I never thought I would ever adopt a rat as a pet. It all started when my daughter’s dwarf hamster started to get older. Dottie is our “watch only” pet. She does not tolerate human beings well and will bite savagely if given the chance. We had hamsters before and I had managed to work with them, after suffering numerous bites, so that they would at least take food out of our hands. My daughter began to talk about her next hamster. I found myself cringing at the thought of going through the biting, er taming process once again. She dearly wanted a guinea pig but I had talked to several people who said that they can get pneumonia really easily and that they are really happier with a buddy. A cage that would accommodate two guinea pigs was not going to fit in our small house.
I had worked with a woman who said she had gotten her son a rat. “Rosie” was an affectionate easy to care for pet that loved to climb on and be with people. My reaction was “ewww, a rat in your house”? I hadn’t thought about that conversation for a long time. My coworker had told me that rats are one of the friendliest pets she had ever had and that they rarely, if ever, bite. As Talia began a tirade of “But Mom’s” in reference to the guinea pig idea I asked her if she had thought about a rat. She looked at me quizzically and said, “But I thought you didn’t like them.” I explained that I would do some research on them and see what they were like to have as pets. I went online and read testimonial after testimonial about the assets of having ratties. They are intelligent (almost to the point of being scary little geniuses), affectionate, can be trained (though they are probably going to train their humans more) and most of all they don’t usually have any predisposition to bite humans. Jack Hanna has even gone as far as to call them “dogs in your pocket”. Well having grown up watching Wild Kingdom and seeing poor Jack pursue dangerous, attacking animals while Marlin Perkins sat in the jeep with his binoculars watching, I figured if anybody could evaluate the predatory disposition of an animal, Jack could. I also found out that “fancy” or “domesticated” rats are about as much like their wild counterparts as domesticated dogs are like wolves.
With respect to Rosie, who lived in her own little home, rats really need a buddy to be with. Okay, that would be a drawback, especially in convincing my husband that we were not going to get one pet, but two. Once my daughter found this out she was ecstatic of course. She was going to get two rats not just one.
One thing I had learned from my research is that often rats in pet stores are the prettier of the “feeder” rats. In other words if the pet store owner sees one that is distinctly coated or has a pretty pattern in its hair, it will be saved from being snake food. They aren’t always really tame, though there are exceptions. I had suffered enough hamster bites to know I did not want to get bit by something bigger. Most sites suggested getting rats through a shelter or through a rat rescue. I searched through the local animal shelter site and found a couple of rats but there wasn’t really an evaluation of their temperament. Two of my coworkers had recently adopted dogs through a breed rescue program. My conscience was nagging me to try to adopt through a rescue. Could Lincoln, Nebraska, actually have a rat rescue? I plugged in “rat rescue Lincoln, Nebraska” and searched the web. To my surprise “Capital City Rat Rescue” popped up.
I contacted Staci with dozens of questions and she was so patient and helpful in giving me information. She had her rats evaluated for “character”. She had rats that were for “beginners”, “households with children”, “the experienced rat owner” and “those with patience in taming”, etc. She knew what each rat was like as a and distinct cognitive skills. Anyway she had two girls she thought might work for our family. I had read in a lot sites about how the males can be less active and more laid back but cuddlier: though of course there are exceptions in both sexes. I found myself leaning towards a male. As I was thinking more about the females Staci got in four male rats: a dad and his three sons. She wrote up a wonderful “character analysis” of the boys and said they were all licky, cuddly, affectionate, lovey little guys. I asked my daughter if she would mind having two boy rats. We looked at the picture online and I immediately fell in love with the blue hooded. She wanted to see them before she decided which one was "hers”.
When we went to adopt them, Staci had a wealth of information for us. She put together a really wonderful packet about feeding, cage cleaning, bedding and general information. She put down her plastic tub with the ratties in it and they immediately wanted to make friends. I grabbed my blue hoodie. My daughter picked up a very large beige hooded rat. She sat him down and he proceeded to make a huge jump to her shoulder. He did not want to leave her. She began to insist that he was hers. Well I’m not sure who chose whom but he and his blue hoodie brother came home that afternoon.
Our daughter Talia suffers from Aspergers Syndrome, which is a mild form of autism. She and her “Jasper” have bonded on levels I don’t think the rest of us can fully understand. Jasper is like a big dog that just loves everybody. He is exuberant and demonstrative in his affection. Sometimes his exuberance gets the best of him and he can be overly demonstrative (like jumping on your shoulder from the floor when you aren’t exactly expecting it) just like my daughter can have intense, outbursts of affection that are wonderful but sometimes ill timed. Like I said he’s like the big sheep dog that has to lick your face to say hello. He never ever does anything that even remotely suggests he could bite. He rubs faces and kisses with all of us but he definitely is even more demonstrative with his girl Talia. He jumps up and down every time she passes the cage.
“Rufus” is littler and shyer but is totally a cuddle bug. His favorite place is to lay on the arm of my recliner with his head on the palm of my hand. He kisses my hands and grooms me. He also likes to snuggle in the crook of my arm and go to sleep. He will sometimes knead me with his front paws like a kitten does (it’s a behavior mammals pick up from nursing) and lay his head down on my skin. He also has a unique habit of scratching and then waiting for me to scratch the spot he is directing me to. If I don’t get the right spot he will nudge my finger over until I hit the right spot. He will also hold his head up and tilt it to the side for a cheek massage. I’m not sure who is supposedly doing the training but he sure is sweet.
They do not bite. If they have gotten our finger in their mouth accidentally when we’ve fed them they back away and then very carefully remove the food from our fingers. It’s like they are trying their darndest to avoid accidentally biting us. They are very safe animals to even be around our six year old. They put up with and even encourage his squeals of delight when they rub noses with him. (He thinks it’s fun to get tickled by the whiskers.) They are pretty mellow little guys who just want people to interact with them: very much like a family dog.
They have become such family members so fast. Even Daddy is charmed out of his socks and spoils er--pays attention to them. We wonder why we didn’t have them sooner. The cage cleaning and bedding removal weekly is way worth what we get in return. Staci helped us find the perfect buddies because she has the knowledge and experience to match people with the right ratty for them. I think we will always have ratties from now on. We are hooked!
I never thought I would ever adopt a rat as a pet. It all started when my daughter’s dwarf hamster started to get older. Dottie is our “watch only” pet. She does not tolerate human beings well and will bite savagely if given the chance. We had hamsters before and I had managed to work with them, after suffering numerous bites, so that they would at least take food out of our hands. My daughter began to talk about her next hamster. I found myself cringing at the thought of going through the biting, er taming process once again. She dearly wanted a guinea pig but I had talked to several people who said that they can get pneumonia really easily and that they are really happier with a buddy. A cage that would accommodate two guinea pigs was not going to fit in our small house.
I had worked with a woman who said she had gotten her son a rat. “Rosie” was an affectionate easy to care for pet that loved to climb on and be with people. My reaction was “ewww, a rat in your house”? I hadn’t thought about that conversation for a long time. My coworker had told me that rats are one of the friendliest pets she had ever had and that they rarely, if ever, bite. As Talia began a tirade of “But Mom’s” in reference to the guinea pig idea I asked her if she had thought about a rat. She looked at me quizzically and said, “But I thought you didn’t like them.” I explained that I would do some research on them and see what they were like to have as pets. I went online and read testimonial after testimonial about the assets of having ratties. They are intelligent (almost to the point of being scary little geniuses), affectionate, can be trained (though they are probably going to train their humans more) and most of all they don’t usually have any predisposition to bite humans. Jack Hanna has even gone as far as to call them “dogs in your pocket”. Well having grown up watching Wild Kingdom and seeing poor Jack pursue dangerous, attacking animals while Marlin Perkins sat in the jeep with his binoculars watching, I figured if anybody could evaluate the predatory disposition of an animal, Jack could. I also found out that “fancy” or “domesticated” rats are about as much like their wild counterparts as domesticated dogs are like wolves.
One thing I had learned from my research is that often rats in pet stores are the prettier of the “feeder” rats. In other words if the pet store owner sees one that is distinctly coated or has a pretty pattern in its hair, it will be saved from being snake food. They aren’t always really tame, though there are exceptions. I had suffered enough hamster bites to know I did not want to get bit by something bigger. Most sites suggested getting rats through a shelter or through a rat rescue. I searched through the local animal shelter site and found a couple of rats but there wasn’t really an evaluation of their temperament. Two of my coworkers had recently adopted dogs through a breed rescue program. My conscience was nagging me to try to adopt through a rescue. Could Lincoln, Nebraska, actually have a rat rescue? I plugged in “rat rescue Lincoln, Nebraska” and searched the web. To my surprise “Capital City Rat Rescue” popped up.
I contacted Staci with dozens of questions and she was so patient and helpful in giving me information. She had her rats evaluated for “character”. She had rats that were for “beginners”, “households with children”, “the experienced rat owner” and “those with patience in taming”, etc. She knew what each rat was like as a and distinct cognitive skills. Anyway she had two girls she thought might work for our family. I had read in a lot sites about how the males can be less active and more laid back but cuddlier: though of course there are exceptions in both sexes. I found myself leaning towards a male. As I was thinking more about the females Staci got in four male rats: a dad and his three sons. She wrote up a wonderful “character analysis” of the boys and said they were all licky, cuddly, affectionate, lovey little guys. I asked my daughter if she would mind having two boy rats. We looked at the picture online and I immediately fell in love with the blue hooded. She wanted to see them before she decided which one was "hers”.
When we went to adopt them, Staci had a wealth of information for us. She put together a really wonderful packet about feeding, cage cleaning, bedding and general information. She put down her plastic tub with the ratties in it and they immediately wanted to make friends. I grabbed my blue hoodie. My daughter picked up a very large beige hooded rat. She sat him down and he proceeded to make a huge jump to her shoulder. He did not want to leave her. She began to insist that he was hers. Well I’m not sure who chose whom but he and his blue hoodie brother came home that afternoon.
Our daughter Talia suffers from Aspergers Syndrome, which is a mild form of autism. She and her “Jasper” have bonded on levels I don’t think the rest of us can fully understand. Jasper is like a big dog that just loves everybody. He is exuberant and demonstrative in his affection. Sometimes his exuberance gets the best of him and he can be overly demonstrative (like jumping on your shoulder from the floor when you aren’t exactly expecting it) just like my daughter can have intense, outbursts of affection that are wonderful but sometimes ill timed. Like I said he’s like the big sheep dog that has to lick your face to say hello. He never ever does anything that even remotely suggests he could bite. He rubs faces and kisses with all of us but he definitely is even more demonstrative with his girl Talia. He jumps up and down every time she passes 
“Rufus” is littler and shyer but is totally a cuddle bug. His favorite place is to lay on the arm of my recliner with his head on the palm of my hand. He kisses my hands and grooms me. He also likes to snuggle in the crook of my arm and go to sleep. He will sometimes knead me with his front paws like a kitten does (it’s a behavior mammals pick up from nursing) and lay his head down on my skin. He also has a unique habit of scratching and then waiting for me to scratch the spot he is directing me to. If I don’t get the right spot he will nudge my finger over until I hit the right spot. He will also hold his head up and tilt it to the side for a cheek massage. I’m not sure who is supposedly doing the training but he sure is sweet.
They have become such family members so fast. Even Daddy is charmed out of his socks and spoils er--pays attention to them. We wonder why we didn’t have them sooner. The cage cleaning and bedding removal weekly is way worth what we get in return. Staci helped us find the perfect buddies because she has the knowledge and experience to match people with the right ratty for them. I think we will always have ratties from now on. We are hooked!