The Old Folks Home

[superchemicalgirl]

I highly recommend a pet rat. I know, I know, rats are hated by most people. If you can get past the tail, which seems to be the most objectionable part of a rat, they make great pets. They are affectionate, smart, clean, they don't bite and are very gregarious. They are supposed to only live 3 or 4 years, but we had one that lived nearly 6 years and is still greatly missed. They are not much for home protection, but if you threw it at an intruder, it might scare them off! (jk)

I had good and bad experiences with pet rats. I had a pet rat named Boo that was smart and lovable. My friend had pet rats that I took care of when she went on vacation once in high school. I can show you the scar on my hand from that experience.

Are you sure it is a chicken?

Maybe a Guinea or Turkey egg got mixed into the hatch--Or maybe someone snuck one in on you?

Do you have any pranksters in the house?

I didn't happen to send eggs to you, did I? I distinctly remember sending chicken AND duck eggs to someone. I don't think I marked them.

 

[insanity]

I didn't happen to send eggs to you, did I? I distinctly remember sending chicken AND duck eggs to someone. I don't think I marked them.

no they weren't from you. lol

 

[wolftracks]

Totally me!

 

[superchemicalgirl]

no they weren't from you. lol

OK. I have the short term memory of a gnat lately.

Oh look, a chicken.

 

[bamachicks8]

[COLOR=800000]I highly recommend a pet rat.  I know, I know, rats are hated by most people.  If you can get past the tail, which seems to be the most objectionable part of a rat, they make great pets.  They are affectionate, smart, clean, they don't bite and are very gregarious.  They are supposed to only live 3 or 4 years, but we had one that lived nearly 6 years and is still greatly missed.  They are not much for home protection, but if you threw it at an intruder, it might scare them off!  (jk)[/COLOR][COLOR=800000] [/COLOR]

I'm the one that actually suggested the rat to them-- a friend used one for a school project: how to train a rat while she was working  on a degree to become a zoo manager.  Figured the boys could teach it to climb tiny ladders and other cool stuff. ANd yes, the tail gets me!!  Mostly I hate the biting-- used to get bit by the lab rats. ANd NO red eyes!!  6 years is remarkable.  I just finally rid the house of the last mouse ( wild) and here I am talking about getting a rat!! lol

I couldn't handle a rat can't even look at them im the pet store. id take a snake first!

 

[Bunnylady]

We had a hamster when I was younger - one. One was all it took. Her name was Marsha, but her nickname was "Beast."

My younger brother and I raised mice when I was in college. Some of them were great pets. We had obstacle courses and mazes that we set up for them'

But if you are talking pocket pet, my favorite would be a gerbil. They have it all over hamsters, IMO - for one thing, they are diurnal.

 

[sourland]

Rats - the best and smartest small mammal pets.

 

[Wisher1000]

I liked gerbils best until we had a pet rat, now gerbils are second.

 

[Chickies-duckies-etc]

My only contact with a rat was when my grand daughters rat needed a cage cleaned while she was at school. It was a school project left over that she took home to keep and they were still learning how to take care of it. The wrong bedding is not a good thing. So, to get new bedding in fast, my daughter was going to clean it out but would not touch the rat and I got the call to take it out of the cage. I was a bit surprised how soft it was and it did seem to enjoy being held. That rat lived a long life and the grand daughter has had many pet rats since.

 

[Arielle]

I am surprised that the lab rats bit, but I guess it depends on how/why they were handled.

I bought Angel for my son when he was eight. I wanted to tame it before I gave it to him so that he didn't get bitten. I took the rat to work and kept it in an aquarium in my office. I would put my hand in there several times a day, starting on the opposite side of the tank and inching forward until I saw some stress and them would back off. By the end of the first day, she would go to a corner and hide her face when I pushed the contact. the second day, when she hid her face is barely brushed her fur with a finger. She slowly untucked her head and slowly and very gently PUSHED my finger away with her nose and tucked her head again. I thought, "Wow, that was loud and clear. She is not quite ready." She could have struck out at me and nailed my finger, but she was just scared. It didn't take long for her to realize that I was her friend and she loved everyone in the family, but I was always her favorite. The only time she ever bit was when I had something yummy smelling, like weiner juice, on my fingers and she wanted to taste it. Even then it was a squeeze with her teeth and not a puncture.

She would sit on my shoulder and put her little hands on my cheek and lick my face like a dog. I had hamsters as a kid and they would bite, and sleep all day, and not want to be touched. Not Angel, she stayed in my son's upstairs bedroom. Sometimes, when she got out, or was left out of her tank, I would find her curled up on the pillow next to my son's face, or she would come down the stairs looking for me. She never hid from us and always wanted to be where we were. The only thing that I didn't like about her was that if she was left unattended on the bed, she would bite tiny holes in the sheet. I still have sheet sets with random, tiny holes in several places.

She got downright decrepit at 5. She began to lose use of her back legs and her bowels but still loved being carried and petted. One day my then 14 year old came outside to me and he had tears in his eyes. He was holding her in both hands and she was fading. I asked if he wanted me to put her down and he said no, he just wanted to walk with her (she always enjoyed being outside, but preferred to be held because 'the great outdoors' scared her a little). That child walked around and around the house, squalling and kissing and talking to that rat til she died. It was so sad to watch, but I couldn't help but think what a glorious life it had been for one rat.

Rats are a very underrated pet. Angel. Cute name for a rat. A well loved rat! WHat color was he?


THe rats I worked with were not pet rats, they were LAB rats. Used for experiements. I had an after school job of cleaning their cages. Handling instructions were to pick them up by the tails to move to clean cage. I was gentle with them, but I"m sure being picked up by the tail is not comfortable. Sometimes one would jump and make it to the shelves over the counter. I would leave it there a moment and wait until it turned and quickly grabbed for the tail. THese were white rats. THey had degus also. For a pet I would prefer something with color and dark eyes.