Would any of you dream of owning a rat as a pet? After show and tell in school one day, my daughter came home wanting a rat for a pet. How can I tactfully and calmly tell her.........no.
Would any of you dream of owning a rat as a pet? After show and tell in school one day, my daughter came home wanting a rat for a pet. How can I tactfully and calmly tell her.........no.
What the heck is the difference from rats and hamsters and guinea pigs? Actualy the pack rats are about he smartest things around and the kangaroo rats are about as unique and funy as any thing. Ther ain't no way you can outsmart the pack rats in my well house.
When I was probably 7 or 8 years old, I had an aunt who envisioned (erroneously) making money by raising and selling hamsters. So she gave me a pair. I don't remember too much about how fast they multiply, but I think they'd make rabbits seem slow. The school I went to was way out in the country at the time with nothing but open pastures around it. Naturally, I had to take a hamster to school to show the other kids and my teacher, and I still remember how irate the school janitor was about that. He hollered and yelled about how hard it was for him to fight the rats that came from the fields, and if that hamster got loose and cross bred with the rats so they weren't afraid of humans, he'd have an even bigger problem on his hands. And he gave emphatic orders that I was never to bring one of those things to school again. Now I have no idea if they would actually cross breed or not; never heard of any mixed breed hamster/rats but maybe it's possible.
There's absolutely NO WAY I would let my kids own a pet rat. I'd just very calmly tell them no and stick to it.
That janitor really overreacted. He must have had a very, very bad experience with rats.
Hehe, my brother always had this rat. He called her Ratisha and you would not believe how smart she was. He tried her to use a mini litter box and she would run all over the house. We have quite a few funny stories of people she freaked out.
I don't think I'd be thrilled about having a pet rat, but as jimbrown pointed out there really is no difference between them and hamsters or gerbils. Rats have a bad rap for being dirty, carrying disease, being destructive, etc. But in the end it's just a rodent like any other.
There is no way I would have one in my house. I am deathly afraid of them! I also have three cats so I don't think that would be a good idea lol!
GROSS... no way! Rats and mice are disgusting to me. They rank right up there with snakes and bats. I wouldn't own one and I wouldn't let my kids get one for a pet either. They are super scary to me. I know some people that have them as pets and I think they are gross.
I used to have pet rats as a kid, and even again as an adult. They were hooded rats, with black and white coats. They're very intelligent and clean. They make very nice and friendly pets. They're very easy to train, and although I kept them in a large aquarium, I easily taught them to come when their names were called, so I often let them out to have some play time in the house. They always came when I called them, and then they went back into their aquarium.
Rich
"What a long strange trip it's been."
Rats are much much smarter than a hamsters and much much nicer then a gerbil. You would be surprised at the great temperaments they have and how easily they learn. They have great personalities as well. They are much cleaner than mice and other rodents.
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