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.

[Wolfiefan]

You MUST get a Castiel!

[NothingisForgotten]

Yup. I have a cat called Ruby

[Wolfiefan]

@NothingisForgotten.
Too cute!
Sam and Dean. As in Winchester?

[NothingisForgotten]

This is Sam. Dean rarely sits still long enough for a photo

[NothingisForgotten]

I have 2. They are brilliant pets. Very intelligent and loving

[eggncress]

We have a large 2 tier cage which we got off gumtree. We had to get small gauge wire mesh to line it though as when very small they can escape from the gaps .This size cage is useful if you are leaving them to go away for a few days but most of the time they aren’t in it because they are under the throw on the sofa or sleeping on the shelf behind it in an old envelope . We confined them to the cage for a few weeks before letting them out gradually.They seem to know their way around the house now.
When you get them just make sure they are the same sex. Males have a large bulge under the tail, females don’t !

[Tashalburrows]

Best pets ever !! My daughter watching tv with her rats. Popcorn for her. Frosties for the rats.

[SmileEachDay]

OK rat people. I think we’re convinced. Best value place to get a decent size cage?

We’re going to get it all set up then monitor local rat people until they have some baby rats. We love little grey dumbo ones!

[Stompythedinosaur]

We kept rats for many years, they are lovely pets.

I disagree with previous posters who say they dribble wee, that never happened with mine. They were very clean animals.

[moogdroog]

They are wonderful pets. We've had our 3 boys since Christmas - huge personalities, really engaging, very funny. They're litter trained and are quite happy to perch on your shoulder whilst you potter about the house (we call them pirate rats). Go for it!

[ShoeTattoos]

We rescued two rats last year and they are amazing pets. I would describe owning them as like having mini dogs, in terms of their personalities and trainability. Each rat has its own character, they are so funny and fun and curious.

We love our rats, the sad thing is though that it's not advisable to have a lone rat. One of the original ones passed away so now we have four!

Their tails don't detach, that's gerbils. We have gerbils too who are also lovely pets.

I wasn't sure about rats when we got ours but they are just lovely. As I type they are chattering away in their cage. I can hear one nibbling on some food. Ours were easily potty trained but do scent mark a little. I just put towels on the sofa, keep a pet friendly disinfectant handy for hard surfaces and all is good.

[Cerseilannisterinthesnow]

ive seen a few posts saying they are better than hamsters/more sociable

My 9 year old has a winter White Russian hamster and he is the most loving sociable little boy ever! He comes to his habitat door when he thinks you have treats, meal worms are his favourite, then he takes them from you so gently before coming out for cuddles! He is amazing and I will miss him terribly once he goes as I know they have short life spans. I hope we are as lucky the next time

[Dustysparrow]

I have had ten pet rats over the years and they are awesome - they have similar personalities to dogs, they are wonderful pets.

They do suffer from a few illnesses, so look out for red discharge from nose and eyes / scabby flakey skin can be mites (which they can get from shop bought bedding) / mammary tumours in females...

BUT none of the above would put me off getting rats again because they are the best pets imaginable. So friendly, so cuddly, they do tricks and come when you call their name, they are very loving, you will get way more back from them than a hamster.

Try and get them out for a run every day if you can, they will happily gallop about on the sofa while you sit and watch telly of an evening. Beware - they like to chew stuff, that includes your soft furnishings so put a cover over your sofa etc.

As for the piss dribbles - barely noticeable. When it does happen it is nothing more than a tiny shiney smudge, not even a drop.

You will never look back once you get rats!

[eggncress]

Rats are definately the easiest of all small furries...and we have had the lot from guinea pigs to rabbits, gerbils, hamsters.
They are like mini dogs. We use bio-catolet cat litter for ours, using this since we started getting rats 3 years ago and no issues. The litter absorbs and deodorises so only need to change once a month. We have 2 boys at present who have run of the house but always return to their cage at night. They tend to be awake at the same time as their human/s, are great interactive pets and have never bitten.
Give them a bowl of peas in water and they scoop the peas out with their hands! fantastic pets! Give them a whole boiled egg and watch them get into it.

[drinkswineoutofamug]

Ffs re homed !

[drinkswineoutofamug]

Loved my rats . My 1st was scabbers , yes I know. He came from pets at home , he would follow me like a dog , was house trained and had full run of the house. Would spend all day running up and down the stairs! I just left the cage open.
Then I rescued 3 more. Jake, Elwood and Levi .
Scabbers died and I got Leroy. Evil bastard . Never let me hold him till the day he died.
Then got 2 girls , Roxy and Stella.
I ended up having to get them regimes due to work commitments and real life got in the way.
Now have hamsters

[ratspeaker]

We have a Liberta Explorer cage, its a big double thing , the doors are the whole front of the cage which makes it so much easier to clean.
Watch out for cages where the doors are too small to reach in and get hold of your rat easily or to get bowls erc through.
We also have extra cages for when introducing new rats or nursing sick ones.
We use lots of hammocks ( look online at Fuzzbutts or Ratwarehouse ) to add extra layers, we line shelves with cheap fleece. Both of which can be put in washing machine.

Dont use sawdust in the cages. We currently use fitch paper bedding.

Ratties can have short life spans, sadly we lost one last night , she wasn't quite a year old.
We're down to 10 now

[LapdanceShoeshine]

The dumbo girls would sit on my shoulder & whiffle in my ear. So cute.

[LapdanceShoeshine]

dumbos

squeeeee

[LapdanceShoeshine]

Also they are buggers for chewing fabric. Cage left too close to curtains as new owners = holey curtains. Rats roaming on bed with slightly bumpy jersey sheets = holey sheets.

[LapdanceShoeshine]

Boy rats do pee worse than girls IME, & they are bigger, & have fatter tails. Still lovely characters but I'd get girls every time. We had a couple of dumbo girls for a while & they were ADORABLE. Get those if you can

[SmileEachDay]

I’m fascinated to know what the deleted post said!

I’m feeling positive about rats, for sure. Just need to find a breeder. And a massive cage that isn’t 4 million pounds...

[Wolfiefan]

I've only ever had boy rats. No wee dribbling. Lots of fun and easier to handle than hamsters etc. Not nocturnal.
I've only ever had one bite and he was a bit of a special case!
They need lots of space to clamber and climb and mine (apart from "special" boy) loved getting out and playing and interacting with people.
Some places sell tiny cages with wheels that could trap tails. I think mine had a great big parrot cage with shelves added. The more enrichment the better.
I had one that would do anything to steal Baileys!

[Clem7]

They are great pets, but many leave drops of urine everywhere (in my experience and based on every rat-care website I can find).

www.ratbehavior.org/WhyDoRatsPee.htm

understandingpetfancyrats.com/2015/10/01/rat-pee-how-often-do-rats-urinate-what-is-normal/

www.thespruce.com/why-does-my-rat-leave-drops-of-urine-when-playing-1238502

Etc etc

[field10]

Rats DO NOT piss everywhere that is mice. There must have been something wrong with it if was.

And they DO NOT have detachable tails.

Rats are Fantastic loving pets.