Rats can be super friendly, interesting and entertaining pets. But like with any pet, it’s good to do your due diligence and make sure your new pet wont bring any harm to you or your family.
Especially given the reputation of wild rats and other rodents, you’re definitely forgiven for wondering about whether pet rats are dangerous to humans.
Pet rats are generally as safe as other domestic animals. It’s possible for them to bite and scratch, give you allergies, and in rare cases, even pass an illness to you. Taking some reasonable precautions can help you enjoy rat ownership with less risk.
In this article, we’ll cover the dangers that pet rats might pose to humans, and how to minimize those risks.
Bites and Scratches
Although domestic rats are known for their friendly and sociable nature, they do have big teeth and are capable of quite severe, nasty bites if they feel threatened. Similar to a dog or cat, it’s pretty unusual for them to bite.
Whether or not a rat bites is really dependent on its individual personality. Choosing a rat that is calm, tame and friendly towards humans is the best guarantee that your pet won’t bite you.
To find out more about rat bites and how to prevent them, see: Do Pet Rats Bite?
Rat scratches are generally pretty harmless. Rats don’t use their nails as a weapon, but they’re definitely pretty pointy and can leave marks on your skin. Especially if your rat slips off your arms or shoulders!
You can trim your rat’s nails, though it’s a bit challenging because they’re so tiny. Or just help them keep their nails trim by giving your rats rough surfaces to climb on inside their cage, like bricks or lava ledges.
You can also prevent rat scratches by wearing a long sleeve shirt when you play with them.
Allergies
Some people are allergic to pet rats. If you’re allergic to other furry critters, you’ll most likely have trouble with rats as well.
Because rats are so small, allergies to them are usually mild and manageable. But it’s possible to develop more severe allergies to pet rats that may warrant rehoming them, like breathing trouble.
See Coping with Allergies to Pet Rats for more tips if you find yourself sniffling around your rats!
Zoonotic Diseases
Pet rats are quite different from humans, so we don’t share many of the same diseases. With that said, there are a few different diseases you can catch from rats, like rat bite fever, salmonella, and hantavirus.
Because domestic rats are kept indoors, without any contact with wild animals, they’re much less likely than their wild counterparts to carry disease.
These diseases are quite rare, and don’t always progress into severe illness. But they are a possibility, so it’s good to know about the symptoms ahead of time.
Always practice basic hygiene with any animal, like keeping their enclosure clean, minimizing contact with your face and washing your hands after handling them.
Chewing wires
Something you might not have considered is that rats love to chew! They actually need to chew to keep their teeth from growing too long.
Any room that you let your rats run around in should be rat-proofed to keep them from destroying anything important. Keep any wires off the ground or otherwise accessible to rats, because they could electrocute themselves or even start a fire if they gnaw through the plastic covering.
In my experience, I’m not sure how much of a risk this really is – none of my rats ever showed interest in wires. (They do love to nibble on clothes, though.) But each rat is a little different, so you never know!
Like a puppy, you can also train rats not to chew on certain things, and provide them with lots of toys to chew on so that they leave your stuff alone.
Any time that you let your rats roam around your house, you should definitely supervise them as well to keep them from getting into trouble.
Pet rats and pregnant women
The CDC discourages pregnant women and children under 5 years old from coming into contact with pet rats. It’s usually a good idea to stay away from any exotic pets while pregnant, because they can carry bacteria or viruses that you may be more vulnerable to during pregnancy.
Are pet rats bad for your health?
With all things considered, pet rats are no worse for your health than other domestic animals like dogs, cats, or other more exotic animals. While there are some risks posed by rat ownership, there are also ways to minimize those risks while still enjoying your furry friends.
Safety tips for living with pet rats
- Be aware of the symptoms of infection that pet rats can pass to humans.
- Wash your hands and arms with soap and water after handling your pets, their bedding and toys.
- Litter train your rats to minimize the amount of waste found outside of their litter boxes.
- Try to avoid letting your rat touch your face with its paws, hands or nose.
- Avoid touching your own face while handling pet rats.
- Use a non-dusty bedding. When cleaning, wet the bedding down and spray a disinfectant on it before sliding it into a garbage bag to avoid stirring up particles. If you like, you could also wear a face covering while cleaning their cage.
- Wear rubber gloves any time you touch their feces or soiled bedding.
- If your rat ever bites you, clean and disinfect the wound right away. Be aware of the symptoms of rat bite fever, which can show up days later.
Health benefits of pets
Pet ownership can also improve your health – particularly mental health! They can significantly contribute to improving emotional well-being.
Pet rats offer companionship, unconditional love, and a sense of purpose, which can help reduce feelings of loneliness, depression, and anxiety.
Interacting with pets can also release endorphins and reduce stress levels. Rats are very similar to dogs in that they seem to notice when you’re upset, and will run over to check on you.
Keeping rats well fed, watered and entertained can help you develop and stick to a routine. In a way, their enrichment is our enrichment – finding new ways to decorate their cage or new agility courses to challenge them, keeps us occupied!
Conclusion
With proper care, precautions and handling practices, pet rats pose pretty minimal risks to humans and can make wonderful pets. I hope this article helped to calm your concerns about owning pet rats!
