Rats...Do they make good pets?

alanalea

ladylumps45 wrote: »

i used to have a pet rat that was lovely and friendly.a few years ago i looked after a friends one for a week and i went to clean it out and put my hand in to pick it up and it went all snakey on me lol moving its head from side to side!
i thought nothing of this and carried on .next thing i knew i was bleeding alot on the dripping on the floor.it had bitten a nice chunk out of my finger.
it was that bad that i had to go to casualty and have stitches and a tetanus jab.i never touched it again:rolleyes:.when it needed cleaning i ushered it along with a twig into a shoe box while i cleaned the cage!
it was fine with the owner but not with me so be careful!i still think they are lovely tho.

Was your friends rat red eyed? They tend to have poorer eyesight than black eyed rats, so move their head side to side to assess objects better. You may have startled the rat, hence the bite.

I have 5 girlies and my oldest rat has bitten twice- not me but my husband. She gets jealous when she's out and we're talking- we're not fussing her. She didn't give a full on bite, just a nip on husbands ear because he wasn't playing with her.

The girls are free range rats, all come when they are called and are all litter trained- they make fab pets

marshallka

I held rats for the first time last week in the vets. Someone had bought them in (she had about 6 in a cage) whilst i was waiting for my dog from an op. I never really liked them before (I was scared) but must admit they were very tame and ran up my arm to my shoulder and they were lovely little creatures. I would say like an hammy just let them sniff and get used to you first.

beachbeth

Well, the rats have started to come to the bars when I enter the room because they know they're going to get a treat. I still don't know if Im going to be able to pick them up though when I clean them out!

marshallka

beachbeth wrote: »

Well, the rats have started to come to the bars when I enter the room because they know they're going to get a treat. I still don't know if Im going to be able to pick them up though when I clean them out!

Maybe put the cage in the bathtub (with the plug in) and take the top off. Thats what we did with our hammy who was a biter at first. Make sure that the rats cannot climb the sides though:eek:. You do however have to catch them again getting them back in.

ladylumps45

funnily enough it did have red eyes! il remember that,thanks!:D shame i never knew that at the time!

Emzycal

Eek!

Don't feed them treats through the bars,please!



If they get fed treats through the bars,you're more likely to be bitten - because then if you (or someone else!) puts anything like a finger through the bars,they'll automatically assume it's food since it is every other time.

dianaross

I have 4 rats, and have never been bitten.

as Emzycal said don't feed them through the bars, you can befriend your rat by feeding them off a spoon in the cage or if you manage to get to hold them while you talk to them and they get used to your smell. if they will let you gently stroke them while they eat off the spoon (a little cream cheese or plain yoghurt is good on a spoon as they have to lick it. you don't want them to think everytime your hand approaches that fingers= food.

I always approach the rats slowly, talking to them and with very clean hands, palm flat so they get a chance to sniff and realise its not food and its not a threat, they have less chance of biting a flat palm than an extended finger.

don't grab the rats from behind or above, they feel threatened and will defend themselves.

and I never pick up a sleeping rat...

KimYeovil

Why not bake them a welcome home cake?



http://www.doitmyself.org/2009/04/killer-rats-cake.html

consultant31

KimYeovil, that is totally revolting and has put me off my tea, yuk!

omen666

Hi Folks,

Have broken up with the girlfriend and we had bought a rat. i am still in posession of it but slightly concerned at the moment.

It is living in the cage that we got him in, approx 15"x15"x10". He is now about two months old and i purchased a new bigger cage for him on Friday online and expect delivery mid this week. This cage is some 3x bigger than the current one and should be more than fine for him.

The issue I have is this:

His tail is becoming patchy and discoloured
His coat fur has some fur missing, it is like a line down it where it there is none. A bit like if you were to get a scar as a child on your head and the hair never grows there and just leaves a line. This was a small 1cm line not too long aho but now is far longer and wider and this is from his back towards his tail.

Any ideas what these are?