To think that a couple of rats

[SmileEachDay]

Would make great pets. I hear good things about them: intelligent, friendly, loyal, cheap.....
Then there are people who do this > or or even < not envy...

AIBU? Mainly for 6 year old, but I accept I’ll be the one doing the majority of the hard labour.

My friend has two and loves them but they do need to be cleaned out regularly as they stink otherwise. Also who will feed and clean them if you go on holiday etc

Best pets I ever had as a dc!! Had 3 brothers!! As an adult my dd had 2, very tame and friendly, used to pinch fruit out the fruit bowl and sit on sofa and eat it!!

My DCs had rats when they were small. Great pets. Dead easy.

much better than the blasted cats that peed in the ironing basket the second your back was turned

Rats are fab!!

They had rats in dds classroom last yr. They were very much liked!! Very friendly and fun. I may have had a hold myself

they can be quite sweet and affectionate, but they dribble a bit of piss everywhere they go.

A friend of mine found a tame rat after Pride, and took it home and it would sit on her shoulder, but after a while she got a weird rash on her shoulder. Also it lived under her bed and she didn't clean it out, but that was her problem..:)

My friend has a rat and it pees all over the place including on her! Yuck!!

They dribble piss...

Can you get rat nappies?

My friend has had them as pets for years but they get cancer a lot which she struggles with

Best pets ever. You can train them to do tricks as they’re really really clever. I had 3 as a kid and they were really lovely. Get girls as they’re smaller! They do smell but are fairly easy to clean out - get a big, tall cage so they have room to climb and stick some cardboard tubes etc in and you’re done.

Rats are so much better than hamsters as they are friendly and intelligent and don't bite. I loved it when DSs had them. I used to let them into my bed to play, and one loved snuggling into my cleavage with his little head peeping out. 🐀

rat nappies?
Why yes, of course.
Mind you these are 'diapers' so must be in the US.

www.ratbehavior.org/Products.htm

We have mice, and they are lovely. I'm not 100% sold on rats, but if we had one sure I'd love it

Rat diapers 😂

Is it just the boys who piss everywhere?

Girls piss everywhere too. They are lovely pets though. Get them from a breeder if you can as they will be more used to human contact than ones from a pet shop.

You can get "rat nappies" in this country too.

Not had them myself but have had other small furries and they've been lovely.

Several friends have had though and one rescues old poorly ones that previous owners no longer want, her vet bil puts her in contact so she essentially has a "rat hospice" she totally spoils them, but she also is very knowledgable.

Learn about them first. I made the mistake of getting gerbils without much of a clue, they were well looked after but I got a few shocks with things I didn't know (eg detachable tails )

Es they make lovely pets. So friendly and cuddly and very intelligent. From experience I would go for a female as the males can scent Mark (leave small piss streaks all over the sofa!) but the females don’t. We’ve had 5 rats all together and none of them have ever bitten anyone, not like a hamster!

Rats are the best rodents, I’ve had nine. My didn’t pee everywhere apart from when young. They were litter trained! Boys tend to be more cuddly/lazy and girls more inquisitive. I’ve had both, they all smell the same lol, which is not bad if kept clean!

I'd love some. I read recently they can purr, and laugh when playing, and show a lot of empathy.

I'm seriously considering getting some. DD really wants a pet, and rats look like quite a lot of fun without requiring vast amounts of money or commitment.

I'm less keen on the piss, cage-cleaning and fatal illnesses, though.

eg detachable tails shock

Ummm..... what??

Broom yes. You have summed up the pros and cons well.

I had two and loved them. Please don’t get them from Pets at Home (or similar!) though. Ours had minimal contact and were terrified of us for weeks, I resorted to putting worn clothing of mine in their cage to get them used to my smell. Even after they had become more relaxed they’d always take a while coming out the cage though and we’d never put our hands in their cage as they’d cower away! Took a long time of daily 1-2 hour play sessions for them to trust us. Would definitely reccomend a breeder instead as have heard they’re far more human friendly to begin with. Lovely lovely pets though.

Best pets in the small variety. Clever and friendly. They do have quite a pungent smell but regular cleaning and ventilated area helps.

Come over to "Small Pets" on the "PET" section - there's lots of RatChatter on there.

I keep guinea-pigs which are not as clever as rats, don't climb, are bone idle and can't be litter trained but I love the little furries like oxygen.
No tails to worry about either.

Rats are apparently, amazing