You will likely see a few of RRR images here as I am a big fan of the page. It is run by Morgan Reid, a lovely rat owner who promotes excellent rat care. She has kindly given permission for her infographics to be posted but I would recommend following her Instagram account if you are on there!
Updated: Jan 1, 2022
I just wanted to make a little post about this to raise some awareness regarding the risks with letting your rats play in either real or artificial Christmas trees.
Real trees:
These are typically Pine, Spruce and Fir. All of which are toxic to rats in their natural state. You may see some toys or substrate made with these materials but they have been kiln dried. The process of kiln drying removes the phenols which are toxic. Christmas trees have not gone through this process. Therefore they are unsafe for rats to play with.
Real Christmas trees are also often sprayed with pesticides. This can be very harmful to your pets if they are nibbled and ingested.
Artificial trees:
While plastic is typically safe for rats to interact with, Christmas trees become extremely dusty very quickly. They aren’t typically dusted or cleaned like other surfaces in our homes so they really do harbour a lot of dust year after year. In addition, because they are typically used to hold lights and electricals, many trees are treated with a fire retardant spray. Again, not ideal for your pets to ingest.
Both real and artificial trees are often covered with electric wiring holding Christmas lights. This poses a real risk of electrocution and the wires are extremely thin so even under supervision this could happen in an instant.
Ultimately, the risks far outweigh the benefits of having a cute Christmas tree photo of your rats. This does seem to be a popular trend but I would like to urge extreme caution.
Instead, why not download some apps or filters on your phone that can put Christmas trees in the background of photos of your rats? Much safer!
