Exploring pet rat care: a comprehensive survey of husbandry, health, behavior, and the associations between caretaker attitudes, attachment, and husbandry practices

Abstract

Pet rats are still understudied in terms of animal welfare and human-animal interaction research. An extensive online survey targeting German-speaking rat caretakers was conducted (n=978). One of the study's goals was to investigate husbandry practices, health indicators, rat behaviors that suggest either good or compromised welfare, as well as elements of the human-animal relationship, including interactions between humans and animals, caretaker attitudes, and attachment. The second aim was to explore the associations between caretaker attitudes and attachment, and caretaker behavior, encompassing routine health checks, interactions between humans and animals, as well as the activities and enrichment provided to rats. In some instances, welfare issues were identified: insufficient space (evident in 10.6% of rats), provision of unhealthy snacks (14.6%). The vast majority of rats enjoyed a variety of enrichment objects, e.g., huts/houses (98.4%), nesting material (92.7%), hammocks (91.7%), and tunnels/tubes (83.7%). The average amount of space and time provided for roaming in case of no permanent roaming possibility (13.9 m2 and 2.5 hours per day) was positive in terms of welfare. 79.0% of rats did not suffer from a disease diagnosed by a veterinarian. Repetitive behaviors, which may represent stereotypies, were uncommon (plucking out own fur and cage bar chewing occurred “never” in 99.1% and 81.5%). Indicators of good welfare (e.g., self-grooming, rearing, eye-boggling) were observed several times/day in 89.6%, 46.7%, and 11.6% respectively. Caretakers who formed strong bonds with their rats tended to express positive general attitudes (such as finding rats 'lovable' and 'fun'), while showing little agreement with statements reflecting negative attitudes (like considering rats 'dirty'). 84.4% reported stroking their rat, 94.9% reported talking to it, and 70.9% mentioned hand-feeding their rat several times per day. Caretaker attitudes and attachment and human-animal interactions and caretaker behaviors correlated weakly but consistently (p<0.01): respondents who felt more comfortable during positive interactions, stroked, hand-fed their rats, offered rat-friendly enrichment and performed health checks more often. In contrast, higher agreement to rats being ‘dirty’ related to less frequent health checks and less frequent positive human-animal interactions. The identified relationships between caretaker attitudes and behaviors can help design interventions to promote caretaker behavior that is beneficial for rat welfare.