complete system will have your ratties trusting you as their close friend, doing neat tricks that impress your friends, and living as long as possible. Even if you're almost never home, you're a total beginner, and you don't have time to read through volumes of time consuming material!

Shares the author's experiences with her pet rat Iris, offering anecdotes of her antics and other rat owners and discussing how to care for rats, health concerns, life spans, and eating habits.

An excellent introduction to the remarkable rat, written by the world-famous Rat Lady, Debbie Ducummum, Rats offers expert advice to all keepers of these popular fancy pets. Held in high regard in Ancient Egypt, major Asian societies, and discriminating homes in America, rats are the most intelligent rodent on the planet and enjoy playing games with their keepers. As with all editions in the Complete Care Made Easy series, Rats offers readers information about selecting the right pets from good sources and acquiring all of the home essentials (for rats: cage, toys, bedding, and furnishings). The book discusses food options and the importance of feeding a rat a healthy, low-cal, low-fat diet based on fruits, veggies, and legumes plus recipes and menu tips. The author also covers the important considerations of rat proofing the home for keepers who opt to give their pets free run of their dwellings. The chapter “Beginning Your Friendship” discusses rat socialization, handling, grooming, cleaning, and interactions with children and other pets. The health of a pet rat is covered in the “Health Care” chapter that includes choosing a veterinarian, the first vet visit, spaying/neutering, the weekly health exam, plus handling common rat maladies and dealing parasites and emergencies. The real f-u-n begins in chapter seven, “Fun Activities,” in which the reader can learn how to train his or her rat to walk on a leash, enrich his rat’s life with entertaining games, and learn party tricks to impress visitors to the rat’s home. True rat lovers will enjoy taking their rats to shows—just like dog shows—to show off their rat’s conformation and natural beauty. The chapter “Show Time” offers advice on preparing for shows, classes at shows, and competing for ribbons. The final chapter on breeding offers rat enthusiasts advice about reproduction, the birthing process, and handling pups. Glossary, appendices, and index included.

Easy-to-use, comprehensive reference covering the less common species encountered in general veterinary practice Handbook of Exotic Pet Medicine provides easy-to-access, detailed information on a wide variety of exotic species that can be encountered in general veterinary practice. Offering excellent coverage of topics such as basic techniques, preventative health measures, and a formulary for each species, each chapter uses the same easy-to-follow format so that users can find information quickly while working in the clinic. Presented in full colour, with over 400 photographs, the book gives small animal practitioners the confidence to handle and treat more familiar pets such as budgerigars, African grey parrots, bearded dragons, corn snakes, tortoises, pygmy hedgehogs, hamsters and rats. Other species that may be presented less frequently including skunks, marmosets, sugar gliders, koi carp, chameleons and terrapins are also covered in detail to enable clinicians to quickly access relevant information. Provides comprehensive coverage of many exotic pet species that veterinarians may encounter in general practice situations Presents evidence-based discussions of topics including biological parameters, husbandry, clinical evaluation, hospitalization requirements, common medical and surgical conditions, radiographic imaging, and more The Handbook of Exotic Pet Medicine is an ideal one-stop reference for the busy general practitioner seeing the occasional exotic animal, veterinary surgeons with an established exotic animal caseload, veterinary students and veterinary nurses wishing to further their knowledge.