Rats?

[Argranade]

Yes, I'm taking it slow. But what are the stages? I mean... what should I do from beginning to end?

Take her to a pet store ask the Pet worker if you can hold a rat then bring it up to your mom and say ''See there so cute mom'' and if she screams uhhh....then maybe you should move to a mouse lol.

I dont mind rats my mom thinks there cute but I dout she would want me to have one and I dout I would get one ill stick with birds.

There's also gerbals try to find somthing small like a rat thats more..how can I put this...your moms style? lol.

[zoomer]

Take her to a pet store ask the Pet worker if you can hold a rat then bring it up to your mom and say ''See there so cute mom'' and if she screams uhhh....then maybe you should move to a mouse lol.

She'd kill me if I did that.. but I suppose it's worth a try

[Khay]

Well there are ALWAYS exceptions to rules.

EVERY social species has the few rare animals that are anti-social. But that is not the rule at all, and is very rare. Just like in people. If there was a person who never had contact with another person, most people would lose their mind. Then there is those rare people who hate everyone of the human race.

Have you ever tried introducing another rat to Tia? What did she do? Pin it down and dig into its stomach with her nose while the other rat was screeching like it was being skinned alive? That is what's supposed to happen. It's called power-grooming. No blood, no foul.

Go to any rat forum, and they will say, rats should never be kept alone unless they've proven to completely dislike other rats (That takes months to determine. Some introductions just take longer because they can't figure out their pecking order.) Or if the rat is ill/injured in such a way that they need to be quarantined or alone because other rats would be a danger to them.

[Miss Z]

Have you ever tried introducing another rat to Tia? What did she do? Pin it down and dig into its stomach with her nose while the other rat was screeching like it was being skinned alive? That is what's supposed to happen. It's called power-grooming. No blood, no foul.

Go to any rat forum, and they will say, rats should never be kept alone unless they've proven to completely dislike other rats (That takes months to determine. Some introductions just take longer because they can't figure out their pecking order.) Or if the rat is ill/injured in such a way that they need to be quarantined or alone because other rats would be a danger to them.

Yes, she has been alongside a rat, I would not dare to let them together. I know all about power-grooming, and I can tell you it was definitely not that. She is defensive of her own territory and becomes pretty aggressive, it's hard to explain when I can't show you. It was the same when we had Foxy, obviously a hamster is not the same, but she took up the same defensive posture and bared her teeth whenever she was near Foxy. It's mostly when she's in her cage, but generally she doesn't like to be around other animals. She becomes very tense and if I am holding her, it feels like she's going to spring and attack at any moment.

I have no plans to attempt to introduce another rat to Tia, firstly, as my mum would not allow another rat, and secondly, she is perfectly happy as she is. As I said before, as she's on her own, she gets plenty of attention each day, has free runs and runs in her rat ball each day, has a cage big enough to house two adult ferrets and generally accompanies me in many things I do, as I type she's sat on my shoulder. If I thought she was upset about being lonely, of course I would consider a companion for her, but I know she's perfectly fine. As we spend so much time together, we have a very strong bond, and I know her moods very well, I could certainly tell if she was unhappy.