Experience and First Rats

[misskooky]

Hey Kim, Thanks for helping with those myths! (btw these little emotes are adorable!)

There is so much misinformation about rats, I shouldn't be supprised but I am! my mum is convinced they reek and will stink up my whole house, I've been told to stay away from males as they bite and pee everywhere, neither of which I believe is true! Especially considering the amount of people who keep rats, and male ones too!

I don't intend on breeding my bubs at all, and I'd be wary of putting such tiny creatures through surgury and anestheitic if they don't really need it. So you don't think they'd need to be spayed?

I really hope people don't judge me too hard based on my other pets. I'm here because I want to make the best life for my little ratties that I can, and to have people who know what they're dealing with be able to help me with any problems or advice I might need.



Hey Wulfy
In answer to your question: (_{just so you all know, I am actually here to talk about rats, and I'll only talk about my shiva if I'm asked about her. I don't want to rile anyone up. I felt I had to mention her before because I'd prefer to be honest with you guys now than have you think I've been lying to you or been misleading you by mentioning her later})

I only ever feed her frozen/thawed food, as anything else would be cruel, illegal and dangerous. I meet the people I buy from and make sure that they are keeping them in clean, appropriate and cruelty free conditions and that they are put down humanely. If they won't let me in to see their living conditions I walk away and find someone else who will.

As for danger; Shiva poses no threat to a little ratty, being part of the smallest family of pythons in the world. Right now her head fits on my smallest fingernail, but even full grown she wouldn't be able to take on an adult rat. The most likley scenario if they were ever to clash, is that SHE will end up getting hurt, as rats are more than capable of defending themselves.
But under no circumstances would I let the situation arise in which they would meet.
I would be a very irresponsible mum if I put either of my babies in danger, and I'd never forgive myself if I was the cause of injuries or of their deaths.

Shiva's enclosure is sealed and locked securely, she can't get out, and nothing you can see without the aid of a microscope can get in. Snakes are tricky little houdinis so the vivariums (the proper glass fronted enclosures) are specially built with that in mind. I'm paranoid, and would die if I lost her, so I added a lock, and some other features for my peace of mind.

I'm still in the process of building my rattie mansion, but once it's looking more like somewhere rats can live and play (as opposed to a dissasembled bird-cage), I'll be looking for some expert advice on how to make it completley escape proof. As I have no idea how sneaky they can be and I doubt my housemates would appreciate some unsupervised free-ranging of the pantry, or the music studio, or the art room... No matter how cute they are while they're doing it!

[wulfyskingdom]

That is so tiny! I've only seen the big snakes in the wildlife displays where they bring them out to educate people (except the time a 5ft python visited my rats and scared the crappers out of me and them (one of my mums friends handles snakes so they came and took it away for us).

I dont know very much about snakes but I asked whether u use frozen cause i've read that live rodents can hurt the snake (via injury or germs).

I think the thing is that if everyone looks after their pets responsibly, it doesnt matter what type of pet it is. After all pet rats & snakes get similar reactions from the non-lovers lol - there are lots of people that arent fond of rats and will critizise them the same way they would if it were a snake. "eww a rat, oh thats disgusting, how can you touch it, oh my god, did you just kiss it..?? gross!"

[misskooky]

Yeah, live feeding is dangerous for captive snakes, because the prey wants to stay alive and will fight hard, and can cause serious injury or even death to the snake. On top of the fact that it would be a terrible thing to suffer from the POV of the prey.

It's not neccisary, Shiva takes thawed happily, as do most captive bred snakes so I don't see the point (unless the animal will starve itself to death, which can take up to a year, which is plenty of time to try other things) It's also illegal in australia for animal cruelty reasons.


I agree! So long as you know enough to keep them healthy happy and safe, and care enough to be prepared do it right, there is nothing wrong with any pets. I love ALL animals, but the ones who get picked on by regular media just steal my heart away. Poor little rats and snakes and bats and frogs! They just need more love!

And it makes me so happy when people get a 'removalist' in, rather than just kill things. Good on you!

[angel]

I wanted pet ratties for years, but the timing or circumstances were never ideal (we moved house quite a bit during the last two years) and I had plenty of time to educate myself and learn as much as I could but I guess I'm never going to stop learning.

Miss Kooky - I love snakes, and I also don't see why a lot of people seem to think you can only like one or the other! It's kind of like cats and dogs - I love them both for entirely different reasons because they are entirely different animals. So I could never peg myself as just a cat or dog person.

As for snakes I would so totally have one myself 'cept my mother hates them so I'll have to wait until I land a job that pays well enough for me to get out on my own. But you know, she was completely against my getting rats and my how she's changed her tune towards them now I have them

Kim -

A female rats pelvis does not fuse but a female rat should not be bred before the age of 6 months and after 16 months its probably better not to breed.

Hah! I thought that sounded a bit weird when I read it but so many people just seem to agree with it including some breeders on another forum I just assumed they would know more than me.

I'm glad you cleared that up!

[Kim]

Although I've had rats for so long and have learnt so much about them that I couldnt imagine being without at least 2, I dont hate snakes or people who breed rats for snake food. I couldnt do it myself, but then I cant sing either and I dont hate singers.

Aug 13, 2008 1:20:24 GMT 10 angel said:

Kim -

A female rats pelvis does not fuse but a female rat should not be bred before the age of 6 months and after 16 months its probably better not to breed.

Hah! I thought that sounded a bit weird when I read it but so many people just seem to agree with it including some breeders on another forum I just assumed they would know more than me.

I'm glad you cleared that up!

Yeah the problem is that its easier to listen to someone who has a good reputation as a breeder or who is on the committee of a rat club or something, but most of these people dont tend to check out their facts for themselves before they go around telling people these things.

I'm the type of person who wants to make sure I know what I am saying is true before I say it, when it comes to something like this.

So although this may seem horrible to some people, over the years I actually had a number of females of different ages autopsied to check the pelvis for fusing and both females who had given birth and those who had never given birth were the same at all ages looked at.



Its the same thing with Blues, I tell people that blues can have bleeding problems, not all blues but some, its why I wont breed with any rat who has blue in its line some where. Now I can say that about Blues having bleeding problems because I've experienced it a number of times in pet Blues I've gotten.

Yet some people who put the blues down have never even owned a blue themselves so are not actually talking from experience.

Also when I talk about experience I dont just mean a person has experienced it one or two times to be experienced you have to have experience with at least 5 or more rats that are not related.

The same goes for the Patchwork Rex and Silky rats, people are putting them down as having health problems and being really sick and dying young, but they have never actually experienced these type of rats themselves.



Sometimes it does upset me, as I feel that people who have been around rats a long time or those people who although have only been breeding for say 5 years like The Mad Ratter, but are respected and looked up to by many people, should not give out advice that they havent fully experienced or tested out for themselves.

As that is how these myths and half truths get past on.

[ceara]

I read anything I can on any pet I am going to have
This means I now know a scary amount about various tropical fish, dogs, cats, and rats - all of this despite having owned and in some cases bred the above. I want to be the best pet owner possible and think it's silly to have a pet without doing the research first so you know how to keep it healthy and happy!

That having been said, I think the biggest thing to remember is to give them enough attention and space, and feed them a varied diet. Many people who love their pet rats and don't do their research could probably get it right (unlike breeding some of my tropical fish!)

[misskooky]

Angel, My mum is sooo against me having rats it's not funny, but when I bought Shiva she got excited, because she had the reptile show come to school every year where she teaches, and they showed her they were really nice!
My Dad hates it when I get 'weird' pets with bad reputations, but although he swore the air blue when I announced my pending snake-motherhood, he now demands scaley hugs whenever he comes and visits me, and it takes me considerable effort to convince him that it's time for her to go to bed now. Talk about a backflip!

I get the feeling they will be the same with my rats, they just don't understand them, or why I want them, which is why they hate even the suggestion at the moment.
You'll find most people will accept something once they realise that their fear or hate was based on misinformation and not understanding the creature. I don't beleive that there is such thing as a species which is inherently evil, just human steriotyping.

Ceara, agreed on all points! I like how you think .

[kaligneyrats]

I didn't do any research when I bought my first girl. I had bred mice for years and had the odd pet rat when I was a kid, but only really knew the basics of keeping a rat.

I was living in a small unit and couldn't have a pet cat or dog, so I decided for my 20th birthday to get a pet rat.

Since then I haven't looked back, but it has only been the last few weeks that I have done any real research and joined some forums as I want to start a proper rattery and I feel the more I know now, the better it'll be when I get everything p and running.

[jaderattie]

I learnt as much as i could beforehand, I was lucky as a friend had two rats who i had got to know over a year and that taught me alot. I bought a few books but back then i didn't have the internet so it was just what i could get hold of. But i tried to have as much knowledge as possible so i could care for my new pets properly.

[brendan]

i worked in a pet shop before i got them

[brittnaya]

We did do some research, prior to us getting our ratty friends.
After my daughters begged and begged, i did about a week of researching, Doesn't sound long i know but when you are on school holidays with kids that won't give up, i had alot of time to search the net!

[pixiemishka]

I've had rats for about 9 years and I have to admit, the only thing I knew about them when I got my first rat was what I read out of the book I bought at the same time.
I've had 4 before the two I've got now (since March?) but they were all kept on their own - I had no idea otherwise and the book wasn't very informative now that I think about it.
I often feel badly for my previous rats, knowing now that they were probably lonely for the majority of their lives - if I could go back and change things, I would.
Now - with my current rats, I researched as much as possible so I'd know exactly how to look after them and give them a high quality of life. They're both happy, healthy and full of energy! Thank God for the Internet!!

[diablo]

I actually wanted mice before i got rats, so all of my research was on mice.....when i went to the store to get my mice i came across the rats and someone was playing with them, i got to hold one and the rest is history.
So my first rats were impulse buys

[tariss]

Well, I haven't had rats yet. I've always like mice ( I surprised my friend when she once had pet mice and she handed one to me and she was really shocked when I didn't recoil, or even go 'ew' when it poo-ed on me. lol), and then about a month and a half ago I saw the rats in my local pet store, and I thought they were so cute. The owner of the pet store saw me grinning like a fool at the ratties, and he came overand asked if I had rats. I sadly replied no, and he then continued on to take one of the does out of the top cage and let me hold her. I was entranced, and since my brother was buying fish that day I felt left out, and I've been bugging my parents since....... Well, actually until about two weeks ago when I compiled a basic 'factsheet' about domestic rats and finally convinced them that I knew enough to look after them and that I was serious... We've bought the cage and everything, I'm just waiting for the ratties now....... And THAT'S my life story! lol

[nathan]

i knew a bit about them befor i got my first rat and did a bit of reading first