Craig

iv always wondered what keepin a pet rat would b like i hav read good things about people havin them any1 had any experience of havin them??

C W

Miss Mouse

FAB!
They're far better than any hamster/mouse/gerbil I've ever had! I have had 5 now. They have such great personalities and they become really tame and affectionate but they do need space and a lot of mental stimulation. The other downfall is that they can get ill quite easily - 3 of mine died of colds whcih they can catch from us
My first one was called Richard after my best friend and he used to run to the side of the cage afetr school and i would take him out and he would curl up in my hoodie while I was doing homework and sit and munch my hair sitting on my shoulder etc I even used to walk my dog with Richard sitting on my shoulder!

newbie101

most people just cant get past the tail....even I, the great animal lover, dont think their tails are the prettiest thing in the world...

Craig

yeah i just dont know!!

C W

dano569

i've never had one,but it would probably be cool. 8)

dahly

Craig, Find the movie "Willard," songs by Michael Jackson. It's a fun flick about a Man and his pet rat, and friends. Actually, I just wanted to say hello!

chickadee

I don't know about pets really, but when I was in nursing school, we had 6 of them we kept in the class to observe their reactions to things. (No we didn't do any mean experiments to them) Mainly they just ran through mazes and ate different foods. and got checked for weight gain and loss. then we watched them have little ones and found homes for them. They were very spoiled and very smart. But I agrre with Emma, it is hard to get around the tail.

Craig

lol!!!! yeah i am takin all these points on board thanks guys ad girls

C W

dahly

No experience with raising Rats. Once, when I lived in NYC years ago and late one night, while waiting for a subway, I saw a couple of HUGH rats alongside the tracks. And earlier, while in college I had to dissect one in a Biology lab. I had friends who had mice and I always found them cute. Craig, aren't you missing tropical fish? I bet there's a tankfull near you, looking for a good home, fresh water, warm temperatures. My Gouramies blow bubbles! But you can't pet them.

Craig

i do sum times but honestly u dont miss the intense work u put in2 the tank lol

C W

mermaid

i have two baby female hooded rats at the moment and i would definately recommend it. i have grown up with rats and they are much better than other rodents as they interact alot more with you and they are so intelligent. The only thing i would say is that if you spend alot of day out then get two rats(single sex pairs and females are better as males may fight) as they are very social animals.

Isabella

I agree with Miss Mouse - rats indeed are very smart and can become very affectionate, with great personalities. I don't like the fact that they have become merely the objects of scientific research and often ruthless testing and experimenting. But I won't be getting on that subject, as any experimenting on any animal whatsoever always makes me angry and it even makes me cry !!! Just love animals too much I guess.

Emma, yes, many people cannot get past the tail, lol. It looked weird to me too in the beginning when my sister got a rat. But after a while I got used to it and realized it's nothing more than a tail, lol. As simple as that. That's a rat's nature and a tail itself is harmless. It's all in our minds ...

ebbandflow

If the tail is the only thing that weirds you out there are rats you can get without the tails. Personally I think they look funny but they do exist.

newbie101

haha, that would be funny...a little stumpy tail rat

0morrokh

I think rat's tails are cool! Have you guys ever felt one? The hair is very coarse like a pig's hair.

Miss Mouse

Yeah its really hard hair but of you stroke it the right way its very silky and smooth! Talking of stumpy tailed rats - I dont thinkn they would be able to balance very well without their tail! They wrap it around things and use it to manouever a lot.. ver clever little things! I really want another rat but my dog is just so set on killing anything that moves and I just dread her getting into the rats cage or something awful so i dont want to take that risk - she got one of my guinea pigs - not a pretty sight and so so awfully sad

Isabella

Omorrokh, my sister has a rat. I do take it in my hands quite often. It's the most gentle rodent I've ever held (besides hamsters that I've had in the past). It loves to sit on my sister's neck, tangled in her hair, lol (she likes to walk around the house like that and freak my parents out, haha). He also loves just being held and getting attention. He is very smart - he knows exactly when we're calling him to come out of his cage - he gets up immediately and tries to come out, lol. He recognizes many sounds. When he's very hungry, I sometimes hold food higher above him, and he will jump quite high to get the food, lol. Rats are very smart - I never knew that before.

0morrokh

Yup, rats are smart--some say as intelligent as dogs, and they can be trained to do tons of tricks. Your sister's rat reminds me of my mice...they used to crawl all over me and snuggle up in my hair. I used to walk around with one perched on my shoulder. I miss having mice...maybe I should get them again.

ebbandflow

I'd have a rat right now... in a six level rat palace... if it wasnt for my parents . How they dooo mistreat me :P.

0morrokh

ditto

Caitlin Rose

I have had a few rats and I would say they can be good pets in the right home, but they can be very bad too! They are very smart and need lots of attention. More than one male and you may have trouble... I believe one of my rats was killed by a bully that I got at the same time :..( They need lots of stimulation, and need a safe place to run around as they are very curious. These are not pets to sit in a cage all day!!! They are great for people who want a traveling companion who is friendly and super smart (and who doesn't mind the constant pee dribble everywhere :P). They are bad pets for people who don't have a lot of time (with little attention these smart critters soon learn to punish the owner and they can become viscious if not given proper time and care), don't like have stinky things crawling all over them (rats are very clean, but pee everywhere) and also people who have cats or dogs... you may lose your little buddy . ALSO they are often short lived and tend to get tumors-This can be a very sad pet to keep as people who love their rats usually must deal with loss in 5 to as little as 2 years!!! Hope that helps!

ebbandflow

Traveling companion?! That is freakin ausome! Will they sit on your shoulder when you're like drivin around in the car?

0morrokh

That would be sweet, just you'd have to make sure the car didn't overheat at stops...and the rat had somewhere to go to the bathroom...and he couldn't get into trouble while you are out of the car...and the car would have to be totally rodent-proofed...

kerryve

I had a lab rat that I rescued from my university some time back, Seth, They are so smart and he would follow me everywhere, he knew when it was lunch or supper time, cos he used to get scraps. He never had an enclosed cage as such, he was free to go where ever he pleased. He was so good and never left the house. He sat and watched T.V with me and would sleep in my jacket pocket if we went out. His tail didnt bother me at all, I thought it gave him personality, almost like a dog. I miss him though, he died a year ago, I think he was really old - hed been at uni for many years when I found him. But would get one any day but my husband has never had the pleasure of getting to know one and refuses to have one...

SunnShadow

I've had rats, and they are very sweet, adorable, loving and intelligent pets. I've only had the "classic" type of rat, but love the look of the rex and dumbo also.

Look at this sweet face.........

Attached Images

Dumbo2.jpg (14.0 KB, 23 views)

Isabella

OMG SunnShadow ... that is SUCH A CUTE rat !!! My sister's rat looks exactly the same, lol. I love rats, they're so smart and cute (I don't mind the tail AT ALL).

Kerryve ... that is such a sweet story I'm glad you rescued the rat and that it had such a good life with you. Unfortunately, my sister can't let the rat run freely around the house, but she probably would love to be able to do that (we have 2 cats, so ... no need to say anything further, lol). Actually, a while ago, my sister also sort of rescued a rodent. It was a tiny white mouse that was to be fed to a snake at her school. My sister just took it without asking anyone and brought it home. The mouse lived about 2-3 years with us and it was lovely. I am glad she took it home - better than a snake's belly! At least the mouse had a life (better short one than none).

I would never want to have any animal at home that feeds on other live animals - I could not bear to watch it eat a live creature. NEVER. I don't know how people can keep snakes at home and watch them eat live mice - rodents are pets themselves. This is sick. I couldn't even keep fish that eat other fish.

lokky.funky

Yeah.. i've seen some white rats in one of the pet stores. They were with red eyes and they looked so cute.

gammerus

I've been so tempted to get a older pinky rat from a pet store to raise. One less rat burger.

SunnShadow

I'm still waiting for my daughter's rats to have their babies so I can bring home two little girls. Rats, in my opinion, are the third best house pet to have, falling just below dogs and cats. Maybe even better than dogs and cats, since not everyone has room for bigger pets, but everyone can find room in their house and heart for a little ratty.
I'd actually prefer a male, since they seem to bond more and are so laid back. But I'm not sure you can keep two males together once they're adults. I'll have to look into that.

I'm really looking forward to having ratties again..............

Sara

molly lover

I have had 11 hamsters (No they all didn't die! One of them had 10 babies and we got her from a all male store! And we got them at different times) and 5 gerbils and a rat once with me the hamsters were the best. They smell worce and they don't pee on you when you pick them up like my rat did! lol and my gerbils are really skitish it took me 3 or 4 years for just one of them to get on my hand. You have to really careful when you have a cold, I didn't go near any of them and made my mom take care of them for a while. You can train the hamsters to use litter boxes which helps alot! My mother hamster I had a very speical bond with and I atually taught her a trick (come and it was really helpful when she escaped too!)