When looking for a vet, you will notice quite quickly that not all vets will treat rats, especially if the trip is for more than just basic medications. On top of this, most “ cat and dog vets” don't know very much about rats, and sometimes they can unintentionally cause more harm than good. It can take a while to find the right vet for you, but when you do it's absolutely worth it.

Just like in the pet community, vets can a lot of the time go based off of outdated information when it comes to bedding recommendations and such and will often tell you to use paper bedding. As we discussed in Set up & Husbandry, this is not the best advice. To make sure your vet is experienced with rats, it's good to ask if they regularly treat and operate on rats. A responsible vet should be up front about not being comfortable treating rats if it's beyond their training. If you cannot find any vet who treats rats, it's worth asking if your local clinics have anyone they can refer you to at another clinic.

Treating rats can get very expensive when things go wrong, especially if you have to go in for an emergency as the vet charges more for emergencies. In cases where the situation isn't an emergency, it's good to call around and ask for prices. Prices can vary dramatically from clinic to clinic. For large bills, many vet clinics offer payment plans, so make sure to ask for those if you know the trip is going to be a huge hit on your finances. Having a vet fund is always a good idea. 50£ will cover your basic medicines very easily at most clinics, but emergencies and surgeries can easily go up to the hundreds.

Here are some vet recommendations from the rat community:

http://www.chinehousevets.co.uk/ Craig Hunt

https://www.southlincsvets.co.uk/ Adele Wharton