Rat FAQ's

[Desert Arabian]

Ok, I am a little bored right now, as always, so I made this thread to relieve my bordem. Ok, here it goes!

Rat Facts:

* Chocolate does not harm rats (unless a HUGE amount)
* Rats have poor vision
* Rats do not see in color
* Rats are omnivores, but they don't have canine teeth
* Rats don't have thumbs
* A rats temperature is regulated through its tail
* Rats sweat through their feet
* When happy, rats will grind their teeth together and vibrate their eyes. (Look funnier than heck, Peanut does that 24/7)
* Rats can't vomit
* You CAN NOT catch rabies from a pet rat (I am so sick of people asking me if my rats carry rabies!)
* Rats have a bellybutton-
* Cedar and pine shavings kill rats (and many other small animals)
* Male rats can kill the kittens if kept in the tank with the female after birth
* It is rare if a rat lives longer than 3 years
* A group of rats are called "mischief"..hahaha, no joke!
* Males are called "bucks"
* Females are called "does"
* Babies are called "kittens"
* Rats are mainly nocturnal (boy, is that ever true...that's why I am wake until 3 AM!)
* Rats are excellent swimmers
* Rats are highly social, and become depressed if housed alone
Parts of the body:

Skeleton of a rat:


Ok, bordem is relieved...I'm done. LOL!

Added Facts:
* Small amounts of oranges helps reduce the risk of cancer in females, but causes cancer in males.
* Rats need their teeth trimmed montly, for they are always growing
* Rats require at least 1 hour out of the cage play time, because they require a lot of exersise.

[jenluckenbach]

You forgot one important fact:

Rats are incredibly cute!

[Jessica12345]

lol jen... how could you forget?

[Desert Arabian]

Oh dear, Jen, how could I have forgotten about that!!?? Ooppsy! Yes, you are right, they are ADORABLE.

Those little wooly footed rascals!

[wolfsoul]

* Chocolate does not harm rats (unless a HUGE amount)

Or unless taken too much for too many days Even in small amounts. Scientists reccomend a paw sized morsel a week, because too much may cause neurological heart damage.

[Desert Arabian]

Wolfsoul- never read anything about that before. Doing my research, I only found facts that said in large amounts it could do something to the males testicles. I believe it was damaging cells.

I know vets use some kind of ingredient (forgot the name) found in chocolate to treat respitory and heart problems.

[luckies4me]

Originally posted by YellowLabLover


Rat Facts:

* Chocolate does not harm rats (unless a HUGE amount) It can also cause heart damage but is also good as a slight bronchiodilator.
* Rats have poor vision Usually dark eyed rats see pretty well but the pink/red eyes rats have a hard time focusing, which is why sometimes you will see them swaying their heads back and forth trying to focus on an object.
* Rats do not see in color
* Rats are omnivores, but they don't have canine teeth
* Rats don't have thumbs
* A rats temperature is regulated through its tail
* Rats sweat through their feet
* When happy, rats will grind their teeth together and vibrate their eyes. This is called bruxing
* Rats can't vomit They don't have the muscles to do so, which is why poisons work so well on them
* You CAN NOT catch rabies from a pet rat Because they have dry bites
* Rats have a bellybutton-
* Cedar and pine shavings kill rats (and many other small animals)
* Male rats can kill the kittens if kept in the tank with the female after birth In the rat fancy this is very rare, usually breeders actually like the buck to see his babies, away from the mother, as she can get pregnant right after giving birth
* It is rare if a rat lives longer than 3 years
* A group of rats are called "mischief"..hahaha, no joke!
* Males are called "bucks"
* Females are called "does"
* Babies are called "kittens"
* Rats are mainly nocturnal (boy, is that ever true...that's why I am wake until 3 AM!)
* Rats are excellent swimmers
* Rats are highly social, and become depressed if housed alone

Added Facts:

* Rats need their teeth trimmed montly, for they are always growing If your rat has a lot of hard things to chew on, lab blocks, parrot toys etc. this is not necessary.

[Desert Arabian]

That's nice Luckies.......do not add to my facts as if I wrote them, make a sepertate list of YOUR facts. THANK YOU!

[luckies4me]

It's only clear from the blue writing that I wrote that, and I can do what I want so go pout somewhere else.

[Desert Arabian]

I am not pouting, I am not 5 years old. I do not like it, even though you put your facts in blue. I don't want my facts to be mixed in with yours. I'll be sure to shop around for some of your posts and fumble around with em, then maybe you would get my point.

Anyhoo, if anyone else has some neat-o facts to share, post em!

[luckies4me]

Whatever....


So when are you comming over again? LMAO!