Developing guidelines for pet rat housing through expert consultation

BACKGROUND: Pet care guidelines play an important role in ensuring that owners are well informed about good husbandry practices, allowing them to provide the best care for their animals. However, the development of such guidelines is difficult when there is little appropriate empirical evidence on which to base guidelines, as in the case of pet rats. The consultation of multiple experts can help to surmount this challenge. METHODS: We developed a set of guidelines for pet rat housing by consulting with a group of experts, including veterinarians, veterinary nurses, animal welfare scientists and experienced pet rat owners. The consultation involved two rounds of online surveys (n = 13) and one online discussion (n = 8). RESULTS: The resulting guidelines cover a broad range of features within pet rat housing, including injury prevention, details of suitable refuges and substrates, and suitable cage sizing. The guidelines may evolve as more information about pet rats comes to light but may nonetheless provide a useful starting point for any future guidelines. CONCLUSIONS: At present, these guidelines may not only be useful for pet rat owners and those advising pet rat owners, such as veterinarians, but may also be useful in the design of housing, including for laboratory rodents.