Mice or Rats..??

Question

mice or rats...which 1 should i get...and how many should i get
Ive been raising hamsters all my life(5 yrs actually) and my dad has chinchilllas(go chinchillas!!^^)
I wanted to get a new pet for a change..
If possible can y'all gimme info on them..^^..
need opinion from ppl with experience thanks in advance^^

huh...i find them cute....
Rats it willl be ^^ yay rat lovers^^

oops forget to add........
should i get 2 males or 2 females???
i heard males mark their territory with urine..??

wow..those pics r cuuutee...i plan to get them next year as i still hav my precious hamster to take care of...he getting old
may i ask is there any breeders or petshops that sells them...i cant seem to find any....

Answer 1

I recommend rats. They are very sweet and love attention. You need to get 2 at least, as they crave the company of other rats as well as yours. I have had 7 male rats and they were very sweet and marked a little with urine but it wasn't smelly. Male mice STINK! I had 2 and had to give them away because I couldn't rid the house of the smell. Rats are fairly odorless as long as you keep the cage clean.

Also males are more laid back and females are more hyper. Female rats are prone to mammary tumors which is why I never got any.

Sadly, if you have a rat that lives past 2 1/2 yrs. You are lucky. My 7 were VERY well cared for and were brought to the vet many times. I had one live to 3, 1 live to 2 1/2 and the rest died from 19 mths-21 mths. This is why I have decided not to get any more. I can't deal with the loss.

If you do get rats, the yahoo group 'ratlist' is GREAT for information.

Answer 2

Hello I have owned and bred rats for 8 years, I have experiance with many kinds of animals big and small, I say rat all the way! They are very inteligent and love human companionship, I prefer males over females because they are more laid back and love to cuddle. The females like to cuddle as well but they are mor energetic and playfull all young rats are very active though even the males. It is true that the males sometimes leave little drops of urine as the walk around, they don't start this untill ther are mature. I never found it to realy be a bother, they don't seem to do it often. Rats with red eyes are more sensitive to bright light, when I have brought my red eyed ones outdoors they realy don't like the snlight and try to hide from it. you can also teach your rat tricks, I have taught some of mine to walk on 2 legs, come when I call theyer name, jump from one platform to another ect. If you chose male rats, pick 2 brothers from the same litter, they get along much better than 2 males who don't know eachother. I would buy your rats at a young age, 4 to 6 weeks old is the best. I have realy enjoyed owning rats and will probably have them for the rest of my life. Good luck, hope this helps!

Answer 3

hi A rat is medium sized, with an prolonged, skinny tail. Mice are smaller, yet surely have an prolonged, skinny tail. submit a image of your new puppy, and that i'll be waiting that might assist you. And sure you could prepare mice. yet ravenous the unfavorable wee element actually isn't the thank you to do it. in the experience that your puppy is a mouse, you could set up an "journey maze" in his cage, utilising kitchen/lavatory roll tubes. additionally use ladders and have little systems which you will placed treats onto. With mice, the greater youthful they are, the greater helpful to start guidance them. Like i've got stated however, submit a image and it could help with id. Regards, Kim

Answer 4

Mice don't like to be on their own so I would get 2 of the SAME sex may I emphasise the same because they breed like Rabbits.
Mice can be timid for the first couple of weeks but the more you handle them the better they get.
Oh yes and the male Mice stink.
Rats are very intelligent and more cuddly than Mice but they smell even worse.
Rats don't really like to be on their own.
But you would need to buy a hell of a big cage to house more than 2 .
If you can't be bothered with cleaning out being too much of a hassle I woul suggest mice

Answer 5

I've raised both and they are equally great. Mice are good escape artists though, so be careful. My pick would have to be a male rat. They are more mellow then the females and get nice and big. : )

Answer 6

You should probably go with two female rats. Rats are easier to hold as they are bigger and a lot calmer. They also do not put off an odor like mice do. Much luck!

Answer 7

Rats are very intelligent and make loyal companions whereas mice are cuddly and energetic. I believe it is easier to look after a mouse (i have had 2 mice and 1 rat) but i do like rats as they are extremely amusing and faithful ^_^;;

Answer 8

Careful they both reproduce rapidly. We used to have snakes, and we would buy a few mice at a time, treat them well. But man they would have babies all the time. A lot of petstores only sell all male or all female because of this.

Answer 9

I've raised every legal rodent and then some. Rats are the coolest. They are mellow, don't bite and like human company.
It only takes 2 to start a colony. Albinos have eyesight problems..

Answer 10

I would say rats....I've only ever owned females, they seem to behave well. I just couldn't stand having a male rat dragging his balls across me!!! YUCK!! They can get pretty big!!