A rat for a pet?!

[Buckalew]

First, I must say Saffron, this is a real post. No hidden agendas. ;)

I picked up Bucky(my dog) at the groomer's today and there is an exotic animal shop next door. So my snake loving DD went in and looked around admiring the owners hedgehogs, spiders, snakes, lizards, and rodents. Hunter asks the lady what is in the cage way up high. A dumbo rat.
A little 5 wk. old rat that white with red eyes and a long tail. *Buck shivers* Its nose was going a mile a minute and it reminded me of Paul Lynde (sp??) in Charlotte's Web. DD holds the rat and gets all the info from the owner about care and feeding for this rodent.
It costs 8.99.
It crawls up her tummy, onto her shoulder and puts its head against her neck. I think it likes her.:eek: I think Hunter likes the rat!:eek: :eek:
Overcoming my fear, I touch it and its tail. Ick! *Buck shivers* As I'm petting the little creature I begin to think it isn't so bad...
He's no Mickey but he's awful cute.
Has anyone had a "dumbo rat" for a pet around here? My BIL says that they only live 2-3 years if you are lucky enough to escape tumors...
Hunter has her b-day money. She is more than ready to buy him. She says she'll name him Stitch.

[Blondie]

My son's best friend has two of them....apparently, they make great pets!

There is also a Rat Rescue league in my area for people who buy them, then decide they don't want them.

[Saffron]

First, let me check:

<center>http://home.teleport.com/~jrolsen/premiums/o-ring.jpg</center>

Okay, seems safe.

;) :teeth:

I have a very close friend that has had several rats for pets (not at the same time). They make really cool pets, Buck! :) They're gentle and interesting and believe it or not, loving. :) I only knew one of her rats. She always allowed her rat out of the cage when they were close by to supervise. She used to roam the house. She loved to take things out of my friend's daughter's her room to a little 'pack rat" space she had under the sofa. :p If she couldn't find the rat, she would just look in her daughter's room and it would be in there snooping through everything. :p They loved that rat. Sadly, it only lived to be about a year and a half. It just died a natural death too. That is such a short life span.

Okay, back to your thread. But I'm keeping the decoder handy, just in case. :mad: :p

[dandave]

LOL! :D

No I never did have a rat for a pet or know anyone who did. I'd sooner have a rat than a spider or snake, though. ;)

Was it as cute as this rat? :)

http://ratprincess.homestead.com/griffen.html

[pixiedust218]

MY DD has two pet rats (my skin crawls because I can't stand them), but she loves them. DS has two pythons (which I can't stand even more). Sniffles and Little "F" (the rats) will never ever be food for Ozzy and Slayer (the pythons). I must say though that the rats are really good with all my children's friends, very affectionate (if you can believe it). Just find out who is going to clean the cage (LOL)

[catsrule]

My best friend had several of these rats when I was growing up and yes, they all did die from cancer/tumors. I used to hold them and even give them kisses!:teeth: I could never do it now, though. :teeth:

[Zurg]

Very Harry Potter!

[debster812]

Blah, waaaahhhhhh

Why on EARTH did I even open this thread? *shudder*

Ick Ick Ick. I'm sure your daughter will take very good care of it, but waaahhhh, not for me please and thank you.

[Simba's Mom]

When I was young (about 5 yo), we had a pet rat. My mother worked in a medical research lab where white rats were raised in a very sterile environment for research. A rat being raised got out and so they were going to put it down since it was no longer sterile. She brought it home and we had it for years til it died. Every night we'd let it out of it's cage to get some exercise. Never bothered me, but the non-white rats don't thrill me.

[Buckalew]

Dandave, That is like this one but the one we looked at was white and an albino. It does have "big" ears like Dumbo (well, not that big!)
Debster812, DD loves your post! :D

So, Harry Potter had a rat? We haven't read any or saw the movie. That is interesting tho.

pixiedust, about that cage...DD says she will do it. She is very good about doing the litter box. I am wondering how hard it is to clean a "rat box":rolleyes: I was worried about getting a rat when we have a cat. And you have 2 snakes and 2 rats so I guess we should manage. (We used to have a corn snake--I fell for him too!)

Thanks for all these responses.

[tallyfamily]

After years of hearing about what good pets they make, I bought two rats this past Fall. They are the GREAT pets. They are SO affectionate and smart. They will sit on your shoulder and kiss your cheek or sit in your lap to be petted. They come when you call them, can be taught tricks, and can be potty trained. It's almost like having two REALLY small dogs. They are nothing like hamsters or gerbils. They have alot more personality. They sleep all day and start to become active in the late afternoon when everyone is arriving home from school and work. When you come home they run to the top of their cage to greet you. The important thing to know is because they are SO social, they need alot of attention. You can't just leave them in a cage all the time like other small animals. They view people as really big rats, and they want to spend time with you playing and snuggling. I had no idea how sweet they are. I was worried at first about them having "accidents" on my shoulders, but it only took a few days and they were potty trained- I mean about every 15 minutes I put them back in their cage and they do their business, then I take them back out. They also clean themselves like cats. If a rat is stinky it's because their human isn't keeping their cage clean. Also, because they are SO social, it's recommended that you keep 2 instead of just one so that when you cannot spend time with the rat, it will have the other rat to keep it company. I bought 2 males (didn't want babies!) when they were 12 weeks old and they get along great! One is a hairless rat and the other is a regular rat. :D

[Buckalew]

:eek: tallyfamily! "see us a REALLY big rats?!:eek: Oh my!:p

What I want to know more about is this potty training. Do they go to the bathroom like every 15 mins? How exactly do you clean the cage?

How big are they since you bought them in the fall? What do you feed them?

This store only has one right now. If we get it and if we wanted another at a later date, could we add one in with this one?

I can't believe I am asking questions about rats!:eek: :rolleyes: :)

[dandave]

Buckalew, This site has lots of rat info. It's pretty interesting! :D

http://wererat.net/rathelp/

[CynJ]

Rats are AWESOME pets for children!! They are not nippy like hamsters or gerbils and not as dumb as guinea pigs. And they are very durable -- no worrying about the squeezies.

I had one great rat named Strabo who knew over 15 words -like in/out (of her cage) - bed, ride, carrot etc. She was a lot of fun. She loved to ride in the car on my shoulder.

My other rats were always very sweet and friendly.

One suggestion would be to get a female not a male -the males have different personality and are sometimes more aloof.

[Dan Murphy]

My best to you and Hunter, Buck. :rolleyes:


PS: Hunter, I will still try to write well. :p

[phamton]

I had pet rats when I was in college and my kids have had pet rats. We love them. That being said, I have a little story about rats for snake food.

At the school where I teach, we have lots of animals for the 4th and 5th graders to take care of. We have a hedgehog, potbellied pig, chinchillas, chickens, assorted birds, and snakes. To feed the boas, we got two rats to use the offsprings for food instead of having to buy them from the petstore.

The kids know that all the animals are pets except for the rats that are food. No one seemed to have a problem with this, or so we thought until one day we saw a 5th grade girl getting ready to drop a rat in with the boa. She was petting the rat and said, "Goodbye, Snowball." After that we gave all the other rats away to students who wanted them as pets and started buying one rat at a time from the petstore for food.

Bev

[browneyes]

I hope my ds and dd never ask me to get them one.:eek: They'll get a resounding NO if they do ask me though.;)

[jamsmom]

My DS has told me he wanted a tarantula (okay- my mind is blank on spelling) or a snake.

I told him that sounded it GREAT and I would remind him to get one as soon as he had his own place and was paying his own bills :) Of course, I also mentioned that I would not viit his place too often.

[tallyfamily]

I use Aspen shavings in the bottom of my cage. Litter made from paper products are also good (Care Fresh, Yesterday's News). The oils found in cedar and pine shavings are toxic to rats. There are all kinds of fancy cages out there- some with 2 or 3 stories and ramps, etc. I had an old 30 gallon aquarium, so that's what mine are in when they aren't running around on the screened-in porch. I use a dust pan to scoop out the dirty shavings.

My rats are about 9months old now, which I read is equal to about 25 human years. They mature very rapidly since they only live 2-3 years. The males get pretty big- I'd say mine are about the size of a kitten. The females are smaller and I've read more active too.

It's easiest if you can get two young rats at around the same time. I had to get mine from 2 different shops. You can introduce a new one later down the road, but it is alot harder to do. Usually you would have two cages next to each other so they could sniff each other for awhile, then have them switch cages so they can live in the other rat's scent for awhile, then finally have them meet in a neutral spot- the bathtub works really good.

If you like the dumbo, you may enjoy finding him a fancy friend like a hairless, tailless, or a curly coated "rex". There are even "siamese" and "himalayan" colorings.

Rats are different when it comes to the potty. Some will run back in their cage to use the potty, some will use a litter pan when they are out running around (you just have to see where it is they like to go potty when they are out , and then place a litter pan there). Since mine don't have a cage with a side door that can remain open, I just place them back in their cage about every 15 minutes or so to use the potty.

Anyways, the book I have is "Complete Care Made Easy- Rats"
by Debbie Ducommun, Bowtie Press.

Good luck!:D

[Buckalew]

tallyfamily, I am reading your posts and constantly going :eek: .
I never knew there was so much to know about having a pet rat! The one we are looking at is a boy. I'm wondering if we should wait for a girl to come along :confused:

Big as a kitten? I am so afraid that as it grows I'll just be freaked out!!:rolleyes: It is so cute this size...

Thank you and everyone who has given me words of "rat wisdom" tonight. I have a lot to think about.


The lady at the pet store also had the cutest little miniature possum! It was about the size of this 5wk old rat and was full grown. I would have brought that thing home today w/o thinking...BUT it cost 95.99! It figures.
I'll let you all know what we decide.

I think we need another pet like we need a hole in our heads.
(Now I sound like my father.):rolleyes:

[dandave]

Get the possum! Get the possum! :teeth: :teeth:

[Buckalew]

Honestly, that little possum was soooo cute. But at 95.99 he hardly passes the Disney test. :p She said he'd only live to be around 2-3 also!

[Disney Dee]

I would rather have a rat in the house then a snake:eek: . We went through the reptile thing afew yrs ago, till the slithering creature got loose, and when it was found, it given given a new home!

[Leota]

Buck - The miniature possum wouldn't pass the Disney test for me either! :D

I had a pet rat when I was in college - LJ Wazmouse - He was purchased to feed my room-mates Boa - But since Bo was shedding, he wasn't eating & poor LJ was traumatized running around the snake pen....

LJ made the most wonderful pet - I have no idea what kind he was - this was 20 years ago & he was purchased for $.99 as food.... He used to sit on my shoulder - He went EVERYWHERE with me. (even out to bars :eek: ) I had a small box I used to carry him in on the bus. He spent most of his time loose in the apartment & used a potty-tray. When we'd come home from work or classes, LJ would run up to greet you, just like a dog...
I always thought he was so friendly because of his rescue from the snake pen & the ether (long story there), but then I learned that rats are just fabulous pets.

Sadly tho, LJ was either fed to Bo or rat-napped during one of our weekend bashes & I never saw him again.....He was an EXCELLENT pet.......

[Dizzy-Disney4]

DD wants a pet rat. I wouldn't really mind, but right now, we have two pain in the bottom guinea pigs. They are not at all playful. DH's cousin has a rat. At first I was freaked out, but after a few times of visiting, I found out how cute and friendly it was. The only thing I don't like about rats, are their tails. There is something really reptilian looking about them and it freaks me out. But, that being said, when the guinea pigs are gone, I would consider a rat. I would NEVER get a spider or a snake. I'm terrified of spiders and DH is the same way with snakes.

[Buckalew]

Great story, Leota!! (BTW, it is always good to see you here!)

Dizzy-Disney4, while in the shop yesterday, we saw a lot of guinea pigs. They were "screaming" and making awful noises. But I thought it was so funny how when they made the noise their ears would move back and forth. Looked liked some sort of wind-up toy! I know what you mean about the rat's tail. I made myself touch it right away because it creeps me out so much!

She has her mind made up that she wants him. She is planning on him after school today.:eek:

[tallyfamily]

To be honest with you, I had a problem with the tails at first too, but then I guess I got used to it because it doesn't bother me anymore. I have also heard that now there are "tailless" rats bred without a tail like manx cats. Sometimes people who really want a rat but have a problem with the tail get the tailless rats.
You would probably have to find one through a rat breeder on the Internet since they are considered an Exotic rat like the hairless, Dumbo, Rex, and Siamese.

[tallyfamily]

Hey now, your house couldn't possibly be as bad as mine:

2 Rats
2 Birds
3 Fish Tanks
12 Dogs (that's right, one dozen):eek:

and a 3 year DS!!!

Needless to say, we don't get to Disney as often as we'd like since we have to budget in $ for pet care while we are gone! :D

[Micca]

As an owner of 2 cats who have full run of the house, I don't know how you're going to have rats too. My cats would spend their remaining days laying in wait for rat access:eek:

It's fun reading about all the pet rat stories though. I had hamsters, gerbils, and guinea pigs growing up. They were all cute, but not exactly charming.

[Buckalew]

Micca, That is rat with no 'S', please. :)

I am already getting used to the tail...I am a pushover, I think. ;)

tallyfamily,
Yes, you have me beat. I only have 2 dogs and 1 cat. But we have had turtles, snakes, lizards, & fish in the past. Oh, & once I had a caterpillar too. (Long story but after that, I knew I could love anything...:p )