# Fellow Rat Lovers



## MyBoyHarper (Mar 15, 2007)

Moving the discussion(http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=19749&amp;forum_id=1&amp;page=2)from the main rabbits forum tohere.


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## MyBoyHarper (Mar 15, 2007)

My girl Chloe:


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## undergunfire (Mar 15, 2007)

This was me with my precious heart rat....Fayl (RIP)...









Then my girlies that went to live with my bunnies former foster mommy...



Norma Jean...








Rhizzo...








Blue Lady...









I suppose later in life I will get two more ratties from a breeder thathas long-lived rat lines. My dream rat is a Burmese Dumbo Rex.



_- Amy_


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## MyBoyHarper (Mar 15, 2007)

Awww, all your ratties are gorgeous, but I loveBlue Lady. I had a siamese tip and a blue dumbo before, both weregorgeous. I love the odd and rare colors, but my albino Snowball willalways be my heart rattie.

I'll also definitely own another pair one day in the future.


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## undergunfire (Mar 15, 2007)

OH! And here was their cage....











_- Amy_


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## MyBoyHarper (Mar 15, 2007)

Nice! I'll post a pic of the cage mine were intomorrow, I need to find it and upload it to photobucket. I think it'son my desktop and I'm on the laptop right now.


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## undergunfire (Mar 15, 2007)

Ohh yeah. I have more pictures of my heart rattie on my laptop. I will have to post those tomorrow too!
_

- Amy_


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## lovethetailyall (Mar 15, 2007)

this is my 3 girls..out of the 7 i had!these three are dead...in ratty heaven..playing with all your rats!


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## MyBoyHarper (Mar 15, 2007)

I love your threesome ilovethetailyall, what were their names?


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## undergunfire (Mar 15, 2007)

They are SOOOO adorable!Boooooy, do I miss ratties, but I know its best to wait until I am"tougher" and have the time/funds/space for them again in a few years!

_

- Amy_


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## MyBoyHarper (Mar 15, 2007)

That's my thinking Amy. My buns are a handful,but I'll definitely get another pair (of rats) one day. It'll probablybe a couple years off, however.


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## undergunfire (Mar 15, 2007)

I agree 100%. The buns are a handful....and I amgetting one more on Sunday! Then I have to go through the bondingprocess, ect. 

Mice are cool little pets. I have two of them. Snowpuff (the PEW) isokay with being handled, but Irma HATES it. They are neat to watchthough, but not nearly as cool as ratties.

I am going to wait until my fiance and I move to our own place and arecomfy before adding ratties....which won't happen for quite a few moreyears.

Hopefully we will be moving out this fall though. I only have onerequirement...the buns get their OWN personal bedroom and not mycloset, lol.


_
- Amy_


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## lovethetailyall (Mar 15, 2007)

*Eve(top) Zorow(bottem right) Poco is Bottemleft! poco and eve where sistas and where feeders...there where in atiny cage and where piled on top of eachouther! i choose them both bythere tail cuz i couldent see them:shock:*



*undergunfire wrote: *


> They are SOOOO adorable! Boooooy, do Imiss ratties, but I know its best to wait until I am "tougher" and havethe time/funds/space for them again in a few years!
> 
> _
> 
> - Amy_


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## undergunfire (Mar 15, 2007)

Hehe, well they were precious!



- Amy


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## ahri22 (Mar 15, 2007)

I have had pet mice, but not pet rats. I always said that when our mice died I'd get a couple of rats!!

Our last mouse died last week  She was my daughter's pet mouse Eek,and she was just the cutest little thing!! Sadly, we didn't even haveher quite a year!! (It would have been a year next week...) 

That's the sad thing about them...they just don't live long  

Rats live a bit longer than mice, but still 2-3 years isn't long 

Anyway I've just convinced my husband to get another bun, so getting arat is probably out of the question for awhile!! Besides, with rodentsI always have to lock the cat out of the study (where they live) Cats are just waaaaay too interested in mice, and I'd think they'd feelthe same about rats!!

Cheers
Fiona


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## undergunfire (Mar 15, 2007)

Heh, yeah....my kitty likes to sit up on top of the aquarium and watch the mice.



_- Amy_


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## lovethetailyall (Mar 15, 2007)

We used to tell my dog "NO EATING FAMILY MEMBERS" then she would throw up in her mouth and look aaway!hhe hhe!


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## BinkyRabbit33 (Mar 20, 2007)

I've really wanted a pet rat for a while now,but the two things my mom will never ever say yes to is a rodent or asnake.


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## undergunfire (Mar 20, 2007)

BinkyRabbit....make sure that if you get rats,to read up on them A LOT. They do require a ton of care, more than thebuns in my opinion. Almost all rats out there will and usually haveupper respiratory infections more than once in theirlives....especially if coming from a pet store. Be prepaired to spendquite a bit of money at the vets in the rats lifetime. The rat may costyou $10....but you will more than likely end up paying $500+ in vetbills for a single rat in it's lifetime.

I'm not saying that to discourage you from getting rats...but it's justa warning. When I had my three rats one of them was sick...I spent $200on her vet care....and I only had her for two months until my rattieswent on to live with my bunnies old foster mommy.


_- Amy:brownbunny_


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## Becknutt (Mar 20, 2007)

I've never had a rat myself but I took mydaughter to a Charles Dickens festival and they had rat races. This isthe hairless rat.... They say she was bred to be hairless. I had neverseen one before. The owner told me that selective breeding for no hairand deteriorated the health and she is very unhealthy.


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## BinkyRabbit33 (Mar 20, 2007)

*undergunfire wrote:*


> BinkyRabbit....make sure that if you get rats, to read up onthem A LOT. They do require a ton of care, more than the buns in myopinion. Almost all rats out there will and usually have upperrespiratory infections more than once in their lives....especially ifcoming from a pet store. Be prepaired to spend quite a bit of money atthe vets in the rats lifetime. The rat may cost you $10....but you willmore than likely end up paying $500+ in vet bills for a single rat init's lifetime.
> 
> I'm not saying that to discourage you from getting rats...but it's justa warning. When I had my three rats one of them was sick...I spent $200on her vet care....and I only had her for two months until my rattieswent on to live with my bunnies old foster mommy.
> 
> ...




Thanks for the info , but unfortunately what i said was serious.never in my life will i be allowed to have a rat, my mom hates them.So, even if i want one, i'll never get one anyway. And i wouldnt justbuy a rat like that, i read up on rabbits for 3 months and even boughta book before buying one.


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## undergunfire (Mar 20, 2007)

Well, maybe one day when you have your ownplace, if you don't already? lol. I wasn't saying you wouldn't readup...I just like to warn before, since rattties aren't for everyonemainly because of their short lives and health issues:tongutwo:.



_
- Amy_


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## Spring (Mar 21, 2007)

Wow! I never knew they had so many healthconcerns! :shock:I knew that they didn't live too long, butnever knew they could be so high maintenance.

Rats are so intelligent and cute!


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## undergunfire (Mar 21, 2007)

They really are amazing little creatures. Youare less likely to have a ton of problems as the rat gets older if youget them from a breeder. They are bred against tumors, strokes, cancer,ect.

All rats can still get a head tilt, respiratory issues,ect though, butbreeder rats immune systems are stronger than pet store rats....so it'sagain, not as much of a chance of getting sick.

That's why when I am ready for rats again (years from now), I will getthem from a breeder about 2 hours away from me. She has a long livedline of rats....6 years (or was it 5?)!




_- Amy_


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## lovethetailyall (Mar 21, 2007)

I have a hairless rat..i was told from thehistory of her breeding it lives about till a year old with loads ofheath problems...To this day she is 2 years old...no heath problems andstill my baby girl!

This is a pict of her when i got her ..she was a baby!


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## lovethetailyall (Mar 21, 2007)

A more resent pict!


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## lovethetailyall (Mar 21, 2007)

This is Rosie!she is an old little girl!


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## lovethetailyall (Mar 21, 2007)

This is Emmerah!She is best bunds with rosie!


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## lovethetailyall (Mar 21, 2007)

This is my Dear Eve...she died of canser....


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## lovethetailyall (Mar 21, 2007)

This is poco...Eve's sis..she has passed too...they where both feeder rats!


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## lovethetailyall (Mar 21, 2007)

This s my dear Zorow! She passed befor poco......


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## undergunfire (Mar 21, 2007)

They are all so gorgeous!


My dream rattie is a VERY curly rex Burmese Dumbo male. OHHHHH! *dies*




_- Amy_


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## BinkyRabbit33 (Mar 21, 2007)

Amy i know you weren't implying anything by thecaution, you're just an animal lover like the rest of us:inlove: I have a question you might be able toanswer.. do these bunch of health issues go with mice also? or gerbils?Oh yeah and i tell my mom about how im going to have a bunch of petswhen i get my own place, and all my animals will have their own rooms,she told me i was crazy. :dunno:


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## undergunfire (Mar 22, 2007)

I know this topic is for ratties.....but mice are close enough:tongutwo:.




Both my mice are from Petco. They are totally healthy and I have neverhad any health issues with them, except when I tried a homemade foodmixture and I think Irma was allergic to the puffed wheat rice.Snowpuff is about 6 months old and Irma is going to be a year old soon.

I have never had a gerbil before, but I have had rats (of course),guinea pigs (when I was younger), flying squirrels, and lots ofhamsters.

Mice aren't really the kind of pet you can play with. They really enjoya nice big tank (10 gal. for 2-3 mice, 20 gal. long for 3-5 mice, ect)with hammocks, braided fleece ropes, a good sized well cleaned rockfrom outside, toilet paper tubes, Kenex (sp?) toys you can buy fromwalmart and build a "mouse play ground".....OH!....don't forget a wheel!

They are really entertaining to watch, but I have just found they don'tlike to be held. Snowpuff will let me hold her, but Irma HATES it. Ifyou buy from a breeder, then they will be well socialize and love yourattention!

There really are some gorgeous mice out there. They come in a varietyof coat colors and types. I LOVE texel (VERY curly), texel satin,angora, angora satin, frizzy, ect mice.

I can give you websites to mice and rat breeders in NJ if you'd like. Most are willing to ship for a reasonable price as well.




Here is Irma....










and here is Snowpuff....









and here is their tank (which is now redecorated and has prettier bedding)...









I'll upload a better picture of their tank and them (if they will comeout of their igloo) later when I upload more pictures of Mallory,Morgan, and Madilyn-Mae for their bunny blog!




If you have any other questions, just ask.


_
- Amy:brownbunny




_*EDIT TO ADD: *I realize I didn't even really answer yourquestion. Yes, mice can get tumors, cancer, upper respiratoryinfections, ect....but I have not ever experienced it with mice...orread about it being a large issue, for that matter, haha._
_


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## Bassetluv (Mar 22, 2007)

I absolutely adore rats, though have never ownedone myself (had a ton of mice when I was growing up, but no rats). Mysister and her (ex)husband hada pet rat several yearsago...he was the sweetest, friendliest little guy. I won't say whathappened to him, as it still upsets me to this day...suffice to say thechildren were allowed to play with him unsupervised, as if he was atoy. :X

Wish I could have a rat for a pet - perhaps some day (when I have alarger house and income ) I will. But for now I just enjoy readingabout yours and seeing the pics. Oh, and look at one of the rats thatis up for adoption at our local Humane Society...an absolutely gorgeouslilac point:


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## undergunfire (Mar 22, 2007)

OH MY GOSH! That rattie is just precious!



_- Amy (Mallory, Morgan, and Madilyn-Mae):hearts_


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## lovethetailyall (Mar 22, 2007)

you know what kills me..how rats die..thewy holdon for ever..and ever and ever..you can have a dieing rat for 4mouths:XRabbits let go faster...but rats...rats are unbelivable howlovable they are..but to see them die like that...huants youforever.:missyou


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## undergunfire (Mar 23, 2007)

Actually....rats go downhill VERY fast. Theyhide their illness for as long as they can, but then when they can'ttake it anymore, they show it...and you have to react quick to savethem.

My heart rat, Fayl, was perfectly fine one morning. I work up, let herout to play, then put her back into her cage so I could take ashower....then after my shower I came back to her cage to let her outas usual.....except this time her backlegs were laying to one side, hermouth was open, she was spinning in circles, her spine looked"twisted". I had to have her euthanized at the vets shortly after. Itwas either a brain tumor or a stroke. Within two hours from seeing herlike that, she was dying:cry2.



_- Amy (Mallory, Morgan, and Madilyn-Mae):hearts_


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## Bassetluv (Mar 23, 2007)

*undergunfire wrote: *


> OH MY GOSH! That rattie is just precious!
> 
> _- Amy (Mallory, Morgan, and Madilyn-Mae):hearts_


Isn't she? And they actually have two of them there...the other one hasa small faded stripe down her face. I'd never seen a lilac point ratbefore...


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## undergunfire (Mar 23, 2007)

Yes, she really is gorgeous! Maybe in a fewyears I will have a few rats again, but maybe not. Their lives are soshort. I would really like to foster rats, but I HIGHLY doubt theshelters around here get rats in. It's worth emailing though.




_- Amy (Mallory, Morgan, and Madilyn-Mae):hearts_


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## lovethetailyall (Mar 23, 2007)

ok as you probally have seen my topic in ratchit chat..i just wish i couls stay longer to show you pict of myrats..and i movie i reenly made where they invade a toy town..(pocoactuly lifts up a toy house and popps the roof off!

Have fun with your rattys..there your babys...give them love.

From Heather and the buns,rats,and the other animals:missyou


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