Adopted 2 rats | Imamother

Petra

Fri, Jun 21 2013, 8:55 pm

Call me nuts. Still cant believe it myself. We have 2 rats under our roof on purpose! I didnt know this but it turns out they are a good substitute for the cats I cant have because dh is allergic. I am surprised at how much fun they are, especially with the kids.

SplitPea

Sat, Jun 22 2013, 10:31 pm

I LOVE rats. raised them for a while Smile

just FYI you can litter box train them and they can get VERY friendly. Mine ran around my house like cts and only were caged for the night.

vet techy

Sat, Jun 22 2013, 11:41 pm

Oh I love rats also had them as pets. Mine would drink water from my hand. Really friendly pets. I would love to get on for my kids but my DH wouldnt stand for it.
Splitpea how do you train them to use the litter box? would love to know.

Petra

Sun, Jun 23 2013, 12:05 am

My DDs named them Rosa and Koko. The kids were begging for a guinea pig or hamster or rabbit for the longest time. I held out for a few years and felt that they were now old enough to appreciate a small pet. so I was doing research and it didn't make any sense for a hamster or gerbil or guinea pig since rats are much smarter and more interactive (according to what I read) and thus would be a more enjoyable pet. So I found a female pair at the humane society and they seemed friendly and cute and so I brought them home. They are fascinating to watch. The name "rat" is an injustice to the domesticated variety.

I know they can be litter box trained. I have to figure out how to do that. They definitely don't automatically use one like cats would.

FranticFrummie

Sun, Jun 23 2013, 1:51 am

Rats are lovely, affectionate pets. The only downside is that even with the best of care, they will only live up to maybe 3 years old. Crying

I have two chihuahuas now. They're "almost rats"!

happymom29

Sun, Jun 23 2013, 2:45 am

I had two rats as pets as a child. Everyone thought I was nutz but I loved them, they were very freindly and I had them running around my room in the day and caged up at night, the only problem was they chewed at everything and ruined lots of my stuff but other than that I loved having them, I didnt tell any of my freinds in school cuz they would be grossed out, they already knew we had a cat and that was bad enough!
Enjoy!!

smss

Sun, Jun 23 2013, 5:38 am

I know a family that was researching for a long time what pet to get and ended up with 2 white rats. I forgot their reasons, but they're supposed to be good pets...

that said I more or less agree with zehava, but then again I'm the kind of person who wouldn't let a goldfish in my house ;-)

amother

Sun, Jun 23 2013, 9:30 am

We had 3 rats as pets when I was a girl. My sister ran a science experiment with a maze and we kept them on. They are smart.

Anon because my sils are on here.

Isramom8

Sun, Jun 23 2013, 9:38 am

amother wrote:

We had 3 rats as pets when I was a girl. My sister ran a science experiment with a maze and we kept them on. They are smart.

Anon because my sils are on here.

Is it, like, lashon hara? Very Happy

For those who say eeewww, isn't it good to know that they live just 3 years?

smss

Sun, Jun 23 2013, 10:21 am

Isramom8 wrote:

amother wrote:

We had 3 rats as pets when I was a girl. My sister ran a science experiment with a maze and we kept them on. They are smart.

Anon because my sils are on here.

Is it, like, lashon hara? Very Happy

For those who say eeewww, isn't it good to know that they live just 3 years?

and then you have 2 DEAD RATS in your house????
sorry, I still say ewwww... ;-)

amother

Sun, Jun 23 2013, 10:26 am

Isramom8 wrote:

amother wrote:

We had 3 rats as pets when I was a girl. My sister ran a science experiment with a maze and we kept them on. They are smart.

Anon because my sils are on here.

Is it, like, lashon hara? Very Happy

For those who say eeewww, isn't it good to know that they live just 3 years?

LOL It would just give away my SN. I doubt that many frum ladies had 3 rats as pets when they were girls.

Mrs Bissli

Sun, Jun 23 2013, 11:09 am

do you neuter them? how do you keep them from multiplying?

also don't rats need to bite on something like cables so their teeth don't outgrow?

FranticFrummie

Sun, Jun 23 2013, 9:04 pm

Mrs Bissli wrote:

do you neuter them? how do you keep them from multiplying?

also don't rats need to bite on something like cables so their teeth don't outgrow?

Halachically, you can't neuter them. Hopefully they are both girls (boys might fight).

The pet store sells chew sticks for rodents, they do need something safe to gnaw on.

Petra

Sun, Jun 23 2013, 9:42 pm

Thats why I got two girls. They grind their teeth to wear them down. I dont have a chew block. Their personalities are so different from each other. It is so funny that rats actually have personality.

FranticFrummie

Mon, Jun 24 2013, 3:34 am

LeahsEma wrote:

If you get them sticks from the yard to chew on, make sure that it's OK with the vet. Some types of wood have toxins in them that are very dangerous to rats. I think pine, cedar, and some other types, I can't remember. I would also worry about pesticides. I always got chewies from the pet store. It gives them something to do, too. They like to chew as a comfort thing, not just for their teeth.

Rats are so smart and friendly, I'm always surprised when other people are surprised that they have personalities.

Isramom8

Mon, Jun 24 2013, 6:47 am

I have a cat, kittens and rabbits, but I seriously don't know how I feel about having pet rats (although we did have hamsters). Usually you try to kill rats - why is it different when they're pets? I guess you have to be careful with extermination, since isn't it designed to kill, for example, rats?

I even dreamed about this thread. Not sure if it was a nightmare or not.