Do people hate pet rats/rodents that much?

[onlychildhamster]

I was at Pets at home buying some stuff for my hamster. I started looking at some pet rats.They were really quite lovely. There was this lady with this bulldog and she was letting her dog put its paws at the tank that housed the pet rats. She kept saying how much it 'loved watching the rats' and 'how disgusting the rats were'. How she wanted to get some rats for him to 'look at' (but she wouldn't be able to clean the cage or handle it due to fear) and kept musing out loud what her dog would do to the rats, given the chance. She also told me that her hatred of rats extends to all small rodents.

I know its a little thing (and therefore not deserving of AIBU, would probably get flamed there haha), but I was quite shocked at how much she hated the pet rats and kept muttering 'disgusting' under her breath. Oh and how she thought they were of such little worth that they were only fit to be a dog's playthings. I don't really understand this, why should a hamster/rat/gerbil be 'worth' any less than a dog? I felt quite hurt from the whole incident actually even though I don't actually own rats. There weren't any more hamsters on display or she probably would have called the hamsters disgusting!

We had gerbils as I’m not that keen on hamsters, I probably wouldn’t get a rat if I’m being honest, I don’t think my kids would like them but I don’t dislike them just not a pet I would choose. However I dislike dogs so 🤷‍♀️

@AlternativePerspective

They’re vile.

Rats spread disease, they stink, and they urinate constantly. They really aren’t the clean animals people like to think they are.

The only reason why domesticated rats don’t spread the kinds of diseases which common rats do is because they’re living in domestic situations. But if you set them free they would be spreading the same diseases soon enough.

Domestic rats are descended from the common sewer rat, people just don’t like to acknowledge that.

I wouldn’t harm them obviously, but there’s no way on earth I would keep them as pets or would have allowed my children to have them.

As for hamsters, they’re cute, but given the average wild hamsters travels up to 5km in a night I think we have to question whether it really is fair to keep them in what to them are tiny cages.

Some animals just shouldn’t be kept as pets, IMO.

All wild animals have diseases. Your dog probably has fleas and ticks, no cleaner than a domesticated rat at all

They stink, I had a friend as a child with pet rats and my son has a friend with pet rats. Both otherwise clean houses absolutely stink of piss.

It’s not the tails that bother me it’s their shoulder blades they move about too much. Urghh

Well, some people don't like rats and hamsters, some don't like dogs, I don't like either, not really a problem is it? I'm pretty sure the rats/hamsters/dogs aren't all wounded over it.

I have a friend who had two that were lovely a few years ago. Her new pair sit with hunched backs and have weird bulbous snouts and just look malevolent.

I like hamsters though. Although I think my favourite are probably chinchillas — a school friend had one that would sit on your knee and basically collapse into a puddle of fur!

I’ve had mice and I’ve never been covered in urine whilst handling them

People wouldn’t want them as pets if that was the case. May be true for the wild cousins but not the domestic ones

it's not fair for the dog to be allowed to stress the rats out

Lol the rat's already in a cage! It's not exactly happy anyway. 😂

Also another thought- my hamster was a lockdown hamster. he is now 13 months old. I have been WFH for his entire lifespan and the way things are going, I might not be going for international holidays for the entire duration of his life as hamsters live on average 18-24 months. (previously I travelled overseas at least twice a year as I have family overseas). On the other hand, that lady's dog was also a lockdown dog (she told me he was her first and it is a young puppy) but she has the responsibility of caring for him for the next 10 years.

Thats the beauty of rodents, They don't tend to live for more than 2 years other than guinea pigs. I read so many threads on Mumsnet about how stressful the baby stage is, and I am sure caring for pets probably is another item on the to-do list; i see so many threads about how people want to rehome their dogs/cats once the baby arrives, which is sad really. But with rodents' short lifespan, its easier to work out your personal life around it. Rehoming an elderly rat to live with someone else's band of rats for its last few months is very different to giving up a cat or dog and its even easier for hamsters since they aren't social animals. This is also why they are such good kids pets- a 8 year old loves animals but realistically when they are teenagers, they are probably more interested in going out, GCSEs and pop music. They would be going off to university and the cat/dog would still be alive. Granted many parents probably wanted the cat/dog too, but I have no idea how people know how their lives would be in 10 years time. New job/ special needs child/divorce/sudden disability can all make a huge difference in whether your life can accommodate an animal.

I had rats when I was younger. They were lovely, and they didn’t stink!

I would have rats again, but the short lifespan is upsetting. I had thought about getting rats as a first pet for my son when he’s older, as mine were lovely and affectionate- while everyone I know who has had a hamster has told me how antisocial and grumpy they are!

Going to see rats just to complain about how gross you find them is weird and childish.

@AlternativePerspective my hamster loves his cage. I take him out and try to get him to run around my room, but he keeps trying to go back to his cage as his favourite hobby seems to be 'rearranging his larder' lol. His cage is 1m long.

He is a Syrian hamster and like all UK hamsters, he is a descendant of lab hamsters which arrived in the UK in 1937. If he wasn't a pet, he would be in the lab, probably being used for Covid 19 research like in Hong Kong. His natural home is very faraway... I do agree humans shouldn't have captured them, but I also don't think we should have domesticated all sorts of animals....