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Author Topic: Pets: Fancy Rats  (Read 9375 times)

LadyBug

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Fancy Rats
« on: January 21, 2014, 01:19:54 pm »
I've had a pair of fancy rats for a little while now. I love them to bits, so cuddly and sweet and their personalities are HUGE!

Anyways! I was showing them off via pictures to a few friends and the main reaction I got was "Eww.. You have rats?"

I would like to know what you guys think about having a pair of fancy rats as pets. Would you ever own any? Do you already own any? If so, have you managed to teach them any tricks or are they your shoulder-riding companions? Do your rats enjoy bath time?(this one question actually has a purpose, I can't seem to get my girls to stay in the water more then a few seconds at a time so I've had to forgo shampooing just in case I can't get it all off before they scurry into a warm pocket)
« Last Edit: May 07, 2019, 10:18:52 am by RandallS »

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Re: Fancy Rats
« Reply #1 on: January 21, 2014, 01:41:34 pm »
Quote from: LadyBug;137176
I've had a pair of fancy rats for a little while now. I love them to bits, so cuddly and sweet and their personalities are HUGE!

Anyways! I was showing them off via pictures to a few friends and the main reaction I got was "Eww.. You have rats?"

I would like to know what you guys think about having a pair of fancy rats as pets. Would you ever own any? Do you already own any? If so, have you managed to teach them any tricks or are they your shoulder-riding companions? Do your rats enjoy bath time?(this one question actually has a purpose, I can't seem to get my girls to stay in the water more then a few seconds at a time so I've had to forgo shampooing just in case I can't get it all off before they scurry into a warm pocket)

 
I've never had rats but I did have mice for a few years and fell in love with rodents. Mice are significantly less intelligent than rats though -- I'm not even sure they registered I was there, except that I was Foodbringer.
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Re: Fancy Rats
« Reply #2 on: January 21, 2014, 02:08:01 pm »
Quote from: LadyBug;137176
I've had a pair of fancy rats for a little while now. I love them to bits, so cuddly and sweet and their personalities are HUGE!

Anyways! I was showing them off via pictures to a few friends and the main reaction I got was "Eww.. You have rats?"

I would like to know what you guys think about having a pair of fancy rats as pets. Would you ever own any? Do you already own any? If so, have you managed to teach them any tricks or are they your shoulder-riding companions? Do your rats enjoy bath time?(this one question actually has a purpose, I can't seem to get my girls to stay in the water more then a few seconds at a time so I've had to forgo shampooing just in case I can't get it all off before they scurry into a warm pocket)


I'm allergic to pet dander so I can't have fuzzy pets (except for my dog, who I am not allergic to because something about poodles) but my friend had a couple rats and they were adorable! The one rat was blind so the other one would help him out.

My mom's afraid of rats though, so even if I didn't have allergies she probably wouldn't let me have one as a pet.

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Re: Fancy Rats
« Reply #3 on: January 21, 2014, 08:27:00 pm »
Quote from: LadyBug;137176
I've had a pair of fancy rats for a little while now. I love them to bits, so cuddly and sweet and their personalities are HUGE!

Anyways! I was showing them off via pictures to a few friends and the main reaction I got was "Eww.. You have rats?"

I would like to know what you guys think about having a pair of fancy rats as pets. Would you ever own any? Do you already own any? If so, have you managed to teach them any tricks or are they your shoulder-riding companions? Do your rats enjoy bath time?(this one question actually has a purpose, I can't seem to get my girls to stay in the water more then a few seconds at a time so I've had to forgo shampooing just in case I can't get it all off before they scurry into a warm pocket)

While I'm more of a cat person, I think rats are adorable and I may want one in the future. Y'know, as long as the cats aren't interested in rats, which they will be, so it's a no. :(
« Last Edit: January 21, 2014, 08:27:41 pm by HarpingHawke »
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Re: Fancy Rats
« Reply #4 on: January 21, 2014, 08:54:30 pm »
Quote from: LadyBug;137176
I would like to know what you guys think about having a pair of fancy rats as pets. Would you ever own any? Do you already own any? If so, have you managed to teach them any tricks or are they your shoulder-riding companions? Do your rats enjoy bath time?(this one question actually has a purpose, I can't seem to get my girls to stay in the water more then a few seconds at a time so I've had to forgo shampooing just in case I can't get it all off before they scurry into a warm pocket)

 
I've never had any rats. My best friend did, and she lived with me for a while when we were 17. My mom HATES rodents of all sorts, so it was...um, interesting, with my best friend in the spare room with a rat cage. We'd often walk around with Sam and Pepper on our heads or shoulders and mom would just shudder and avoid us like the plague.

(Like, my mom will do the "jump on a chair, scream, and lift her skirts" if she sees a rodent in the house, so having them as pets was...a fair stretch for her.)

No idea about the bathing, but I did like my best friend's rats. They were sweet, and a lot better than her mice, who would POOP. EVERYWHERE. The rats had much better control of their bowels.

I would likely never own any myself, though, because my mom visits me, and because we have wolf dogs in our lives, and they like rodents. For a snack.
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veggiewolf

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Fancy Rats
« Reply #5 on: January 21, 2014, 10:12:58 pm »
Quote from: LadyBug;137176
I've had a pair of fancy rats for a little while now. I love them to bits, so cuddly and sweet and their personalities are HUGE!

Anyways! I was showing them off via pictures to a few friends and the main reaction I got was "Eww.. You have rats?"

I would like to know what you guys think about having a pair of fancy rats as pets. Would you ever own any? Do you already own any? If so, have you managed to teach them any tricks or are they your shoulder-riding companions? Do your rats enjoy bath time?(this one question actually has a purpose, I can't seem to get my girls to stay in the water more then a few seconds at a time so I've had to forgo shampooing just in case I can't get it all off before they scurry into a warm pocket)

I worked with Norway rats when I worked in environmental ed, and was quite fond of them.  Rats are really smart and have (I've found) amazing personalities.

Unfortunately, I have two rodent-killing cats and it just wouldn't be safe for rats here.  Otherwise, I'd have them in a second.
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Catherine

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Re: Fancy Rats
« Reply #6 on: January 22, 2014, 06:37:51 am »
Quote from: LadyBug;137176
I've had a pair of fancy rats for a little while now. I love them to bits, so cuddly and sweet and their personalities are HUGE!

Anyways! I was showing them off via pictures to a few friends and the main reaction I got was "Eww.. You have rats?"

I would like to know what you guys think about having a pair of fancy rats as pets. Would you ever own any? Do you already own any? If so, have you managed to teach them any tricks or are they your shoulder-riding companions? Do your rats enjoy bath time?(this one question actually has a purpose, I can't seem to get my girls to stay in the water more then a few seconds at a time so I've had to forgo shampooing just in case I can't get it all off before they scurry into a warm pocket)


I think they make great pets, if you can handle their short lifespan.
 
I had pet rats for years when I was younger. No two were the same. They all had very distinct personalities. Some of them were shoulder riders, others hated it. I can't remember any of them enjoying baths. Ever. I never taught them any tricks, they did the funniest stuff all on their own! But, they're certainly smart enough to learn.

I'd love to see some pictures of your girls!

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Re: Fancy Rats
« Reply #7 on: January 22, 2014, 09:20:45 am »
Quote from: veggiewolf;137299


Unfortunately, I have two rodent-killing cats and it just wouldn't be safe for rats here.  Otherwise, I'd have them in a second.

 
You know I thought that our cat would go nuts when she said she was bringing the rats here, but the  silly cat is  more  scared of them than they are of him and I am pretty sure they  know this and use it against him. Tom took more of a liking to that hamster she had than he has to these  rats.
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Re: Fancy Rats
« Reply #8 on: January 22, 2014, 10:09:40 am »
Quote from: LadyBug;137176
I've had a pair of fancy rats for a little while now. I love them to bits, so cuddly and sweet and their personalities are HUGE!

Anyways! I was showing them off via pictures to a few friends and the main reaction I got was "Eww.. You have rats?"

I would like to know what you guys think about having a pair of fancy rats as pets. Would you ever own any? Do you already own any? If so, have you managed to teach them any tricks or are they your shoulder-riding companions? Do your rats enjoy bath time?(this one question actually has a purpose, I can't seem to get my girls to stay in the water more then a few seconds at a time so I've had to forgo shampooing just in case I can't get it all off before they scurry into a warm pocket)

 
I haven't considered them as pets for myself.  I'm also not sure how my death machine cat would react to them.  But in general, I think rodents are adorable.  I have a soft spot for field mice, even if they can get into one's house and cause havoc.

The only thing that bothers me is the potential disease carrying that the wild ones can do (I'm looking at you, plague-infected prairie dogs).  But I'm sure your pet rats are just adorable.  You might have to show us some pictures to prove it, though. ;)

LadyBug

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Fancy Rats
« Reply #9 on: January 22, 2014, 11:14:41 am »
Quote from: beith;137374
.  You might have to show us some pictures to prove it, though. ;)

The call for pictures is answered!!
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Re: Fancy Rats
« Reply #10 on: January 22, 2014, 04:43:40 pm »
Quote from: LadyBug;137176
I would like to know what you guys think about having a pair of fancy rats as pets. Would you ever own any?


Rats are COOL and I've lived with quite a large number of them over the years. I got my first rats in 1990 and while I switched to mostly mice few years later, my ex bred rats for a number of years. There was a long ratless period, but then my husband got some for himself in 2006 (I think) and was instantly smitten. :)

We don't currently have any, as my husband's studies keep him away for most of the week and the last bunch of rattie boys were all over him constantly when he was around. My husband's rats were all boys, living free-range in our (rat-proofed) kitchen, wrecking havoc when not lazily snoozing piled up in a hammock in their cage.

Each rat is a personality, no two alike. :) The only downside to them is their short life span, but one pretty much has to accept it and think of it as a whole, fulfilling lifespan  - in rat perspective...

(Ok, other downsides are that they really love to gnaw on whatever they can get their teeth on and boys can get quite stinky, if they are those with a habit of being too lazy to move out of their hammock when they need to pee. Boys also tend to leave piddle marks when they scurry around.)

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Re: Fancy Rats
« Reply #11 on: January 22, 2014, 04:53:22 pm »
Quote from: Sage;137180
I've never had rats but I did have mice for a few years and fell in love with rodents. Mice are significantly less intelligent than rats though -- I'm not even sure they registered I was there, except that I was Foodbringer.


Well, having lived with mice for over two decades now, I think they are as much of distinct personalities than rats. However, their size is so small, the difference in perspective alone makes them seem less intelligent to us. While they aren't as bright as rats (who can be very bright indeed), to them we are so huge it is no wonder they can't seem to be able to register us as something to truly interact with as individual entities.

While I've had mice - mostly males living singly - who would hold out their tiny paws in order to be picked up and let run about me when they sensed me near them, mice mostly tend to be quite content with living their mousy lives in their own communities without that much need for interacting with their owners.

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Re: Fancy Rats
« Reply #12 on: January 22, 2014, 07:15:01 pm »
Quote from: LadyBug;137380
The call for pictures is answered!!

 
So much cuteness!  They're so beautiful, thank you for sharing the pictures!

LadyBug

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Re: Fancy Rats
« Reply #13 on: January 22, 2014, 07:17:46 pm »
Quote from: Fausta;137427
(Ok, other downsides are that they really love to gnaw on whatever they can get their teeth on and boys can get quite stinky, if they are those with a habit of being too lazy to move out of their hammock when they need to pee. Boys also tend to leave piddle marks when they scurry around.)

 
That is exactly the reason I got girls. :P Well, that and I was told by the breeder that females tend to be more energetic on a whole (which means more playtime vs snuggling time.. I'm fine with that! THey make up neat games :P )

Quote from: beith;137445
So much cuteness!  They're so beautiful, thank you for sharing the pictures!

 
Oh there are so many more where that came from! They are little hams they are, always showing off for the camera!

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Re: Fancy Rats
« Reply #14 on: January 23, 2014, 08:59:08 am »
Quote from: LadyBug;137446
That is exactly the reason I got girls. :P Well, that and I was told by the breeder that females tend to be more energetic on a whole (which means more playtime vs snuggling time.. I'm fine with that! THey make up neat games :P )

 
We got boys because they are less energetic, as they are too lazy to get everywhere. Which is nice with free-range rats. :D Spot-cleaning the floor was a daily thing to do, though...

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