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Browsing the archives for the hamster tag
well i was at the petstore the other day and i saw this adorable black and white dumbo rat…he was up and about….he was eating his food when i gently out my finger on the cage…he seemed to FOLLOW it… and he seemed sooo cute and friendly…sorta…i guess..he was in a cage…..but IF i were [...]
June 2, 2010 in DUMBO Pet Care
Tagged border collie, collie, dad, dumbo rat, hamster, lol, mom, money, parents, pet rat, pet rats, petshop, petstore, silent treatment, sleep, sorta, thanx, two dogs, yorkie
Tagged border collie, collie, dad, dumbo rat, hamster, lol, mom, money, parents, pet rat, pet rats, petshop, petstore, silent treatment, sleep, sorta, thanx, two dogs, yorkie
One Response
But I have a few questions before. Do they smell? Are they nice animals, and would they be nicer if I got it from somewhere else than a petstore? Whats the difference in personality for boy and girl? I want a pet thats nice (I havent had good experiences with a hamster, hedgehog, and geckos)… [...]
May 28, 2010 in DUMBO Pet Care
Tagged allergic to dogs, animals, blah, dad, dogs and cats, experiences, ferrets, geckos, hamster, hedgehog, personality, petstore
Tagged allergic to dogs, animals, blah, dad, dogs and cats, experiences, ferrets, geckos, hamster, hedgehog, personality, petstore
One Response
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<3Pets
A well-socialized rat in a pet store is VERY hard to find. Most of the pet-store rats have been bred for food, and so aren’t used to humans and are not that appreciative of human interaction. If you can find one like that, you have luck on your side!
To the person who answered there isn’t much difference between rat personalities, I beg to differ! I’m a breeder, I have had over 20 rats in the past few years, and that does not count all the babies I bred for the local pet shop. Ever rat I have had has been well-socialized, and even the ones that didn’t start that way I have coaxed out of their shells are are now wonderful members of our rat family.
So, if you do manage to convince your parents to let you have a rat, and you have questions about the care and training of rats, feel free to email me with questions, I’m always happy to help out a fellow rat-lover
olderock@gmail.comNow, onto convincing your parents to let you have one.
Education is the key. Most people think of rats as dirty little vermin that live under houses and in sewers, that carry diseases. They see rats as animals likely to bite, who are dangerous and intended only as food for snakes. It’s likely that your parents believe in the same stereotype, and do not see rats as an acceptable pet!
Let them know. Rats are extremely clean creatures, possibly cleaner than cats! They tend to poop only in a corner of their cage, and they are constantly grooming each other and themselves. They cannot stand having anything in their fur. And contrary to popular belief, rats do not stink! They tend to have an interesting smell, almost woody. Sometimes their smell can get a little strong, though, and in these cases, it is perfectly acceptable to give your rat a bath! Use baby shampoo, scrub-a-dub, rinse, let your rat dry in a box full of old towels, and voila! Much easier than washing the family dog.
Another misconception: rats always bite. Not true. Even wild rats will only bite if they are threatened, starving, or rabid. My rats don’t bite. I have even held them with my hands smelling strongly of foods they only get as rare treats, like tuna fish, and the most my rats have ever done is lick my fingers. Even if you do have a rat that bites, it’s because he feels threatened by you. It’s time consuming but quite easy to train them out of feeling threatened by you. A small rat, like most of the rats in the pet store (to me, a small rat is what the pet store may call a medium or large rat, because my full-grown rats are right now the same size as my 3-month-old kittens), can’t normally bite hard enough to draw blood. The most it can do is startle you, which gives you plenty of time to train him out of the habit before it becomes dangerous.
Show your parents the positives of having a rat or two in the house. They are loving, affectionate creatures, who are very trainable (I trained one to use the toilet once), and who love to cuddle and play. They have personalities very similar to large dogs, with the size of a tiny dog. My rats even enjoy playing with cat toys!
I have large cages for my rats, but my rats are also free to roam during certain times of the day (this is so both genders can have their times to roam the house, but I don’t have to worry about unplanned pregnancies). I have no problems with finding rat droppings everywhere (they poop in their cage, and sometimes use the kittens’ litter box), they don’t chew on everything because they know what their toys are and what MY toys are, and more often than not they just sit on people’s laps and watch t.v. with us! It’s nothing like the crisis your parent’s are probably imagining with ownership of a pet rat.
So yeah, the best thing you can do is educate them. Find out what they have against pet rats, and chances are they are completely wrong in their thinking! If they don’t believe you, show them credible sources found on the internet or in rat books.
On a side note, if you have cats, that’s not necessarily a good reason to avoid having a pet rat, either. If your cats are hunting cats, you can easily keep your rats in a cage that the cats can’t get into, that’s heavy enough that the cat’s can’t push it over. If your cats aren’t hunters, then you have nothing to worry about! My kittens and my rats get along like best friends. My kittens tend to shred the furniture, and sometimes my arms, but they are completely gentle with the rats. Feel free to email me at the address above if you have any more questions
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May 21, 2010 in DUMBO Pet Care
Tagged baby hamster, balls, bedding, carrots, cute hamster, dumbo rat, dumbo rats, hamster, hideout, holes, patches, rat food, snacks, squeak, wheels, wondering what kind
Tagged baby hamster, balls, bedding, carrots, cute hamster, dumbo rat, dumbo rats, hamster, hideout, holes, patches, rat food, snacks, squeak, wheels, wondering what kind
One Response
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A well-socialized rat in a pet store is VERY hard to find. Most of the pet-store rats have been bred for food, and so aren’t used to humans and are not that appreciative of human interaction. If you can find one like that, you have luck on your side!
To the person who answered there isn’t much difference between rat personalities, I beg to differ! I’m a breeder, I have had over 20 rats in the past few years, and that does not count all the babies I bred for the local pet shop. Ever rat I have had has been well-socialized, and even the ones that didn’t start that way I have coaxed out of their shells are are now wonderful members of our rat family.
So, if you do manage to convince your parents to let you have a rat, and you have questions about the care and training of rats, feel free to email me with questions, I’m always happy to help out a fellow rat-lover
olderock@gmail.comNow, onto convincing your parents to let you have one.
Education is the key. Most people think of rats as dirty little vermin that live under houses and in sewers, that carry diseases. They see rats as animals likely to bite, who are dangerous and intended only as food for snakes. It’s likely that your parents believe in the same stereotype, and do not see rats as an acceptable pet!
Let them know. Rats are extremely clean creatures, possibly cleaner than cats! They tend to poop only in a corner of their cage, and they are constantly grooming each other and themselves. They cannot stand having anything in their fur. And contrary to popular belief, rats do not stink! They tend to have an interesting smell, almost woody. Sometimes their smell can get a little strong, though, and in these cases, it is perfectly acceptable to give your rat a bath! Use baby shampoo, scrub-a-dub, rinse, let your rat dry in a box full of old towels, and voila! Much easier than washing the family dog.
Another misconception: rats always bite. Not true. Even wild rats will only bite if they are threatened, starving, or rabid. My rats don’t bite. I have even held them with my hands smelling strongly of foods they only get as rare treats, like tuna fish, and the most my rats have ever done is lick my fingers. Even if you do have a rat that bites, it’s because he feels threatened by you. It’s time consuming but quite easy to train them out of feeling threatened by you. A small rat, like most of the rats in the pet store (to me, a small rat is what the pet store may call a medium or large rat, because my full-grown rats are right now the same size as my 3-month-old kittens), can’t normally bite hard enough to draw blood. The most it can do is startle you, which gives you plenty of time to train him out of the habit before it becomes dangerous.
Show your parents the positives of having a rat or two in the house. They are loving, affectionate creatures, who are very trainable (I trained one to use the toilet once), and who love to cuddle and play. They have personalities very similar to large dogs, with the size of a tiny dog. My rats even enjoy playing with cat toys!
I have large cages for my rats, but my rats are also free to roam during certain times of the day (this is so both genders can have their times to roam the house, but I don’t have to worry about unplanned pregnancies). I have no problems with finding rat droppings everywhere (they poop in their cage, and sometimes use the kittens’ litter box), they don’t chew on everything because they know what their toys are and what MY toys are, and more often than not they just sit on people’s laps and watch t.v. with us! It’s nothing like the crisis your parent’s are probably imagining with ownership of a pet rat.
So yeah, the best thing you can do is educate them. Find out what they have against pet rats, and chances are they are completely wrong in their thinking! If they don’t believe you, show them credible sources found on the internet or in rat books.
On a side note, if you have cats, that’s not necessarily a good reason to avoid having a pet rat, either. If your cats are hunting cats, you can easily keep your rats in a cage that the cats can’t get into, that’s heavy enough that the cat’s can’t push it over. If your cats aren’t hunters, then you have nothing to worry about! My kittens and my rats get along like best friends. My kittens tend to shred the furniture, and sometimes my arms, but they are completely gentle with the rats. Feel free to email me at the address above if you have any more questions
A well-socialized rat in a pet store is VERY hard to find. Most of the pet-store rats have been bred for food, and so aren’t used to humans and are not that appreciative of human interaction. If you can find one like that, you have luck on your side!
To the person who answered there isn’t much difference between rat personalities, I beg to differ! I’m a breeder, I have had over 20 rats in the past few years, and that does not count all the babies I bred for the local pet shop. Ever rat I have had has been well-socialized, and even the ones that didn’t start that way I have coaxed out of their shells are are now wonderful members of our rat family.
So, if you do manage to convince your parents to let you have a rat, and you have questions about the care and training of rats, feel free to email me with questions, I’m always happy to help out a fellow rat-lover
olderock@gmail.com
Now, onto convincing your parents to let you have one.
Education is the key. Most people think of rats as dirty little vermin that live under houses and in sewers, that carry diseases. They see rats as animals likely to bite, who are dangerous and intended only as food for snakes. It’s likely that your parents believe in the same stereotype, and do not see rats as an acceptable pet!
Let them know. Rats are extremely clean creatures, possibly cleaner than cats! They tend to poop only in a corner of their cage, and they are constantly grooming each other and themselves. They cannot stand having anything in their fur. And contrary to popular belief, rats do not stink! They tend to have an interesting smell, almost woody. Sometimes their smell can get a little strong, though, and in these cases, it is perfectly acceptable to give your rat a bath! Use baby shampoo, scrub-a-dub, rinse, let your rat dry in a box full of old towels, and voila! Much easier than washing the family dog.
Another misconception: rats always bite. Not true. Even wild rats will only bite if they are threatened, starving, or rabid. My rats don’t bite. I have even held them with my hands smelling strongly of foods they only get as rare treats, like tuna fish, and the most my rats have ever done is lick my fingers. Even if you do have a rat that bites, it’s because he feels threatened by you. It’s time consuming but quite easy to train them out of feeling threatened by you. A small rat, like most of the rats in the pet store (to me, a small rat is what the pet store may call a medium or large rat, because my full-grown rats are right now the same size as my 3-month-old kittens), can’t normally bite hard enough to draw blood. The most it can do is startle you, which gives you plenty of time to train him out of the habit before it becomes dangerous.
Show your parents the positives of having a rat or two in the house. They are loving, affectionate creatures, who are very trainable (I trained one to use the toilet once), and who love to cuddle and play. They have personalities very similar to large dogs, with the size of a tiny dog. My rats even enjoy playing with cat toys!
I have large cages for my rats, but my rats are also free to roam during certain times of the day (this is so both genders can have their times to roam the house, but I don’t have to worry about unplanned pregnancies). I have no problems with finding rat droppings everywhere (they poop in their cage, and sometimes use the kittens’ litter box), they don’t chew on everything because they know what their toys are and what MY toys are, and more often than not they just sit on people’s laps and watch t.v. with us! It’s nothing like the crisis your parent’s are probably imagining with ownership of a pet rat.
So yeah, the best thing you can do is educate them. Find out what they have against pet rats, and chances are they are completely wrong in their thinking! If they don’t believe you, show them credible sources found on the internet or in rat books.
On a side note, if you have cats, that’s not necessarily a good reason to avoid having a pet rat, either. If your cats are hunting cats, you can easily keep your rats in a cage that the cats can’t get into, that’s heavy enough that the cat’s can’t push it over. If your cats aren’t hunters, then you have nothing to worry about! My kittens and my rats get along like best friends. My kittens tend to shred the furniture, and sometimes my arms, but they are completely gentle with the rats. Feel free to email me at the address above if you have any more questions