Rats are great pets if you don't have the space for bigger pets. Well, I think they're just great pets, period ;). They're really easy to take care of, like Rachel said. And I think they're fairly cheap relative to other pets. My biggest rat costs are their litter ($20/month or so, depending) and taking them to the vet. But they don't need shots or anything.
Plus, unlike a lot of small pets, they're really happy playing with people, if you like interactive pets. My roommate said hers used to ride on her shoulder with her (mine are too squirmy), but mine think I'm the coolest, largest toy ever or something! And they're pretty easy to train -- I actually didn't try with mine, but they usually come when I call anyway. I heard you can even litter train them.
Usually it's better to get two or more so they can keep each other company. And you just take them out of their cage and play with them a bit every day, because they do get bored.
The big problem is lifespan =(. I'm probably going to end up breaking my heart over them and stop keeping them for a bit until I recover. That's what ended up happening when I had mice before. Also, pet rats pretty much all have mycoplasma, so they're very prone to respiratory diseases.
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Thu, Nov. 11th, 2004 11:02 am (UTC)Plus, unlike a lot of small pets, they're really happy playing with people, if you like interactive pets. My roommate said hers used to ride on her shoulder with her (mine are too squirmy), but mine think I'm the coolest, largest toy ever or something! And they're pretty easy to train -- I actually didn't try with mine, but they usually come when I call anyway. I heard you can even litter train them.
Usually it's better to get two or more so they can keep each other company. And you just take them out of their cage and play with them a bit every day, because they do get bored.
The big problem is lifespan =(. I'm probably going to end up breaking my heart over them and stop keeping them for a bit until I recover. That's what ended up happening when I had mice before. Also, pet rats pretty much all have mycoplasma, so they're very prone to respiratory diseases.
Some of my fav. websites: The Dapper Rat, Curiosity Rats, and Rattie Ratz. Rattie Ratz is how I got my ratties ^_^.
Er, sorry to overwhelm you with rat enthusiasm ;).