I want a rat!!

[lynzmk]

oh my god

i hope the orignal poster has read all the comments here.
Firstly - the big ones that 'freak you out' are more than likely MALES as opposed to females. There are no sizes of fancy rats just different coats and colours... and sexes.... and there is a variety named dumbo of which i have 2 - they just have ears on the side of their head rather than on top. They're the same size as top-ears though.

Males can get very large, but are more docile than their female counterparts, which are extremely energetic and need lots of exercise.

Please get more than 1. At least 2. And keep them in a cage that is big enough for them - i have a ferplast jenny for my 4 does(girls) - if i had bucks (boys) i would only house 2 in it. And it's a BIG cage. And whatever you do DONT mix sexes - they breed like, well, like rabbits... lol, but u get the idea.

Please consider the amount of room they need, and attention. Read up on them loads - look for rat clubs and forums online - online info is better than that which is in most books because it is constantly updated. Make sure you are able to provide them the right sort of home and care.

Buy them RAT FOOD not hamster food pleeease.

They are easily tamed if you buy young rats and spend time gently handling them. They don't bite unless afraid, they may very gently nip or nibble you but that is the same as a dog sniffing or licking you - they're just learning who you are.

Contrary to popular belief they are not vicious animals by nature and they can become very attached to their human friends if you treat them in the right way, which means providing clean, comfortable, roomy surroundings, lots of toys and handling, and good food. The analogy with dogs is good.... im afraid that, as someone with a dog who 'speaks' to me (hehe - honest, she does!) i cant say that rats are cleverer, but they do greet you entheusiastically in the same way, and love to be fussed.

I don't agree that they are harder to keep tame than mice - quite the opposite in fact, mine tend to remind me when i haven't spent time with them for a few days by clinging to the bars of their cage til i go over!

Anything else you want to know pm me if you like... rats are great pets but ONLY in the hands of someone who has done their research and has the time and money to give them the right life.

L x

 

[Dragonscales]

I've kept serveral rats over the years and yes, they can be quite rewarding pets as long as you have time and patience for them. Unfortunantly the tiny little bundle of joy you so want to take home will eventually grow into the big rat who "freaks you out" lmao. The smaller ones you're talking about just aren't full-grown yet, or possibly females whom are a little smaller than males. Another thing to remember with rats is that it's not only the males who are territorial as alot of people would think. Females can also be aggressive to other females (I had a larger female housed with a smaller one a few years back and the larger one killed the smaller one and literally devoured half the rat overnight! It wasn't a very nice thing to walk out to the next day to one of your pets eaten from the waist down and literally turned inside out. The larger one was devouring her insides when I walked over to the cage). They need alot of space each so these sorts of things don't happen, and even then they can still happen. Hidey holes where they can get away from eachother is good too. As for the smell, well yea, I used to clean mine out once a day and by the night there was still a smell, I did keep males too though. If you don't keep the tank clean then they are prone to deseases, especially around the ears. Fresh water and food are essential, change it every day, along with their bedding. I fed mine a variety of things ranging from pellets to fresh fruit and vegetables, green vegetables are especially needed to keep healthy and shiny. As for bedding, I tried a few things but found shredded newspaper and stuff like chaff or straw to be the best. You MUST be willing to devote a hell of a lot of time to these animals as they are incredibly intelligent and love to be around you once they are used to you. Besides which, they are extremely suseptible to trick learning if you have patience which is awesome and very fullfilling. A neglected rat can be your worst nightmere where as a loved and well played with rat is a dream of a pet. They are extremely loyal and loving animals so long as you give them a chance to show it by spending as much free time with them as possible. Hell, they can even be house trained to only use their cage/tank as a toilet and are quite happy scuttling around the house following you and checkin up on what you're doing. Please don't try this at home if you own cats though lmao. Hope this post helps in some way and good luck if you decide to keep rats as a pet

 

[Dragonscales]

Another interesting tidbit about rats I forgot to add is there was several studies done into the intelligence of rats a few years ago and it was found that rats are just as smart as your average dog! There's something to think about...sit! roll over! play dead! lol

 

[MasterDrummer]

Rats VERY RARELY kill each other and when they do it is usually the result of inadequate care. Rats ALMOST NEVER resort to cannabalism unless they have not been fed in a long time.

 

[Dragonscales]

The one I had did master drummer, she was alot more agressive towards other rats than even my males were to each other, she simply did not like being in with the others so I had to seperate her from my other rats after that incident. She was never quite right from the word go though so I suspect it may have been a medical problem she'd had since birth, too much testosterone maybe. She and my other rats were always well-fed and there was plenty of space. Some rats, like other animals, just aren't born well adjusted socially whether through medical reasons, psychological reasons or hormonal reasons. The reason I pointed out my extreme case is to let people know that yes, there are freak cases and when dealing with any animal you have to be prepared for the worst in case it does happen. She's the only rat I've ever had who displayed these problems, and I've had a few in my time, so I guess sometimes it's just the way things go...

 

[katrinel]

I LOVE my rat!!

I was driving home late one night and on the road in front of me was this jumpy little white thing and a cat just starring at it! Of course curiosity got the better of me and I stopped to see what it was and It was a cute little pet rat. I didnt want to leave her with this cat although it looked like (seriously) they were just playing with eachother, so I grabed her and threw her in my car and then I was too scared to get in my car to drive home!!
I had to run home a couple of blocks and get a basket and I was so scared to pick her up . Well I got her a cage and after 4 days I worked up the nerve to pet her and she turned out to be the sweetest rat I have ever known. She loves to be held and scratched and she even flips on her back for me to rub her belly! She has never ever even bit me, she licks like a dog! When I let her out of her cage she runs around my room and loves to find paper and magazines to drag under my bed. She is just so sweet!

I have also had bad experiences with a hairless rat. I got her because they are just so ugly they are cute but it turned out she was a bad bad rat but I blame it on the conditions she was kept in at the store. She was a feeder rat kept in a tupperware container! Anyways she nearly bit off my rats foot without a moment of hesitation. But I kept her anyways (in her own cage) even though I couldnt even pick her up without taking a bite out of my finger, I have a few scars on my hands. But when I bought her she turned out to be pregnant and her babies were the cutest things I have ever seen and they were so friendly!!!

It really depends on the rat itself and how much you pay attention to them. But they can be excellent pets also dont get feeder rats but buy rats that are for pets. Or better yet rescue one! My rescue rat turned out to be the best rat I have ever come across.

 

[cometcattle]

My dog had a rat in his mouth the other day. Thank god it was already dead. It was the size of a cat. Nothing beats a good ole Chicago Sewer Rat.

 

[lynzmk]

My dog had a rat in his mouth the other day. Thank god it was already dead. It was the size of a cat. Nothing beats a good ole Chicago Sewer Rat.

they're not the same thing!

L x

 

[Sharoane]

Wow...I've waded through all these posts and only a few of them got their facts straight.

First of all, my credentials...I bought my first pair of male rats about eight years ago. I knew nothing about them. I went into the store to get hamsters and the owner of the store's husband talked me into rats instead. Over the next several years I got so into rats that I bred them, rescued them, bought and owned more rats than I could have ever imagined. I also ended up working at the pet store where I bought them for a few years. The store was small, locally-owned, and mostly good to their animals.

Rats are, in my opinion, the *best* small pets to have. They may not be as cute as hamsters but they rarely bite (hamsters chomp), they don't smell nearly as bad as hamsters or gerbils or any other small rodent-type animal, they love attention and affection, they're easily trained and they are hardier than other small pets.

I've had both male and female rats and I think I prefer males although I have both right now (separated by sex and by temperment), but all rats make great pets.

Rats need plenty of room--I suggest a wire cage with a plastic bottom (you can get them at Pet Quarters for really cheap prices now) and they do need a lot of room to play. I wouldn't put more than two in a medium/smaller cage. Rats are social animals so *do* pair them up, and unless you want to suddenly have twenty rats, only pair up same-sex rats. Males can be aggressive but if you get them together as babies they're fine. They bond, become good friends and are much happier.

Rats need to be handled--just like any other pet. If you hold them and talk to them and hand-feed them treats as babies, they will grow up to be sweet and affectionate. They tend to have accidents on you as babies but they do potty-train quite easily. However, if you have your rat out of his/her cage for too long then expect a little bit of a mess. They're small and they can only hold it for so long.

Rats should have low-dust pine or aspen shavings--never cedar! They also like having a blanket or a hammock to sleep in and they do well with the plastic balls you can get to allow your pet time out of the cage. Our rat, Diver, loves her ball and can roll it up over the doorjambs. She's gleeful about chasing the cats with it. Rats also like wheels, though because they get pretty big you should get a larger wheel. Male rats tend to get pretty fat as they age and mine used to use their wheel as a hammock instead of for exercise.

Make sure you get rat food--there is indeed such a thing. It comes as little chunky cylinders. You can also give them pieces of fruit, unsweetened cereal, peanuts, and so on as treats. NEVER give a rat carbonated soda and limit their sugar intake to rare-to-never.

And, with the fifty-odd rats I've owned over the years + the hundreds I handled working at the pet store or that belonged to friends, I've been bitten by a rat that meant it (sometimes they nibble when hoping for a treat) exactly twice. Rats are not mean. I've been bitten by more hamsters than anything else, actually.

The only downfalls to owning rats is that they A. get cancer at the drop of a hat and B. have a very short 3 year life-span.

 

[MasterDrummer]

Sharoane I agree with you

except pine bedding has been known to cause respiratory problems in rats and other small rodents.

The safest beddings are Aspen, or ones made from paper. And low-dust is important.

I think you're thinking of Labblocks and they are a great source of nutrition
Rats love it when you give them treats

 

[Sharoane]

Yep, and yep. Pine can give rats issues, depends on the rats and how well-ventilated the cages are. I would NEVER put pine shavings in a tank with rats (I did way back when I was a rat-newbie) but low-dust shavings in a wire cage, changed often, won't be too bad. However, aspen is much better for the rats, so...

Our rats yank treats out of our hands and waddle off to the corner to eat them, except for Diver, who stacks hers at the bottom of her cage for later.