Rats as pets

[Valzed]

SO CUTE!
To me i dont mind rats unless if they are feral

Thank you! I wouldn't want to try to tame a feral rat myself. Or any feral animal. I just don't feel qualified to help them adjust to an indoor or home environment.

 

[Hat']

I love rats so much they're sooooo cute :sobs
They're so smol and sweet...........
Maybe i'll have one or two later!

 

[Velo]

Heeeyyyyy how did I not see this thread before now haha?

I love rats they are the best pets 10/10.

I have spent insane amounts of money on my rats, they do come with plenty of medical bills. That's the one thing that I would caution people about. They are indeed an "exotic" pet.

A couple of my friends and family members weren't crazy about them when I first got them, but they all pretty much warmed up to them. And yup, it's always about the tails or the "diseases" - AKA a bunch of false information!
When they see their castle cage filled with adorable fleece hammocks, they usually soften up. Plus, my rats are all pretty sweet.
I have had a few who came in with some hormonal problems, but I was able to work with them. Mine have all been rescues.

I have seven currently:
Rory
Finn
Oddish
Odin
Rose
Mew
Cookie

My boys are all neutered so the boys and girls live together.

They are highly intelligent and very loving animals.
They have kept me together on my worst days. They have also absolutely broken my heart. I wouldn't change it for the world though. I can't stop bringing them home and giving them a chance to have a good life. They all came from bad, dire, unhealthy, scary or deathly situations. It's hard losing them, and they are always gone too fast! But the time you get to share with them is indeed very special.

Spoiler: Random photos and videos

Video: Mew, being a crazy daisy during intros

Video: laundry rats

 

[Sweetley]

I do like rats, there are cute. I don't have any rats as pets (I have two cats, that wouldn't
work at all lol), however, I took care for some pet rats for a while many years ago. It was as
a interesting experience for me I must say.

 

[2kimi2furious]

I really want dumbo rats as pets, but my husband is a firm no on this. The tails gross him out, and I don't think he likes rodents very much. Alas, no rats for me. :'(

 

[DJStarstryker]

Are rats different from gerbils and hamsters as a pet? I had some of both as a kid and I felt like they didn't really want to play with humans and just barely tolerated us for feeding them. It wasn't just mine. I knew others that had gerbils/hamsters and they acted the same. They felt not much different from fish (which REALLY don't care about you) as pets, but more annoying with how much they poop.

I feel like rats are smarter than gerbils or hamsters though.

 

[Dim]

I don?t know if they?d count but I?d love to have a chinchilla as a pet. Those cute little fur balls with long fluffy tails are adorable. X3

 

[UglyMonsterFace]

I like them As long as I know they're pet rats and not wild rats, I would totally hold one and play with the cutie. However, I would never ever go near a wild rat.

 

[duckykate]

rats are cute i want 7

 

[ScaryGhosts]

Heeeyyyyy how did I not see this thread before now haha?

I love rats they are the best pets 10/10.

I have spent insane amounts of money on my rats, they do come with plenty of medical bills. That's the one thing that I would caution people about. They are indeed an "exotic" pet.

A couple of my friends and family members weren't crazy about them when I first got them, but they all pretty much warmed up to them. And yup, it's always about the tails or the "diseases" - AKA a bunch of false information!
When they see their castle cage filled with adorable fleece hammocks, they usually soften up. Plus, my rats are all pretty sweet.
I have had a few who came in with some hormonal problems, but I was able to work with them. Mine have all been rescues.

I have seven currently:
Rory
Finn
Oddish
Odin
Rose
Mew
Cookie

My boys are all neutered so the boys and girls live together.

They are highly intelligent and very loving animals.
They have kept me together on my worst days. They have also absolutely broken my heart. I wouldn't change it for the world though. I can't stop bringing them home and giving them a chance to have a good life. They all came from bad, dire, unhealthy, scary or deathly situations. It's hard losing them, and they are always gone too fast! But the time you get to share with them is indeed very special.

Spoiler: Random photos and videos

Video: Mew, being a crazy daisy during intros

Video: laundry rats

Woah, someone on this forum has more rats than me?! Haha. I have 5, currently (Harlow, Dent, Dottie, Penelope, Eleanor).
Gosh, your rats are so cute and they all look so different! Mine are all either albino or black hooded. I had a black one with a white tummy like yours once, but he had a lot of medical issues and unfortunately died shortly after I got him. My rats aren’t fixed, so I have them in two 4-floor cages that sit one on top of the other, so I basically have rats from floor to ceiling. I’d love a cage like yours for them. Mine has small doors so it’s really difficult to clean.

- - - Post Merge - - -

Are rats different from gerbils and hamsters as a pet? I had some of both as a kid and I felt like they didn't really want to play with humans and just barely tolerated us for feeding them. It wasn't just mine. I knew others that had gerbils/hamsters and they acted the same. They felt not much different from fish (which REALLY don't care about you) as pets, but more annoying with how much they poop.

I feel like rats are smarter than gerbils or hamsters though.

As someone who has had clountless types of animals, rats are my favorite pets. I have had hamsters, and currently still have one (my sweet boy, Vladof), and not only can hamsters vary widely in personality, even the kindest hamster will not love you like a rat does. If I even step foot near my rat cages all 5 sets of little rat ears perk up in hopes of getting cuddled and if i open a door to their cage they literally throw themselves at me. I had a precious rat that roamed my apartment. He had a cage, but the doors were always open. He would sleep in there and use his litter boxes, but he was always wherever I was. He’d hang out in the kitchen with me when I made breakfast and conveniently eat any food i dropped on the floor and he jumped up onto my lap when I was watching tv, and he’d lay on my bathroom tiles next to me when i was taking a bath. He came when you called him and would do the dog thing where he could find the little pathes of sunlight on the floor and flop and sleep on them. He was the best pet I’d ever had. I took him to school with me all the time, he had a leash, he was my best friend.

Have I convinced you yet?

 

[lunatepic]

i think they're really cute! but i don't think i'd get one for myself haha

 

[salty-]

Years ago when I was younger we had two who had babies (lots of them) and we had these rats for quite some years before the father (Alexander) passed away and the Mother (Delilah) had to be put down due to tumors. I love rats, I honestly miss having them! I love their little hands and I miss watching them eat cause I loved the way they used their little hands. I use to put my fingers near their tails cause their tails use to wrap around my fingers and that was one of the coolest thing to me as an 8 year old.
I love rats a lot! And it makes me upset how wrong people have it with them because rats are one of the cleanest animals!

 

[2kimi2furious]

As someone who has had clountless types of animals, rats are my favorite pets. I have had hamsters, and currently still have one (my sweet boy, Vladof), and not only can hamsters vary widely in personality, even the kindest hamster will not love you like a rat does. If I even step foot near my rat cages all 5 sets of little rat ears perk up in hopes of getting cuddled and if i open a door to their cage they literally throw themselves at me. I had a precious rat that roamed my apartment. He had a cage, but the doors were always open. He would sleep in there and use his litter boxes, but he was always wherever I was. He?d hang out in the kitchen with me when I made breakfast and conveniently eat any food i dropped on the floor and he jumped up onto my lap when I was watching tv, and he?d lay on my bathroom tiles next to me when i was taking a bath. He came when you called him and would do the dog thing where he could find the little pathes of sunlight on the floor and flop and sleep on them. He was the best pet I?d ever had. I took him to school with me all the time, he had a leash, he was my best friend.

Have I convinced you yet?

Aaaaah, I'm jealoussss! This is the cutest everrrrrr. I want a rat friend like yours. ;_;

 

[Stevey Queen]

I use to live with roommates with pet rats. (10, which was a little crazy). They are actually really sweet but all they really wanna do when out of their cage is explore.

They had mostly female rats but 2 males and they have to be separated. One of the boy rats bit my roommate and she had to go to the hospital. So I didnt mess with them. I guess female rats are just more friendly.

 

[Buttonsy]

I think they're really nice!! I have personally never had one, but I think they're cute, and I don't think that the ones that people keep as pets are any more disease-ridden than any other rodent that people keep as pets.

 

[peppy villager]

I absolutely want a rat so bad but lack the space for it. So I got a dwarf hamster instead.

 

[honeymoo]

my boyfriend has rats!! they're sweeties, i'd consider getting one, but i think their short lifespan would just make me too sad.