I want a pet that will fit my apt room, and I find rat to be suitable. I'm also arachnophobic, and I hate spider a lot. I want to train my going-to-be pet rat to kill spider (doesn't have to eat them; just kill and throw away at toilet). The thing is, I imagine spider's size to rat is like cat's to us human, so if my rat is bitten, its poison might be deadly, is it? Is this "training" possible? How?
2007-07-02 16:27:19 · 9 answers · asked by lmeong3l 1 in Pets ➔ Rodents
Here's a shocker for those who don't know rats................You don't have to train a rat to kill spiders. Pet Rats that free-range are predators as well as prey animals and some have been known to stalk and kill mice, hamsters, small birds, roaches, flies and spiders, and they may also eat the animals that they kill.
http://www.ratbehavior.org/norway_rat_ethogram.htm#PredatoryBehavior
A free-ranging rat might stalk a few spiders in your room but don't expect the rat to be your arachnid exterminator. A spider bite on your rat can also lead to nasty abscesses which will require vet care. Correct, a venamous spider bite will kill the rat. A totally free-ranging rat can also get itself into dangerous situations.
I'm wondering if you have the right reasons for having a rat as a pet?
Holistarat will give you the information you need to properly care for rats.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/holistarat
Or check out these websites
http://search.yahoo.com/search?search=Caring+for+pet+rats&ei=UTF-8&fr=ks-ans&ico-yahoo-search-value=http%3A%2F%2Frds.yahoo.com%2F_ylt%3DAmrLvrRZp8SXPzB.OHL0vAIazKIX%2FSIG%3D11ibljre5%2FEXP%3D1183539182%2F*-http%253A%2F%2Fsearch.yahoo.com%2Fsearch&ico-wikipedia-search-value=http%3A%2F%2Frds.yahoo.com%2F_ylt%3DAjxFo9BLape1bXCUKlhunhIazKIX%2FSIG%3D121rd0s72%2FEXP%3D1183539182%2F*-http%253A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FSpecial%253aSearch&p=Caring+for+pet+rats
spazrats
"my life has gone to the rats"
2007-07-02 22:04:18 · answer #1 · answered by spazrats 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I dont think that the spider has a natural predator in crats so I believe that it will be a tough sell for your cat to go after spiders.
Try tying a plastic spider on a string while the rat is still a baby. reward her with a treat if she clobbers it. I dont think a rat can kill a spider though.
A rolled up newspaper whack will do the trick.
SO- you have to introduce the trick of rolling a newspaper first. LOL
2007-07-02 16:33:37 · answer #2 · answered by QuiteNewHere 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Rats are very smart and trainable creatures, but slaying spiders and flushing them to their demise is a tad bit far-fetched. I have, though, heard of rats trained to drag wires where people cannot reach, and also have heard of rats trained to exterminate mice. The farthest I have gotten is litter-training my little buddies.
2007-07-02 16:33:16 · answer #3 · answered by Fiveohfive 3 · 3⤊ 2⤋
My girl hamster Minnie kills and eats bugs of any kind. She usually bites the head off then spits it out and leaves everything there. It's pretty gross, seeing a show I like bugs of any kind. I didn't have to train mine.
2007-07-02 16:36:01 · answer #4 · answered by MaYdAy PaRaDe <3 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
it would take a while but you would have to have perhaps dead spiders with food on them then gradually wean the food off them.
then every time they kill a spider give them a treat.
the same as you would a dog to do a trick.
2007-07-02 17:53:13 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
No its not possible. Rats arent the most intelligent animals in the world. If you can litter box train it you would be lucky. But you cant train your rat to kill and throw spiders away. Besides rats are in cages how would he get to the toilet?
2007-07-02 16:32:48 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 5⤋
Oh come on. You want a pet, right? Not an exterminator. Teach your soon to be pet rat to do better tricks.
2007-07-02 16:38:30 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 3⤋
I live in hot Saigon and have a pet Gecko they eat bugs and are good luck. This would be my suggestion
2007-07-02 16:38:39 · answer #8 · answered by lonetraveler 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
my gerbils eat bugs all the time. really big ones. i didn't have to train them
2007-07-02 16:31:55 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
this is a stupid question
2007-07-03 10:38:03 · answer #10 · answered by ratgirldjh 2 · 0⤊ 4⤋