Ok... here's my situation.

[ILoveMyAbbyGirl]

No, it's not about my parents. It's about these two loving ratties at the local humane society.

http://www.catsndogs.org/images/pets/rat.jpg
I'm not sure which rattie this is, I would have to get a ride to the shelter to see them myself.

There are two ratties, Doxy(female) and Catnip(male). Neither are neutered or spayed, but I would hopefully get them spayed and neutered ASAP if I ever adopted them. Rodents are $2.00 at the shelter, and I think pairs are adopted out for one fee. If not, the whole $4.00, I would be totally willing to pay.

I have spent over an hour looking at Cass's rattie site, writing things down (cuz I can't copy and paste and print it! lol... ;)) and figuring out what not to do, etc. I'm not even sure if this is going to happen, I highly doubt it, I just want to show my parents that I am prepared and know what I am doing. I get paid this week, and I am hopefully going to start saving money to try and push my parents towards getting these adorable babies.

I hope you guys maybe support my decision, whether I am able to get these ratties or not, I have figured out costs for cages and such, and I feel confident. :)

[ILoveMyAbbyGirl]

By the way...

Any advice/rattie FAQ/things I should know would be appreciated!

And another thing. We go camping a lot in the summer, would it be okay to bring them along? Maybe by then I would have the money to purchase a second cage to keep up there permanently.

ANndd... (being a pest, I know) My dad wants me to get a job at this hotel down the road as a room cleaner... sounds like a cruddy job, but it might not be that bad, I would work more hours than my tutoring job, get paid higher (hopefully). I am excited. :)

[ILoveMyAbbyGirl]

Lol... I'm not bumping my own thread up... I have more info on my "plan of attack"... or so you'd say.

Today at our humane society, there is an open house, where they have a "pet rummage sale", obviously a fundraiser, there's going to be food, and tours, hopefully there won't be many people there, I wanted to go somewhat alone and have time to bond, I guess.

I plan on talking to my dad in private. I want to ask him to take me to the Humane Society, and if he agrees, which is a big factor in this...! lmao... but if he agrees, I plan to talk to him alone in the car. I want to tell him that since they've split, he knows it's been hard on me, and having more animals around keeps me sane, in a way. It is 100% true, and I love Abby to death, but I want a pet(s) that are totally MY responsibility, ya know? I want a pet that is mine, for me to love, for me to take care of... I sound kind of selfish, but I hope we've all had that feeling, and with Abby it IS that way, but everyone takes care of her, and she has a more special bond with my mom, or my brother and I want that special pet that has a bond with me. I hope no one takes this the wrong way. Abby is my life and soul... she just doesn't take a tendency to listen to me sometimes. ;) :rolleyes:

Anyway, again, I hope you all agree with me on trying to get these poor ratties. I want to tell my dad that he would be saving two lives if we took in these babies, and maybe he will realize how much I want them. (If you can't tell from the lengths of these posts... I am really serious about trying to get these ratties!)

As for money: I gave my last $10 to my dad, because he is afraid he bounced a check when me went and paid for my mom's $60 medication... :mad: So I gave him the last of my money. Don't think we are poor and can't afford to care for any new pets, I would do this all myself with the help of babysitting money, etc. Since mom moved out, we have been a little tighter on $$. But this week was hard because my mom wanted US to get her meds AND do the grocery shopping, which was another $60, and we went for dinner Friday night. :mad: :( My job (tutoring session) ends this week, so I get $34 on Friday. That's barely enough to get the cage I want yet, which is this one:
http://www.petco.com/assets/product_images/9/9161100335B.jpg
But, I don't plan on getting these ratties right away either. I want to be fully prepared and be able to bring them home to a nice home, not a half finished home. That cage is $40, and I hope to soon upgrade to a bigger one as soon as I get more $$... summer means babysitting, babysitting = $$.

I clicked on all the items I would need to start off for the two rattie babies. I have a shopping cart at PetCo, and I have the following:
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8 in 1 Yogies Fruit Flavor Hamster, Gerbil, Rat Treats
net wt. 3.5 oz.; Fruit
$3.49 each

$3.49


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Small Animal High Rise
21.5"W x 11.75"D x 18"H
$39.99 each

$39.99


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Super Pet Mini Igloo
mini; 6.5"wx7"dx3.5"h
$3.99 each

$3.99


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Super Pet Little John Mini Hi-Corner Litter Pan
5.75"W x 4.5"D x 3"H; assorted
$1.99 each

$1.99


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Lee's Kritter Krawler
diameter 6.5"; standard; transparent
$5.99 each SALE $5.39 each

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And I think on Cass's site it said it was okay to use shreded black and white newspaper as bedding? If so, we have TONS of shredable newspaper.

Okay, enough rambling for a while, but I REALLY hope this works out because of all the planning I've put into this! :) And I hope no one adopts my lil ratties! :( :)

[molucass]

I wouldn't get one of those Kritter Krawler things.. I've heard they can injure their backs if they use those...

Also, if the male and female are in the same cage at the shelter, the female will be pregnant, so it would be a good idea to get them fixed.

I really hope you are able to get them. Ratties are wonderful critters, and are soooo sweet.

I miss mine. :(

Good luck with convincing your parents..

[ILoveMyAbbyGirl]

I talked to my dad and he told me he knows I'm responsible, he knows I would be able to care for them, it's just that HE doesn't want rats. He says rats are disgusting and shouldn't be owned as pets. He's been receiving a good dose of the silent treatment along with a little attitude on my part. So, as of right now, it's a no go.

I'll take the kritter krawler off my list. Thanks for the advice. :)

[slleipnir]

I really have to disagree on the rats being discusting lol but if he doesn't like rats, what about a gerbil? I use to have a bunch of them, they're good pets. And maybe they don't have the 'rat' reputation? Anyway, goodluck with it :)

(btw, you're lucky you can get that stuff for that much, everything is SOOOOO expensive here it's crazy) T-T

[Kfamr]

I don't think the silent treatment and attitude is a good way to go about it.

He's just like every other ignorant person when it comes to rats. Make him understand that the stereotype is false, while yes.. maybe wild rats are disgusting but these rats aren't.




I think only newspaper with Vegitable ink (?) is okay to use.

[G.P.girl]

Originally posted by ILoveMyAbbyGirl
I talked to my dad and he told me he knows I'm responsible, he knows I would be able to care for them, it's just that HE doesn't want rats. He says rats are disgusting


hey same with my mom :( she told me that if i ever brought a rat or a mouse home, she would ptu it ouside wheter it was snowing/raining/flooding or whatever. and she wasn't joking:(

[luckies4me]

Originally posted by Kfamr

I think only newspaper with Vegitable ink (?) is okay to use.

Yep only vegetable died newspaper is safe, although almost ALL newspapers now use vegetable ink, so it shouldn't be a problem. I agree that the silent treatment and attitude is not going to do any good and will just make the situation worse. I would not suggest adopting these two rats as the female is most definitely going to be pregnant if they are housed together.

If you are going to the Humane Society, don't go alone. Take your dad with you! This is your chance to show your dad how sweet and loving ratties are. You NEED to prove him wrong! Most people will dislike rats until they meet a really social one. All it takes is one ratty to change their feelings towards all rats.

I would not suggest buying that cage. First off, it's a tank topper, meaning it sets on top of a tank. For two rats if would be OK, but they really do need something bigger. I use tank toppers for my breeders when they are together or when I am cleaning the cages. One thing that isn't good about that cage is it's galvanized wire and with a buck it can get stinky pretty fast. They soak up urine and hold the smell and there is no way of getting it out. I would suggest looking into a Martins cage, like a 680 or so, should be fine for two adults, but no more than that. Please get powder coated too, as it's much more gentle on the feet and lasts a heck of a lot longer! Another thing about the cage is it would be terribly crowded if you want to add toys. There just isn't much space in the cage for hammocks etc.

Also, the toys you picked out are a bit too small for the rats. The mini litter pan they will not use. You need a ferret sized pan, which is what I use. They need BIG toys, especially if you are getting males. They are ferret sized, so ferret sized toys are perfect for them. You will need a ferret sized igloo as well as all others are much too small for ratties. The Kritter Krawler is basically a form of torment for rats. Rats are terrified in those and it's not good on the back.

Newspaper should not be used as bedding, but more of something to play with. I use both Aspen shavings, Carefresh Ultra and Hemp as bedding, with Aspen pellets in the litter box.

If you plan on adopting both the ratties, PLEASE make sure the male is neutered BEFORE being placed with the female. It only takes one second for a male to impregnate the female, and the Humane Society should be able to neuter him before he leaves the shelter. Neutering is fairly expensive, around $100 so that is another thing you will have to save for.

[luckies4me]

Also I usually do not recommend rescues for first time rat owners simply because rats have SO many health issues. These rats most likely came from a petshop and therefor were not bred with their future health in mind. I would suggest looking for a breeders in your area. While rescuing a rat is great, it is difinitely NOT for everyone! I would have at least $200 dollars saved up for an emergency vet fund as rats can get spendy very fast.

And if your dad insists on not getting a rat, don't. Chose something else because if the time comes where the animal needs to go to the vet there is a chance your dad will not want to pay for vet treatment simply because it's an animal he doesn't like. The animal will just sit and suffer.

If you are set on getting a rescue I would contact Kim's Ark rescue. They can arrange for rat trains and she has SEVERAL ratties that need help and is a great person to talk to if you are thinking of adopting a rescue. Rescues need a lot of patience and dedication so I would suggest talking things over with Kim before hand. You may also want to consider getting the female/s spayed to prevent mammary tumors when they get older. It can save you hundreds of dollars in the long run.