h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

what r ur views on rats? r they disgusting or cute i think they r great and make good pets

I love rats and until a short while ago had one (poor Brucie biggears went to rattie paradise acouple of months ago )

I have had ratties for the past 13 years and they are the best pets ever!


Hel2

i just put my poor rocky to rattie heaven just 10 days ago i miss him like mad

I've heard that rats make good pets, as they are clean and intelligent. When I was young people used to keep mice as pets, but this is not now recommended as mice do not have bladders, so they trickle p*ss all the time. Rats, on the other hand, do not have this problem. My only concern about keeping rats is that they might bite. (I keep guinea pigs, and they don't bite.)

Wild rats, on the other hand, have a very bad reputation for carrying disease. I don't know whether this is deserved. I've heard that the average city pigeon carries more disease than the average rat. But it may be that the pigeon diseases are not serious while the rat diseases are fatal. I don't know.

rats are very good pets but still a big stigma about them due to the black plague however there are a selected few people who love them

Domestic rats make wonderful pets
(and they are very tame if you treat them well and have them from birth so no they don't bite) I am thinking of getting another one soon (my other on was put down a few years ago after hurting his hip) as my little boy would like a pet too now.

ive got 2 females at the mo one is very tame the other one not very nice she bites like mad even though they were bought at same time and treated the same

domestic rats make good pets as long as they don't escape and breed with wild rats and produce canny little b*st*rds that know all about what humans get up to, and can therefore always stay one step ahead

thats when u do have trouble lol so where u from

Attention all rat lovers. Rats laugh: read this thread - http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/F51651?thread=96155 You will be entertained and tickled.

The closest I've ever been to keeping rats is keeping gerbils, though I do hope to move up to the big guys one day when I get a place of my own (being what has recently been called a 'Kipper' - i.e. someone who is still living at home despite being a fully grown adult, though in my case it's because I can't afford to move out). My aim to be a rat-keeper has been stalled to date by the opposition of my parents, who think gerbils are fab, but rats are just too big for rodent keeping - at least in their house, anyway!

Condolences to all whose rats have departed - our gerbil also went to rodent heaven in the summer, and we still miss him too.

I look forward to the day when a rat can call me its own.

When I first took my Richie home he fitted in the palm of my hand He did end up quite a bit bigger.. but fancy rats don't get as big as the hooded ones.My mum hated the idea of me getting a rat..my dad wasn't over keen either but they both fell in love with him ..maybe yours would too.

I keep guinea pigs, which tend to live for between 4 and 8 years. How long do rats live?

I'm not sure on that one..though I think it's 5 to 10 years.

My rattys lived 2 years, I think they can go as long as 4 tho, if your lucky. One of mine used to run around the floor and tidy up all the bits and pieces it could find, tissues, sweet wrappers, a4 sheets of paper(that was a funny sight), and hoard them under the dresser where I couldnt reach them.I made my daughter a pair of stilts out of pices of 5" thick corogated cardboard with string threaded through for her to hold, one night millie took a shine to this and made several trips to and from stilts and dresser, nibbling through the string and pulling then tracing the string back to where it was attached the other end and nibbling so she could get all 4 bits of string for her nest.Very clever. She would also creep up behind you and nip your heel and run away at great speed sqeaking, cause she knew she would be chased.

Rats as pets are great. They are more intelligent that the cleverst dog, so they can be trained to do all sorts of things (which is why they get used in labs so much ). Mine used to come when he was called and when we were watching the tv, or sitting still doing other things he had the run of the living room. Apparently you can teach them to read - although only in the most basic way of recognising symbols. I don't suppose we'll see any settling down with a good book in the near future.

There's a chance that any pet will bite - the wild animal isn't bred out of them that much, but it's normally a mistake or in defence.

My dog has *never* bitten, although he came very close once. He looked extremely shame-faced and took himself off to bed. Bless. I still wouldn't sit him next to a new-born baby though. Just in case.

rats are very intelligent creatures i have 2 females at the mo which are 2 totally different characters pinky is the vicious one its like the sas trying to fed her, i call her little miss attitude she doesnt like alot of sawdust too much she throws it out doesnt like u touching her taking her food to get refilled taking her water bottle too be filled however perky on the other hand shes as laid back as can be

scrapy you might want to read this
A572375

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