get a rat

my dear pets :)

I finally got a rat! My environmental class had a pet rat that someone basically dumped on my teacher so she kept him at school to take care of him. I volunteered to take care of him on holidays and I basically fell in love. Since she noticed I was so taken with him, she said I could take him to keep once summer comes around. :] He’s basically the cutest thing ever.

I sort of fell into it. My brother kept the rat he used in his psych lab, but wasn’t allowed to keep it in his dorm room on campus. I ended up with the rat sort of by default and I’ve had him ever since. His name is Winston, but I usually call him Mr. Baby. I don’t know why, that’s just what I call him. He’s awesome. I was a little afraid of him at first, but that was because I’d never even held a rat before and had been bitten by a hamster as a kid. Rats are totally cool and very intelligent. I taught him to ride on my shoulders and even though he’s getting quite old, he still likes to be up there.

Oh man, I have TWO. Buddha and Sibil are wonderful. I’d…well, this is my dream come true. They’re smart and sensitive creatures. Moreso than dogs, really, as they’re more responsive. Rat love.

They are cute! ^_

...but i will by this time tomorrow! i used to own two pretty girl rats, but they died of old age a long time ago. recently my friend got a new rat to replace her old man one, but she isn’t getting on with him very well as she misses Mr Mei :( so tomorrow i am going to be in charge of a little boyrat called Neville!

Rats are more social than cats or dogs or any other pet I’ve ever had. Mine is super duper. I recommend rats as pets. But like any furry friend, commitment is important – don’t do it if you’re not committed to the little guy(s).
Intersesting tidbit: males have extraordinarily large balls relative to their bodies. I say this not because I like talking about rat balls, but because when they first started growing, I was worried he was developing a tumor.

my four little rat dudes were rescues from a place called Perfect Pets Rodent Rescue in Oklahoma. I don’t think the lady runs it anymore, but she was great. the finkies names were Ben aka Master Splinter, Winken, Blinken, and Nod. Sadly Ben died during my trip to England :(
If you get a rat, make sure you take care of it. :p as silly as that sounds, alot of people don’t because they don’t cost much and people think they can just “get a new one.” Ben came from a home where he was kept on dirty cedar (cedar makes finks sick anyway) and fed nothing by crunch berries.
I’ve still got my other three little boys, and I’m hoping they’ll stay around for a long time. :)

... I had a rat named Mindy, she was such a sweetheart. Knowing what a great pet rats are, I told my daughter she could get a rat when she started begging to get a pet. Her dad took her to the pet store and the staff talked him into getting her two. They’re cool but not nearly as sociable with the family as Mindy was. Maybe it’s a personality thing, but part of the reason I think they’re less sociable is because they have each other so they don’t need us at all. Mindy had no other rats to play with so my family became her family. She would come out of her cage everyday for several hours and hang out with us. I kind of wish my daughter’s rats were like that too. In any case, they are fun to have, even if they don’t hang out with us. :)

rats make the sweetest pets, they eat anything you would, they’re very smart and affectionate and are great companions especially if you live in a small place (unlike cats & dogs)