5 Things That Rats HATE That Pet Owners Should Avoid

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Rats love many things. They love cuddles, good food, good company, and fun games.

However, there are also some things that they absolutely hate. Some of the things that rats absolutely hate are things that many rat owners are unaware of. For instance, there are certain smells and sounds that rats cannot stand that you unknowingly might have in your home. This can result in your rat being unnecessarily stressed out.

In this article, we’re taking a look at the 5 things that rats hate the most. That way, you can learn which things to avoid! Let’s dig in!

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5 Things That Rats Hate

1. Peppermint Oil

The first thing that rats really hate is the smell of peppermint oil. Peppermint oil is a really strong smell and rats do not like its intensity.

Weirdly enough, many rats do seem to like to eat mint leaves though, it’s just the strong scent of peppermint oil that they despise.

Rats have an incredibly strong sense of smell. In fact, Harvard research shows some rats can even be trained to detect odors specific to land mines and tuberculosis. As a result of their strong sense of smell potent odors can be very annoying for them.

As I’ve mentioned, one of the smells that bothers them is peppermint oil, but they also dislike the smell of bleach, vinegar, and ammonia, so make sure that you avoid these odors in their environment. Some rats also dislike the smell of garlic.

Cleaning your rat’s cage frequently is important because an unclean cage can start to smell of ammonia.

2. Loud and Unfamiliar sounds

The second thing that many rats do not like are loud and unfamiliar sounds. The loud stomping of feet, clapping your hands, yelling, banging pots and pans can all be stressful for your rat, especially when they’re not used to it. Rats prefer a quiet environment due to their sensitive hearing.

Furthermore, while rats do enjoy certain kinds of music, they do not like overly loud music. Their hearing is very sensitive, and loud music is not enjoyable for them.

In addition, rats also hate high-frequency sounds. Rats have ears that can pick up on sounds that are inaudible to the human ear, and they can be very annoying for them. The sounds that they dislike the most are sounds that are between 22 and 35 kilohertz.

3. Certain types of bedding

Rats need bedding to make their cage a comfortable home for them. However, they despise certain kinds of bedding.

You should avoid bedding that are made of Pine and Cedar shavings because there is strong scientific evidence that they are harmful to the health of rodents.

The acids given off by pine and cedar shavings are very damaging to the respiratory tract of your rat and can make their cage, which is supposed to be their place of rest and relaxation, a very stressful place!

Many studies have been done, and the evidence that pine and cedar shavings are harmful to rats is overwhelming.

One study showed that the mortality of rat pups raised on cedar shavings was tremendously high compared to rat pups raised on corn cob or aspen shavings. Of the pups raised on cedar shavings, 56% were dead by 2 weeks of age, while only 0.01% of the pups raised on the other beddings died.

The cedar-raised pups also weighed about 23% less than the other pups!

There are many other types of bedding to use, but my favorite type of bedding is ECO BEDDING FiberCore Natural for Small Pets.

4. Boredom

The fourth thing that rats hate is boredom. I’ve written an article before on how intelligent rats really are. While them being so smart is a lot of fun, it also means that they get bored quite easily. They need enough mental stimulation to prevent boredom.

A good way to prevent boredom is by making their cage more active and interesting. You can do this by putting some toys in it, such as a few hammocks, ropes, ladders, foraging toys, and chew toys. These things allow them to use their brain when you’re not around to interact with them, which makes their life a lot more fun.

However, while making their cage more mentally stimulating is a good start, they do also need to be let out of their cage daily. You should let your rat explore their surroundings and play with them outside their cage at least 30 minutes to an hour every day to prevent them from feeling couped up and becoming bored.

Bored rats can become destructive and aggressive, so make sure that you give them the mental stimulation that they need to be happy.

5. Strobe lights

The fifth thing that rats hate are strobe lights. If you were planning on having a disco party with your rats, I’ll have to disappoint you. Besides hating loud music, rats also do not like strobe lights.

Since rats are nocturnal, they do not like bright light much in general, but strobe lights can be especially annoying for them. If you have strobe lights near your rat’s cage, its best to remove them or at least put them somewhere where your rats won’t be bothered by them.

Wrapping up

So, there you have it, 5 things that rats absolutely hate and that you should avoid if you’re a rat owner! I hope that you learned something new from this article and that it was fun to read.

On the whole, rats love most things, but there are certain things that they do hate. Luckily, they’re easily avoidable which makes it simple to give them a home where they feel comfortable and at ease.

ThePetFaq Team
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