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 have three gorgeous little rats at the moment; Sally, Smudge and Suzie (a.k.a. Scruffy because she’s a rex)! I love rats so much because they’re so friendly, intelligent and inquisative about everything around them (especially females). I have owned six rats before i got my current three (Sooty and Smokey, Sunny and Sparky, Sox and Smarty R.I.P :[) because i can’t get enough of them and keep coming back for more!

At home they’re collectively known as “the girls” and they’re very spoilt little rats because i tend to feed them all their favourite fruits and vegetables every time i go in to see them (about 10 billion times a day!) They especially like strawberries (something my mom gets extremely cross about because strawberries cost a bit!) and they also love herbs such as mint and parsely.

I really can’t tell you how much they reward you and love you because it’s immeasurable, but to anyone who’s on the fence about getting rats just do it! They really will cheer you up no end after you’ve had a miserable day at work/school/just a crappy day in general – just by poking their little heads out their hidey hole and coming to see what all the fuss is about :P

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! ^_

Rats are truely the cutest, sweetest little furballs you can have. I had two who would run around the cage and play. Then I had my grey rat who would scare the cat. You definitely want to handle them regularly so they don’t get jittery, every day is best. Rats are supposed to eat anything but mine wouldn’t eat broccoli like me! There are cat-sized rats in existence most of these are sewer rats but I heard of a tame one, I want to get one of these and train it to follow me around! Rats are great to cuddle with!

...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. :)