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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To rehome pet rats?

119 replies

dragonflys · 07/10/2017 18:02

We purchased 2 rats from pets at home and they were obviously scared when arrived home. We left them for a week to settle and tried to tame them. They were awful, constantly nipping and biting and hiding away when near cage. I did assume it was because of the way they were bred.

We got them for 11 year old DD and she is now scared of them as they bit her and she doesn't like the smell.

I always thought rats were supposed to be friendly?

Anyway, they seem unhappy and still scared when I go near the cage. I clean them out as DD wanted to play with them and can't and they are now never handled.

I don't know if they'd ever get rehomed but I feel a rescue could work with them.

It the best thing to do isn't it?

OP posts:

Henrythehoover · 07/10/2017 23:16

I've had p&h rats that were terrified of me it tool me a month to just get them to come up to me at the door but over time they got more and more friendly as I offered them treats until they came up onto my shoulders. They never liked being picked up and would squeak and bite if I tried to but would come out on their own accord to bite. It took a long time but was so worth it.

SheRaaarghPrincessOfPower · 07/10/2017 23:16

Florence - there's a reason there's so much bashing of P@H.

The difference between animals from there, vs a really good breeder is astonishing.

I'm sure there are good managers, and staff that make more of an effort, but in general, they're fucking shocking.

Henrythehoover · 07/10/2017 23:20

When I got my girls from p@h the staff didn't even know how to pick them up. They just trust a box at them and jumped whenever they went near their hand. Ive since had more rats from breeders and they are so much more social and happy. I would never buy from them again.

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 07/10/2017 23:24

I'm not a rat person but I do know my guinea-pigs.
I've seen GPs with eyes closed up
GPs with mites and severe bald spots
An obviously pregnant guinea in with males ....and they will mate immediately after giving birth
One that was hiding in a tunnel being stepped on by his cagemates (not normal tusselling)

The saddest though? I was cooing over some piglets the Member of Staff said "Oh yes they're cute but there are some cuter babier ones in the back. They bring them in from Spain". He was quite upbeat about this like it was a good thing.
The ones on display were maybe 8 weeks old , the ones in the back would be 6 weeks maybe younger? The next wave of baby animals to replace the older ones which are shipped off to Adoption .
How many of these little creatures would have Died en route? How do they transport them?

I will feel free to P@H bash as I see fit.
And their hay is questionable , one of my guineas got infested (hay mites)

brasty · 07/10/2017 23:31

I would never support P&H. They should be shut down.

MinorRSole · 08/10/2017 01:09

I had a rat as a child, she used to sit on my shoulder whilst I did my homework. She was lovely 😊
Hope you manage to tame yours op, they are so worth the effort

BhajiAllTheWay · 08/10/2017 07:44

Have another try OP don't give up yet. It's done now, so you need to put some effort in. I had rats at your daughters age and they bit. I wore gloves at first..P@H have had a bashing but we've had small furries from there and they've done well, never seen the neglect there that others seem to have. Hope you can sort it.

toomuchhappyland · 08/10/2017 08:10

Florence, sadly having "standards" means very little in terms of animal welfare - have you read the standards for battery chickens and pigs? They may be kept clean while at PaH (although like many others I've seen guinea pigs in a sorry state) but the breeding conditions are terrible. They're as bad as puppy farmers.

TorNayDoh · 08/10/2017 09:57

Rats are not incontinent.

"Lin and Sievert et al developed a sneeze test for use in rodent models of SUI. In this test a whisker cut from anesthetized female rats is used to tickle the nose of the animal. Even under anesthesia the rat responds with a small sneeze, which transiently increases abdominal pressure on the bladder and lower urinary tract. In the absence of bladder pressure measurement this test provides a dichotomous result. If the animal leaks during this sneeze, she is incontinent and, if not, she is continent. Uninjured control animals never leak during the sneeze test and approximately 30% that have undergone childbirth injury leak after 4 weeks." - Effect of simulated birth trauma on the urinary continence mechanism in the rat.
Lin AS, Carrier S, Morgan DM, Lue TF, Urology. 1998 Jul; 52(1):143-51.

Quote above taken from www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2596910/, one of many studies which uses this methodology to test rat continence in experimental research with a view to developing incontinence treatments for humans.

RantyMare · 08/10/2017 10:32

Much as the original ignorance of the OP made me despair, the replies have mostly made me feel happier. There are people out there who do care about factory animals who are at our mercy from the moment we force them to be born.

Op let us know what you decide to do. And for one thing please spread your new found knowledge. In the information age, ignorance is a choice.
Good luck.

CheshireChat · 09/10/2017 15:23

I do think that rodents are presented as a hassle free pet when they're not.

Whilst admittedly I've never actually owned one they don't strike me as being much easier than a cat.

Henrythehoover · 09/10/2017 16:20

I would say they are harder work than a cat (I have both) cleaning out the cage is hard work where as cats are alot easier

FartnissEverbeans · 09/10/2017 17:02

I bought a rat from PaH years and years ago as a companion to another rat I had rehomed. She was the most amazing, affectionate, delightful little thing... of course I had been told she was male and she promptly fell pregnant, so I ended up with a dozen of them!

Sadly they were all dead from mycoplasma within a year in spite of my spending a fortune on their care and trying every remedy under the sun.

There is a big fancy rat forum - you'll almost definitely find someone experienced on there who's willing to give them a good home. I found happy owners for a couple of our rat babies that way and they were happy to drive a fair distance to pick them up.

www.fancyratsforum.co.uk

Polchris · 22/07/2019 22:56

The rats are scared... I breed rats and all are well handled... Buying from pets at home was a mistake as they are bred in rodent Mills for profit

slashlover · 22/07/2019 23:20

@Polchris OP posted nearly 2 years ago, it's probably sorted now.

Dieu · 22/07/2019 23:32

Oh, what a shame. I work with an autistic child who loves his pet rats. I love hearing his accounts of all the mischief they get up to And they all have their personalities: the affectionate one, the greedy one, the naughty one.
It seems a shame that there's nothing you can do. How were they when you first handled them at the pet store?

Dieu · 22/07/2019 23:41

Have just read that they haven't been handled for 2 months
The longer you leave it, the worse it will be.
Small steps OP, and keep trying.
Good luck.

Redshoesandtheblues · 23/07/2019 01:30

I guess 2 years on those unwanted, unresearched and totally misunderstood little rats are long gone.

Redshoesandtheblues · 23/07/2019 01:34

For what its worth, rats are great pets and companions.

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