My name is Bradley. I’ve always loved animals. About two years ago I decided to get my first rats. The pet store promised me that they were both male but a few months later, I had 7 rats on my hands. I was going to give them back to the pet store but when I asked them what would happen to them, they said that they would likely be sold to snake owners for food. OUCH!!! I couldn’t stand to see my rats become snake food so I decided to keep them. I learned very quickly that rats aren’t your typical dumb little rodent. They have a lot of personality and I quickly fell in love with these little guys.
For a long time, my rats really paid little attention to me. They hated to be held and they ignored me at all costs. After a while, they got used to me and after some more time, they actually enjoyed my company. I have had hamsters and gerbils in the past, but none of them ever got to this point with me.
Well, recently my rats have been so funny. When I walked in the room where their cage was sitting, I noticed that one of them was out of the cage. As I walked toward the rat, he quickly climbed up the cage and went back in. It’s like he knew that he was going to be in trouble. The same thing has happened several times since then. Let’s just say that rats have a lot more personality than I ever thought that they had.
im thinking about adopting a rat. are they easy to potty train?
You know, I haven’t really tried. I’ve heard that it isn’t too hard but I haven’t really had the time to give it a go. Good idea though. Maybe I will sometime soon and let you know.
my rat ratty has just had a berievment his brother reggie who like ratty was 3.5 years old but died after catching a breathing illness as i’m unemployed i couldn’t bring him to the vet in time i got him there six days later they gave him a shot of antibiotix but it was to late it died three days later it was the sadest thing in my lfe so far and i’m 21 yrs old.
would it be possible to bring in a new rat as a cage mate for poor old ratty who now lives in his hutch alone!
I potty trained my Sushi and it worked pretty well. I bought a corner “toilette” at the pet store for this very thing and bought litter made for rodents too. I would put her raisins…lol…. in the litter every time she went and after a time she started using the corner box.
I got a questionn….
My rat.. His name is Cheese >:] Is way too hyper.
Sometimes I can’t even get him out of his cage without him biting me… All the time.
And he never lets me play with him. I can’t let him run around freely cause I got Cats And Dogs living home.
What am I supposed to do about not being able to play with him when he won’t let me?
Hi Bradley, I enjoyed reading your blog! I am interested in ratties, I think they
are the pets of the future (i.e. small, fun, inexpensive, etc.) Can you
recommend a good beginner’s book?
And I must recommend the book that got me into ratties to begin with.
I’m very interested in pets and the afterlife? My Siamese cat, Indy, died too young, at age 13, about two years ago. I got alot of comfort
from reading stuff about animal communication and the afterlife. The
most incredible book I read was called “Animals and the Afterlife” by
Kim Sheridan! She came to love her rats very much, and the book describes
her “journey”—it will definitely affect you, as it did me, and it was
hard to put down.
Warm rattie regards,
Leigh
Someone recently made this comment, but a great way to get your little ratties to trust you is to entice them out of their cage with some treats. The classic “cheese” for rats and mice works great. I have found that just about anything works though really. Crackers, veggies, etc. Just take it slow and don’t get frustrated if your little guy doesn’t get used to you over night. It may take him a while to trust you. Eventually though, I think he’ll get used to you.
@Evan, to be quite honest, I never “potty-trained” my rats. If they needed to go, then they would go back to their cage and do their stuff. Rats are pretty intelligent. lol :]
ok… right now its july and for christmas im getting a rat. i used to have mice (4) but they stunk so bad. now i hear that rats might be a bit cleaner. is this true? i wonder if anyone could compare how much they smell to another pet like hamster, gerbil. etc. thx… PS I have a rabbit and a hamster..
I was feeding the birds today , when a huge ‘rat’ scared them on my deck! I worry about bobonic plaque in these rodents as i would never keep one as a pet. I like plant and birds, and chipmonks , which also is a rodent. If you get a rat bite , should you not be concerned with the bobonic plaque ? please comment
hi im samantha im 12 and i love rats i had 2 but they had to get put down i think its cool how people love rats
Hi my name is Stephanie and I have 10 pet rats…I started with 2 males and they are 5 years old now and Tucker recently passed and my little Tanner was gettin so depressed so I went and got 4-6 week old little males and Tanner is so very happy now!!!The babies love him…I also have 5 female rats (No I do not breed…males stay in their own cage, females in a seperate cage…cages r 3 stories so plenty of room for 5 rats in each cage.) On Jan 2 2011 I came across this lady who does breed rats and she had so many she couldn’t take care of them and was neglecting all of them so I talked her into giving me her mama rat with 8 babies…they are all doing so well now. I LOVE RATS!!!!!
My rats are the sweetest things ever.I have two rats of the same sex.You see,I had a teeny baby rat just last weekend.Then,Thursday,I got a new rat… although I was so tired that day that it didn’t occur to me that one was a lot bigger than the other.Luckily,I was told they were related,so there is a mommy-baby thing going on.Yay me,yay rats,yay us all.
I HAVE HAD RATS MY WHOLE LIFE IM NOW 38 THEY ARE VERY CLEAN THE ONES THAT DO HAVE A ODER IS DUE TO DIRTY CAGES (THATS NOT THERE FAULT) FOR THE ONE ABOUT THE PLEAGE MOST OF IT IS FLEAS AND TICKS NOT THE RATS THEM SELFS. THE ONE ABOUT RAT NOT LETTING THEM PLAY MOST RATS YOU HAVE TO EARN THERE TRUST ONCE YOU DO YOU WILL HAVE A BEST FRIEND HOW EVER I HAD ONE RAT THAT SHE NEVER DID GET REAL FRENDLY SHE WAS ABUSED BEFORE I GOT HER AND FEARED HUMANS THAT WAS SAD. RATS WILL COME WHEN YOU CALL THEM YES THEY DO LEARN THERE NAME. THEY ARE VERY SMART AND CAN FIGUR STUFF OUT SO YOU HAVE TO BE ONE STEP A HEAF OF THEM A LOT OF MY RATS LOVE TO PLAY IN WATER AND GO PEA DIVING YOU PUT FROZEN PEAS IN A BOWL OF WATER (NOT DEAP ENOUGH FOR THEM TO DROWNED)I HIGHLY RECOMEND RATS FOR PETS
I love rats! Thank you so much for having this website. I’m 26 female in nyc and all my friends think im crazy for having pet hamsters. But i’m going to get some pet rats soon too. there should be a support group for us bc we are normal ppl, who just appreciate the darling little animals who are so smart. yay rats!!
i especially like the giant ones at petco. my bf and i are going to get one in the fall and name him gnocchi.