I've read good things about rats as pets. I have a little boy and I'm looking for a small animal that will be entertaining and people friendly. If you let a rat out of its cage, will it socialize or run and hide?
2007-11-08 02:24:36 · 34 answers · asked by Megan O 1 in Pets ➔ Rodents
they make a great pest.
2007-11-08 02:27:29 · answer #1 · answered by richard l 3 · 2⤊ 10⤋
Rats make brilliant pets, ignore all the morons that have been posting @#!$!! Since you have a little boy, Male rats are best as they are happy to sit on a lap and not move a lot. Girls are more active and run around more. Any pet is bound to run away when you first get it, but with proper handling they are brilliant pets. They are very clean, much cleaner than hamsters. Rats have been bred in captivity for years and are called fancy rats. Cousins to the wild brown rat, rattus norvegicus. Has your son recently watched rattatouie or however its spelt? That could have made him want one, Many kids are all asking their parents for one, the parents give in and then the child abuses/neglects the rat. You have to think about whether it would be fair on the rat. They have a short life span of 2-3 years and cancer is very common in them. They can eat basically anything but dark chocolate is not reccomended. Citrus fruits/drinks are also not reccomended.
If handled daily they make brilliant pets, and when used to you they will socialise with you. Rats kept in pairs can keep each other company incase your son doesn't take them out every day. I have two girls now and they try their hardest to bite me whereas i had a male rat on his own and he was the friendliest thing. He used to lick my face and come when called. So it is really up to you which you get. :) Good luck.
2007-11-08 05:42:57 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
Your son will love a pet rat! The rat may be scared at first and they do have pretty sharp claws, but they'll only use those to hold on. They do have very sharp teeth, but the great thing is... they rarely, rarely, rarely bite! The only rats I've known to bite are those that came from bad homes. And if I were those rats, I'd bite people too!
They are smart and curious and social. And they're clean too! Now, obviously, they're not going to clean up their own poo, but as long as you clean out their cage at least once a week, they are very clean animals.
A rat is a GREAT idea for your son's pet! Oh, and also... don't listen to any people who answer your question with something negative about rats. Each of them is just a closed-minded, ignorant anus. :-)
2007-11-08 05:06:22 · answer #3 · answered by Chrissy 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Please ignore the haters. Rats are awesome companions & remind me of tiny dogs. They are definately the most people-friendly of small animals. It's best to get 2 of the same sex, these little guys are *much* happier if they have another rat to play & cuddle with, & they'll be just as friendly toward you & your son. They are available in many colors & types of fur--even hairless, which are cuter than they sound--& can have regular ears on top of their heads or 'dumbo' ears on the sides of their head. Fur type & ear placement make no difference regarding personality.
If they're out of the cage, they are likely to go explore the room but will come back to visit. If you'd rather have them remain where you can see them, you can train them to stay on a bed, or let them roam in a small area such as a bathroom. Our boys usually want to stay right by my side when they're not actually on me, but our girls usually want to be everywhere @ once. They also learn their names fairly quickly but it's easier for them if the names don't rhyme or sound too much alike.
If there is a small animal rescue near you, that is a great place to adopt from. Our boys were from a rescue & they're the sweetest, cuddliest guys you could ask for. Breeders are another good place. Our hairless girl is from a breeder. Petstores are ok but some are way better than others. Make sure you handle anyone that you are interested in before you take them home.
Don't use cedar or pine bedding, as these are bad for small animals & I don't know why they continue to sell these things. Use aspen, Carefresh, Total Comfort or something like that. Give the little guys a spacious cage (ones sold 'for' rats are usually too small), a hammock or 2, & some chew treats & other toys. Good luck.
2007-11-08 08:05:56 · answer #4 · answered by Catkin 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Gosh! I've had so many pet rats over the years! I love everything about having them as pets, EXCEPT their short life spans. They live about 3 years max :(.
Anywho, as long as they are socialized (and this is true with any pet), they will be friendly, curious, loyal, fearless, intellegent.... We had rats that we let out in the living room or in our rooms, and they'd cruise around and come back when we called, then we'd put them back into their cages. I carried mine around with me all the time, and we even used to block off the hallway and put boxes and papertowels and goodies inthere for the "rat run". Sometimes the rats would get out, but they'd always come back (unlike our dumb hampster or mouse). They are such wonderful pets and when you pet them, they purr which is pretty cool. They'll cuddle, they'll crawl on you, they are very clean as they clean themselves like a cat. They also love fruits and veggies (although like people, you gotta be careful about too much fruit and sugar!).
Words of warning, they will eat almost anything, and they do chew some, but aren't as destructive as a cat or dog... They also love to build nests, so you'll find tissues and paper products holed up behind stuff for nests, it's kinda funny to find. You'll also want to get two, because they are pretty social animals...
I would also make sure to get female rats, they are a lot less stinky, cleaner, smaller and they don't have dangling reproductive parts :). I had some males, and they were nice, but they would fight with each other more than the females. Don't get a male and female hehe!!
Anywho, a rat sounds like a wonderful idea, and you can pretty much let them run around a room, no problem. They are also WAY more intelligent than mice or hamsters and far kinder. They only bite if in mortal peril (as long as they have been socalized), and they won't jump off your hand or a high object like a hamster will. Hamsters bite, are far more nocturnal and dumb, and are just overall, not as outgoing and social. Rats are WAY too smart for those dumb hamster balls by the way, I tried, it didn't work.
Good luck, hope this info helps!!
2007-11-08 03:03:28 · answer #5 · answered by Miss Vida 5 · 8⤊ 0⤋
Rats make great pets if they are raised from a young age, and handled/socialized . My pet rat (named 'dog') road around on my shoulder everywhere I went. He never bit. I raised rats and several different kinds of hamsters for years, and never once did one of the rats try to nip, even the ones who were not played with as pets. The hamsters on the other hand were little terrors. Numerous hamster (especially dwarf) bites vs zero rat bites.
Another hint...the mixed colors are very cute, but for some reason they smell stronger than the solid white ones, so their cage would have to be cleaned much more often.
2007-11-08 02:38:14 · answer #6 · answered by stulisa42 4 · 7⤊ 0⤋
Rats (note the plural) make wonderful pets. They're highly social, so you need to get at least two of the SAME gender. A lone rat is a LONELY rat.
As babies, rats may run and hide when startled, but if you socialise them correctly, they'll perch on your shoulder and/or explore. http://members.aol.com/juliesrats/behavior.html#forced
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/pet_rats/23723
http://www.animalnetwork.com/critters/profiles/rat/hndl.asp
http://members.aol.com/juliesrats/behavior.html#bonding
http://www.ratfanclub.org/trust.html
Female rats are hyper, won't sit still for a minute (until they're old, anywhere between 1.5 and 3 years) and love to explore. Male rats (over the age of 6 months or so) are lazy laprats who will be quite happy to curl up in your lap and go to sleep. There are exceptions, of course: some males will always be hyper, and some females will always be laprats. All baby rats are hyper.
Just make sure your kids don't have access to the rats unsupervised. Little kids don't know their own strength and might accidentally injure a rat.
A well-socialised rat won't bite unless he or she is in pain or scared out of his or her wits. However, if you handle a rat just after cooking, they might nip hard. Rats have poor eyesight, so they rely on their ears and noses more than we do. Yummy food distracts ratty noses so they can't tell the difference between fingers and food, so wash your hands between cooking / eating and handling rats. Speaking of biting/nipping and food, ignore the old wives' tale about meat making rats aggressive. It's just that - a myth. I've fed my girls meat, fish, chicken and eggs since they were babies and it never had any effects on their behaviour. The only times I ever got bitten were my own, stupid, fault.
2007-11-08 04:15:08 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 0⤋
We currently have 5 rats and have kept rats off and on for years. If they are well socialized from a very young age they will be very loving and entertaining pets. If you watch some videos on Youtube you will see lots of pet rats playing and doing tricks. Anyone who thinks rats are gross hasn't been exposed to a socialized pet rat.
2007-11-08 02:53:03 · answer #8 · answered by micheleinvirginia 2 · 7⤊ 0⤋
To all of those who say rats are nasty animals...YALL are ignorant! I have 3 rats, Timmy, Delilah, and Razelle and they are the most wonderful little animals in the world. I have been raising pet rats for about 3 years now and they are wonderful for kids and adults. They are smart, loving, and playful. They bite just as much as a dog or cat (only if you do something to cause it to bite, like any other pet). Your kid will love rats...so get him one or two or three!!
2007-11-08 04:23:32 · answer #9 · answered by Virginia L 2 · 4⤊ 0⤋
They make great pets. They will probably need to be tamed first (the will run and hide at first), but once they are tame and feeling safe in your home they will socialize and explore (watch them carefully on the exploring part). Rats are very friendly and love being pet, and can even learn tricks.
2007-11-08 03:38:35 · answer #10 · answered by Ravenclaw Alumni 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I have 2 male rats. They are very friendly. Make sure you socialize with the rat before you buy it. Ferrets are cool too. You can let them run around your house. Rats cannot run around your house. They will try to hide. Here are care sheets on rats and ferrets: rats- http://www.raleighrodentrescue.org/rat-care.html. Ferrets- http://www.vet4pets.co.uk/downloads/ferret.PDF. Good luck on finding the right pet.
2007-11-08 08:15:53 · answer #11 · answered by pseudolove21 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋