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Grooming: Rats are active groomers, cleaning themselves, one another, and even their humans, according to CuriosityRats.com. And it's not just a way to stay clean -- social grooming helps rats bond.
Common Health Issues: Rats are more prone to certain serious illnesses than other small pets, according to Ratsauce.com. Though their lifespan is generally just two to three years, many rats experience tumors and abscesses, while some may carry mycoplasma, which is a bacteria that can be deadly. Because of these health concerns, rats can end up being pricier to own than, say, hamsters.
Training Tips: Contrary to negative stereotypes, rats are actually quite clean and tidy by nature. As long as you provide them a toilet area, they'll likely potty-train themselves. If you begin gently handling your rat from a young age, you should have no problem training it to come when called, or to ride on your shoulder using positive reinforcement, according to RatGuide.com. In fact, every single rat owner we spoke with gushed about how friendly rats are and how much they enjoy human interaction.
Best For: As with any small pet, families should use caution when bringing a rat into a home with a small child -- young children don't always know how gently to handle small animals, but if the child is responsible and you're there to oversee, a domesticated rat could be a perfect pet, according to AFRMA. Rats do require some out-of-cage time, so they might not be ideal if you have cats or dogs, but they also don't require a huge amount of room, so they can make great apartment pets.
What Rat Owners Say: Sean Wood of San Antonio, Texas, says that although he "hates all rodents," he and his wife bought a pet rat for their daughter. She wanted a hamster, but the pet store warned that hamsters can be nippy, so they went home with a rat, who they named Remy, instead. "We couldn't have been happier with [Remy]. We just wish he'd lived longer. He was a fancy hooded rat, white with a tan hood, [and] he was the sweetest, best-tempered animal. He loved sitting on your shoulder and he would fall asleep in your arms while you scratched him."
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At the moment I have three rats and all three arevery sweet each having their very own personality. Victoria, who is a gray hooded fancy rat, is the most friendly one of them all and will often watch and wait for you to give her a treat or come let her out of the cage. Natalia, who is a harless rat, is probably the more energetic one, but also does not like to make the other girls mad at her. Maria is very shy, but loves to crawl up into your hood on your sweat shirt and sleep, but when she is in her cage she will run and run on her wheel, leaving no chances for the other ones to use it. When people come over I will often let all three set on my shoulders and go around visiting people, actually many people that have always been afraid of rats or thought that they were nasty creatures were at least able to pet them, while others were willing to let them set on their sholder, though there is the occassional person who will actually run out of the room screaming keep those things away from me. So far I have only meet one person who did that and it was actually a guy, most girls will at least pet them, while most guys find it very intoresting that a girl could be comfortable with having three rats sit on her sholder.
My not so little rat, Adam, is the sweetest little guy. He's the fifth rat that I have had in the past couple of years, all of which I rescued from other circumstances. And I experienced everything from tumors, both mammary and pituitary, mycoplasma, and even what seemed to be paralysis of the vocal chords which led to her having trouble breathing. All extremely sad things to see, but the joy, love, companionship, and happiness that each of them brought me has been worth the time, money, and sadness that I went through with each of their ailments. Now, Adam has had his share of things such as an ingrown whisker, an injury to his tail that caused about half of it to be amputated, and now he is an epileptic. I hate to admit that in his younger days, I even accidentally stepped on him... Twice! I still feel terrible about it, but he is very forgiving. I say to anyone who is considering rats as pets, they are awesome. The only problem, other than the health issues, is that sometimes it's difficult to find somebody to care for them when you go away for a few days. But they are so sweet, clean, loving, gentle, intelligent, forgiving... Very well worth the love!
I have a 9 month old rat, she's a capped and she has a white line going up her head stopping beforeit comes to her eyes. Her name is Ollie, she is the sweetest thing in the world. When i rescued her from a pet shop (she was a feeder) and she was about 5 weeks. When i picked her up, i was assuming she would be scared and try to run but it was a very big bond right from the start. She sat in my hand and groomed my hand. Now 9 months later she's still my baby and my mom is inlove with her! she feeds her everything, (she calles them "goodies" and she sneeks them in without me knowing.) Ollie is chunky :D
my mom told me the other day that she sees Ollie as a human, like part of the family. She and i dont really notice that she's a rat.
But i decided to get her a little sister or a friend, i am normally out and i have school so i dont see her when i should, so three days ago i was at a pet store and i was with my boyfriend, i seen this beautiful baby siamese dumbo with these beautiful pink eyes. I told my boyfriend i had to have her. June 17, 2010 i brought Emma home to meet Ollie, in three days i have gotten her warmed up to me and her andOollie are trying to get along. But i love my girls and i want to say they are the greatest pets! i think everyone should have one :)
I have 1 male rat geting 2 more soon! can't wait. I LOVE RATS!!!!!!!