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Anonymous
ITT Can /an/ give me advice on having a pet rat. Stories, positive or negative, would be nice.
>> Anonymous
best pets i have ever had. exercise does a lot of good for them. i suggest getting a leash. the only bad part about them is that they never live long enough. it really sucks how easily they can get cancer or kidney failure.
>> Anonymous
One died of cancer and one died of loneliness, great active social pets, take care of their cage thinggymajig, it gets smelly
>> Anonymous
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Once you go rat, you will never go back. Seriously, they combine all of the good aspects of a cat (clean and low maintenance) with the good aspects of a dog (extremely social and affectionate). They are also very intelligent and can be trained to come to their name or perform simple tricks. I have kept many, many animals over the years, and rats are by far the best pet I have ever had. The only real negatives are already mentioned here: short lifespan and predisposed toward cancer and respiratory disease.

Make sure you read up a bit on their care requirements before you get a rat, and (unless you plan on spending a lot of time at home with him), get more than one because they are extremely social animals.
>> Anonymous
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get a big cage and hide all electrics

rats are smart> my last female (the one on pic) managed, after only 1 week here, to open her cage (slide door). I locked the door with a rope and she discovered 3 days after how to untie bow ...

Very social too!
So get at least 2 rats.


Males are lazy and affectionate.
Females acan't stay without doing something.
BTW you'd better buy rats from someone you know, rats in petshops are often ill and females pregnant (I had this surprise with my first rat, I bought her and 10 days later she had 9 little babies, baby rats are soooooo cute!)
>> Anonymous
Fantastic pets, but as you've already read, they are VERY social and intelligent, so it's best to get two or three of them, and you will need to have some way of keeping their minds occupied (toys in the cage for when you aren't around, and play with them when you get the chance). Their average lifespan is sadly only about 2-2 1/2 years, but if you take good care of them and they don't get some sort of disease, they can live 3-4 years.

Br careful with them, too, they get into trouble like other rodents, but their intelligence makes them exceptionally good at it. They are good at getting to places that aren't neccesarily safe for them, and their first instinct when they find a new place is to explore it completely, so you need to keep a sharp eye on them.

Also, if you spill something on your clothes during dinner, change before handling the rats, or you may soon have a hole in your clothing the EXACT shape of the stain. ;p