OH RATS!!!

Advantages: friendly, affectionate, playful, interesting, intelligent, clean
Disadvantages: need lots of care

...~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ RATS!! ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Rats can make great pets yet many people unfortunately seem to dislike them still. They are surprisingly affectionate and friendly, very active and entertaining to watch. You need to take great care when buying a rat as the temperaments can really vary. I will start by telling you my experiences with rats and then give more information and advice but please do not be put off by Frisky?s story! ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Skippy ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Skippy was a black hooded rat which belonged to a friend of mine when we were in junior school. To the horror of my parents I volunteered to look after Skippy while my friend went on holiday for a month. Skippy was an extremely affectionate and friendly rat and would happily sit on my shoulder or climb up on my head! Caring for Skippy was...

ilusvm 07.01.2005 (28.05.2009) · Read review
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Review of Rats

The Rat Experience

Advantages: Good friends, clean and playful
Disadvantages: Can be costly, depending what stores you buy from

...About Rats. Rat can grow to be about 10cm (4in) long and the tail will be nearly the same length again. They have four toes on teach of their front feet and five on the back feet. They use their front paws to hold food. Their teeth grow all time so it is good if they can have something hard to chew on. Rats have short manageable fur which they tend to keep clean themselves. The don't make much noise, however noise can be made from running about or playing. Buying Rats. Rats are best to be brought from Pet Shops or Breeders, however, they can also be brought from rescue centres. Pet Shops: You may get deals on cages, toys and food etc when buying a rat, however, the staff may not know alot about the rats history. Also, pet store rats may not have been handled well or even at all. Breeders: Know about the rats history...

Flobo1992 03.06.2007 (20.08.2007) · Read review
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Review of Rats

Rats

Advantages: Good pets, friendly, clean
Disadvantages: none

...Rats Pet rats are becoming more and more common there has been a big increase since the film Ratatouille, Pets at Homes rat sales went up 30% after the recent film. They have been kept as pets since around the end of the 19th century. They are very sociable animals and are ideal being kept in pairs so they have their own species company, this will stop them becoming bored and lonely. They are also very intelligent and can be trained to use a certain corner of their cage and will happily run around the house and come back when called, it's usually best to do this with food so they see it as positive when they do come back so they will do it again and again. They are very clean animals and do not have a bad smell unless their cage is allowed to get dirty, so it should be cleaned out regularly. Rats are a very active rodent and will...

Hsaxo 23.03.2008 · Read review
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Review of Rats

Rats

Advantages: Intelligent, loving, affectionate
Disadvantages: Need a lot of care

...There is this common misconception that rats, including pet rats, are dirty, vicious animals. This is not true. In the wild rats can be vicious and dirty but the ones bred as pets have been especially bred for their temperament. This review should, hopefully give you more information on keeping pet rats. ~*~ Introduction ~*~ Rats are clean, intelligent and very affectionate, they are the same species as the wild rat but in the last 100 years they were especially bred as pets and therefore have developed a calmer more docile temperament. With the right treatment rats become very attached to their owners. As they are very intelligent they can be taught to answer to their name. However, rats do require a lot of attention and stimulation throughout the day. They require at least an hour outside their cage every day...

angel530 30.01.2006 · Read review
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Review of Rats

Breaking the stigma - fancy rats as pets

Advantages: Clean, intelligent, affectionate, fun-loving, good small pets for kids
Disadvantages: Short life span, stigma, pet shop rats often badly bred with more tendency for inherited problems

...My first pair of rats came to me in 1995, from a run down pet shop. Snatchett (a pink eyed white, often referred to as albino) and Ginnal (a black hoody) were my introduction to the rat world. Since then I have succumbed to the addiction of keeping rats as pets - Snatchett and Ginnal were great ambassadors for their species! Rats are amazing creatures, and I'm here to tell you a bit more about them..... **History of the Fancy Rat** Fancy rats as we know them today are domesticated forms of Rattus Norvegicus - the Brown or Norway Rat. The Brown Rat started colonising England in the 18th Century, and immediately began to drive out the Black Rat, and it's population exploded. In Victorian times, this rat overpopulation led to the use of rats in "rat pits", where a dog would be put up against a number of rats to see how many it...

FelineGroovy 02.06.2005 · Read review
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Review of Rats

Rats : Not a pet, a friend

Advantages: Friendly, loving and adorable
Disadvantages: they die

...Rats make fantastic pets. I dont understand people who don't like them, or even are scared of them. Especially people who have no problems with a hamster or gerbil. So let's dispel a few myths. Rats are dirty and disease ridden. Sure wild rats have been know to carry diseases, (plague, anyone?), they're wild animals so they're bound to have fleas and tics, and invariably rats (wild and domestic) go where the food is. That means that in towns and cities they'll wallow in dumpsters, they'll head for the tips and they'll scavange through your bins. But I'm not suggesting you have a wild rat as a pet, I'm talking about domesticated rats. They too might have fleas or tics, but only if they've picked them up from somewhere, just like cats and dogs. De-flea them and they'll be fine, at least til next time Fido wanders too close. Now I...

dextermummy 11.03.2009 · Read review
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Review of Rats

RATS- A great pet + the best diet for rats!

Advantages: intelligent, loving creatures.
Disadvantages: none

...I want to change everyones stereotypical view of the lovely rat! Firstly I'll introduce my two, 2 boys an albino and a dappled grey, they're brother Chip and Dale. Gorgeous! The reactions when I, a girl say I have 2 pet rats range from "erghh the filthy animals?" to "don't they bite?". Nobody seems to have a positive comment except my mum and dad! thanks mum and dad xx ---The main 3 things people 'hate' about rats--- *their tails - apparently horrible looking *the fact they bite (NO they don't) *they smell (again NO, they're one of the cleanest animals in the rodent family, my two are constantly washing and preening themselves and each other) They are also so intelligent, again one of the most intelligent of the rodent family, this includes squirrels, hamsters, mice etc. My two's favourite snack is carrot...

leanne8686 15.08.2008 · Read review
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Review of Rats

Yat the Rat!!!!!

Advantages: Cute, affectionate, and easy to look after
Disadvantages: Most people don't understand why

...Overview: I am an avid animal lover. Well, any animal that has four or less legs anyway! So cute, little, furry animals, with twitchy little noses are a deffinate yes for me! How it happened: Well when I moved out of my parents house I rented one room in a house, and so couldn't really have any pets. I was going out with this boy, and when I went around to his house there was a big cabinet type thing in the hall way. Eventually I found out that it was an old fish tank, but instead of fish there was a pet rat living in it. The poor thing didn't even have a name, and everyone in the house had gotten fed up of her already so she didn't get much attention. There had once been two of them, and were my ex's younger brothers. The first one had died when he got fed up of them, and stopped looking after them. Luckily for this...

lynh17 14.10.2005 · Read review
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Review of Rats

Rats inteligent loving small pets

Advantages: Great rewarding pets
Disadvantages: can get a bit smelly need a lot of attention

...After adopting 3 rats one female (known as (does) and 2 Males (known as bucks) from a friend who could no longer care for them. I am now the proud owner of the cute critters. The misconception that people have about rats could not be further from the truth. They are very clean animals and infact spend one third of their life cleaning themselves or each other. Also they are very intelligent creatures and can be taught to come when called and even perform simple tricks! When I got my rats unfortunately they were not in the best cage it was basically 4 hamster cages wired together with the top part sealed off for the female. As soon as possible I purchased to big ferret cages on line for about $20 each. These sorts of cages are by far the best to keep your pet rats in, as they can be customized with toys hammocks etc. and have bars...

whudaman 12.09.2008 · Read review
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Review of Rats

Our Pesky Rats Must Wear Earplugs!!

Advantages: It's humane
Disadvantages: It simply doesn't work

...We have rats in our garage! We know this because dad stores a lot of our veggies in there which he grows on his allotment (potatoes, leeks, carrots etc) and more often than not when mum sends him out to bring in something she needs for the tea, he?ll moan that ?the bloody rats are at it again?, i.e. nibbling away at his sacks and into his prized vegetables. He?s been trying to catch the little blighters for absolutely ages by laying traps with tempting food such as cheese (which they don?t seem to care for much) and chocolate (which they love!), especially Snickers Bars. Lately though, they don?t seem to be tempted much and dad?s getting more and more angry that he can?t catch them. I?ve seen them scurrying around the garage floor when I?ve gone in there to get stuff out of our freezer. I actually don?t mind rats (or mice) but I...

pennywa 10.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of The Big Cheese Mouse & Rat Repeller