Do Rats make good pets??????
2007-09-20 18:46:36 · 15 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
My cat says yes!
2007-09-20 18:59:59 · answer #1 · answered by TABKAB 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Yes! Rats are very smart, inquisitive, affectionate & in many ways like tiny dogs. They can even be litter-box trained but success with this does vary. They learn their names & can be taught to do tricks & usually love riding on your shoulder.
It's best to have 2 or 3 rats of the same sex, so they can play, sleep & hang out together. They'll be happier this way & will still love interacting with you. Also, it's a lot of fun to watch them play together.
In general, boy rats are calmer & more cuddly than girls (they also get much larger than girls), while girls are usually more active & playful. Each one is an individual, though.
There may be a small animal rescue near you, which would be a great place to adopt from. We have 2 brothers we adopted from a rescue in Feb '07 & they're the sweetest boys imaginable. Our hairless girl is from a breeder & she is perfectly healthy & has a delightful personality. Our other 2 girls are from a pet shop & are very sweet too, but not all pet shops spend a lot of time socializing their small animals.
If you decide to adopt rats, do a little research to learn more about them & how to care for them (for instance, don't use cedar or pine bedding). There are some very knowledgable ppl here, too, who could answer any questions you might have.
2007-09-21 02:03:44 · answer #2 · answered by Catkin 7 · 6⤊ 0⤋
They can make wonderful pets! People have some wild steriotypes of rats. Those misunderstandings mostly happen because people confuse wild street rats with tame pets. BIG difference! Tame ones are smart and clean. They don't bite unless they are trained to not trust a human handler. We do own ONE (only one in years or owning rats) rat who bites and is not allowed to be hadled any longer. Unbeknownst to us, our toddler at the time was taking her out of the cage and tossing her onto the couch. She was young as was trained to hate being picked up. She won't let any of us touch her now. Go figure! However, she is not agressive when adult handlers give her food. She is a rat phenominon, though, as far as biting goes. She is smart enough to know that she doesn't want to be tossed again, poor thing. When treated well, they are very smart. They are like kittens when fully grown but they are as smart or maybe smarter than dogs. Mice? I would never compare the stupidity of mice and the higher tendency toward bites with the inteligence of rats and the ease of teaching them to not bite and trust the handler! You will want to handle the young ones carefully and lovingly every day. (and keep the young kids far away from the cage until the rat is well trained) That si all it will take. If you do that, they will become very attached to humans. We trained ours to sit on our shoulders. Some of them loved to lick peanut butter off our fingers. They love to hide behind pig tails and they seem to get attached to stuffed toys that are favorites of the trainer, too. Once, when we were out of town and our neighbor was watching our daughter's rat, the top of the cage was not weighed down and the rat got loose. They found him sitting on my daughter's bed, cuddled in her stuffed animals and waiting for her. I have many stories of how loyal and smart those critters are! If you would like a small pet that is friendly and can be trained, rats make terrific pets! Hey, what could be better than a dog that is small enough to cage when you can't take him for a walk?
2007-09-21 01:57:09 · answer #3 · answered by delemamomma 4 · 7⤊ 0⤋
My husband says he had a rat when he was young, and that it made a wonderful pet. He said it liked to sit on his shoulder and tickle his ear, it liked to run around the apartment, and that it was very clean, always went into his cage to go to the bathroom. He said it never bit him until it got sick and was dying which of course he should have left it alone then. He still speaks fondly of his pet rat Paul, but we have a cat now so no. I've talked to other people with rats, and the general consensus is that they make excellent pets.
2007-09-21 01:52:51 · answer #4 · answered by Flower 2 · 6⤊ 0⤋
yes, rats make excellent pets.. even good with kids! they are smart and nice animals. I have never had one bite me. They clean themselves, but you will have to clean there environment like two times a week, as they can start to smell. they like to have company of another rat, but females and females are the best to have together. never get a male and female, as they will breed and you will end up with about a hundred rats.... they are easy to care for. they dont take up much space. they can live to be two or three years old. but yes they are great low key pets!
2007-09-21 02:03:05 · answer #5 · answered by animluv 5 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Yeah rats are great pets. You can buy them as weaned babies from breeders and pet shops. They come in great colours. They are clean animals (not disease carrying like the wild ones) and do not stink like mice do. They are clever and bond really well with their owners. They do only live for about 3 years though. Lots of fun
2007-09-21 02:11:25 · answer #6 · answered by esmeralda 2 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Rats make great pets. They are very intelligent, inquisitive, loveable, etc. Here's more additional info. for you:
http://www.petrats.org/whyrats.html
http://www.ratfanclub.org/ratlady.html
http://www.quite.co.uk/rats/
People tend to get put off by the hairless tail I think, but they do make great pets. And they don't smell, like mice do.
2007-09-21 02:02:53 · answer #7 · answered by Connie B 5 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Rats can make good pets. They are very smart and like attention. Some people find them gross tho. They can be trained to do little tricks and actually enjoy being played with. If you can get past their naked tails I say go for it.
2007-09-21 01:55:16 · answer #8 · answered by onedrin 4 · 6⤊ 0⤋
Yes! They are affectionate, lovable, intelligent and naughty at the same time! They are really good pets and I hope you get one or two!
This is the site I stumbled on which is TERRIFIC for rats!
http://www.dapper.com.au/
2007-09-21 02:23:41 · answer #9 · answered by Sunshine G 4 · 4⤊ 0⤋
rats make wonderful pets. they are very smart and friendly and cute.
2007-09-22 13:03:18 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
they make very good pets if you get them while they are babies cause then they can know you better i have 2 of them they are great they don't require to much just caring and love and some advice if you get one always wash your hands before you hold them cause any smells of food they will bite cause they dont know they will think you are feeding them
2007-09-21 02:53:16 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋