I have always wanted a pet rat and im going to be purchasing two male dumbo rats. Does anyone else have them and can you tell me more about keeping them as pets and any recommedations on food or supplies.
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rats as pets..
- Thread starter therev
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I would get females if i where you! Males have such a massive pair of testies i find it a bit gross! Also i think females are friendlier...Whichever you choose dont mix or you will end up with hundreds in no time!
My bro had a lot of them, at some point 4 or 5, all females, he used to walk around with at least one of them on his shoulder, that freaked a few people out in shopping centers!
They are pretty easy to keep, just clean the cage once a week, they eat rat or rabbit pellets and pretty much any food you eat, are mostly friendly and can be trained to some extent (not peeing on you, etc).
My bro had a lot of them, at some point 4 or 5, all females, he used to walk around with at least one of them on his shoulder, that freaked a few people out in shopping centers!
They are pretty easy to keep, just clean the cage once a week, they eat rat or rabbit pellets and pretty much any food you eat, are mostly friendly and can be trained to some extent (not peeing on you, etc).
Get a male and female and you can breed them, then sell them back to the pet store as feeders....
I used to have 2 females and a male. They'd have babies just about every other month or so. Pretty easy to clean and care for, and theyre pretty smart creatures.
I used to have 2 females and a male. They'd have babies just about every other month or so. Pretty easy to clean and care for, and theyre pretty smart creatures.
+1 get a female. They don't have a scent gland; less skanky. I got one and it had 6 little rats a week or two later. Make sure yours doesn't come preloaded with more rats.
I had 2 males... one was a forgotten pet of my sister-in-law's that we acquired named Galen and was a typical field/wild color. The other was an albino I named Algernon who was turned in as food for a python at the shelter the wife and I worked at (we didn't feed live food to anything at the zoo/shelter).
They sell rat kibble (purina brand I think) that they seemed to dig fine, mine LOVED sea salt and vinegar potato chips and crunchy cheese doodles as a treat. They are scavengers, they will eat just about anything.
They sell rat kibble (purina brand I think) that they seemed to dig fine, mine LOVED sea salt and vinegar potato chips and crunchy cheese doodles as a treat. They are scavengers, they will eat just about anything.
actually, he was given flowers a couple times by me and a couple different friends that knew the name.
I had a black and white female when I was a kid. She was a lot of fun, and loved to sit on my shoulder and eat rasins. If I recall, males tend to be a bit more stinky than the females, but generally speaking, they're pretty clean animals (if kept in a clean living environment). As Matticus pointed out, they're pretty smart.
I had one when I was a kid. She graduated the psychology program at a local college. I guess after making them run the maze for the billionth time, They needed new recruits and traded the old ones out.
They are really kinda friendly. She never came when I called her, but she liked to chill on the couch with me.
They are really kinda friendly. She never came when I called her, but she liked to chill on the couch with me.
I had a roommate once who worked at the psychology lab on campus and he recommended that you get more than one. They get lonely without a friend and then they lose the will to live. :/
Back around 1980, my brother found a coupon for a free rat in the newspaper. We got a hold of two coupons, and got 2 rats. Our neighbor gave us a cage and water tube thing, so we were all set. A few months and 32 rats later, our cage was too small, so our dad brought them back to the pet store and got a few bucks for them.
Get a rat, they make great pets, very tame, easily trained.
Get a rat, they make great pets, very tame, easily trained.
We used to sell the babies back to the pet store at $1 each. With 2 females we'd walk out with ~$16 to split. Not bad for a 10 year old kid. I took them to my 5th grade class once and all the kids liked them, but I got tagged as being "the kid with the rats" by the pretty girls for a while. Years later, in High School, some hot cheerleader chick asked me if I still had my rats.
Oh, yeah, I brought one to school in a small box in my backpack, great conversation starter when you're 10. My teacher, Sister Antonia, freaked out.
My dad always said he gave the rats away, but I figured if he got any money from them he kept it.
My dad always said he gave the rats away, but I figured if he got any money from them he kept it.
MatticusMania said:
I used to raise fancy rats and I would definitely recommend females rather than males as a pet. The males grow up, get fat and lay around doing nothing. Plus their urine smells stronger. The females are more alert, more fun to play with and seem quite a bit more intelligent. They're very clever.
As far as food goes, you can feed them dry dog or cat food as a treat, but not on a regular basis (too high protein) They do make a rat and mouse chow, which is in pellets, but some rats don't like it. I fed my rats mainly hamster and gerbil mix, which is mainly seeds of different kinds. You can give them almost anything humans can eat as long as it's not spicy. They love dry cereals.
As far as food goes, you can feed them dry dog or cat food as a treat, but not on a regular basis (too high protein) They do make a rat and mouse chow, which is in pellets, but some rats don't like it. I fed my rats mainly hamster and gerbil mix, which is mainly seeds of different kinds. You can give them almost anything humans can eat as long as it's not spicy. They love dry cereals.
Thank you all for your advice. I am still wanting males. I think they are cuter than females.
I would never breed my rats to sell as feeders. Thats not right!
I would never breed my rats to sell as feeders. Thats not right!
