Rats?

[Chilli]

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]

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]

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]

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?

[Chilli]

Start out with cramming your head with info. I know you were given alot of info in this thread, but there is always more to learn. Also, just casually bring things up in conversations with your mum. Such as how rats are very clean, grooming themselves and eachother numerous times a day. Find out exactly what she doesn't like about rats. The tail, "smell", etc. See if there is a way you can convince her to change her mind on how she veiws that particular thing.

[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.

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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.