Golden keeper tips

Introduction to species

The Giant Pouched Rat (also called Gambian Pouched Rat or African Pouched Rat) comes from tropical Africa and is a naturally shy and docile animal. Adults can grow up to three feet long (including tail) and can weigh up to 2 kg. They have cheek pouches, like hamsters, which they use to carry food and other objects.

 

There are two species of Giant Pouched Rat, Cricetomys gambianus and Cricetomys emini, which are very similar to each other. The natural habitat of C gambianus is the wooded grasslands of sub-Saharan Africa whereas C emini inhabits the dense forests of Central Africa and the Ivory Coast.

C emini tend to be slimmer, sleeker and longer legged than C gambianus which by contrast are slightly stockier. The easiest way to tell them apart is by their markings. Both have a grey to rusty-brown back and a paler belly, the change from dark to pale is quite sharp in C emini and much more gradual in C gambianus.

Colour variations are beginning to be seen in captive bread populations. These variations include very subtle stripes and patches across the shoulders and haunches, small white markings on the head such as a dot between the eyes or a blaze and totally black variations have also occurred. Their most distinctive marking, which is common to both species, is their bi-coloured tail. About two thirds of the tail is dark while the final third very pale or white.

Giant Pouched Rats are not domesticated animals. They require lots of love, attention, exercise, space, time and money if they are going to be kept as a successful pet. If you keep one of these animals the chances are that you will get bitten, they will destroy your furniture and they will keep you up at night. They will also delight and amaze you and on balance they are worth it.

If carefully socialised at an early age these wild animals can make wonderful, if challenging, pets. To become properly socialised daily handling needs to start from about four weeks old. Young rats should be regularly introduced to new people and new experiences until they have overcome their natural fears. Once a bond between rat and owner has been established it needs to be reinforced every day with extended periods of contact and play.

Rats which have not become socialised or have been neglected rapidly become fearful of human contact and can often become defensive and aggressive. Being large rodents they are able to inflict very serious bites and an giant rat which can’t be handled is the last thing any owner needs! Even a fully socialised rat requires careful handling and management. They are very wilful and determined and are not easily distracted once they have decided to do something. One day they might fall asleep in your lap and the next they’ll rip up your carpet and gnaw a hole through your floorboards!

Housing

Very few cages available from pet shops are suitable for Pouched Rats. The cages are usually too small and often not nearly strong enough to keep Pouched Rats in. The few that are large enough tend to have wire mesh floors and shelves, which are not good for Pouched Rats’ feet. One common solution is to make one large cage out of two multi-level ferret cages alternatively you can build your own.

A pair of Pouched Rats needs a minimum floor area of 1 square metre. They like to run, climb and jump so the cage should have multiple levels for them to explore. The levels need to be about 30 cm apart and there should be different routes between the levels. A single pouched rat should be housed in a similar sized cage.

Self-built cages should not be considered a cheap option, as it’s very important to use the highest quality materials. Not only for strength and durability but also because cheaper materials can be poisonous or have harmful coatings and finishes which the rats may ingest when they chew and gnaw the cage.

Substrates

Pouched Rats’ cages should be lined with an adsorbent pet litter to a depth of about 5 cm. Good absorbency is important because Pouched Rats’ urine is fairly strong and will stain flooring if allowed to seep through the cage. Any type of substrate can be used from sawdust, wood shavings and wood based cat litter, through chopped cardboard, to specially prepared paper or rag based products.

Hay and straw can also be used but they are not as absorbent as the other options. Pouched Rats like to forage and dig in their litter and will spend hours moving it around the cage and creating huge piles of it against the sides of the cage. If the cage has mesh sides a lot of the litter will be thrown out through the mesh during the rats’ excavations.

Internal environment

Pouched Rats are very intelligent and require lots of enrichment to keep them occupied. Their cage should be designed to provide them with many different routes between the levels. They should also be given a range of toys to play with. Wooden toys designed for parrots are ideal for pouched rats as are rope perches. The rat will eventually destroy anything you put in the cage so they will need to be replaced periodically. Some rats will bond to soft toys such as teddy bears and will carry them about and sleep with them.

Pouched Rats can be kept amused for a couple of hours if their food is hidden around the cage and amongst the litter. Their natural instinct is to forage, collect as much as they can carry in their cheek pouches and store it in piles around their nest.

Stimulation

Pouched Rats are very active and they cannot be provided with enough stimulation caged up all day. They need to be let out to exercise, play and bond with their owner every day. Given space they will run and jump. Running up and down stairs is good exercise and they seem to enjoy repeatedly racing up and down. They enjoy climbing too so their play area should include chairs or other furniture for them to climb on. They can climb up brick walls although they are not so good at climbing down. They also enjoy climbing on people.

To maintain the bond the owner should play with the rat. Pouched Rats will play a bit like kittens. They will chase a ball, fight with the end of a rope and they also seem to enjoy having a cloth thrown over them and finding their way out from under it. They will get very excited while playing and they often forget they are biting a ball or a rope and bite their owners instead.

Dietary needs and requirements

Like the domestic rat Pouched Rats will eat a variety of foods. Their diet should include a lot of fruit and vegetables and very little cooked food. They hoard their food around their nest so they have access to it whenever they want. They will usually have a few bits stored in their cheek pouched too so they are never short of a snack when they feel like it. They do however get bored if the same types of food are always given. Owners should vary the diet over time continually swapping out some ingredients and then reintroducing the different foods later.

The sort of food Pouched Rats eat includes parrot mix, chipmunk mix, granary or Multi-grain bread, monkey nuts, walnuts (whole or in pieces), sunflower seeds, any green beans, calibrese, carrot, celery, courgette, cucumber, cooked peas, cooked potato, spinach, sweet potato, apple, banana, grapes, mango, orange, pear, tomato and pineapple.

In the wild Pouched Rats also eat insects and some owners provide live crickets and mealworms for their rats.

Special requirements

Other than the challenges, which come with keeping a large undomesticated rodent, Pouched Rats are quite easy to keep. They do not require climate control or a specialised diet.

Overall husbandry techniques

In the wild Pouched Rats are solitary animals so it is quite possible to keep a single rat of either sex. They will be quite happy on their own. Keeping a male and female together is also possible providing the animals have been together from an early age and that the female isn’t too dominant. A dominant female can seriously injure or even kill another rat. It is not possible to keep same sex pairs together – they will fight to the death.

Breeding habits are not well understood and captive breeding is not very reliable. Some pairs breed regularly while others never produce any litters. First time mothers often have very small litters and sometimes only a single pup is born. Males have been known to eat the babies but some breeders leave the pair together without any problem.

Handling and temperament

Even well socialised Pouched Rats need to be handled with great care. The owner should always remember that they are dealing with a wild animal. If a Pouched Rat is startled or feels threatened it will bite in self-defence. Pouched Rats have a very powerful bite, which can inflict serious wounds on people and can kill other small animals.

Pouched Rats who are completely relaxed and friendly towards their owners can act aggressively towards people they don’t know.

They are nocturnal and don’t appreciate being woken up during the day. If they are disturbed they will make loud grumbling and scolding noises.

They are wilful and intelligent and once they have decided to do something or go somewhere they will be persistent, devious and cunning. They usually get their own way.

Golden keeper tips

Unusually Pouched Rats are best approached from behind. They like to have their rump scratched and stroked. They can be picked up by first stroking the rump and then getting a firm grip on the base of the tail with one hand. The other hand can then be slid underneath until all four feet are on the hand. The Rat can then be lifted up and lain along the owner’s forearm. The rat will usually rest quite happily for a couple of minutes before it starts to struggle and wants to be let down.

A healthy Pouched Rats runs with its tail held very high. The tip is held almost vertically so the white tip waves about like a flag. In an ill animal the tail is carried horizontally barely off the floor.

Pouched Rats can be potty trained – in fact they are naturally potty trained. If they are provided with a suitably sized dish partly filled with water they will use it as a toilet. This makes keeping their cages clean very easy and if a potty is providing during their playtime while they are out they will reliable use it there too.

Contact

If you want to ask anything about Kali please e-mail:

 

kali_talk@btinterent.com