The Zoo Grow-eth !!

[kimsbirds]

My daughter chose 2 young female hooded rats to join our menagerie tonight. They're really cute and so curious...about 3-4 months of age. One is all brown with a white head and face, and one is all grey with a smidge of brown on her back. I'll get pics once they settle in a bit...looking rather freaked out tonight in their new cage LOL
K

[Susan27]

I couldn't wait for the pictures, I had to see what a hooded rat looked like. I was expecting something very strange looking. From the pictures I found, they just have a lighter coloring on their flanks, around their rump and up their back a little. Hummm...wonder if I was just looking at the same rat on different sites....lol

Can't wait to see the pics, I think rats are CUTE! (in cages as pets, not in my yard or shed)

[mjm8321]

~shudder~ I don't know that I could have them in my house. Well, the cats would go absolutely bonkers, but also, I have a thing about rodents...
Anyway, with my luck I'd end up with a male/female pair and have rats everywhere! :rofl: :rofl:

They look very cute, not too "rat-ish". What's Abbey going to think? :lol

[sdgilley]

My son greated me with a black mouse one evening when he came home... so I kinda know what you mean. It's big and fat now (about 3 years old) and the cats don't care about it at all (maybe I was hoping....).

Kim, your daughter sounds pretty mature, so I hope she'll be their care-giver. Rats are pretty smart rodents. I've seen them trained to put toy balls through hoops. I think it's nice for kids to have an animal to care for. Unfortunately for me, every pet that enters my home becomes mine to care for. As a child, though, I was pretty good about care-giving our pets.

I look forward to pictures! Do they have names?

[Janie]

I had white mice growing up but RATS????? Oh my Lord, I would not be able to look at one, much less love it! :D But....I can't wait for photos! :D

[Eliza]

Oh, Janie -- pet rats really are darling. Honest-to-goodness: when I worked for a pet shop you'd always see me with rats on my shoulders! They are very smart, very sweet and make wonderful companions.

-e-

[wilkiecoco]

rats - i just don't know if i could!!! :omg: but then again, my kids did have gerbils when they were young, and they were fun pets. looking forward to the pics - kind of:confused:

[kimsbirds]

These two beauties are yet unnamed....daughter is still thinking DEEPLY about suitable titles...LOL
Vicky is very mature in a lot of ways, and pet ownership is something she takes very seriously. She owns Capri, a 2 yr mini rex bunny and she cares for the lovebirds at home with me...she also co-boards a quarterhorse/thoroughbred gelding named Darby, which she rides 3-4 times weekly, and with a horse, there is TONS of upkeep and work!
She does this all with pride and great concern, so buying rats for her was never something I questioned as far as taking care of them goes...it was more a problem to convince hubby that rats dont eat humans and live in a gutter !!! LOLOL
They really are sweet...when I put my hand near their cage, they quickly come to visit, and today I got rat tongue...aka....a kiss!! They're not known to bite unless really provoked, they choose to run the other way. So far, they've chosen 1 corner as their toilet, and they've relocated all their food to a secret hidey hole, and their toys are being used as of this afternoon!! So, yep I feel comfy that they're slowly settling:)
Kimmie

[Susan27]

A friend of mine at work had rats, one was named Ratalie (Like Natalie with an R). I thought that was a cute rat name......pictures pictures PICTURES PLEASE...heehee

[kimsbirds]

http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2093985267

We had the girls out for a bit of social time tonight and they did really well!!
Here are just three pics of their sweet faces...even hubby petted them a wee bit!!

K

[linda040899]

Oh, Janie -- pet rats really are darling. Honest-to-goodness: when I worked for a pet shop you'd always see me with rats on my shoulders! They are very smart, very sweet and make wonderful companions.

-e-
I agree that rats make darling pets. We've had gerbils, hamsters, other small furry animals and we've been bitten by all of them.....except the rats! My daughter's rats may have nipped but it was only when they smelled food on our fingers and they thought fingers were something to eat.

The downside to rats is that they have short life spans. Most of ours, even though well cared for, never lived much past 3. :(

[Susan27]

Very CUTE!!!! Their ears are very CUTE!!! CUTE CUTE CUTE!!!

[michael]

My friend has rats and says they make better pets than mice. Says they don't smell nearly as bad either. I just don't like their tails, kind of throw ya off a bit. Definitely cute as a button! Do they interact with birds at all or do they have to remain separate? .....Michael N' The Goof

[wilkiecoco]

:omg: :omg: They are absolutely adorable!! Seriously!!! makes me miss the gerbils my son had when he was young. What is the difference in size between a rat and a gerbil??

No.........I do not need another pet, no..............I do not need another pet!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mjm8321]

Ok, I have to admit, they have adorably sweet faces, but I still don't know if I could do it.

[Angelwing]

They are adorable. Rats are so sweet and make excellent pets. I'd love to get one, but I don't need anymore animals right now! I've been in contact with hundreds of rats, and only one has ever bitten me. I just don't understand how the majority of people choose hamsters over rats for their kids. They really need to do their research.

[Christine9]

Oh, Janie -- pet rats really are darling. Honest-to-goodness: when I worked for a pet shop you'd always see me with rats on my shoulders! They are very smart, very sweet and make wonderful companions.

-e-

I couldn't agree more, I had three female rats (that were all sisters that I got as babies), and they made the best pets. They were sweet, cuddly, and made better pets than any hamster I ever owned. The only thing that ever freaked me out, at first, was their tails, but I got used to them real fast.

Congrats on your new rats! :)

[Eliza]

My friend has rats and says they make better pets than mice. Says they don't smell nearly as bad either. I just don't like their tails, kind of throw ya off a bit. Definitely cute as a button! Do they interact with birds at all or do they have to remain separate? .....Michael N' The Goof

I'd say to keep 'em separate to be on the safe side. Rats are omnivorous, if memory serves me correctly and while I've never seen a rat attack a bird, it could happen.

There ARE "Manx" rats, believe it or not. They aren't very common and are difficult to breed... but from time to time you'll come across them at a fancy rat show.

-e-