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AIBU?

aibu to adore the smell of my rats...

68 replies

ThatVikRinA22 · 11/10/2013 22:44

I just sit with my nose in their fur.....the boys smell so scrummy. they are very big boys. they weigh over 600g .....I am addicted to their gorgeous musky smell.....the girls just don't smell as comforting. the boys smell like the fave teddy you had as a kid.....I adore rats. I will actually cry when they shuffle off this mortal coil.... ...they have such huge personalities, (and sucha fabulous smell!) I have 9 of them. I really do love them. and their furry smell. I w8dh I could take em to work....I find their smell calming...yummy boys.

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morethanpotatoprints · 14/10/2013 10:15

OMG, each to their own.
I hate rats with their big teeth and long tails and the fact they are smelly rodents.
Traps and poison are the best thing for rodents.

If they make you happy though thats the important thing
but imo YABU, and yuk.

DuckToWater · 14/10/2013 10:21

I have never smelt a rat but I am a right cat sniffer when they are cuddling me, so I do get it, I think.

babblington · 14/10/2013 10:23

Ooh, people who know about rats! Please help! We have two boys, one is lovely and cuddly and huggable and we all love him- the other is vicious and leaps to bite us... Fine when he is out but getting him out is messy! Any ideas? They are both about 16 months old.

Madratlady · 14/10/2013 10:34

babblington it sounds like he's aggressively guarding his territory. If he won't come out on his own so you can avoid sticking your hands in to get him, I would consider neutering him as long as he's in good health.

babblington · 14/10/2013 13:09

Thanks madratlady!

ThisIsBULLSHIT · 14/10/2013 13:18

youcan I thought this was your thread to start with!!

ThatVikRinA22 · 15/10/2013 00:30

Babblington - 7 out of my 9 are rescues.

2 vicious and bitey. one more so than the other.

Pearl - the girl we got first was the pit bull of rats. She was terrible, but like yours, ok when out.
every day i sat next to the cage for a bit. then i would put my hand in....make your hand into a fist and offer knuckles - it hurts less! and squeak squeak squeak if it bites....(i used to "eeeep" - believe it or not - it works)
i also offered yoghurt on a spoon.....if she bit that she knew about it.
i had her out as often as possible and just carried her about on my shoulder. i did this daily. for hours.
i also let her "free range" in the bathroom, and i would sit on the floor, and let her come to me.
she is perfect now. a proper laydeeeee.....but the other thing i think that really helped her was getting her some company. they are social animals - they live in groups naturally. getting a couple of confident youngsters helped her.

my rescue boy wouldnt let anyone in the shop touch him. not one person could get near him.
i used a glove to begin with, but it seemed like he just didnt know what was edible and what wasnt - it was odd - he seemed a happy wee chappy but bit. he really injured a woman in the petshop.
but the oddest thing happened - when i got him home....that very night i used a gloved hand to get him out of his carry box....he sat down my top all night. not a bite. I went to a breeder and got him 2 youngsters for company within a few days of him arriving.
he was a bit jumpy and a bit nervous. he bit me exactly 3 times. once when i reached over the top of him and startled him.
once when he was on my shoulders and he bit both ears. i eeped.
he never did it again. in fact now he is my cuddly boy. i love his smell the most.....he took to his little pals very very well (though he is definitely top rat! even though the other 2 are now bigger than him!)
when he got poorly, i took him to the vet, and even the vet commented on his face as i stroked him.....you could see he was getting such comfort from a friendly hand stroking his little face.....
we are bonded now. totally and utterly. i adore him.
and his smell.!!

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TwerkingNinetoFive · 15/10/2013 07:38

Yabu for making me miss my ratties. I developed an allergy so when my last lot died I didn't get new one. Other animals just don't come close. Mine used to be free range mainly due to their ability to get through the bars on their ferret cage. When I got in from work and went in to their room they would all run up to greet me.

CalamityJones · 15/10/2013 07:45

I like the smell of my dog's ears. They smell vaguely like mushrooms. I also really like the smell of fresh horse shit, I find it very comforting (wouldn't want it as a perfume or anything, you understand).

Sallystyle · 15/10/2013 08:40

I love my four boys.

They smell like biscuits for sure.

Sallystyle · 15/10/2013 08:44

One of mine is super lovely.

He spends ages grooming me. I knew I needed to sort my eyebrows out when he was trying to bite hairs out

My favourite died of a massive seizure :( Another one was put to sleep a few months ago as he had a mammary tumour which burst.

They just don't live long enough. A few friends and family members thought they were gross, they spent some time with them and soon grew to love them. The most loving and smartest little things ever.

trice · 15/10/2013 09:18

Dd sniffs her rats. I think they smell horrible but they are such lovely pets I put up with it. One is currently at least half tumour so we will loose her soon. I will cry.

MurderOfBanshees · 15/10/2013 09:34

We used to rely on those big thick gardening gloves for handling the bitey rats - we had a fair few rescue rats, while some of them never enjoyed being actually taken out of their cages all but one of them ended up being sweet as anything once they were out. Need lots of patience with biters (and a big box of plasters).

trice Lost most of ours to tumours :( Had three rescues where the former owner didn't even notice these massive great tumours on them, two had operations and were saved, one was too late to save.

Madratlady · 15/10/2013 10:09

One of my boys (now sadly gone) was so vicious when we got him that he ended up in my spare cage with us throwing food in without getting our hands anywhere near him. He chomped DH's finger right down to the bone the day we got him. He was a rescue and he and his friends were covered in infected wounds and abcesses from him starting fights. They cost me a fortune within a week of bringing them home to get him neutered and antibiotics for their infections.

He was completely unhandleable when we got him. Neutering worked wonders, a couple of weeks after the op he chilled right out and became one of the most gorgeous, cuddly rats we've ever had.

StinkyElfCheese · 15/10/2013 11:15

DD has 2 girls - I wasn't sure about rats as pets but DH had them and said they were fun easy to train, and more importantly he and dd would be in charge or the cleaning feeding watering etc..

I have been won over they are very sweet little things DD usually has one about her person / on her shoulder. they are way more fun than a hamster - I even took them into nursery once and it loved being petted and running all over the children there..... I have even been known to smuggle some left over lunch upstairs to poke through the cage :)

The cat is still unsure about them ...... but keeps an eye on them just in case :)

bluebell8782 · 15/10/2013 13:57

I love ratties!!

Have wanted them since I was a kid. Finally in my late twenties I got three lovely rescue boys. The last one, dear old Sidney, passed in August at the grand old age of 4 and a half!

I have three beautiful girls now who smell biscuity and warm - heaven

Doyouthinktheysaurus · 15/10/2013 14:12

That's is a genuine envious smiley! I miss my rats

I kept rats for a few years, my favourite was my first. He was a gorgeous black and white rat with half his tail missing, imaginatively called Arthur I was utterly bereft when he died, properly heart broken.

I got rats after I met someone who kept rats. She was evangelical about rats as pets and she was right!

I would love to have rats again but we aren't always at home at the weekend and people aren't exactly queuing up to look after rats

ThatVikRinA22 · 15/10/2013 20:13

i will miss them tonight.....i am working nights. The first think i do when i get home is cuddle the boys so i can smell them....

i will get them out tomorrow during the day. (and the rats! boom boom!)

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