# Anybody else own pet rats?



## rubinthebetta (Oct 9, 2012)

I have one named Jerry, and she's momma's little girl. She'll freak whenever I come near her cage and if I'm wearing my robe (or any other clothing that she have openings that she can fit into) the rascal will climb through it and poke her little head out of the sleeves. I would post pics, but I don't have any on this computer. Oh, and how she got her name is a long and complicated story, as is how I adopted her. :roll:


----------



## Indigo Betta (Sep 27, 2012)

I don't own a rat, but I want to one day. I hear they are very smart.


----------



## Adnamac (Apr 18, 2013)

Once, about ten years ago, I had two female rats. I would love to own a pair again. They are super amazing, smart creatures.

I almost purchased myself a pair of sister about a month ago...adorable dumbos with grey patches. I instantly fell in love, but just couldn't afford a proper cage and everything at the time.


----------



## MoonShadow (Feb 29, 2012)

I used to have rats! Love them so much! I have raised many many rescue litters, unfortunately I am not allowed to have them in the apartment I live in now, but I am moving in less then a month and can have them again! So that is the plan!


----------



## rubinthebetta (Oct 9, 2012)

Cool! I wish I could raise a rescue litter. Oh well. Someday I will. :-D


----------



## Viva (Oct 18, 2012)

Rats are awesome! I have TONS of videos on youtube of my 5 ratties (now deceased) doing tricks and other random, cute things  They are definitely the best small pet to own. They're extremely intelligent and easy to train because they are so motivated by food. They also bond with you and are entertaining to watch.
The only bad thing about them (and why I refuse to get any more) is their respiratory and tumor issues. If you have the females spayed there's a smaller chance of tumors but the respiratory issues I've had with 3/5 rats, the other 2 died from mammary tumors. After spending hundreds of dollars at vet visits and for medications nothing worked, and I was forced to watch all my rats suffer as they died  I would've had them humanely euthanized but my vet just kept trying to treat and make the most $ possible off me.


----------



## copperarabian (Apr 27, 2011)

I don't own rats, but I think they are adorable and cute. I love playing with other peoples  I don't think I could have my own, I would always smell like food to my snakes(they get F/T)


----------



## eaturbyfill (May 22, 2012)

I have eight rats, and they are all little angels!


----------



## rubinthebetta (Oct 9, 2012)

Sweet!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## LittleDeer (May 12, 2013)

I have had seven rats over the past five years and they've all been a joy. I only have one boy left now. He has been a single rat for a while because he was always very uncomfortable and skittish around other rats. He actually seemed a lot happier on his own so that's how it's been for several months now. He gets lots and lots of love and attention though. Unfortunately, despite how much I love them, they live such short lives. A couple years just isn't enough for me, and after having lost six of the sweethearts, I don't know how much more I can take, so after my current boy goes ( he should have a least another good strong year ahead of him). I'm taking a break from them. But I definitely reccommend them to anyone looking for a sweet, affectionate, intelligent, and easy to care for pet. As long as you can handle the fact that they generally only make it about three years. It always seems too soon. I've gotten all my boys as babies and they all grew up so fast.


----------



## Viva (Oct 18, 2012)

LittleDeer said:


> I have had seven rats over the past five years and they've all been a joy. I only have one boy left now. He has been a single rat for a while because he was always very uncomfortable and skittish around other rats. He actually seemed a lot happier on his own so that's how it's been for several months now. He gets lots and lots of love and attention though. Unfortunately, despite how much I love them, they live such short lives. A couple years just isn't enough for me, and after having lost six of the sweethearts, I don't know how much more I can take, so after my current boy goes ( he should have a least another good strong year ahead of him). I'm taking a break from them. But I definitely reccommend them to anyone looking for a sweet, affectionate, intelligent, and easy to care for pet. As long as you can handle the fact that they generally only make it about three years. It always seems too soon. I've gotten all my boys as babies and they all grew up so fast.


 
Yeah I felt the same way with my 5 girls  They show so much personality and affection but its taken away so fast. Despite the months of respiratory problems my favorite girl had, she was still sweet as ever even in her final days. She gave me kisses and slept in my bathrobe pocket all the time. I miss her and my other 4 girls so much


----------



## Auburn Sakura (Apr 7, 2013)

I had a rat once, her name was Athena. We bought her and it turned out she was pregnant, so we had to give the babies to our LPS which is closed down now. We had her for about three years, until she broke her leg and had some organ troubles. RIP Athena. She was so cute.~ She was white with black spots. I love her a lot, and so does my mom.


----------



## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

I have four boys (I used to have six). Four are/were RSPCA rescues, two (twin boys) are from breeders. They are my life. I love my boysies. 

When I have my own place, I am going to breed rats.


----------



## Bettasaremykids (Apr 11, 2013)

http://www.bettafish.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=121954&stc=1&d=1368631244
The black and white one is Willow and the white and tan one is Autumn.
They got their names because i think Autumn season is beautiful and willow trees are too.
They are rescues from an animal shelter and my mom didnt want rats forever and I always wanted rats. They both had tumors and they weren't supposed to live much longer so i told my mom they need to die with a loving home and we get them the next morning.
I got so attached to these little critters we got both of their tumors removed and the operation went great.
Unfortunately, they both developed tumors again but they are too old to get them removed and i have to enjoy the last few months with my babies :-(


----------



## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Watching these beautiful animals growing old and die is the most heartbreaking thing. I love rats, but I hate their tiny lifespans.


----------



## rubinthebetta (Oct 9, 2012)

You and me both. Jerry's my first rat, so I haven't experienced it yet....


----------



## percyfyshshelley (Feb 26, 2013)

I love rats! I've had two pairs of females in the past. I'd like more, but unfortunately I now live in a "rat-free" province.


----------



## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Rat free province? What a horrible idea!


----------



## percyfyshshelley (Feb 26, 2013)

I know! It's Alberta, and obviously the idea isn't to keep people from keeping pet rats (although that is one result), it's to protect crops. It kind of amazes me that they have managed to keep them out. They're pretty diligent about it, really. Every once in a while a rat or two will pop up in a dump or something, and there's a big fuss.


----------



## LinkLover (Apr 3, 2012)

Rats, in my opinion, are the absolute best pets on the planet. I have had a total of three (although one of them had to put put down shortly after he was adopted due to respiratory issues, and the "friend" I bought for him was rehomed after he died, mostly because my dog was a total butt head about it) but my first rat was the best pet I've ever had. His name was Angel, and he was my best friend. We did everything together, and I have never felt so much love from an animal in my life. I still miss him (and even cry about it), and will never forget how amazing he was. I had to put him down when he was about two years old because of a serious upper respiratory infection, and that was one of the hardest things I've ever done. I hope someday to get more rats, but unfortunately as you all have said their short lifespans are really hard to handle, so we'll see. Here is my sweet Angel, who is forever loved:


----------



## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

People who haven't had rats don't really understand how close you can get to these beautiful creatures, I think. Whenever I tell someone who doesn't know me that well that one of my boys is sick, they look at me with a puzzled stare and tell me to just put it down or get a new one - and yet, they'd be horrified if I said that about their dog. I am as close to my rats as other people are to their dogs - closer, in some instances. Losing Jekyll to a stroke, and then worse, having to put down my heart rat, Hyde, was the absolute worst. Of course I will willingly spend the amount I do on my boys (amounted to $1000 in vet bills one year when all six of them got myco repeatedly, plus other things) - they are living creatures that I have undertaken to care for, and my convenience is not a factor in that. 

Rats are ridiculously cute, hilariously funny, very affectionate, intelligent, just naughty enough to be adorable, and clearly bond with their owners. How could you not love them?


----------



## Viva (Oct 18, 2012)

Yeah it angers me when people say that. I told someone about my rats illnesses once and how I brought them to the vet with no avail and they just looked at me and said, " You know they cost like $10 at the store, right?" Like you cam replace a two year bond with a living creature for $10. Makes no sense when you put it that way....


----------



## Ezzie (Sep 17, 2012)

I currently own two girl rats Holly and Alice :-D 
Holly is a mink hooded and Alice is just a red eyed white lab rat kind. There both around the same age and only small for rats (im thinking they will still grow, there only 4-5 months old)

Neither of them are the cuddling kind of rats and much perfer to be running around the apartment exploring :roll: typical females! But holly is good to be handled, comes when you kneel down and call her name and she doesn't fight to get away however Alice is quite skiddish and shy and dislikes being handled. Me and my partner think its because she has sight issues (head swaying when she sees us) and that makes her feel more vunerable so she prefers to be hiding where shes safe :-?

I was really looking for a third rattie to add to our group however i would love either a desexed male (there MUCH more laid back, i used to own a male) or a breeder raised female, would love a rat that loves scratches and cuddles :lol:

Another interesting fact is that im actually allergic to rats :lol: Family thinks im crazy to own them while im breaking out in hives and dealing with a stuffed nosed and itchy eyes. Its not so bad if i have a hot shower after or if i dont touch my face while/after touching them but im a little worried a male will make my allergies worse (since there alot more stinky then females) and was a big factor to go for females since there less "pee on myself and everything" then males are..


----------



## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

I have had both (I own males but looked after females when a friend was away on holiday, and I found the females to be worse - they dragged all their bedding to one spot, then piddled in it concentratedly. If your male is de-sexed, he won't urinate any more than a female. Desexed males also remain softer. However, don't neuter the male unless you find a vet who is really good with rats.

My boys are neutered using the same Superlorin implant they use in dogs - it isn't as sure-fire a way of preventing ratlets as manual castration, but it is a shorter (and consequently safer) operation, being over in literally two minutes. There is no bruising of the testicles to deal with, just a little scab on the back of the neck.


----------



## Deanna01 (Apr 22, 2013)

I don't have any ratties now, but I adore them. I had two hairless females in a double-decker Critter Nation a few years ago. They were spoiled little girls!

The hardest thing with rats, I find, is that they have so much personality and yet such short lives.  It's so hard to lose them so quickly.


----------



## Deanna01 (Apr 22, 2013)

Here's a picture of my girls, in just the top level of their Critter Nation. I miss them!


----------



## gn3ranger (Jul 7, 2012)

I owned a few Ratties before My oldest female Kamile passed away this year, little guys really keep a special place in your heart so much Personality so little time. Glad to see some people with rats they are really such wonderful pets to have . Kind of a Double edged sword though Since you grow SO attached to them yet in a couple of years they are gone.


----------



## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

I had a horrible shock on Tuesday. Whilst I was out at the local aquarium society meeting, I got a phone call from my dad to say my beautiful boy Willoughby had died. I was not expecting it and it absolutely broke my heart. I was in church this morning and my sister showed me a cartoon she'd drawn of my ratties a while ago, and I burst into tears and had to leave. 

On the plus side, I have two new additions to the ratty family, Jack (black hooded) and Algy (champagne hooded). I didn't want more rats, and they are certainly not a replacement for my poor Wibbly, but they are gorgeous and I couldn't leave them where they were. They had been dumped at a petshop by an owner who no longer wanted them, and a guy was trying to buy them (due to their large size) to feed, alive, to his snake. They'd been there more than a month, living in a 5 gallon tank. They had to come home with me. 
They are really poorly socialised - Algy squeals whenever he is picked up and gets very panicky, and Jack is only slightly better - but I am determined to keep showing them love and care until they are normal, happy ratties. They are going in for Superlorin implants tomorrow (or as soon as possible after that), which will have the effect of neutering without nearly as much risk as an operation. In about a month I'll start to introduce them to my other boys, and hopefully they'll be integrated in two. I've split my monster cage in half, and Jack and Algy have the bottom. D'Artagnan, Richelieu and Darcy, who were all implanted last year, have the top. 
It was interesting to watch them eat today - Jack and Algy have been living off that awful dry mix that is basically half budgie food and half rabbit food, with no nutrition. I gave them some lab blocks, a cracker, a bit of potato and rice, and a couple of grapes. They seemed to enjoy trying new food and exploring the huge cage, although Algy seems a little overwhelmed by all the space.

It's going to be a long process, but completely worth it because they are no longer facing a horrific death or living in cramped conditions with no handling and a poor diet.


----------



## Deanna01 (Apr 22, 2013)

I'm so sorry to hear about Wibbly, Bomba. It is so hard to lose them.  Best of luck on getting your new ratties to feeling comfy and loved.


----------



## Happyhobbit (May 6, 2013)

I don't have rats but I have always wanted one! My mom says 2 bettas are " way beyond enough"... everyone has such cute rats!!!!


----------



## Ezzie (Sep 17, 2012)

I have some photos of my girls holly (mink hooded) and Alice (albino)! 

Also does anyone know how to attach more then one photo per post? Every time I add another one it replaces the one I had before :/


----------



## Ezzie (Sep 17, 2012)

Grr of course it came sideways sorry


----------



## Ezzie (Sep 17, 2012)

We have some PVC pipes that we interchange and make different tunnels out of each time there cleaned and this is how the girls sometimes sleep, poor Alice getting smooshed by fatty holly!


----------



## SeaKnight (May 24, 2013)

Use to about 8 years ago..


----------



## Viva (Oct 18, 2012)

Ezzie said:


> We have some PVC pipes that we interchange and make different tunnels out of each time there cleaned and this is how the girls sometimes sleep, poor Alice getting smooshed by fatty holly!



That is the cutest picture!!!!! I love when they groom each other, its so precious. Rats are just so precious! I wish they lived more than 2-3 years though


----------



## Graceful (Apr 30, 2013)

I used to have rats! I had ten of them over five years. They were such a joy! I miss them very much... it's so heartbreaking how short their lifespans are.


----------



## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

One of my new boys, Jack, is currently marching back and forth on my shoulder, tying my hair in knots. The things we go through to socialise new ratties! 

Now he's jumped down into my hood and it feels like he's trying to massage my shoulders.


----------

