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Anonymous
I would avoid giving them anything plastic, they will just eat it. I used to keep rats, I kept them in a small plastic hamster cage when they were little, then moved them to a bird cage with some wire shelvesand ladders, and when full grown I put them in a big rabbit cage. Keeping rats requires you to improvise, most hamster/gerbil stuff is too small for them. Just make sure you give them plenty of bedding material, and something they can build a little nest in. I also used to give my rats wooden spoons and cardboard tubes (like from paper towels or those round fedex tubes) to play with, they really seemed to like it. One of my rats grew very big, so I started feeding him dog food and he lived almost 7 years, which is very long for a rat. I stopped keeping them because their short life spans were very hard on me, they have very unique personalities, each one of my rats (I had 4 total) was completely different from the others, and I was really sad when each one died. If you keep them in something like a hamster or gerbil cage, I recommend you dont reach and grab them. Just open the door and let them climb out themselves if they want to play with you. It's a lot easier on both of you and it will trust you a lot more. When you first start keeping it, put some food out for it to come get. Each of my rats would climb out as soon as I opened the door, and when I set them down climb back in on their own without any trouble. I even had one that would close the door (although he couldnt latch it) on his own. Lots of interaction, especially when they are young, is key to having a friendly rat. I also recommend getting female rats if you have a choice, I found the female rats to be friendlier.
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