If rats eat meat they will become aggressive and will bite you!

This is NOT true at all.

Rats are omnivorous this means that they eat both meat and plants. So, by feeding your rat meat you are providing a healthy diet. A pet rat should only bite if they are feeling threatened, genetics, they have had something horrible happen to them or some males will go through a hormone change around 6 months that may cause them to become aggressive (this can be corrected by having them de-sexed).

For more info on fur baby diet Click Here

Rats have to be picked up by their tail.

This is also NOT true.

Rats should only be picked up by their tail if there is no other gental/safe way to pick them up. Picking up rats by their tail can cause "degloving". this is where the skin on the rats tail becomes lose and comes away from the tail, sometimes bringing part of the tail with it. This can also be caused by a rat getting its tail stuck in things like their cage door and trying to pull them selves free. To pick up your pet rat you should place your hands on either side of the rat making sure you pick up the rats entire body including their hind legs so they feel secure. Most rats will be more then happy to climb into your hands or up on to your shoulder without needing to be picked up. But if you find you have to grab them quickly and the tail is the only option, try and grab the tail at the base as close to the body as posible with one hand and as you lift them use your other hand to place under their tummy and hind legs to make them feel secure and to try and avoid injury.

You should only keep one pet rat at a time, or they won't bond with you.

This is also NOT true.

Rats are very social creatures and are happiest when in a pair or mischief (group). The more rats you have the happier they will be, they will have someone to play and cuddle with when you are asleep, at work/school, at a party, shopping etc. Being on their own will make them lonely. Rats have their own personality so how a rat bonds with you is up to you and your rat, but keep in mind that like us it is much easier to bond with others when we are happy 🙂 For more info on getting to know your rats Click Here

All rats will bite you no matter what.

This is also NOT true.

Pet rats should not bite unless they are feeling threatened and are trying to defend themselves. You should never knowingly buy a pet rat that bites. If a pet rat bites it could be due to genetics, hormones, or something horrible has happened to the rat to make it very scared.

• If its biting due to genetics it will probably always bite.
• If its biting is due to its hormones, then getting it desexed could possibly fix this.
• If its biting due to having had something horrible happen to it, you will probably have a long road ahead of you before the rat trusts you enough to not bite.

If you do your research and find a good breeder you should end up with a wonderful rat that never bites unless provoked.

All rats have to be bred at least once in their life, so they stay happy and healthy.

This is NOT true.

Rats do not need to be bred at all to stay happy and healthy and no rat should be bred for this reason. Rats should only be bred if you have a purpose like trying to better/create a good healthy genetic line. Breeding rats just to breed them without a goal or reason is only going to run the risk that you are going to create more genetic issues/problems and more rats are without homes. For more info on breeding rats Click Here

All rats have to be de-sexed!

This is NOT true.

Yes, de-sexing rats can be done and can help with aggressive hormone issues and can prevent tumors in female's, but it is not mandatory. Choosing to get your rats de-sexed is up to the breeder or owner of the rat. It can be expensive to get done and can have its own health issues. Make sure that if you choose to have your rat/s de-sexed that you do your research and that your vet is confident in doing the procedure.

All pregnant and nursing doe's are aggressive!

This is NOT true.

Yes, some can be and if they are, they should not be bred again. If you choose to keep the pups, they should not ever be breed as hormone aggression can be inherited. If you choose to adopt out the pups from the litter you should inform the new owner that the mother has hormone aggression.

But not all doe's will become aggressive, most won't change at all other than to become a lot slower and cuddlier as they get closer to giving birth and once they have given birth, most will be glad for a few min break away from their litter before going back to feed them again.

All doe's will eat their babies if you touch them.

This is NOT true.

Yes, some may eat their if:

• they are stressed,
• if there is something wrong with the bubs,
• if she feels she and/or the bubs are in danger,
• if you have a strange scent on your hands and you touch the pups or mum causing the bubs to smell bad (in most cases the mum will just move the bub away from the rest of the litter). 
• or it's a hormonal/genetics issue.

If your doe does eat her babies, then I wouldn't breed her again unless you really wanted to carry something from her genetics that you can only get from her, and you should let anyone know who adopts any survivors just in case they breed from them.

Having more than one rat, especially male rats, in a cage will make them fight.

This is not true at all!

Rats will occasionally have some rough play in order to establish the alfa rat of the cage. However, this is not classified as aggression, and usually doesn't result in any injuries, the common rule is "no blood, no foul".

So no, having more the one rat, especially male rats, won't lead to fighting unless there is a hormonal or genetic issue.

In fact, rats are very social creatures and are much happier when they have another rat friend or 2 or 3 or 4, and make sure they are all the same sex, unless you want to have a thousand babies running around, or you plan on getting your rats desexed. Just make sure you go to a vet who is up to date and confident in doing the procedure.

A group of rats is called a Mischief.
 
The first thing most people new to rats say to this is "but I'm going to play with him/her all the time, so I only need to get the one".

You see the problem with only getting/having one rat is that we all have to sleep at some point or go to work/school/shops/friend's house etc, and in a few weeks your little rattie isn't going to be so easy to hide in your shirt or pocket anymore. Which will mean having to leave your rattie at home, in their cage, on their own for long periods of time. This means they will get bored, as would you if you were locked in your room on your own for 7+ hours a day and had no TV, Computer, internet, and dare I say it ...... no Phone!!!! 

Not to mention, its usually when we are asleep that our ratties are the most active. So please do your little fur baby a favour and get them a friend or friends. They will be much happier for it and 2 rats are just as easy to look after as 1, but so much more fun.

Male and female rats have to be caged in separate rooms.

This is not true!

As long as you have separate cages for each sex (unless of course they are desexed), and they are not able to get into each other's cages, they can be kept in the same room without any problems.