let me make this clear... this advice is needed for me, Tiggs.. Mark Tigwell, family man, father of 2, happily married. Its NOT for "you know who" so please dont be affraid to post


right now thats out the way.... i want a rat!

anyone got one? my intention is that it lives in my office at home (in a cage, not having it dump on my scanner) it will have me to talk to all day so i assume it will be well entertained.

so some question....

hamster suck- they sleep all day then bite you.. do rats do this?

guinea pigs suck- they live outside, squeak a lot and are scared of moles ...rats are better i assume?

are rats clever like ppl say? if i let it out would it leg it and hide (like the hamster did once) or will it be friendly like a dog!

and do they make you sneeze! my kids pigs make me snezze with their long hair- rats dont do they?

any rat experts feel free to advise!

Tiggs

 

Mark

Have a read here: http://www.nfrs.org/

 

I had a pet rat called Milo. He lived in an aquarium in my bedroom and was quite active during the day. He only bit me once in three years and that was my fault (Don't disturb them when they are sleeping). He was friendly and clever but I always kept a close eye on him when loose in the living room because he would leave rather large deposits quite frequently. The one real drawback was that when he developed a respiratory infection it was impossible to treat due to him being so small. He died very soon after and is now buried in the garden.

 

Wild rats get a really bad press due to their ability to reproduce shockingly quickly and they often cause massive damage to crops, property etc and because of the disease they can carry. One of the diseases is Wiel's Disease (Leptospirosis) a very nasty bacterial infection that is potentially fatal in humans (and lots of other species including dogs).

Pet rats, on the other hand, bred from captive strains, should be completely disease free and make really nice pets. They are very intelligent and affectionate and if handled correctly very rarely bite. On the downside their urine smells pretty bad and so their cage needs to be kept scrupulously clean (as should any animal) and if let out to roam in the house they feel it is quite acceptable to urinate and defaecate at will (although some clients swear theirs are litter trained!).

One point. They are very social creatures and a huge part of their lives is spent interacting with other rats. It would be better to have a pair rather than one for this reason. Human company, no matter how much, is not the same.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend rats as pets to potential owners who will take a keen interest in them.

[Edited by Stevethevet - 8/20/2002 11:04:06 PM]

 

Dr Evil has a rat - will direct him to this thread

Very nice pet too.

 

Steve

You advocate 2 rats or more...

Can you sex a rat easily? If so is it also possible to neuter a rat?

As you state, they breed rapidly...

 

All you need to know about keeping a cute cudly pet is here...

 

No Tiggs, get a SPIDER!!!!!

They are massively low maintenance (ie you feed them once a fortnight, and only have to make sure they have some water in a dish)
They cost nothing to house after youve got a plastic tank (you change the flooring material once a year at a cost of about £3)
They dont make noise
They dont steal shiny objects like a Jackdaw
They dont need toys and dont need to be "stimulated"
When its dead you wont know because they hardly move anyway, so you wont ever need to replace it!
They eat other animals ALIVE!!! muuuuuahahahahahahaha!
They are interesting to look at..for a bit...sometimes..if you get an interesting one...


heres one of mine :



[Edited by RaZe-=Buzz=- - 8/21/2002 7:05:54 AM]

 

PTMW
On the subject of sexing a rat. The answer is yes you can. Mine was a male with a very large (in comparison to the rest of his body) pair of *****. If he had been human they would have been dragging on the floor. Sorry to lower the tone of the thread.

 

rats - cool. i have three.

they really are great pets, especially if you haven't got the time for dogs/cats etc. research shows that they are as smart as a horse, and have the decision making ability of a three year old - they have also shown to be cleaner than cats...

there's really not a great deal of comparison to other rodents, mice gerbils etc - rats are just ten times smarter.

get one (or two!) and you won't regret it!

 

They must be fun to have as my Jack Russell loves playing with them.

EB

 

Had a friend with a rat once - loved it- thought it was a fantastic pet. Would like one myself - but fear the cat might take a fancy to it !!

I on the other hand - think lizards make good pets. I have two - almost veggie - only require the odd worm. They are frindly, and are out all day - pretty much silent to - so no annoying exercise wheels etc...

 

Hetha says Hello...




Ratman
MY98 Wagon

 

Might I respectfully suggest the Siberian Hamster as an alternative?



Ken

 

Would that be the Mountain Variety Ken?

 

Tiggs,

Right, we got a domestic rat from the local garden centre, black fur round the head and white body.

First off, DO NOT get an albeno (sp!) - they are usually nasty little b***ers! And will bite!

Second off, male rat's are easier to train and general more socialable out of the two genders.

Third off, very easy to sex, as someelse said, male rats have HUGE ***** hanging out under the tail..

And finially, a way to find a good rat, is when you are standing by the cage in the pet shop, look out for the one that comes up and seems enquistive, also ask to hold the rat.. it seems if they are gonna be a biter, this is a good way to find out..

Our rat, Bob, came straight to the front of the cage, at no time tried to bite us, and hasn't since we've had him.

They are kind of like cats, they like to go off investigating, so for the first few weeks keep a close eye on them... but, they can be trained to answer to their name, ours does. Also, they like (or at least ours does) chasing string and they play fight too.. mad little animals really.

FYI, if you get one, use kitty-litter (the stuff that looks like horse pellets) instead of wood shavings.. and if you want to buy treats for the rat, buy stuff like purina lickin's kitty treats, they are meat based.

They like beer, wine, green thai curry, chilli, curries, roast dinner, chinese food - but make sure they get some proper rat food too.. but they should be given fresh food, veg n meat now and then.

Hope this helps, Alex

 

Alex
In the average High Street, that IS proper rat food LOL

 

This is not entirely related, I know, but the best opportunity I'll get on Scoobynet to tell my tale about Missy (the Wild Rattus norvegicus).

Born: About November 1999? / Caught: 16 February 2001 / Released: 17 February 2001

Jan 2001.
Mice - okay, that's it, I invite them into my house, offer them my hospitality and now they've just abused it. Not only have they chewed an unnecessarily big hole in the skirting board (even though they could already get through the gap that was there before, to get to the porridge dish I leave out for them), but they've also devoured the big bag of peanuts I keep for the bird feeders, ripped up my carpet (for bedding presumably) and ...

Feb 2001.
I take it back. It's the rat(s) I should be blaming. Only ever seen two wild rats before Saturday, and I'd certainly never been in the same room as one.

I appreciate now how people can be scared of rats - talk about fast and aggressive!!

When I heard her in the utility room, I went to investigate with my Maglite. There, behind the freezer in the torchlight, was a big black mass with evil crimson eyes. Silently sitting, preparing to pounce. I thought I'd just put my open travel cage across her exit, worry her out with a stick and she'd just gently and quietly trot (like my rats do) into the cage, which I could then shut up and latch. Instead, I worried her out with the stick OK, but she flew across the room, banged into the cage (poor eyesight, obviously), bounced back and then screeched into all the corners of the room in rapid succession before flying into the open cage again and hitting the far bars with a thwack, screaming and hissing at the top of her lungs. OK, I thought, I'm not putting my hands near that to close the cage, so got my pole and tried to lever the open cage door up & shut, but to no avail, as I could get no purchase on it, resting on the floor as it was. She screamed out of the cage again, past my bare feet at 24mph and into the far corner.

Time for Plan B.
This time I propped the open cage door up off the floor a bit first. Again, worried rat out of corner and again (luckily) she ran right into the cage, rather than leaping over with a single bound. With the pole, I levered closed the door, but didn't latch it immediately, as she'd hurled herself at the now closed door with her teeth just where the latch goes, hissing blue murder.
Within about 5 seconds, the contents of the cage (bedding, etc.) were strewn all across the utility room floor, as she scrabbled about the cage at top speed. She spent the next hour chewing on the bars, while every time I approached the cage she would fling herself towards me onto the cage bars, shrieking, bottom teeth split apart in anticipation of inflicting maximum bite damage.
I found if I blew at her she would stop the cage biting and gradually calm down to a whimper (the "crying" noise my rats make when they think I'm going to give them a bath). Clearly she knew I was the key to her freedom, as she never backed away in fear, but always flung herself towards me, first in aggression, then attempting to appeal to my better nature with the doleful whimpering. I gave her a water bottle to drink from, some rat food, cereal and managed to stuff the half-eaten apple she'd stolen from my fruit bowl into the cage, but she didn't show any sign of touching any of these. I also offered her some cheese, which she snatched with her mouth and spat out into the cage, a crust of bread which she shredded into little pieces in about 2 seconds flat and some jam on the end of a spoon. This, she pounced on with her front paws to knock the jam to the floor, then busily groomed the sticky mess off of her.

I spent the nest hour on my stomach, nose 2 inches from the cage studying her. How anyone ever thought these animals could be domesticated is beyond me!! I was thinking, if this is how nerve-inducing capturing a little animal like a rat is, imagine what capturing tigers must feel like!

She was bigger than my rats, with puffy fingers and toes and, if anything, even better condition shiny glossy fur, fluffier, too, around the belly and limbs. Wasn't willing to risk stroking her, however! Same grooming techniques, but far quicker on her feet, a tremendously agile climber and oh-so-continuously-vocal, unlike the domesticated version, which hardly ever make a noise.
When I introduced my rats into the room and held them a few inches away from the cage, she was very interested, sniffing away quietly (not the aggressive loud snorting "I'm alpha rat, submit or die" sniff). Mine were also squirmingly keen to get to her (but mine would probably want to make friends with a cat, if they met one!), not fazed at all by The Wild One.

When I released her in the morning, in a work colleague's garden (for food & shelter), I had the open cage door facing away from me. Again, however, she clung on to the bars nearest me, screaming for freedom! I had to move around to the front of the cage to induce her out!! She then trotted off slowly into the undergrowth, rested a while with her head buried in a tuft of grass (but the rest of her body on open display), then darted off.

There have been no further signs of a re-infestation (and I think she got rid of all the mice).


Ratman
MY98 Wagon

 

Dave T-S - LOL, very true

Funnily enough he becomes a right little yob after a teaspoon full of stella!

 

my bull terrier killed 4 rats last month that had taken to living under the shed- they squeeked as well (although not for very long)

hoping my pet rat is a bit nicer than the scummy evil rats under the shed!

T

 

PTMW.

Sorry about the delay. Beau2 is quite right. No problems sexing older rats. There is no doubt whatsoever with adult males due to their impressive testicular proportions!!! Bit more difficult in youngsters though before testicular development. The only method to use then is ano-genital distance (distance between anus and genital opening is further in the male than female). Can be difficult to judge if only one rat but if there is a litter you can compare and it makes it much easier.

Never thought I would be discussing ano-genital distances on Scoobynet!!!

Steve.

 

I have two absolutely gorgeous little rats, well not so little, they've doubled in size in 3 weeks , and I would heartily recommend them as a pet!

Meet Bel Bel:


and Mirri:


They were 5 weeks old there, now they are 9 or 10 weeks and HUMONGOUS (but need to get photos developed).

Bel Bel is the most independant of thetwo, exploring everywhere and climbing onto things she shouldn't. Mirri is shyer but likes to be cuddled and gives kisses.

Rats are very sociable and you shouldn't get one on its own as it will be lonely. 2 Rats are even easier to look after than one because they don't need as much attention from you. I don't advise getting the rats froma petshop as many of them use rat farms (like puppy farms [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img]) and are weak, sickly and very very nervous. My sister's rats were from a petshop and one needed to see the vet 3 weeks after she got them . Mine are from one of the best breeders int he UK and have been hand reared. There are lists of breeders on the net, I can get you some if you like?

I recommend looking at the following site: The RatPalace. The people there are really friendly, sign up for the forum and they will tell you anything you need to know. If you read the posts you will see just how much fun rats can be!

I'll also answer any queries you have by email, so don't be shy.

Hugs

Katie

 

While we're on the subject, few more cute rat piccies....


Raven & Hetha in sychronised pose


Raven


Super Mash leaping rat


Ice on the piano


Heather's Mole

 

god-damn heather's fine!

errrrrrrrrrrr, yep scoobies.... dump valves, hoses, intercoolers.... doh!

 

Mash the flying rat?!?!?!

Excellent!

[Edited by GarnetFox - 8/22/2002 1:23:23 PM]