Housemate wants a pet rat...
Discussion
I'm guessing you're against the idea?
I had pet rats when growing up and they are great pets and can be very tame and very friendly. The males have a habit of leaving a trail of pee wherever they go so a female may be a better option in that respect. With regular cleaning they wont smell.
I had pet rats when growing up and they are great pets and can be very tame and very friendly. The males have a habit of leaving a trail of pee wherever they go so a female may be a better option in that respect. With regular cleaning they wont smell.
Why are you against it?
What issue do you have with it, as long as she has thought about it and isn't making the decision without appropriate thought. Don't say no for the sake of saying no and being a t
t. No-one likes living with 'That guy'.
A few people I know have had pet rats and despite assumptions they are actually lovely. Like massive hamsters.
What issue do you have with it, as long as she has thought about it and isn't making the decision without appropriate thought. Don't say no for the sake of saying no and being a t
t. No-one likes living with 'That guy'.A few people I know have had pet rats and despite assumptions they are actually lovely. Like massive hamsters.
eybic said:
They are indeed like massive hamsters but about 100x more intelligent and friendly.
Ideally you would have more than 1 as they are social animals and last a lot longer than hamsters, she needs to be aware that they can easily live to be 4 years old so long term commitment is needed.
They're also susceptible to cancer and the like Ideally you would have more than 1 as they are social animals and last a lot longer than hamsters, she needs to be aware that they can easily live to be 4 years old so long term commitment is needed.
eybic said:
The males have a habit of leaving a trail of pee wherever they go
Not just males, though they do it more often. Horrible little vermin. I lived with a girlfriend who had a couple. They would get let out, pee everywhere, steal things and bite you when you weren't expecting it.Have had a (rational IMO) dislike of anything rodent-like since then. My poor kids are not allowed anything like this and they'd love a hamster, gerbil, mouse, degu etc
joshleb said:
Anybody got a good argument against getting one.
I've mentioned noise, cleaning the cage, cost, potential smell, who takes care when she's away.
Any help appreciated, cheers!
The argument should be quite simple in that if she plans on keeping them in a communal part of the house, then you'd have to want to have rats too. You don't want them so shouldn't be expected to live with them. If she kept them in her room then I guess it's a little different.I've mentioned noise, cleaning the cage, cost, potential smell, who takes care when she's away.
Any help appreciated, cheers!
I've had about 14 pet rats over the years and absolutely adore the little things. I always had females as they smell less but they do still smell a bit. The cage had a full clean once a week and a spring clean most days while they were being fed as this stopped them smelling.
I personally wouldn't want rats in my room as they become more active during the evening and night. Mine were kept downstairs and I could still hear them from my room when they were leaping and clanging around. Not once was I ever bitten by any of my rats and I'd probably advise any parent whose child want s hamster to consider looking at rats instead.
Anyhow, back to your argument. It's unreasonable of her to keep them in a communal part of the house if you don't want them. I can tell you now that you don't want them in a bedroom!! Case closed
Autopilot said:
I personally wouldn't want rats in my room as they become more active during the evening and night. Mine were kept downstairs and I could still hear them from my room when they were leaping and clanging around.
I remember mine crashing about over night. We had them in an aquarium (a big one) and one of them managed to escape one night. 3 Days later she turned up under the bath 
so must have crawled up the pipework in the dining room (dining room was directly below the bathroom)joshleb said:
Anybody got a good argument against getting one.
I've mentioned noise, cleaning the cage, cost, potential smell, who takes care when she's away.
Any help appreciated, cheers!
I had pet rats when I was younger and they're no trouble in those regards so long as you keep them clean and give them stuff to keep them busy unless nobody really wants to spend 10 minutes cleaning the cage out.I've mentioned noise, cleaning the cage, cost, potential smell, who takes care when she's away.
Any help appreciated, cheers!
Always found it strange that they have such a bad reputation yet I could stick my hand in the cage covered in leftover casserole and never once got bitten.
Ste1987 said:
eybic said:
They are indeed like massive hamsters but about 100x more intelligent and friendly.
Ideally you would have more than 1 as they are social animals and last a lot longer than hamsters, she needs to be aware that they can easily live to be 4 years old so long term commitment is needed.
They're also susceptible to cancer and the like Ideally you would have more than 1 as they are social animals and last a lot longer than hamsters, she needs to be aware that they can easily live to be 4 years old so long term commitment is needed.
Rats are superb pets.
They make hardly any noise, except during the night when they're active - so don't keep them in your bedroom. Unlike other small furries, they are genuinely people-orientated and crave human company. They should be kept in same-sex (or neutered) pairs or more, and ideally should be in a 'busy' room of the house like the lounge otherwise they'll get bored. Their cage should allow them to climb.
A well socialised and confident rat will NEVER bite - it's just not in their nature. They have great personality and are huge fun to play with.
By cleaning their cage frequently you can ensure that they have virtually no smell.
They make hardly any noise, except during the night when they're active - so don't keep them in your bedroom. Unlike other small furries, they are genuinely people-orientated and crave human company. They should be kept in same-sex (or neutered) pairs or more, and ideally should be in a 'busy' room of the house like the lounge otherwise they'll get bored. Their cage should allow them to climb.
A well socialised and confident rat will NEVER bite - it's just not in their nature. They have great personality and are huge fun to play with.
By cleaning their cage frequently you can ensure that they have virtually no smell.
bexVN said:
Great pets but many succumb to illnesses way before 4 years sadly. 2-3yrs is more likely.
Out of the 14 I've had, i'd say most made it between 2 and 2.5 years. One of them died when she was only 5 or 6 months old. She showed no signs of illness or anything being wrong, I just found her dead in the cage one morning.Only one of them ever got a tumour but pretty much all of them developed respiratory problems (Pasturella I think?). They get the sniffles, start making a rattling sound and need to get on the antibiotics rather quickly.
Are you against a pet in general or just rats?
I have two and genuinely can't think of bad thing. They don't smell in my opinion (sawdust/paper is hardly the worst smell in the world), they can do tricks, food and sawdust etc. is probably £5-8 every fortnight from the local pet shop, mine have never bitten and they rarely pee when they're out these days.. My Stanley is quite a poorly rat at the moment so that is quite upsetting to see and when one makes a run for it to the front room to play under the sofa 2 minutes before I'm about to go up to bed gets a minor "oh for fks sake" but Alan's a sucker for food so that usually works with him.
The only thing I would advise against somebody getting one was if I knew they weren't going to be looked after appropriately, same goes for any pet.
I have two and genuinely can't think of bad thing. They don't smell in my opinion (sawdust/paper is hardly the worst smell in the world), they can do tricks, food and sawdust etc. is probably £5-8 every fortnight from the local pet shop, mine have never bitten and they rarely pee when they're out these days.. My Stanley is quite a poorly rat at the moment so that is quite upsetting to see and when one makes a run for it to the front room to play under the sofa 2 minutes before I'm about to go up to bed gets a minor "oh for f
ks sake" but Alan's a sucker for food so that usually works with him.The only thing I would advise against somebody getting one was if I knew they weren't going to be looked after appropriately, same goes for any pet.
My daughter had some pet rats. They are by far the best small pet. Highly intelligent, trainable, friendly and not at all timid. This means you can happily let them wander around without fear of them running off. In fact, you can train them to come to you. Ours happily got on with our cat too.
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