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My rat is about 2 years old. How old is she in rat years?

Roughly 60. Each human year is about 30 years for a rat. Keep in mind this is not 100% accurate though. This is only a very rough estimate.

My new rat is sneezing a lot, should I be worried?

No, the sneezing is perfectly normal. When rats are introduced into a new environment they sneeze quite a bit. They may also sneeze when their bedding is changed. This is just their way of adjusting. The sneezing can last up to a week, but if it persists past 2 weeks you should seek veterinary care. Also, if the sneezing is accompanied by any other symptoms you should seek veterinary care.

My rats squeal and pin eachother down a lot, should I separate them?

It's very normal for rats to fight. Sometimes they're playing, sometimes they're not. Either way, you should never break up a fight UNLESS there is blood. Once rats are put into a new cage, or when new rats are added to an established cage, rats will fight to develop a hierarchy. If you break up these types of fights, the rats will never establish who is dominant and who is submissive. Therefor the fights will likely never stop. And do not let the occasional squeal frighten you- fights sound much worse than they actually are.

I think my rat has an upper respiratory infection; is there anything I can do from home without seeing a vet?

Several hundred dollars should be put away at all times in case of emergencies like this. Going to the vet would be the best thing possible. Depending on how advanced your rat's URI is, and how old your rat is, there may not be anything you can do. Assuming your rat is still in the early stages of a URI, you can try to dose its water with Tetracycline. This can be found at most pet stores in the fish section. It typically comes in powder form and you mix it into their water. Personally, I've never had a problem with my rats drinking medicated water, but you'd be best off mixing the medicated water in with something else (such as peanut butter) and having you rat eat it out of a dish. If you put medicated water into their water bottle and they don't like it, they may stop drinking water altogether. Tetracycline is a broad-spectrum antibiotic and is effective against mycoplasma. As long as you are treating the infection very early on, this should work. If you see no improvement after one month, you definitely need to see a vet. Visit here for information on dosing.

My parents will only let me get one rat. I will spend lots of time with it, is this okay?

No. Rats, much like humans, need to be able to interact with their own species to be healthy. Could you imagine being kidnapped by giant beasts, being kept 1 room for your whole life, and never seeing another human again? You'd be depressed, lonely, unhealthy, and likely mentally unstable. Some animals, such as hamsters, prefer to be kept alone. Rats, on the other hand, are extremely social animals and need to be in groups. Rats need each other to groom, sleep with, play with, eat with, and even fight with from time to time. Keeping a rat alone many times will lead to aggression. Keeping 2-3 rats is no harder than keeping 1. If you cannot get 2 or more rats, do not get any at all.
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