This is so interesting. So do these domesticated pet rats have a litter box or designated area for relieving themselves, or are they like other rodents and just go where they please?
They're just like rabbits and many other rodents. They will pick a preferred bathroom spot. You can either just put a litter box there, or train them to use a specific spot. Like rabbits, they do leave the occasional poo around as a territorial marker, and males sometimes dribble urine for the same reason. But for the most part, they're pretty good about litter boxes. I've never seen one of my rats actually relieve themselves out of their cage. Just the territorial markers.
Rats are probably my favorite animal that I've kept. They really are as intelligent, personable, and expressive as dogs. But they're very clean animals, one of their man activities is social grooming. Males tend to be lazy and want to cuddle while females are more driven to explore their environment. They're also not strictly nocturnal or diurnal, but will adjust their sleep.schedule to match your activity. They sleep while you're at work, but want to play first thing in the morning and when you come home.
The only downside is that their maximum lifespan is about three years, and they need a specialty vet. Otherwise, excellent pets.
They do indeed have one (or more depending on cage size) designated areas for doing that. The specific place you put the litter box is something you teach them, but they don't need much training to learn as they do seem to naturally do this with spots they choose themselves too.
Of course it might happen occasionally outside of those areas too, but if that starts happening frequently it can be a sign that something is wrong with them health wise.
