Got Rats?

[blackacidevil]

Anybody seen those shirts with a snake head that says "Got Rats?"...those are cool.
Anyway, the real reason I started this thread is because while I was learning my docent info at the zoo I fell in love with the two rats we had for displaying to the public. They are so cute and frisky. Does anybody here keep rats as a pet. I'm pretty close to convincing my wife of getting one even though it will be weird when our Royal Python is big enough to eat them. What are the pros and cons (I'd like to know the cons but will leave them out when persuading my wife). Thanks in advance, Derek.

 

[Zombie]

HAHAHAHA....

Those shirts are me and Matt Karagich's (PetStuff) nice to see an San....oh wait, Derek?

Damn this memory.

If memory is a steel trap, then I have a bowl of jello pudding up there....

Mmmmmmm pudding.

 

[Zombie]

Oh yeah, and to answer your question.

If you want a small furry friend, in the realm of mice and hamsters and gerbils, ect., rats ARE the way to go.
It's amazing how intelligent they actually are.
Anything that you can teach a dog, you can also teach to a rat.

I always felt rather bad about feeding them to snakes and big lizards.

Anyway, why not go talk to Lunchbox (Karagich) at PetStuff?

Or you cold talk to Yve here on the boards, she is rather rat-esque, always running around stealing crumbs...

 

[OldHag]

I have a pet rat....I NEVER thought I could love a rat!!! Theyre sweet, inquisitive, a whole lot LESS smelly than mice and all those small spawns of satan. ie gerbils ect ect.
I recomend them with every fiber of my being! lol

Michelle

 

[pategirl]

I just got a rat myself saturday from the pet shop...got her and 5lbs of rat chow for free. I'm new to keeping them myself for anything other than food for snakes, but so far she's sweet. She's never been handled much, but she rides on my shoulder already. She loves Cheerios and raisins. She also doesn't stink near as much as a mouse would, nor does she constantly scratch the corners of her cage like a gerbil would. The only complaint I have is that she takes the shavings from the bottom of her cage, and places them in the bars so that they cover the corner of the cage where she stays most of the time. Makes a mess, but it's not that hard to clean up.

 

[OldHag]

Joy, I got a wire cage that sits ontop of a 10 gal tank!! It works great! No shavings outside the tank!! It has little ramps for her to climb to the top. There are 3 levels in the wire part. I have the luxury of putting the waterbottle in the wire part where it can hook on easily and the shavings stay in the tank part! I should post a picture as I dont explain very well.

Michelle

 

[Yve]

I had a pet rat years ago. They're great pets and are very smart animals. My little guy had a spot behind my typewriter (i did say years ago) and he'd just chill there while i did my homework. His cage had a metal box attached to it which he used as his bedroom.
I can't think of any cons in keeping them as pets.

Or you cold talk to Yve here on the boards, she is rather rat-esque, always running around stealing crumbs...

cleaning up crumbs is more civilized than throwing around heaps of trash..

 

[Zombie]

Meeee-oooow.

Saucer of milk, table 7.

 

[pategirl]

My little rat is below....no name yet.

 

[firefox2]

We have 6 rats currently. one hairless siamese dumbo earred male, one siamese dumbo earred male, 2 hairless standard females, one platinum female and one himilayan female.

My favorite past rats that we had we two possum faced dumbo males (PC and Mac ). Here's a picture of the two boys

 

[blackacidevil]

Holy Smack!

You guys have got me jonesin' for a Rat now (never thought I would be this pathetic )! How fast do they grow and what do I keep them in while they are small. I wanna grow my little guy (or I heard fems were preferred) but I don't want it to outgrow it's house in a couple of months. What other habitat ideas do you guys have for rats. I like that cheesy astrohamster look but I doubt that it would be large enough.


hehehe, I said cheesy


p.s.
Any recommended sites for Rat info?

 

[Mojo Jojo]

You guys have got me jonesin' for a Rat now (never thought I would be this pathetic )! How fast do they grow and what do I keep them in while they are small. I wanna grow my little guy (or I heard fems were preferred) but I don't want it to outgrow it's house in a couple of months. What other habitat ideas do you guys have for rats. I like that cheesy astrohamster look but I doubt that it would be large enough.


hehehe, I said cheesy


p.s.
Any recommended sites for Rat info?

They grow very fast that you pretty much should go ahead and acquire its final home. They are adults in just a few months after being born.

 

[Immortal_sin]

we've kept pet rats since Shelby was 4. Our last ones died early this year, and we haven't replaced them. the biggest con is the short lifespan. Too hard to miss them so much, they are GREAT pets....

 

[Kali]

i have kept rats for years. they are generally affectionate. we breed our parent rats for pinkys, but the parents themselves are spoiled pets. my daughter brings them to preschool for show and tell periodically. they are generally cheap and easy to care for, and can become non-stop traveling companions.

 

[mouse]

rats

i had hamters and gerbils when i was in germany...but here in california you can't have gerbils...and hamsters tend to bite more. so when my daughter was real little i wanted a pet for her...everybody told me "get a rat"
i bought a hooded rat (white backside, black front).then i bought a few dumbos, a regular cremcolored and a black male. we had them in regulas hamstercages, they did not like hamsterfood..they ate regular dog kibble (dry cat food when the females are pregnant). eventually i had around 40 and got told by the apt.manager to get rid of them...hubby gave them to somebody at work..
tempted to get another one
mine never bit...i could give them baths, take them everywhere, they sit on your shoulder, hide in the ponytail.
and the only time you got to worry about smell is - when you have a LOT of them in the diningroom (4 doublestory cages, a big hutch, 2 kritterkeepers, 40 rats and 10 mice)
now i got 13 T's and 2 bearded dragons ( but if hubby doesn't look i might just get a rat again)
dianne

 

[The_Phantom]

My little rat is below....no name yet.

Hes so precious. I had a rat once but it didnt last long, dont know what was wrong.

Whats that pipey musical thing in the background?

 

[pategirl]

Hes so precious. I had a rat once but it didnt last long, dont know what was wrong.

Whats that pipey musical thing in the background?

Those are trumpets. Trying to get back into music.

 

[xanadu1015]

I have three rats of my own...

I have three boys, Lucky (champagne), Xandu (albino), and Getty Lee (black-hooded). I have found that rats are one of the sweetest pets you could ever find. They are so gentle and trusting and extremely easy to train. True they have short lifespans (up to three years), but they make up for it in other ways. They are easy to take care of, but it is best to keep more than one since they like to have company and they love attention. They like to be kept clean like cats and aren't very picky about their food as long as there is plenty of it. Its very easy to spoil them since they are so sweet. Have any other questions feel free to ask me anytime.

Laura