Rattus Norvegicus

[poliphilo]

There was a rat in the back yard yesterday. I was watching it through the living room window. At one point it almost let itself in through the open kitchen door and I had to rush round to shut it out.  I suppose I should be horrified, but mostly I was thinking how cute it was with its waddling gait and snuffly-wuffly nose. I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I've seen a wild rat out and about in daylight.

Comments

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I've kept mice, hamsters and gerbils as pets.

Rats are supposed to be the smartest and most affectionate of the lot. Ailz occasionally says she wants one. And I'm not entirely sure she's joking.

[baritonejeff.livejournal.com]

Rats make absolutely wonderful pets. Sweet, affectionate, intelligent, and very clean. I've had a number of them in my life.

The big minus is that they, due to excessive inbreeding, are very prone to a lot of maladies, cancer especially, so they tend to not live very long, which is heartbreaking.

If you do acquire one, do it through one of the many rat-fancier societies. You'll have a much better selection (there are many varieties), and a healthier animal.

[nellorat.livejournal.com]

Yes, the sad thing about having rats as pets is that they only live 2 to 3 years. That's why we always have 8 to 12 at a time, of various ages; I grieve every rat's death, but in a sense the colony lives on.

Rats from a good breeder can live up to a couple years longer than a rat with bad genes, but it's still a short life. We adopt from rat rescues, then give them the longest lives we can.

Btw, female rats are very prone to benign mammary tumors (still a health problem), but spaying her before 6 months of age can reduce the chances of all tumors by 85%. Yes, we spay our girl rats. It's not cheap, and only some vets can do it (experience spaying dogs/cats is not good enough), but it makes a huge difference.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I'm tempted. But the short-life span is a deterrent. At the moment, of course, we keep rabbits. Rabbits are less intelligent, less affectionate- but they do live longer.