He's a cutie isn't he?
He's a Champagne (off-whitish, his fur is white with a slight yellow tint to it) hooded (black markings) Fancy Rat (pet type), he's about 6 months old and he's such a sweetheart.
This is a video to prove rats aren't evil, vicious, biting, disease-carrying monsters. I picked Goat up from a feeder shop where he lived in a 10 gallon aquarium with 30 other rats of mixed genders and a tiny food bowl, when he was just a baby, just past sexual maturity (which happens extremely early in rats)
As you can see in the video, just like the other chew toy version uploaded previously, I gave him the treat -raw washed lettuce, he doesn't get it often- with barely enough room to smell, with my fingers through the bars of his cage and he gently nibbled at what piece he could get at without biting or lashing out or any stupid bull that rats are associated with. He does this constantly, he never bites, and he's taken food from other family members as well just as gently.
He has no training whatsoever other than learning his name. He is not a lab rat. He goes through no tests or experiments. He's not a Rat of Nimh. He's just a regular feeder rat I took in as a pet.
Next video will be an example using something a little more "dangerous" - Food. Specifically, lettuce, which he loves.
Rats aren't vicious, people, come on. The brown or black rat "pest" kinds that invade homes and carry diseases would only bite people out of fear or protection of young or itself. It's not their fault, they didn't choose to carry diseases and they have no sense of human laws. Don't needlessly kill them with painful and slow snap traps or sticky traps. If you must kill them, do it humanely.
I have owned a dwarf hamster, a regular hamster, a mouse, and my older sister owned a guinea pig. The hamsters bit the most, next to the rat, and then the guinea pig (gentlest next to the rat).
If I stick my fingers in the cage all my pet rat does is put his hands on my fingers and lick me to death, occasionally a light, barely felt nibble if he's upset with me for some reason. I have never ever been bitten by any rat. But I've been bitten more than 5 times by hamsters, which people claim to be a perfect kid's pet.
My family members, whom Goat doesn't know too well yet, have never been bitten. Even when I first got him and refused to pick him up by the tail (terrible for the rat, painful) and put my fingers under his belly and lifted him into his cage he didn't even nibble me, he just hid.
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Cat Gets Mouse, Cat Kills Mouseby Fizzgig280 views
@DrazaKhan They're best kept in at least pairs. Quite a few people have a whole colony of rats. I only have a single rat because he doesn't do well with others.
ChibiBritishGir 7 months ago
@ChibiBritishGir
Ah cool...Yeah I've heard they make great pets...Might get one sometime.
DrazaKhan 7 months ago
@DrazaKhan Sometimes he gets a little difficult. But otherwise, not at all. Very inexpensive to keep (food is $10ish and lasts up to 6 months, and he can eat a huge variety of human fruits/veggies, and bedding is paper towels, and shampoo is baby shampoo.) and very easy to clean up after. As long as you keep a close eye on a rat, they won't chew on anything you don't want either. =3
ChibiBritishGir 7 months ago
RAT! *steals*
Is he hard to care for? I've never had one.
DrazaKhan 7 months ago