rats

[Amber]

rats, are they really good pets? What are all the good and bad traits about them?

[magcpen]

Rats are fabulous pets. They are very cute, they aren't at all vicious (well, mine aren't, anyway), tehy're very fun to watch, and are absolutely the cutest things when they
're peeking, and they give fuzzy little rat kisses, lol. However, they do like to relive tehmsleves on their owners, and can get smelly, and their clwas are sharp, but all in all, they're fabulous little guys.

[Amber]

Thanks!

[binka_nugget]

rats are great! They aren't as easy to care for as some may think though..they require alot of attention. I'm sure wolfsoul, tikeyas_mom and luckies will give you lots of info on ratties..

[Desert Arabian]

Rats make EXCELLENT pets, I think they are one of the best pets you could have. They are basically like a dog, but smaller. You form tight bonds with them- like me and Peanut (RIP princess). They love to interact with their humans, they crave attention.

Down sides to rats: they are expensive to care for, they don't live long, and 99.9% of them are bound to get illnesses.

[Aspen and Misty]

Eww rats, who would ever want one of them nasty little things ewww

Ok, so I'm the proud momma of 4 spoiled female ratties

hey are wonderful pets! Although you have to make sure you have ALOT of time for them. I can't even begin to tell you how much attention my 4 take! They need alot of out of cage time and they need tons of cuddling! I recomend starting off with 2 and then, if you want get another one or two, but I would not recomned starting off with more or less then 2 at the begging, just because you will be shocked when you get them about how much time they take up and how expesinsive they are

Ash

[luckies4me]

Of course they make great pets, IF you are willing to take the time to care for them. I currently own 20 plus rats, and believe me, they are a handful! But if owning them weren't rewarding I wouldn't have any.

Rats can be very expensive. I have spent around 200 just in vet bills alone for this month. And like YLL said, almost all rats will get Myco symptoms or some other illness or disease. Rats are prone to tumours and upper respiratory problems. Medication such as cisparide, Baytril and Doxyclycine can be very expensive. Some vets treat them as exotics, so they charge more for a rat exam.


They are very social so you must have a friend of the SAME sex. Rats kept alone can become very depressed. Any other info you want. I have TONS!


You can see a pic of my hairless rat Wrinkles in my sig.

[tikeyas_mom]

as you know I have two ratties and they are the best pets ever !! (I love them sooo much) they are better then any rodent I have ever owned.
I have had gerbils, hamsters, and mice and rats are the best to me so far .

it is so cute how my rats popcorn around when they get excited. and They will run after you when you let them loose lol.

there isnt any bad thing I can thyink of except for health problems and vet costs.

[CathyBogart]

Yes, they are FABULOUS pets! My six girls bring me so much happiness, they're fun to watch, to play with, to cuddle with, and I LOVE spoiling them! They get so excited at every new treat, toy, or game I bring them that I can't help but get excited too!!

I really do want to emphasize that you should ALWAYS have money set aside for vet bills, because ratties are EXPENSIVE. I've been lucky this month, $90 for Chloe's Myco flare up was all I had to pay.

[Amber]

They sure do sound like wonderful pets!!
I was just wondering about them because I have been wanting another dog, but it looks like it isnt going anywhere with my parents sooo, I decide to go to the next best thing rats. I have been doing some homework on them. and they sound very interesting! If I could have 2 rats they would probably be boys, because the internet pages on rat care was saying the male rats are more calmer when female rats are more energetic. Is it true rat owners?

[wolfsoul]

Rats make GREAT pets. My rats would tell you this themselves.

The downsides are that they usually only live about 2 and a half years, they need a very veriegated diet (Not bad for me though, since I love preparing their meals), the very expensive health care, most rats (even some females) will pee on absolutley anything (I have stains all over my clothes ), they need lots of out of cage time, and they will get sick very very easily and almost all rats do get sick at some point.

It's true that females are generally more hyper and excitable than males, but there are your exceptions. My Frisco, for example. Little bum likes to drive me crazy.

[Amber]

Thanks!

Its too bad that they have such short lives, I think good rat breeders should try and make them live longer and be healthier.

[luckies4me]

Originally posted by Amber
Thanks!

Its too bad that they have such short lives, I think good rat breeders should try and make them live longer and be healthier.

That is EXACTLY what I try to do!!! I will NOT breed a rat that shows any sign of illness, or agression. Rats prone to tumours in the lines make great pets, not breeders. I also do not breed my petshop rats but once in a blue moon. I have only had illness for two of my boys, one being a breeder rat and the other my petshop boy Bandit, who has severe Myco flareups, and who is in the middle of one now.


Where it comes to a whole rattery virus, such as Sendai or SDA, where each rat will get effected no matter what, you breed the rats who show no symptoms and the ones who recover from the illness quickly.

You can visit my Rattery site, Romping Ratties Rattery, by clicking the WWW in my profile. It's my old site and I am working on a new one now, but there is some info there.

[luckies4me]

Originally posted by Amber
They sure do sound like wonderful pets!!
I was just wondering about them because I have been wanting another dog, but it looks like it isnt going anywhere with my parents sooo, I decide to go to the next best thing rats. I have been doing some homework on them. and they sound very interesting! If I could have 2 rats they would probably be boys, because the internet pages on rat care was saying the male rats are more calmer when female rats are more energetic. Is it true rat owners?

I hear this a lot, but generally my boys and girls have the same amount of energy. Some girls I have had in the past were hyper constantly.

[Amber]

cool, So if I choose to make a commitment to a pair of rats, where should I get them? Im trying to steer away from petshops. I cant find any rat breeders in Ohio. any ideas? Maybe the shelter might have some.