Matisse (emin's pouched rat) grooming my hand

[MaffiasAngelO88]

Hi, I've seriously considering getting a Gambian rat for some time now (and from what I've been told the Emins is very similar) so though I'd ask a few owners what they are like? Are they easy to tame and do you know if there's any difference between the males and females behavior? In regards to aggression, activity, intelligence?

Thanks

[folithokna]

Oh my god, the way he clutched your hand 0:05 was too cute.

[Heartbroken1014]

How long do they live?

[EvilDead159]

are they hard to get? also do they live longer then common rats? cus i want one lol

[hongkongluna]

Cute. He looks like a kangaroo kinda...

[esisolina1]

The Ratatouille ! :)

[thekoalak]

Look i'm sorry because he passed away :'((

look at him in 0:7 catching ure hand so cute :'(

[Nikima18]

He reminds me of a little kangaroo, with that long face and those big ears. ^^ So wonderful! He's a wild animal, but his mannerisms very much look like those of my little fancy rats.

[MrDaclayman]

@Nikima18 yeah i thought that to

[destinationzer0]

Is that kind of rat legal in the NY state and the Bronx. its so cute. i want to buy or adopt one.

[imabadspeler]

How did you acquire one of these rats?

[EllesmeraxKiwi]

He was determined he was going to finish grooming your hand! xD

[iPsychoKitteh]

These guys remind me of Kangaroos, oddly enough. XD Hes so cute, I'm sorry to hear he passed away some time ago. D8

[xXSweetxNightmareXx]

Oh, he's gorgeous! o.o I own fancy rats myself, I've never even heard of these! I heard your boy got to be over four years old, is that the average for these kinds of rats?

[tebithewhite]

can you please tell me where i can get one? i live in denmark. Thank you so much

[santanoreal1096]

has he/she ever bitten you?

[pouchedrattie]

@santanoreal1096 I've answered this before a few times now, but no, he never bit ANYone in his entire life. Even new people he never knew, he never bit. He passed away a couple years ago.

[santanoreal1096]

@pouchedrattie oh, im sorry i brought it up and im sorry for your loss:(

[ThePhyllis65]

absolutely adorable! I want one so bad!

[pionyang]

i like this rat

[Pugartes]

Hella cute lol and damn buffed 2 I hired it to be my personal trainer lol

[gotanyjackdaniels]

The cutest thing i have ever seen! Do they make as good a pet as normal rats???

[JJSjiggy]

are these type of rats legal in the UK, If so are they as freidnly as other rats.

I have four pet rats at the moment but ive never actually seen one like this for sale from a breeder anywhere???

[TarjaKingdom2012]

THIS IS NOT A RAT

[dcshows1]

where did you get the rat?

[DungeonMasterX]

nice

[whitedeerindian]

rats are my favorite animals , they are so intelligent , nice ans evrything I LOVE THEM .

[card969]

WOW that guy is huge!

[kaliswain11]

looks pretty strong too

[kaliswain11]

wow look at his arm.....its pure muscle

[pouchedrattie]

@kaliswain11 He was pure muscle..... not a single bit of fat on that body, and STRONG too.

[2twomature]

white ppl so fckn dumb!

[nc97116]

2twomature your very racist that is sooo mean!

[panamic855]

these are not even really true rats. they belong to another rodent species not the ratta.. wiki them

[dribom]

Such a beautiful animal.

[bedupolkerpenguin]

my rat likes to groom my arm but shes not nearlly as huge as that rat

[jsin117]

are these rats like fancy rats? I had about 3 generations of fancy rats and even in out of control moments they never bit me or tried to cause me harm. I would probably be a little more intimidated by a rat of your size, has your rat ever shown aggression toward you?

I would like to have one someday if they are like fancy rats

[pouchedrattie]

not really. They share similarities to fancy rats but their care and behavior is very different still. My boy would never bite, but he WOULD grab onto your hand/finger with his mouth, just not bite down. He was a "mouthy" animal, and explored with his mouth a LOT. Pouched rats also do NOT like being held down, and they're VERY strong (pure muscle), and they WILL get their way. They're very pig-headed like that.

[roark100]

i love those but i hered they carred monkey pox in 2003

[pouchedrattie]

and dogs carry rabies.

[deurmat100]

@roark100

I heard humans carry diseases to.... just a rumour though

[brianpomona18]

Even my small rat is strong, he gets his way too. I'm used to only having mice and was surprised at how strong my new rat is!

[HYESUNGSWIFEYY89]

I think they're more wild than fancy. If you had fancy rats, I wouldn't suggest you get a pouch rat. Fancy rats are bred to be domestic. Pouch rats aren't.

[SydEllPops]

Please get me one!

lol :D

[darbyshit]

that rat is so cute and it was funny the way if grabbed ur skin like a human would and r they legal in englend

[shaxincat]

hehe he's so cute and funny looking ^^

[niealove13]

Do you have a cat?

Or... would you know if they are okay with cats??

My cat was fine with my hairless(he died of pneumonia :'( i was quite sad )

usually my cat would just lay on my bed while D(my rat) would run around. after my cat sniffed him once she just kinda ignored him... so do you think a pouched rat would have a problem with a cat or vice versa.... ??

[pouchedrattie]

My two cats are wonderful around my DOMESTIC rats... but when I had my pouched rat, it was the pouched rat who would try to attack the cat. The single time he was near one of them, hair went flying as the cat ran away as fast as she could (with the pouched rat with a tuft of cat fur in his mouth and between his front toes)

[niealove13]

ahh, okay i couldnt find info about it. usually it would be like "rats n cats dont mix" ect. i think i will get a dumbo rat though, since my cat is super spoiled like so much so she is laying on my computer right now lolz. =^.^= i dont think she could go with a total separation for the time i would have to care for the pouched rat... but again thnx for the answer =^.^=

[pouchedrattie]

Just remember ALL cats are different, though.. some cats I'm sure may view domestic rats as a food source, especially if it's a young rat. My second cat, when we got him, wanted to hunt the rats until one of them bit him on the nose (bled a bit but healed fine. He had a vet appointment that week anyway). It swayed his position on them immediately.

I've heard of some people who had problems with their cats and rats, while others have the same thing going on as I do, where they get along

[LadyWeasel]

What a spectacular animal! :)

[TrwyrDrych]

Funny, all over the news, word is these intelligent, devoted, well-behaved rats are the best, as life-saving working animals, companion animals who help the disabled live fuller lives, and as sweet, polite pets.

Guess there's one in every crowd who has to shout "Monkey Pox!" but please don't be that person. It's tiresome. These lovely animals need the same vet visits and responsible care we're used to expecting for dogs, parrots, etc. - hey, and people, too. Freaking out is just silly.

[iluvmysasuke298]

the pouch rats are very dangerous in the states! they're giving us monkey pox and destroying plant ecosystems with is effecting our envoriment!

[pouchedrattie]

I love how gloriously misinformed this is. a wild caught, imported pouched rat that was housed too close to prairie dogs is what started the monkeypox (which, there hasn't been new cases in 5, almost 6 years). Simple quarantine rules would have stopped that before it even started. Also, the pouched rats on one of the florida keys are a small population, and we're desperately hoping to trap and rehome them as they came from once-pet pouched rats.

[pouchedrattie]

I could go on about the positives of pouched rats too. They are being used to sniff land mines in war-torn areas of Africa, as they're too light to set the mine off and have an amazing sense of smell.

The pouched rats has ALSO been successfully trained to smell tuberculosis in saliva samples. They have a higher rate of success than traditional methods and already over 200 cases of positive TB has been found by pouched rats that were overlooked by medical staff.

[pouchedrattie]

as a pet, they are LEGAL to own as of September 2008 (the FDA overturned their ban). These rats are highly intelligent animals, extremely loving, and amazing creatures to own. They're easily taught tricks, and I even trained mine to use a toilet to go to the bathroom when he was out of his cage exploring. I don't recommend them for everyone, but the right person they are the perfect pet. I've never had a pet that was as wonderful as my pouched rat was, and I hope to have them again someday.

[hollywoodartchick]

Gorgeously muscular and sleek. I love him.

[C41TC4M1LL3]

i just got a baby hairless rat not too long ago, i thought dogs were the most loyal, my rat follows me around everywhere!

[GTA2SWcity]

WHOA! That rat is HUGE! Where do you get them to grow THAT big? Damn! I'd like one that big. It'd make a nice house pet. Pouched rat? Where is it native to?

[olf267]

thats exactly what i thought too!

[certifiedgmane]

i wanna let chu know that that is a big azz rat

thank you.

[Simoone1988]

very cute!!!

[elleniris]

are they like the normal fancy rats in the way that they are very social? i mean do you have to have more than one? do you have more than one?

[Aristes]

I've seen some pouched rats not take well to others unless they had grown up together. One is fine as long as you have the time to commit to them. You can't just put it in a pretty cage so you can tell people you have one. They have to have free time outside of the cage, socialization, and tons of love.

[elleniris]

well of course! very nice little creature.

[luluzz9]

are emin's similar to the gambian's in that they must not live with other rats?

[ShredOrDie4]

how did it get so big mine is smaller

[kurnous34]

wow really neat. do they boggle like most typical rats?

[skarieanne]

where did  you get that?

[kklloyd12345]

cute:)!!!!!!

[Glyckstadt]

I love this rat, so cool :) I have 2 rat girls.

[gerbybadger]

Does he teeth you?

[ugly222boogie]

neat rat!

[elleniris]

OH MY GOSH! he is so wonderful! someday i have to experience knowing one of these animals!

[CeilingofStars]

His little ears are sooo cute!

[moonray5]

He`s huge!!

[kierAxKiwi]

Wow... did you see the way Matisee was grabbing his owner's hand?

[pouchedrattie]

He had a very strong grip.

I'd like to point out right now, that this species of rat is SOLID muscle. When they wanted to do something, it was a fight to stop them. Especially with how hard-headed they can be as well.

[lovelykiki27]

Wow! What a cute rat :)

[oOofranisinluvoOo]

my rats do that! i think it's so cute.

[massivealyandajfan]

what's the difference between an emin's pouched rat and a gambian giant rat?

[pouchedrattie]

Gambian rat: uniform grey in color, stockier body with a "rougher" looking coat (from the ones I've seen), the snout is shorter and they're slightly larger.

Emin's rat: Sleek coat, grey-brown on top with a clear line of demarkation from it's grey-white belly. The body is longer, thinner, pure muscle, and the snout is much longer than the gambian's. Also, supposedly slightly smaller in size and better at climbing

[massivealyandajfan]

thanks does the temperment vary between them

[pouchedrattie]

I have no experience with gambians, just my emin's. He was lovable, but VERY strong and hard-headed, and destructive.I keep hearing people talk about pouchies being aggressive but mine wasn't. I think the big issue is how many generations captive bred they were, and if they were handled daily. My boy wasn't bottle fed,was completely raised by his mother and he was still amazing.4th generation captive bred.

[conoba]

What a cute little Kangaroo.

[BeaverBoi84]

The U.S. thinks that they carry MonkeyPox but it wasnt them it was another animal that was brought in with them and they just decided to make them illegal from that point on. If you were lucky enough to get one before the ban you could keep it but if you didnt then your outta luck.

[symbolicost]

I'm trying to ask as many people as possible; Where did you find your gambian rattie? I've been looking but haven't seemed to uncover where to get one. So if you can help me out and let me know, I'd truly love it!

[pouchedrattie]

...I got him before the ban, and he's not a gambian rat, he's an emin's rat. they're related to each other, but different species (like a black rat vs. a norway rat). He was fourth generation captive bred, and from a breeder.. if I could get another one I would, but ...they're illegal now.

[constert111]

It must really hurt when they bite you. What is it like?

[pouchedrattie]

I wouldn't know, I had him as a pet for 4 years and he NEVER EVER EVER tried to bite, ever. I can't imagine what it'd be like, but he wouldn't hurt a flea, didn't even try to attack or bite other people, either.

[crazy2apoint]

he's a beautiful rat, me and my mom were going to get one after seeing Willard *ben* we fell in love with him and wanted one of our own and found they were illegal, such a sad thing, he's gorgeous though :)

[confusedkain]

Ah yes! I can see the difference now in this clearer video :D

[Drunkenbold]

this rat is soo cute.

i have six rats at home, but they are smaller. what is that for a rat you have? he is so big and soo sweet

[Dorelaxen]

Trust me, you don't need anything on your hands for a rat to groom you. My late fancy rat used to lick and nibble-groom me all the time (he'd even shave off little strips of hair from my arm if I let him). That's just how rats are, once you're a rat to them, they'll treat you like one, grooming and wrestling with your hands.

Matisse is also one of the cutest little animals I've ever seen.

[BaldRattie]

Do you think the pouched rats will ever be legalized again?

[pouchedrattie]

one can only hope.... I can do my best to make them more known out there, but sadly it looks like it'd be easier just to move to another country than to get that ban overturned.

[mGoLos]

Great video. Interesting pets = 5 stars.

Are they easily tamed?

[pouchedrattie]

taming him was never an issue.. we bonded pretty fast right off the bat, and he was quite the loving boy, even to my son and strangers (something I was always told never to do, that they were a one-person pet, but he proved them wrong).

[unwaryrince]

Do hands come in strawberry flavour too?

[pouchedrattie]

if you're implying I had stuff on my hand, trust me I didn't. Matisse is always like this.

[unwaryrince]

I didn't. I was thinking of the way ice cream comes in chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry flavours.

[pouchedrattie]

heh, sorry..  I luv my big boy, and unfortunately he's 4 years old, he'll only be with me another couple years and it's devastating to think that I'll never be able to share my life with another pouched rat again, unless I leave the country.

[joemakerman]

o, your in america, too? aw, thats horrible. well, i guess at least you got to have one before the ban, kinda stinks we cant have them anymore. makes me sad.

[scrubjay93]

He sounds just like a kid when he coughs! Just kidding, I love Matisse!!