[email protected]

> > rats, or mice, or gerbils, or guine pigs?

Rats. Rats. Rats.

I've had mice (stinky), hamsters (VERY cute and can stuff TONS of food in
those pouches!), guinea pigs (why bother?), gerbils (too skittish---like,
not quite "domesticated"), rabbits (beautiful and cuddly), and rats. We adore
Rhia and Olivia. They're funny, smart, cute, and absolutely delightful!

The rat is, by far, the best rodent pet we've had. They are terrifically
smart and easy to keep. They come in great exotic colors and coat textures.
If they get out (or someone forgets to put them back in the condo!), they may
wander a while, but they either come when called or eventually crawl up your
leg for attention. They love to ride in the car!

They eat almost anything. We keep lab blocks in the cage at all times, but
they get pasta and salad and rice and salmon and oranges and nuts
and---basically whatever we have, they'll eat.

They're SO trainable: I hosted a rat class last year---all the kids got
ratties (the first batch was 15!)---we each got two/three females. The kids
trained their ratties to do rope tricks, play soccer, swim and do water
tricks in the tub---among other things. A couple of the children got more
rats a few months later.

We got them from a couple of breeders in FL. I'd be happy to look in my
contracts for their names and numbers/addresses if you're interested. They
breed show rats (but ours are not show quality). These breeders handled the
babies from day one. They are VERY well socialized and healthy.

Here are some ratlinks:

For Florida rat fanciers:
http://flratfanciers.homestead.com/home.html

<A HREF="http://www.afrma.org/">Click here: American Fancy Rat and Mouse Association</A>
<A HREF="http://www.rodentfancy.com/rmfe/index.shtml">Click here: RMFE - RAT and MOUSE FANCIERS for EXCELLENCE</A>


Kelly







[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

zenmomma *

>>guinea pigs (why bother?)>>

Hey.....I just have to step in here and defend the much maligned guinea pig.
;-)

We have a piggy named Skittles, named because he is so skittish. Yes, he's
shy. Yes, he squeals in fright a lot and hides...but he's also friendly and
cuddly and loving. He comes out of his cage and runs freely through Conor's
room. He feeds from my hand and looks forward to our visits. He lets us hold
him and cuddle him and also lets us know when he's had enough and needs to
scamper away.

We got him a dwarf rabbit as a bunk mate and friend and he has become much
more outgoing and brave. They are a joy to watch together. They both feed on
the guinea pig pellets and whatever fruit and veggie scraps we have on hand.

Piggies are GREAT. You just have to understand them and learn to help them
be brave and a little adventurous. Hmmm...I've got a kid like that. ;-)

~Mary

_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp.