Rats?

**Khay** · 09-01-2006, 01:34 PM

Originally Posted by buttercup132

Just be sure to not place two males in a cage. Two females is ok but never two males.Sorry if its been mentioned already I'm just too lazy right now to read all the info givin cause there is LOTS.

That is not true.

And it is NOT a myth that rats cannot live on their own.

My first rat Cairo, has been living alone his entire life. I took him from a free ad, and I figured he was happy. I spent alot of time with him, he was always happy and bouncing around in his cage when I came to see him, however I would say he was more starved of interaction than anything. Now that he has his buddies, if I compare how he is now to how he was before the new rats, I would say he was DEPRESSED.

Any rat needs to have proper introductions done, female or male, they need to be first introduced on neutral territory, get their order figured out, and then introduced to the same cage.

When introducing males, the easiest scenario is either babies (Under 3 mos.) Or an adult male introducing to two babies that have already been introduced to each other.

Please check out the sites I posted in a previous post, they have alot of really good information - More than you're going to get just by asking here. Also check out ratsrule.com and check out the forum linked from that site.

**zoomer** · 09-01-2006, 01:49 PM

Thank you everyone!

I showed that picture of Tia to my mom and she made this disgusted face...

I think she's rather cute though!

**CathyBogart** · 09-01-2006, 02:11 PM

If your mom is one of those who is eeked out by ratty tails, perhaps you could look around in your area for tailless ratties. They're very cute, but a little hard to find because of some issues with breeding them. Tailless ratties that I've seen have a slightly arched back and a little "hop" to their walk that is just adorable!

**Chilli** · 09-01-2006, 05:02 PM

I just wanted to put in that I agree that two males CAN be housed together. My two double rex boys have been living with eachother for the longest time, and nothing bad happened. Yes, they used to get a bit rough with eachother, but that hasn't happened since Ven established that he was dominant. Right now, three of my males are housed together. No problems whatsoever.

Just try something. Show her these pictures of my Ophelia (back when she was VERY young), but don't tell her its a rat. I think Tia is one of the most GORGEOUS rats, but to anti-rat people, a baby rat might be more appealing. If, as soon as she sees the picture, you say that its a rat. Your mum may put on a disgusted look, just because of the fact that its a rat. Get what I mean^^?

And I do advise you to read every little thing you find about rats. The more knowledge the better.

**zoomer** · 09-01-2006, 09:26 PM

Thanks, Courtney. I'll show that picture to my mom once I get home... @ a friend's house @ the moment...

**Miss Z** · 09-02-2006, 06:34 AM

Originally Posted by zoomer

Thank you everyone!

I showed that picture of Tia to my mom and she made this disgusted face...

I think she's rather cute though!

LOL, never mind it was worth a try

Originally Posted by Chilli

Just try something. Show her these pictures of my Ophelia (back when she was VERY young), but don't tell her its a rat. I think Tia is one of the most GORGEOUS rats, but to anti-rat people, a baby rat might be more appealing.

Thanks Courtney! Ophelia was (and still is) really cute!

Originally Posted by Khay

And it is NOT a myth that rats cannot live on their own.

My first rat Cairo, has been living alone his entire life. I took him from a free ad, and I figured he was happy. I spent alot of time with him, he was always happy and bouncing around in his cage when I came to see him, however I would say he was more starved of interaction than anything. Now that he has his buddies, if I compare how he is now to how he was before the new rats, I would say he was DEPRESSED.

Well, all I can say is that Tia is not depressed. If I introduced any other rat to Tia, she would kill it, no doubt about that.

**Chilli** · 09-02-2006, 10:32 AM

Originally Posted by Miss Z

Well, all I can say is that Tia is not depressed. If I introduced any other rat to Tia, she would kill it, no doubt about that.

That reminds me! There are some rare cases, where rats simply don't accept cagemates. All rats are completely different. I have a rat who is housed alone because of a handicap. I know what my rats moods are, and he isn't depressed, either. He gets loads of time out of his cage to be with me.
Though, I still suggest to always keep them in pairs^^. Its the cutest thing to see when you walk in and they're all piled ontop of eachother in a hammock.

**zoomer** · 09-02-2006, 01:51 PM

Courtney, I showed her the pictures of Ophelia without even telling her she was a rat and she said "YUCK, YUCK, YUCK! GROSS, GROSS, GROSS!". Ughh

**Chilli** · 09-02-2006, 01:56 PM

Ah well^^ Are you taking it slow with your mum? Usually, if you bug a mum too much, they'll be even more against it. Take it very slow. Heck, you might have to wait until you move out to get some rats... it just depends. I have to wait until I move out before I'm able to get certain pets, but I'm okay with that.

**zoomer** · 09-02-2006, 02:07 PM

Originally Posted by Chilli

Ah well^^ Are you taking it slow with your mum? Usually, if you bug a mum too much, they'll be even more against it. Take it very slow. Heck, you might have to wait until you move out to get some rats... it just depends. I have to wait until I move out before I'm able to get certain pets, but I'm okay with that.

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