This is a review of books on rats which are currently
available in the UK. Any book on pet care will have both good and
bad points; publishers generally do not require authors to have
their work reviewed by experts before the book is printed, so it
is easy for inaccuracies to creep in, and for controversial opinions
to be presented as hard-and-fast facts. This means that it helps
to read as much as possible, and to talk to experienced rat owners,
to get all views - rather than treating one book as your ultimate
guide. Some of the books listed are out of print; these can be obtained
via libraries and bookshops which perform searches for old books,
such as Dillons.
The NFRS Handbook Part One - Common Diseases of
the Fancy Rats
The Scuttling Gourmet by Alison Campbell
The Rat by Ginger Cardinal
Your First Fancy Rat by Nick Mays
The Proper Care of Fancy Rats by Nick Mays
Rats by Susan Fox
Guide to Owning a Rat by Susan Fox
Rats For Those Who Care by Dennis Kelsey-Wood
Rats - A Complete Pet Owner's Manual by Carol A.
Himsel DVM
Pet City Guides - Rats & Mice by Mike Findlay MRCVS
Rat Health Care by Debbie Ducommun
The National Fancy Rat Society Handbook - The
Exhibition Rat
The Brown Rat by Graham Twigg
The Biology and Medicine of Rabbits and Rodents
by J. Harkness & J. Wagner
The Genetics of the Norway Rat by Roy Robinson
Colour Inheritance in Small Livestock by Roy Robinson
The NFRS Handbook Part One - Common
Diseases of the Fancy Rats
written & compiled by Ann Storey
The long awaited first part of the NFRS Handbook. This book focuses
on health and medical information for rats including the care of
sick rats, drug treatment information, disease information, vitamins
and minerals, choosing a vet and pre and post operative care. A
definite must for your bookshelf.
69 pages, softback. Pub. National Fancy Rat Society (2007) ISBN
0-9554025-0-6, £10 from the NFRS
The Scuttling Gourmet - Second Edition
by Alison Campbell
A guide to wholesome nutrition for rats. This is the second edition
of this book and contains lots of useful and interesting information
on diet and feeding of rats. It covers information on feeding in
health and sickness, growth and lactation, sick and elderly and
dietary requirements. Also information on most commercially available
pet foods suitable for feeding to rats.
170 pages, softback. Pub. Alison Campbell, no ISBN, £6.80 from NFRS, other rat clubs and online rat shops
The Rat
by Ginger Cardinal, from the series An owner's guide to a happy,
healthy pet
A great new guide to keeping rats as pets, with much thought given
to the practical aspects - eg suggested 'house rules' for children
helping to care for rats. There is a helpful guide to varieties,
but note that the book is American, so some colour names are different
(eg their Beige is our Buff). The book also shows Hairless and Tailless
rats, which are not shown in the UK as these deformities are linked
with health problems. Considerable confusion in the health chapter,
eg regarding respiratory illness, and uterine problems - consult
a more reliable source in this area. The chapters on 'Understanding
your rat' and 'Training tips and tricks' are great fun - includes
a guide to rat body language and 'The Meaning of Squeaking'!
Pub. Howell Book House (1998) ISBN 0-876054289, £8.99
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Your First Fancy Rat
by Nick Mays
A good introduction, containing much useful advice on handling and
socialisation, and a brief history of the rat fancy. The sections
on taming and training and buying pet rats are especially helpful.
The health section is slightly confusing when it states that rats
can catch 'colds' - the author is referring to respiratory illness
and not to the common cold. Rats cannot catch colds from humans.
The breeding section is helpful, but the figures given for the ages
at which rats become fertile and infertile, and for litter sizes,
are only averages. For example, female rats can become pregnant
as young as four weeks old if they come into contact with an older
male - far earlier than the eight weeks stated in the book.
33 pages, softback, pub. Kingdom Books (an imprint of TFH) (1996)
ISBN185279056-3, £1.45
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The Proper Care of Fancy Rats
by Nick Mays
Currently out of print. An excellent guide to the history of the
rat fancy, and a must for anyone considering showing and breeding
fancy rats. Contains many colour photographs. Highly recommended,
but bear in mind that this book was written some time ago, and so
not all varieties of rat are listed. The health section is somewhat
outdated.
256 pages, hardback, pub. TFH (1993), ISBN 0-86622-340-1, £10.95
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Rats
by Susan Fox
An American book, apparently aimed at young children. Several of
the photographs of 'rats' in it are actually of mice! The sections
on taming and training and health are fair, although much of the
advice given in the health section is now outdated. The book contains
numerous inaccuracies and gives little consideration to animal welfare
- it is more a guide to keeping pet rats alive, rather than giving
them enjoyable lives. For example, it recommends cages of only 16"
x 10" x 10", which is tiny - few people would even keep mice in
a cage this small. Fox suggests that you keep a single rat so that
'it becomes more devoted to you, because you are the only one with
whom it can play'. Rats are social animals which thrive in the company
of their own kind, and a pair of rats will bond with their owner
just as well as a single rat, but will be much happier - which is
why the NFRS recommends that they are kept in single-sex pairs.
The book states that rats can be kept outdoors in a hutch on the
patio in warm climates - this suggestion is for readers in warmer
countries than the UK. Rats kept in such exposed housing would be
lucky to survive a British winter without death or serious illness.
96 pages, hardback, pub. TFH (1988), ISBN 0-87666-933-X, £5.95
approx.
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Guide to Owning a Rat
by Susan Fox
A vast improvement on the author's first rat book, and with lots
of new photos. It contains an interesting chapter on the history
of the rat and its association with humans, and excellent sections
on taming and training , feeding, health and breeding. Sadly, still
pays little attention to improving the quality of life of pet rats
- for example, the reader is encouraged to buy tiny baby rats as
young as four weeks old (they should be with their mother until
five or six weeks of age), to keep rats alone and to settle for
small cages.
64 pages, softback, pub. TFH (1996), ISBN 0-7938-2157-6, £4.95
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Rats For Those Who Care
by Dennis Kelsey-Wood
This is a fair introduction to keeping pet rats - the photos and
background information are interesting, but don't rely on the accuracy
of its advice; it could give you some strange impressions of rats
and their care! One bizarre claim is that adult male rats cannot
be kept together, and that young males must be separated at 7 weeks
of age or they will start fighting. This is utter nonsense - most
adult male rats will live very happily with other males, if they
are introduced as youngsters. An aquarium with hood and flourescent
lights is recommended for housing, yet such a set-up would provide
very little ventilation and could easily lead to overheating and
ill health. Tanks should be covered with wire mesh to allow air
to circulate.
32 pages, softback, pub. TFH (1995), ISBN 0-7938-1392-1, £2.45
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Rats - A Complete Pet Owner's Manual
by Carol A. Himsel DVM
This book is written by a veterinary surgeon who obviously loves
rats, and is a good source of information about diseases and nursing
care. The chapters on Understanding Rats and Caring for Rats are
interesting. However, some parts of the book are misleading, and
others somewhat strange. The book is way out regarding the age at
which rats become fertile - 'by 100 days of age, successful mating
can occur'; successful mating can occur before 30 days for does,
and often by about 50 days for bucks. There is a brief, rather confused,
discussion of colour types and genetics. Some of the comments on
rat behaviour are puzzling - the author says that rats cannot be
trained, which is presumably news to the many rats trained in learning
behaviour experiments in laboratories across the world. Many pet
rats do learn to come when called and perform simple tricks, given
a lot of effort from their owners. The book recommends keeping mixed
sex pairs of rats, which is a recipe for a population explosion!
The author seems unaware of the variety of cages available which
are suitable for rats - and the stated minimum cage sizes for rats
are strange, eg for an adult rat Himsel gives a floorspace of 40
square inches (258 square cm) - this means a cage just 6" x 6",
which an adult buck could not even fit into, let alone live in!
An interesting read, but don't treat this book as your main source
of information on rat care.
72 pages, softback, pub. Barron's (1991), ISBN 0-8120-4535-1,
£4.50
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Pet City Guides - Rats & Mice
by Mike Findlay MRCVS
This booklet is a simplistic first guide. A few causes for concern
- for example, it says that 'male and female mixes are fine - but
will result in the production of countless offspring unless separated',
and later recommends breeding rats and mice as an educational experience
for children. So what are the owners supposed to do with the 'countless'
offspring (probably undersized and unhealthy, since their mother
is being bred from continually)? Apparently, 'If you ...cannot find
good homes for the offspring, PET CITY may well be happy to have
the chance to buy them'. I would have hoped that the responsibilities
of finding good homes for the baby rats would have fallen to those
who chose to breed them - an alternative suggestion would be, if
you cannot find good homes for the offspring - STOP BREEDING THEM!
Findlay states that rats reach sexual maturity at 8-10 weeks; do
not rely on this, or you are likely to find yourself with a litter
of pregnant underage rats.
15 pages, softback, pub. Pet City, no ISBN, £0.99 from
Pet City/PetsMart
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Rat Health Care
by Debbie Ducommun
Currently in Version 10. Debbie Ducommun is the founder of California's
Rat Fan Club, and this publication contains a wealth of first-hand
knowledge of rats and their ailments. Most people who buy a copy
order another one for their vet! Includes a guide to possible causes
of symptoms, a health food diet for rats, and much information on
first aid and nursing care. Some of the content is controversial,
eg spaying female rats is recommended to prevent tumours, but other
authorities on rat healthcare maintain that spaying is a major,
invasive, operation for such a small animal whilst tumour removal
is a minor procedure. Discuss with your vet and perhaps an experienced
rat breeder before deciding on any course of action recommended
by the book if you are uncertain.
32 large pages, softback, pub. The Rat Fan Club (2004), no ISBN.
Available from the NFRS for £4.00 inc. P&P - please contact
promotions@nfrs.org for copies of this book.
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The National Fancy Rat Society Handbook
- The Exhibition Rat
This comprehensive work on keeping, breeding and showing fancy rats
has been rewritten and will be available from the NFRS during 2005
- details will be published in Pro-Rat-a.
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The Brown Rat
by Graham Twigg
This is a detailed account of the behaviour and biology of the wild
Rattus norvegicus rather than its domesticated cousin. It contains
extensive references to, and summaries of, research papers on the
behaviour of wild and laboratory rats.
Pub. David & Charles, ISBN 0-7153-672-X Out of print, but available
through libraries.
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The Biology and Medicine of Rabbits
and Rodents
by J. Harkness & J. Wagner
A detailed reference work aimed primarily at people caring for laboratory
animals. Good on rat biology and husbandry.
Pub. Lea & Febiger, ISBN 0-8121-1176-1
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The Genetics of the Norway Rat
by Roy Robinson
Detailed reference work on rat genetics and biology, highly technical
but some sections are still interesting. This book is not very helpful
on rat coat colour genetics, since few of the modern varieties were
in existence when it was written.
Pub. Pergamon Press (1967), no ISBN. Out of print.
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Colour Inheritance in Small Livestock
by Roy Robinson
An excellent introduction to the genetics of coat colour in general.
The rat section is, again, outdated.
Pub. Watmoughs (1977), ISBN 0-903-775-069 Out of print.
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