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Small pets

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Original poster

How many people have pet rats?

21 replies

Duckypoohs · 11/05/2012 01:37

Every time I tell people that we have pet rats they seem aghast, however when taking one of them to the vets we came across a lady at the bus stop who had 4 at home .

They can't be that rare! We do adore the little buggers, we got the first 2 from pets at home and one of them is quite bitey, we have had those ones for 8 months and tbh she is still quite shy and bitey , well not so much bitey these days as we have learned what she will and will not tolerate.

The other 3 are fantastic little pets, one is the sibling of biteyguts, the other 2 are from a lovely breeder, they have never bitten and are fab.

Dd was wavering between guinea pigs and rats, quite glad that she chose rats, although they are pretty short lived.

It's quite enjoyable farting about with the the cage, the joy that they show for a few sheets of news paper is quite funny too.

Anyone share my love for the long of tail?

OP posts:

Empusa · 11/05/2012 02:06

No pets at the moment, but me and DH adore rats. We've loved 14 different ratties over the last few years, most we had at one time was 7.

I miss them quite a lot, but we aren't in a position to get any more right now.

First we had Orion and Mercury - Mercs was sweet as anything, Orion was a vicious fat bastard! They were both rescues.

Then it was Ralphie and Hugo, two more rescues, they were super cuddly!

After that we decided to try girl rats, and got Clio and Lillith. Both were really friendly, and Clio was absolutely mental!

Then we rescued Hannah (AKA Hannibal - she was very bitey), Lucy and Zemo. Unfortunately Zemo died almost immediately as she had a huge cancerous tumour which hadn't been treated by her previous owners :(

Next were the 3 dumbo rats, Izzy, Lola and Claire (the runt of the litter)

After that we rescued Toby and Rasputin - two more extremely large boys.

DeadRisingPies · 11/05/2012 21:27

Yes got 2 females from a local breeder. Neither of them have ever bitten. They were both very squirmy at first, but now let themselves be picked up and cuddled (briefly). They will do almost anything for treats (almond flakes, cheerios, pieces of bread - almost anything). They enjoy exploring through a box of old packaging, screwed up paper, etc (especially if there are hidden treats).

ChopstheScarletduck · 11/05/2012 21:29

Aww, I use to have a rat. He was adorable and never bit. I don't have room for a rat set up any more :(

Wolfiefan · 11/05/2012 21:31

Have had 4 over the years. Fab pets. One came when called but was a bugger for trying to steal beer or baileys!!

strawberrypenguin · 11/05/2012 21:36

Don't have any at the moment but I've had 4 over the years and DH had 2 when I met him. They are fab pets, never been bitten by them and I love their tails when DS is big enough I plan on getting him some to teach him how to look after animals well (we have a cat but she's fine with them)

LoopyLoopsTootTootToots · 11/05/2012 21:38

634277

ChopstheScarletduck · 11/05/2012 21:41

Def agree they are fab pets. We got rabbits for the kids. I love them, but they aren't as easy or cuddly as rats. My rat used to curl up in my top to sleep.

GobblersKnob · 11/05/2012 21:42

I have two big boys who have just turned one and two seven week old babies. I have a friend who has a NFRS stud, she makes very lovely rats, I am very lucky

Sposh · 11/05/2012 21:45

We have two ageing boys. So not quite as many as loopyloops

Empusa · 11/05/2012 21:46

"634277"

And I thought we had a lot!!

HecateTrivia · 11/05/2012 21:53

I don't any more. I used to. I love ratties.

When I still lived with my parents, we had a pair of male rex rats called pernod and bacardi. Also we had a rat called charlie - oooh, she was territorial! Far more so than the boys. She was very loving out of her cage, but she had to come out to you, you couldn't reach in or she'd bite you.

The lads didn't give a stuff.

I used to love watching them when they fell out. One of them would take half the bedding and stalk up to the top floor (they had 3 floors) with it and make himself a bed and they'd ignore each other for hours.

not that any of them spent all that much time in their cages. They were normally found on our shoulders.

I grew up in a zoo we had rats, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, mice, a dog (very briefly), a budgie and very very very very very many cats.

Rollersara · 11/05/2012 22:01

I have 8. I had 15 at one point after a gender misidentification issue :) Love every last one of them, just wish they had a longer lifespan...

ipswichwitch · 11/05/2012 22:04

Me, DP and Dbro have all had rats when we were kids. Absolutely love em, and also plan to get one for DS when he's old enough. DHs rat used to sit on his shoulder while he did his paper round and mine would fall asleep up my jumper sleeve :)

peeriebear · 11/05/2012 22:08

Used to have 7 girls in a big 4 floor rat palace built by my grandad. I'd love some more but can't give them the time they deserve, as well as having a murdery-bitey psychopath cat.

DoesItWearingWellies · 12/05/2012 00:23

DD1 has had four - 2 boys about 5 years ago and then 2 girls until this January when the last one died :(

I never liked rats but DD wore me down and I caved. I wasn't keen on the boys (I don't like their tails and I hated seeing their HUGE testicles). However, the girls were real sweeties, didn't have any testicles, and whilst I'm still not keen on their tails, I was very fond of the girlies and was even able to hold them.

FallenCaryatid · 12/05/2012 00:26

I had a couple as a student, they were very sweet and much better-tempered than hamsters. Their tails felt like living silk cords and I loved the way that they wrapped around my arm when a rat was sitting on my hand.

karatekimmi · 12/05/2012 00:34

We have two here, dwight and jim! Love them to bits but since being pregnant I have become very allergic to them, my skin breaks out in hives when the are on me :( I miss playing with them!!

shreddie87 · 23/05/2012 07:47

I rescued a male and female rat a month ago from a lady keeping them alone in separate cages. I got Dexter castrated the next day and him and Lula live happily together now. They are amazing, Lula is a lil timid but Dexter is so affectionate, its amazing having a rat snuggle up to you and lick your fingers while you stroke them! Best pet ever. DD loves having them so glad we got them (even if i have to hide them from the landlord upon inspections ;) )

QueenElizaBeatHer · 30/05/2012 22:42

I had 2, now down to 1 They've given me many hours of pleasure, I love the little buggers!

NettoSuperstar · 30/05/2012 22:46

I've had three, just got one now as one died a couple of months back.
She's a big greedy fatso called sausage. I adore her.

nightswimmer · 30/05/2012 22:51

We had white rats as children, my sister and I, hers had one eye I remember. I used to bring mine to the library under my shirt, a nice cosy hot water bottle with a tail sticking out! We also built them exciting obstacle courses in their cage. We loved them so much and they were sooooooooo intelligent and responsive. They have the dearest little hands too. But you must keep them in two's at least, otherwise not fair on them.

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