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Anonymous File :-(, x)
As previously suggested, two rats are much, much better; rats get easily stressed if they live alone.
Also as previously suggested, don't use ANY sort of wood shavings. The best things you can get is CareFresh bedding or a similar alternative; it's light, absorbent, and doesn't agitate the sinuses of the rats.
The most common illnesses in rats are respiratory-related, so smoke and incense are not very advisable. If you do either, make sue to keep it away from the cage and with good ventilation so that the smoke doesn't fill the room; by a window would be best.
For cage accessories, rats LOVE old boxes - cereal, tissue, shoe... they'll shred and play and generally enjoy themselves. Rats also have a tendency to sleep higher up, and so they love hammocks - I also find that the fuzzy hide-away tubes meant for birdcages make excellent sleeping spaces for rats. They are very, very intelligent, so it's good to introduce new things to the cage often, and to put things in different places when you clean it out (change the layout of the shelfs, etc.) Oh, speaking of the cage, rats need BIG cages. Not that puny shit you'd keep a hamster in - rats need ALOT of room to move around. 2.5 cubic feet per rat is a good amount of room (I spoil mine, they live in a 5-story ferret cage, because of it's height it doesn't take up a lot of floor space but they have plenty of room to move around). But yeah, remember, no such thing as too big of a cage, but they can definitely be too small.
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