Who here has pet rats?

[CaptainCrunch]

Just wondering. I find them to be very affectionate and amusing pets, with their own little personalities. The downside is they only live for a few years. :(

 

[Sableye~]

I've had several pet rats. <3
I was surprised by how intelligent they really are, honestly. The first two I had were trained to come to the door of their cage when I made clicking sounds, either to receive treats or be held. One of them was even mostly trained to use what pretty much was a small litterbox-equivalent that hung on the side of her cage.

 

[£]

My sister had pet mice. They shat all over the cage, and one of them even pulled off an escape. It was a nightmare having to catch it again, and I definitely wouldn't like to deal with something twice, thrice, four times the size of them.

Call them cute, but as far as I'm concerned, they're a menace. Give me a cat if you must, or a good old dog. Rats though, yuck. My area's got giant rats on the prowl too. Hideous.

 

[Shining Raichu]

My cats have brought me several pet rats, but they never stick around for long...

 

[Juno]

Don't have any of my own, but I really love playing with the ones at the shelter I volunteer at. I'd adopt them in a heartbeat, but like you said, it's really a shame that they have such short lifespans. :( I love putting them on my shoulder and walking around with them. Their little claws are a tad sharp sometimes though.

 

[Strelok the Loner]

i had 2 white rats i named one pikachu the other rattata
my cat which i named meowth ate them both :(

 

[AuroraBeam]

I have had pet rats. Very enjoyable pets, but they are not for me at the time. They require a LOT of attention, something I don't have right now with a child. For now, I'm more of a gerbil/hamster person and have both.
All of the rats I did have passed away, and one of them I got from the pet store ended up having 17 babies, yes 17. And no one in my area wanted any pet rats, so they sadly all ended up having to go to the pet store because I didn't have enough room or money to care for 20 rats. It was way too many and I was sad that they had to go off to the pet store to probably be fed as snake food but there was no way I could take care of so many. It wasn't a very good first experience for us, but one day we do want to try again when we have more time.

I think it is so awesome you can teach them tricks, and also snuggle with them. One of ours would snuggle forever, she was a sweetie.

Biggest complaint for me is their smell. If only they didn't smell so bad. xD

 

[Goo]

I got one by itself named it Oliver. He required constant attention pretty much, but it kept him from being lonely for very long. Whenever I'd get home he'd squeak and I'd open the cage and hold him while I did other things.

I miss him.

 

[dogtree]

i dont understand how can anyone love rat. rat look so ugly , red eyes, no hair tail

 

[CaptainCrunch]

i dont understand how can anyone love rat. rat look so ugly , red eyes, no hair tail

Not all rats are albino. As for cute rats:

 

[AuroraBeam]

i dont understand how can anyone love rat. rat look so ugly , red eyes, no hair tail

Pet rats are not ugly at all, not all of them are white with red eyes, but even those that are are not ugly (imo)
And as for the naked tail, so what? We are naked all over our bodies, what is wrong with a naked tail? It won't hurt you. Most people who don't like the idea of a pet rat have never met one. They are sweet as can be. They are kind of like tiny dogs, they can learn their names, learn to do tricks, and can be just as snuggly as a dog.

 

[Limey-chan]

We sometimes get field mice who find their way into the house and scuttle around at night, gnawing on things and stealing my dog's food from its bowl, if that counts..

 

[Kikaito plush]

My Father in law has two female rats called Natasha and Natalie.

 

[Juno]

Also, a little late but have some Easter Rats. :P

Spoiler:

 

[CaptainCrunch]

I don't like things like rats because there have been multiple times where I was bitten by a friend's "safe" rats... I do not like rodents in general, except (is it a rodent?) the chinchillas. So cute. Or hamsters.

My rats would never bite you. :)

They usually bite if you startle or hurt them, are you sure you weren't doing either of that? Another thing is that your friend's rats may not be used to being handled, perhaps he doesn't pay much attention to them or they don't like being handled. If you had any food on your fingers, like crumbs or sauce, they might mistake your finger as a snack (rats don't have the best eyesight). Yes, a chinchilla is a rodent. Ironically enough, hamsters are more mean spirited than a rat and are more likely to bite a person.

 

[AuroraBeam]

My rats would never bite you. :)

They usually bite if you startle or hurt them, are you sure you weren't doing either of that? Another thing is that your friend's rats may not be used to being handled, perhaps he doesn't pay much attention to them or they don't like being handled. If you had any food on your fingers, like crumbs or sauce, they might mistake your finger as a snack (rats don't have the best eyesight). Yes, a chinchilla is a rodent. Ironically enough, hamsters are more mean spirited than a rat and are more likely to bite a person.

I agree with this one 100%, you can't come up from behind a rat or your startle it and of course it will bite. If you smell like food, or if they aren't really socialized, they may bite too.
I love my hamster, and hamsters in general, but they are very bitey if you get your hands in their territory. I have to lift my hamster out of her home by letting her crawl into a tube and then letting her crawl into my hand. If I put my hand right down in the cage, I will get bitten lol. Gerbils are the best when it comes to biting, I will put my hand in the midst of many gerbils and not fear a bite from any of them.
But liking an animal is all up to a certain person, but there are bad apples of every species, and you shouldn't think all pet rats are mean just because of bad experiences with your friend. :)

 

[Yoshikko]

Uhh we used to have two pet rats, well they were actually my sister's but she didn't have the time anymore. I've always liked how rodents looked and stuff but to be honest I don't like them as pets and I wouldn't do it again, they all just bite me.