Rat as pets!

Hi everyone.
I used to have hamsters as pets, but I have hears rats make great pets too.

Anyone here has or had a rat? what are they like, how best to care for them?
I saw a girl once with a pet rat and she took it out where ever she went out, it used to sit on the dashboard of her car, it looked so bizzare, and it never ran off or escaped when she let it out of the car and placed it on the floor.

One time my hamster came upstairs and got into my bed and sat on my head when I accidently left the cage door open downstairs. Thats why i like rodents but I have never had a rat

also how long can they live?

 

rats can be top pets provided you handle them regulary and keep them clean, their pee really stinks

 

oh pee

well can they be 'potty trained'?:smoking:

 

depends on the rat i think, standard small rats, i think not. lager breeds like the pouch rat possible `litter trained` but im no expert in mamals really, reptiles are my kinda thing i think rats, as hamsters and mice kinda just leave a trail of pee behind them so an absorbant bedding such as aspen helps and dont scare them, they may pee everywhere lol

 

bluddy 'ell those pouches are bigger than me:2thumbsup:

If they are anything like my hams then they pee in one corner, burry their food in another and POO everywhere. but at least the poo is not slushy. i can hoover them up lol!

 

very good point i think with rats you can have more living together, i heard you cant put too many hamsters together or youll have a million by the end of the week. and yeah, big pouches

 

yes they breed like wabbits hehe, so i think would rats, and i am only getting one, cuz my female hamster got yubbed when my daughters friend brought her male ham round for 'play time' and then there were 8, i sold some and kept the rest. they make charming companions.:love:

 

lol every time ive held a hamster its bit me.. ill stick with my cold blooded companions thanks if you do get a rat, do let me know how it goes

 

Get a pair!
Rodents are very social animals. There should always be at least two.

I don't have rats but they are lovely. I'm more of a guinea pigger.

 

2 rats??

what male or female or mixed? i can't get mixed coz the fertility vibe in my house is rife:love:
i like guinea's but last time i got bit by one and have never handled one since.

@ russ, i'll send you a telepathic picture of ratty the day i get it. keep open your mind hehe :sunny:
hope you finger is betta

 

Brrr, the only good rat is a dead rat.

 

why not get a squirrel..

 

awww, what a cutie pie^. funny u should mention it, i had a squirrel once, my old boss set a trap in the kitchen for rodents and we found a squirrel in their the next morning...and it wasnt very friendly, i wanted to set it free but it kept on going banana's in the cage ...i think it would have bit me if it had chance, when my boss came in he took the cage outside dressed like king arthur for his own protection. ever seen monty phython and the holy grail? well replace wabbit with squirrel:reddevil:

 

your on my curse list you are :elf:

 

Its good to have some thick gloves on when handling a new rodent, til they get used to you picking them up.

if the squirrel was in the cage, it might of panicked cause it hadnt no water for a while, or it was just scared.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5Tv5QwYQCw"]007 Squirrel Jumps Out Apartement Window Yahoo - YouTube

Flying squirrel? ^ No splat on the pavement.

Btw, rats and mice are cool as pets. Like said before they need to be handled and let out of the cage often. Babies that aren't handled while growing up could bite you.

 

ha! quite the acrobat, good job on safe landing too. wow i have abandoned my designs of mouseyness, i want me some squirrelness:driving:

 

Rats are sweet pets but don't feed them apples with seeds. I didn't know and poisoned our rats. They died.

 

In hs one of my friends had a pet rat it was like his best friend so from his love of his rat I assume they make good pets. It didn't stink either, to me it seemed just like a hamster just a lil longer

 

Thanks apticot-sky, mind open and ready to recieve :-o