Re: rats
Pam Hartley
----------
just stick your hands through the cage wire or put your hands in the cage
and leave them there -- even if you don't have food smell, he's going to
want to taste these weird things in his cage. :)
If he was nipping in order to not be picked up, or nipping after he was
being held and petted, I'd say you got an unfortunate (and rare!) "bad
apple" and were right to send him along.
Rats are MUCH less likely to bite than most other pets I can think of.
Male rats are just as friendly (IMHO even more so) than female rats. I have
only ever been seriously bitten (blood) once in my lifelong ownership of
many, many rats, and that was when I stuck my hands into a cage and was
messing with stuff not knowing my little rattie girl had had babies the
night before. She watched me mucking about with her stuff for a minute or
so, then ran over to give me a good big chomp, LOL. Can't blame her!
Pam
>From: [email protected]Nipping in rats is uncommon when they are being held, but more common if you
>To: [email protected]
>Subject: [Unschooling-dotcom] Digest Number 2540
>Date: Thu, Oct 24, 2002, 9:10 AM
>
> I would love to hear more about rats. We went to the library and got
> books on rats and read alot. We chose a young male rat and for the first
> little bit he was pretty sweet. I figured it was his settling in period.
> But pretty soon he was nipping us, even when we were careful to wash our
> hands so no food smell was on them.
> I can not figure what we did wrong. We bought a really large homemade
> wood and wire cage that allowed tons of room and he had lots of climbing
> room.
> I found him another home as we had little ones and I was concerned they
> would get their fingers nipped. Is it possible he did not have enough
> physical attention or are males more aggressive?
just stick your hands through the cage wire or put your hands in the cage
and leave them there -- even if you don't have food smell, he's going to
want to taste these weird things in his cage. :)
If he was nipping in order to not be picked up, or nipping after he was
being held and petted, I'd say you got an unfortunate (and rare!) "bad
apple" and were right to send him along.
Rats are MUCH less likely to bite than most other pets I can think of.
Male rats are just as friendly (IMHO even more so) than female rats. I have
only ever been seriously bitten (blood) once in my lifelong ownership of
many, many rats, and that was when I stuck my hands into a cage and was
messing with stuff not knowing my little rattie girl had had babies the
night before. She watched me mucking about with her stuff for a minute or
so, then ran over to give me a good big chomp, LOL. Can't blame her!
Pam
james e thomas
Pam or anyone,
have you ever had ferrets? if so can you share the pros and cons? my son
would also like one of them and a sugar glider. we have been told that a
ferret smells no matter if they are descented and it can't be controlled.
I am allergic to cats so I thought maybe a ferret would be a problem.
sharon
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have you ever had ferrets? if so can you share the pros and cons? my son
would also like one of them and a sugar glider. we have been told that a
ferret smells no matter if they are descented and it can't be controlled.
I am allergic to cats so I thought maybe a ferret would be a problem.
sharon
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Myranda
I can't answer about the pros and cons, but I baby-sitted a ferret for a month, and never had a problem with smell. He ran loose in the house, was litter-box trained, and actually less trouble than my cat. Very friendly and funny little guy. Had to be careful, though, he liked to climb in the appliances when you opened the doors.
Myranda
Pam or anyone,
have you ever had ferrets? if so can you share the pros and cons? my son
would also like one of them and a sugar glider. we have been told that a
ferret smells no matter if they are descented and it can't be controlled.
I am allergic to cats so I thought maybe a ferret would be a problem.
sharon
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Myranda
Pam or anyone,
have you ever had ferrets? if so can you share the pros and cons? my son
would also like one of them and a sugar glider. we have been told that a
ferret smells no matter if they are descented and it can't be controlled.
I am allergic to cats so I thought maybe a ferret would be a problem.
sharon
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
On Thu, 24 Oct 2002 12:19:20 -0500 james e thomas <meplusfive@...>
writes:
law, it's sort of like making domesticated dogs illegal because they
might escape and form a wild breeding group that would lead to the
extinction of wolves) but I had them in Arizona. My last ferret, Maia,
ran loose in the apartment, was litter-box trained, and slept with me in
my bed. She died of an insulinoma, which is fairly common in ferrets. :-(
She didn't smell at all - it's the boys that can really smell, but ours
all liked baths so it wasn't a problem, they were never descented. You do
have to get females fixed, because if they don't breed when they go into
heat they can die.
Ferrets are smart, a lot of fun, trainable (Maia came when I called and
"danced" for treats). Their activity levels go up and down more than most
animals, because of something about their blood sugar, so they get
hyper-happy and then really blah. They like hammocks and climbing inside
socks and tubes of material. All of ours have been fine with dogs and
cats - one was adopted by my parents' dog and the dog would follow him
around and lick him, and they'd sleep together, all curled up.
Dar
writes:
> Pam or anyone,I love ferrets. They're illegal here in California (a stupid misguided
> have you ever had ferrets? if so can you share the pros and cons?
law, it's sort of like making domesticated dogs illegal because they
might escape and form a wild breeding group that would lead to the
extinction of wolves) but I had them in Arizona. My last ferret, Maia,
ran loose in the apartment, was litter-box trained, and slept with me in
my bed. She died of an insulinoma, which is fairly common in ferrets. :-(
She didn't smell at all - it's the boys that can really smell, but ours
all liked baths so it wasn't a problem, they were never descented. You do
have to get females fixed, because if they don't breed when they go into
heat they can die.
Ferrets are smart, a lot of fun, trainable (Maia came when I called and
"danced" for treats). Their activity levels go up and down more than most
animals, because of something about their blood sugar, so they get
hyper-happy and then really blah. They like hammocks and climbing inside
socks and tubes of material. All of ours have been fine with dogs and
cats - one was adopted by my parents' dog and the dog would follow him
around and lick him, and they'd sleep together, all curled up.
Dar
james e thomas
Dar,
You make ferrets sound so great!! are they really easy to litter train
and how do you do it?
I had someone tell me that ferrets needed to be watched all of the time
(no free roaming) because they will try to get out any hole they could
find.
Do they become gentle and wanting affection like a cat or dog? That
would be so neat for my son. He would love it.
They are legal here in TN. I am glad to say. Hedge hogs are
illegal...Don't understand why but they are.
Not extremely friendly little guys ....from what we have seen.
sharon
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You make ferrets sound so great!! are they really easy to litter train
and how do you do it?
I had someone tell me that ferrets needed to be watched all of the time
(no free roaming) because they will try to get out any hole they could
find.
Do they become gentle and wanting affection like a cat or dog? That
would be so neat for my son. He would love it.
They are legal here in TN. I am glad to say. Hedge hogs are
illegal...Don't understand why but they are.
Not extremely friendly little guys ....from what we have seen.
sharon
________________________________________________________________
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Only $9.95 per month!
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[email protected]
In a message dated 10/25/2002 3:35:23 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
[email protected] writes:
corner; they just throw out that litter box and neaten the reat of the cage.
How are > they on smell, hamster cages stink! TIA, Lynn F
They don't stink nearly as much as hamsters or rabbits (inside---my outside
rabbits are quite enjoyable---like horses). Mice have an unpleasant odor to
me too (sickeningly sweet).
Kelly
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected] writes:
> Why is it the rats I have seen and held tend to be mean and bite when held?They were feeder rats and not socialized.
> Can rats be trained to use litter boxes or are they like hamsters in thatMine use one corner. Some we know have separate toilet areas set up in a
> respect that they go in a corner but basically all over the cage.
corner; they just throw out that litter box and neaten the reat of the cage.
How are > they on smell, hamster cages stink! TIA, Lynn F
They don't stink nearly as much as hamsters or rabbits (inside---my outside
rabbits are quite enjoyable---like horses). Mice have an unpleasant odor to
me too (sickeningly sweet).
Kelly
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
In a message dated 10/25/2002 8:43:35 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
[email protected] writes:
~Kelly
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected] writes:
> So why would it be that the feeder mice never acted this way, just the rats?Mice are stupid. But a RAT knows to bite the hand that feeds him--to snakes!
>
> I am not trying to make any fuss I just want to make a good decision. DoesGoogle: fancy rat breeders VA
> anyone know of a breeder in VA? Thanks! Lynn F
~Kelly
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
moonlitbatiks
I've always had pet rats I've bought from the pet store or from
friends with pet store offspring. I asked the store to call me when
they have baby feeder rats ready to leave their mama, so I can handle
them as early as possible. My 5yo daughter plays with her pet rat 3-
4 hours daily (it's become an obsession)! When I was in high school
I used to take my rat with me in a large sweatshirt pocket. I've
always found them to be friendly and fun, I never even knew special
breeder rats existed. I'll have to give them a try!
Amy and Sedona
friends with pet store offspring. I asked the store to call me when
they have baby feeder rats ready to leave their mama, so I can handle
them as early as possible. My 5yo daughter plays with her pet rat 3-
4 hours daily (it's become an obsession)! When I was in high school
I used to take my rat with me in a large sweatshirt pocket. I've
always found them to be friendly and fun, I never even knew special
breeder rats existed. I'll have to give them a try!
Amy and Sedona