RCReptiles.com

[Eskimo180]

Has anyone ever thought of having a pet rat? It is kind of ironic, but I really want a pet rat. lol It would be weird having a pet snake with a pet rat, I know, but they are so cute and they make great pets, better than most cats and dogs. Whenever I go get a rat for Yoshi, I cant look at it anymore because I feel so bad for it, but Yoshi has to eat too! I am so confused, can you tell? lol Just wondering if anyone has a pet rat.

Eskimo

[Jordan700]

I would suggest getting a male and female pet rat, breed them and feed the offspring to the snake. This way you have both pets and feeders.

[smerf217]

I ran into the same problem with my wife. She wanted one as a pet and I wanted to feed it to my snake. She won...LOL. The rat made a great pet. It would even follow her around inside the house and outside in the yard. Good luck with your decision.

[deborahbroadus]

[smerf217]

Sorry Deb, our rat is no longer with us. If I had taken pics of it, I would definatly post them. I know the truth in the story sounds kindof stretched, and I wish there was a way for me to show ya'll. It was sooo cute.

[haroldo359]

i vote FEEDER!!!!

sorry.

[deborahbroadus]

I am with Harold!! I think like my snakes. Rats are prey! I couldn't imagine having one, for a pet, I had a hamster once before, and while I liked it, it wasn't ..ME.

I breed rats, yes, they are having litter after litter, and all they do is eat, piss and crap, and did I mention that they stink?

BUUUUUTTT I can understand some attraction to them as pets, the babies are sooo cute. The big ones are nasty and I don't like them they are ugly. They are no longer cute when they are as big as a man's size 12 shoes and might take a chunk out of you on a bad day.

[mikeskywalker]

I have had pet Rats for 4 years they are the smartest pet i've ever had. Each one was different i have never been bitten they all knew there names kind of a fun little pet.....

[deborahbroadus]

Speaking of pet rats...picked up a batch of pups, small rats and breeders to stock up my new rat racks and there's a white rat that's absolutely fearless.

When I put my hand in the cage he(she) comes to me!! I have taken to feeding her special treats (grapes, cateloupe) I give the others some too, but I hand feed her and throw the rest to the other rats. I wouldn't try to hand-feed a rat that I got as a feeder from someone else but she's obviously someone's pet and got mixed in there by mistake!)

She was brought as a feeder, but since she is so tame, she has graduated to Breeder; now to find an appropriate name. Hopefully her babies (males are designated feeders it is not necessary to keep a ton of males)

[raven]

lol even though you think like a snake, the wee beastie has tugged at your heartstrings! rats do make great pets and they're so nutritious too (for the snake) that i have no problem seeing them as both. [my gerbil however is another question entirely (i had bleeding wounds on my hands from being bitten several times while trying to clip my gerbil's needle nails and i still didn't get them all done...) ] rats however, are extremely smart and trainable which in my opinion makes them ideal pets... in fact, mine is litter trained. i don't know what the deal is with the smell. i've had one rat that REAKED and one that i don't notice the smell at all. however, in a breeding operation, i can't IMAGINE what the stench would be like. i like rats and even *I* shudder to think about it

and deb... you could call her snowball... oh wait... you like creative names... lesee... how about Kitera? (random submission)

[deborahbroadus]

Kit is a good name.

But don't count on it that she stays a pet. I got her with the other rats now waiting for her to get bigger then I am throwing a male in there! My babies need to EAT.

Hopefully her babies will be as tame as she is. Na, I ain't even trying to have a rat as a pet. They might be the most intelligent animals in the world, but they aren't me.