Meet Piper the Rat

This is Piper, a male brown rat that we adopted last month.  He was a rescue rat, and needed plenty of time to adjust to his new life as calm critter.  But once he settled in to his new home in the Forest, he became the sweetest, most playful little guy... 

The first night we brought him home was a bit stressful as he was very scared and only had a starter cage with not a lot in it.  We had a weird experience at the pet store where the clerk rushed us out without allowing me to browse the small animal toys.  So I grabbed some things we had around the house like hemp twine, wood clothespins, popsicle sticks, burlap sacks, cardboard, various tubes, ect and made him a lot of good toys, hiding spots, and a hammock.  He jumped right into that hammock and got cozy. We have since upgraded him to a double level Critter Nation cage with four stories of fun and simulation!

Here Piper is in his travel cage, which I converted from an old dollhouse.  To be used for transportation or picnics in the park.  Rats are one of the most eco-friendly pets around.  They can help use up vegetable scraps in the kitchen, and are happy to play with toys made of recycled materials like cardboard. I make him his own litter by grinding up walnut shells in a mortar and pestle.  Yes, rats can even be litter box trained!

Piper loves pumpkin seeds, spinach, alfalfa hay, and nuts.  His favorite game to play is to chase a feather around the cage and try to gnaw it down, or tug-o-war with a piece of string.  He loves to explore and run all over his cage in search of treasures to "hoard" in his cage like a squirrel. I never knew a rat could be so playful!

For the future, we hope to adopt a friend for Piper and are currently considering a local breeder, Bmore Fancy Rattery.