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Anonymous
Dear /an/, time for a rat thread.

Who here thinks that rats are the cutest, most affectionate and lovable pets known to man? (And they're smart too!)

Pic related, I own an albino dumbo eared rat that looks just like this. (Her name is Percy)
>> Anonymous
I wished they lived longer.
>> Anonymous
>>343064
same here, need to find a breeder who breeds for longevity and health
>> Anonymous
After my cat dies (Of old age hopefully) I'm going to get a rat. They're just the quirkiest little things.
>> Anonymous
>>343134
*ahem*
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methuselah_Foundation
>> Anonymous
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I really, really wanted a rat, but I was never allowed to keep one because my roommate didn't like them. I tried to convince her, but it didn't work. I might get one now that I've moved in with someone else, but I really don't want to get one from Petco, since that's the only option I'd have. (Small town area).

Sides, my cat would probably try to kill it.
>> Anonymous
>>343222

i got mine from petco, only place near me as well, get one of the small ones and play with it every day and it will get used to you as it grows :3
>> Anonymous
>>343163
that is mice, it means nothing to me
>> Anonymous
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I love my girls. <3 When I first started looking into getting them my boyfriend thought I was retarded, but when I brought them home he changed his mind fast. They are so sweet and fun to play with. I don't know how anyone can think they're anything but awesome. Especially when they come running up to you and give you kisses all over your face.

Pic related, it's one of them, Pepper.
>> Anonymous
I used to have hamsters, as a young child. I wasn't very nice to them, but they weren't very nice to me either, the little fuckers. Bit like - well, a wild gopher - and they slept all damn day long and ran their squeaky fuckin wheels all night...*>_<*
anyway, one time some years ago, I was living with a some folks who had a snake, a ball python, and I wanted to feed a hamster to it, just for old times' sake, so I bought one at Petco, and at the register I mentioned the plans I had for the varmint, and the girl told me not to say that too loudly, 'cause apparently PETA or someone managed to put a BAN- a MFKing BAN on selling hamsters for food!!! But they could sell RATS, couldn't they????

Which brings me to my point, OP, that rats are WAY fucking cooler than hamsters and we should feed hamsters to snakes instead of rats...>>
>> Anonymous
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I love rats!!!! This is my current rat, Ben.
>> Anonymous
>>344215

Wow, are you kidding? ...I can't even begin to describe how retarded that is. Trying to make people not eat meat is one thing, but trying to change the diets of animals because "IT'S A LIVING THING AND IT'S SO CUTE YOU SHOULDN'T BE USING IT AS FOOD"? Jesus.
>> Anonymous
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i accidently my pet rat
>> Anonymous
>>344257

hahah my ratty used to do this when she was smaller. I would let her and thought it was amusing/tickeld. Somtimes she would dig her claws into my lip tho, and i would close my mouth a bit to let her know what the fuck was up, one time i guess i used my teeth to hard and she SQUEEEEKED. Now she will only kiss me on the lips.
>> Anonymous
>>344307
What is going on in the head of an animal that voluntarily sticks its head into the mouth of a much larger animal?
>> Anonymous
they like to clean your teeth : )
>> Anonymous
>>344318
we feed them and protect them, so why would they think of us as a predator?
>> Anonymous
Rats are kind of notorious for trying to dig around in their owner's mouth. Mine used to try to do that to me when they were younger.
>> Anonymous
>>344257
>>344307
>>344318
>>344336
Isn't it kind of unhygienic to let them do that?
>> Anonymous
>>344349
Probably. But really it's no more gross than french kissing your significant other if you think about it.

That said, I'd never let my rats do that. Face kisses are fine but I'd prefer them to stay away from my mouth.
>> Anonymous
>>344493
I'm not so sure... I caught one of mine eating poo the other night. x:
>> Anonymous
>>344349
I guess, but I don't think you'd have to worry about getting sick from it or anything. It's just gross.
>> Anonymous
I had mice when i was a kid and they were pretty dumb. Are rats noticeably more intelligent or is it just infatuated owners claiming their pets to have imaginary personalities?
>> Anonymous
>>344640just infatuated owners claiming their pets to have imaginary personalities
>> Anonymous
>>344493
Not really. It's a fucking rat.
>> Boobies and Eyeballs !!WZ5iA274dZ2
>>344642
Hey, my two rats are very different from one another and they're also very smart. I caught one of them trying to climb my bookcase the other day and the other on the floor underneath her pushing her up with her head. The little brats are working together to go places they are not allowed to go. Still, I've never had mice so I don't know how smart they are comparatively.
>> Anonymous
>>344604
Oh, nevermind then. I've never caught my rats or read about them eating shit so I figured they probably didn't.

Scratch that, make it more like kissing your dog.
>> Anonymous
>>344640
Rats are pretty quirky. My one rat is the silent calculating type, but very affectionate; the other is a retard who is bent on destroying anything and everything she comes across, and she does ballsy shit like jumping impressive lengths. Not as sweet as the first one, but still lovable.
>> Anonymous
>>344640
Rats are in fact pretty smart, and will eat mice for breakfast if given the opportunity. In fact, rats kick mice asses so hard that mice have developed a genetic fear of rats.
>> Anonymous
>>344246

Me again. I used to have two rats several years ago. I got one male (Sweety) and one female (Honey) from different litters in hopes of them making babies, but Honey never got pregnant. They were both really smart, and even figured out that when we (my brother and I) pressed buttons on the video game controllers it moved pictures on the tv screen. They were both really sweet. Honey was more hyperactive. She died at the tender age of 2 from numerous infections (sure had an unfortunate habit of chewing herself, between that and her not getting pregnant makes me think she was inbred or something). Sweety was the king of rats. He would dive into trash cans for food, try to drink our beer, challenge my brother for male dominance, and give more kisses than any rat I ever had. He died at 3 1/2 years from a tumor. Sweety died in my arms, holding my finger with his paws like he was holding my hand. ;_;

Ben has less personality than Sweety and Honey. He is pretty much just an eating machine that occasionally gives kisses, but he is still cute.

I've had other rats, but they either died or I had a worse allergic reation to them than usual and had to give them away.

It's unfortunate that I'm allergic to one of my favorite animals. I guess it depends on their individual body chemistry, because some rats give me a worse reaction than others. (I use hypoallergenic bedding, so it's not that).
>> Anonymous
is it possible for rats and mice to get along?
>> Anonymous
>>344640
All of my rats have been very different. Some have had loads of personality and some have been kind of dumb, but still sweet. Rats are really smart in general, and anything that smart can have a distinct personality.

My two best rats were very cuddley boys that were very smart. They would follow me around the house, come when I called them, they each knew their names, they were affectionate and they loved to play.
>> Anonymous
>>344738

rats eat mice

I'm not fucking kidding either. Look it up
>> Anonymous
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This is Tabitha, she is my awesome little girl. Shes about 10 months old and ive had her since march. She is the coolest little rat ever, I got her from my friend (payed 3 hits of acid) for her. She is a well traveld rat, I can take her anywhere, shes been to the Museams in DC with me, ive taken her into Manhattan countless times for fun city adventures (i live in BK). Shes gone to NJ with me for whole weekend anime cons (twice). I take her out for bike rides with me, and just walks if dont feel like going alone.

She is the best.
>> Masterwork Bastard !DOD3/eopFI
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These are my rats. Nobody probably remembers, but I posted about them when I got them. They've grown to be big. They've also learned that it's much nicer to hang back and sleep than to run around. Oxu knows that he can get my attention by bouncing on the keyboard while I'm at the computer.
>> Anonymous
So how exactly do you do that? I want a rat, how much do they cost?
>> Anonymous
>>344835
The rats themselves are so cheap they're practically free. It's the cage, bedding, and food that will cost you.

My cage was about $150. The food is $10 a bag and I buy about a bag a month. The bedding is $20 a bag and I buy a new bag every 2 or 3 months. Then you have to account for vet bills, which can really vary.

Still, not as expensive as a cat or dog.
>> Anonymous
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>>344835

you mean how i take her with me? She likes to ride in my sleave mostly my armpit. You start by teaching them to shoulder ride indoors, then go outside with them. The generally don't like the bright sun so they will scurry for a place to hide (ie your shirt). I notice that when they feel you in motion they will stay put, for longer periods she will even fall asleep. When you stop moving/sit down or such they notice and will try to scurry out to get some fresh air/pee/ and drink.

Piss and shit is generally the only problem with this. I dont know how exactly i trained her not to, mostly by letting her do it a few times, and disciplining her. Shes very intuitive they kinda figure that you dont want them peeing on you. Tho when you first go out from a place they are faimler they will make a big pee, I used grab her a little tight and rub her tummy with a bit of pressure and shed pee before we went out, now that shes older she knows not to pee on me. Also i generally have a special hoodie/ a few shirts i make sure to use only with her (they do leak a little scenet and scratch up your clothes so i try not to wear anything TOO nice when i have her).

I started training her by taking her to the corner store with me, and on small errands around the neighborhood. She kinda had to learn quick because the weekend after i got her i ended up going to DC for the weekend and i coudnt leave her alone for very long (she is a loner rat, got her before i knew all that stuff about 2, + it made her bond with me extra).
>> Anonymous
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ah fuck i posted more stupid 4chan and your shitty post size limmit. Anyway places shes been. Ive taken her with me to museams in DC and Philly. Shes proably the only rat to ever go to a chiptune show, i took her with me to see saberpulse and ary from anamanaguchi. Shes gone to the movies with me a few times, went with me to see iron man and horton hears a who. Also took her backpacking / coutch hopping with me when i went upstate NY this summer. Also to a 4 day long anime con where she lived on me the whole time (see previous picture).

So yeah if anyone has any questions about this stuff just ask.
>> Anonymous
>>344765
Lol I found that out when my girlfriend decided it would be a cute idea to get a mouse 'friend' for my rat. I still haven't told her what really happened, just said it got loose somehow.
>> Anonymous
>>344801
3 hits for a rat? You got a pretty sweet deal.
>> Anonymous
>>344895
Hey, uh... you're pretty hot.
>> Anonymous
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>>344954

acualy on my end its shit, thats 30 bux for a feeder rat my friend stole from his job. I was acualy visting my friend for the first time in a few months to just GIVE him some (someone gave me 20hits for a old psp). And i had always wanted a rat. Another friend at the time had been working at a pet store, someone came in with baby rats and said "here snakefuud4u" , my friend asked the boss if he could have one, boss said no, so she was stolen. So when i had gone to give him the acid, he was like "oh yeah i have a little baby one". She didnt even have a name she was just "baby" so i played with her and a named poped in my head and i HAD to keep her. The rest is history.

>>344956

again LOL, that pic is from last summer, I cut my hair since then and lost those awesome geta :( when i was upstate backpacking.

pic is me at 2nd anime con this year(holloween) taken at the same time as the 2nd picture i posted of tabi.
>> Anonymous
>>344959
Shit, where the hell is acid that expensive? Prices are different everywhere, I guess. I figured that wasn't true for something as easy to make as acid, though.

Oh, and since I was both posters... grow the hair back out. ;)
>> Anonymous
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>>344964

i cut it cos i was working outdoors. 10bux is av price in nyc unless your buying more then 5 or have the hook up. Anyway i dont do it anymore because i ate about 13 of those hits within a month (it was good stuff). Anyway i have to go to work send some IMs (they go to my phone) .yes im shamelessly whoring myself on a chan (wouldn't be my first offense). My Aim is in the email feild.

and since this IS a rat thread, Pic is Tabitha in china town.
>> Anonymous
>>344966

dawww how cute. ching chon nip nong ratty.
>> Anonymous
oh, i love rats....best pet i ever had
>> Anonymous
>>344895
That's cool that you take your rats places with you. I've wanted to do that with a couple of mine, but I'm so scared that I might drop one somewhere and someone will stomp him.

I got two of my rats from this couple that lived in Washington. He was a vet and she bred rats as a hobby. They took their favorite rat everywhere with them. They even made a carrier/bag thing that they wore with the rat inside. They were banned from so many places because of that rat. They got a lifetime ban from the public pool because they let him swim in it. :/
>> Anonymous
Rats like getting stoned.
>> Anonymous
HURR DURR
/AN/ - RATS
>> Anonymous
Yeah Im pretty good at hiding her. Ive taken her to a few restaurants and had to like hold her down cos she was tryin to get at sum food. The second anime con almost threatened to kick me out on the first day cos the hotel was dooshbags, but i got around it. When I first got her i would love pulling her out and freaking the shit out of people. I even dyed her pink and people would go "IS THAT A PINK RAT". good times.

Also this little girl has taken ALOT of abuse. Shortly after i had first gotten her, i was playing hackysack and she was in my hoody and i swung my body and she went flying like 10 feet onto concrete and dislocated her leg/hand. Luckly it was when she was very young and it healed up perfectly. And its a little messed up to say, but im kinda glad it happend because she is the kind of "get anywehre escape aritst rats" and it hinderd her already crazy jumping ability. I got a few more restful nights because she was getting out of her cage less (after she healed i mean). Shes also had a bruised tail (i forgot how that happened) and i crushed her hands on the cage once (by accident ofcorse). But all in all she is fine and loves me lots.
>> Anonymous
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>>345276

oh yeah they do.
>> Anonymous
this thread is full of people breaking health and safety laws, as well as being giant douches in thinking they can smuggle pets of any kind into no pets allowed areas.
Good going fags.
>> Anonymous
>>345326
You shouldn't own pets.
>>345418
THIS. I know rats are clean and whatnot but it doesn't stop them from dropping their turds at will.
And taking them out seems like it would be stressful for them. Think about it: You're taken out of your safe cage and put in your owners hoodie and taken god knows where. It's bright and wide and loud so you hide for the duration of the trip and hope to god you make it back alive.
>> Anonymous
>>345477

Uhh how about its a fuckin rat? I realy dont understand the huge bleeding pussy alot of rat owners have. Yes they are awesome smart little buggers, but shit ITS A FUCKIN RAT DUDE.There are millions of them. It was going to be snake food its not now. What i do with it is my own business. Ive done it to her since a young age, and i started slow, she got used to it. infact shes sitting in my hoodie right now nice and warm. I dont think she minds

And as for the pic with the weed ive only gotten her high a few times, like most pets she likes the smell doesn't like the smoke. In that picture she is trying to lick my lips wile i take a hit. She loved to kiss me when she was tiny.
>> Anonymous
bump
>> Anonymous
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>>344646
>It's a fucking rat.
>>345526
>ITS A FUCKIN RAT DUDE.

ITT: Abjectly ignorant, emotional responses from internet tough guys.

Rats have short life spans and high reproduction rats because they are r-selected, which means they have evolved to fill niches as quickly as possible.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K-selection
Sometimes, people, e.g.>>345526, remind us of this fact in addition to summoning cultural biases against the animal to devalue them. Rats live and reproduce quickly by having an extremely high metabolic rate that makes their bodies work and mature faster. While this decays their bodies more quickly and sacrifices their lifespan, it does not affect their character or entail anything about sentience, cognizance, or intelligence.
>> Anonymous
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>>345868

In fact, the more we study rats the more we realize how perceptive, smart, emotional, and human-like they are. Seventy-five mya (just a couple of weeks in the evolutionary time scale), rats and you were the same animal; they share a closer evolutionary relationship to humans than even what we consider "pretty animals" such as felines and canines. Their nutritional requirements are also very similar to our own, which is why your pet rat can survive well on people food while your cat needs a formulated diet enriched with things like taurine. Rats have been discovered to possess metacognition (the ability to judge their own metal abilities), and to be capable of identifying causal relationships, suggesting they're one of the most intelligent animals on earth. Although rats do not display emotions on their face and are programmed to hide signs of distress to protect them from predation, their emotional center of the brain (the limbic system) is identical to human's, and evidence suggests that they are emotional beings (Dr. Jaak Panksepp uses rats to study laughter).

As a social animal, the rat possess many character traits which are best described as altruistic and loving. This is a big topic and I won’t go into it since any rat owner knows how affectionate they are.

tl;dr: Rats rule and you are just making yourself look ignorant.
>> Anonymous
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>>345870

thanks for the lecture, this dosnt stop me from doing whatever i want with my pet. Id much rather give her an awesome life traveling everywhere. If they are so smart and conscious, she can obviously enjoy all the different smells and sounds of the outside world. She depends on me to protect her and i do, if anything was to happen to her, it would be my full responsibility.

W/E tho i guess this is a moral fag discussion, if that dosnt settle it why dont you just ask Tabitha herself.
>> Anonymous
>>345872
Oh, I don't have a problem with you taking your pets out. I wasn't that person, I just had a problem with your "it's just a rat" comment. My rat boys free roam around their cage and I actually take them out on my shoulder all the time. I believe that they can very much enjoy this, too, if you give them enough experience and keep a gentle hand on them. My boys even brux out of contentment sometimes when I take them around.
>> Anonymous
>>345876

OK ok i get what your saying, and to be fair id say that about any pet/cat/dog/child. I believe its the owners responsibility regardless of how conscious/intelligent the creature is.
>> Anonymous
>>345889

oh yeah an ontop of that its incredibly cute when they get excited about going out. Tabitha knows when we are going in/out of my room by the smell in the hallway, on the way out she will brux because she knows shes getting some fresh air, and on the return trip she gets excited (sometimes trying to jump out of my shirt) because she knows she is going back to my room and run around.