[punkchica321]

Hey all, I'm Andrea and a rat hopeful lol. Right now I have 6 guinea pigs most of which are rescued except for one... a betta fish and a mixed breed dog of which is rescued as well. Over about I'd say a span of 6 months I've fell in love with this rat named Walter at my animal care class I take in boces and I really want to get a rat(or two if I can). Problem is, my parents havent given me a yes or no. So have any of you other memembers falling under this delimah? If so can ya give me some tips on what to do to convince them, I do know a few things like they are very pron to tumors and sadly dont live as long as you want them to...Also I've looked on petfinder and havent seen any rats in my area so anyone from Long Island NY know any places where I could rescue some ratties if my parents allow me to get them, I'm willing to get older ones as long as I know they'll be happy with the rest of the time they have here. I also know a small animal vet(where we take our piggies) so incase something happens I could take them there. Well thanks for taking the time to read...my novel haha I didnt even realize it was this long.

 

[JennieLove]

Hey and welcome. Yeah before I had gotten my first rats, It took quit a bit of convincing to my mom. We had TONS of animals and my mom didn't care for rats much. I did alot of info searching and told my mom how they where very clean, easy to take care of, and loving. My mom is a sucker for any animal so it wasnt too long before she said yes to the idea. lol, she fell in love with them a week or two after we got them! I think it depends on the person your trying to convince. If you do end up getting a rat (hopefully you get two! hehe) adopt or get from a breeder. I have always gotten my babies from petstores, but I was willing to take them the vets to make sure they were healthy once I got them. When you get any rodent from a petstore you pretty much asking for a health problem.

 

[punkchica321]

Hey Jennie yeah I know about the whole petstore thing it's so sad what they do with the animals there espically the small animals. I really want to adopt before going to a breeder because I like adopting a bit better, can you suggest any good sites to go to for really good rat info. I've gone to ratinfo.com or something along those lines but what else is there? I know that they love to climb so I'll be sure to keep that in mind hehe, I love the rats we have at animal care, we have two females that live in the same cage, then Walter and then Pickles our newest one she is adorable she'll just sit on you're shoulder while you go and do the other animals cages.

 

[Nazarath]

I know if you go to google and type in "rat breeders" they normally have a lot of good info on there. I poke around a little to see if i can learn anything new .

http://www.dapper.com.au/articles.htm

Thats a site i visit a lot still, mostly for the you ideas .

 

[Scarekrow]

Lol, makes me wish my dad would let me breed, I'd love to have a bunch of little ratties running around that I could give to good homes.

And punkchica, not all pet stores are bad. The PetSmart near where I live is really good about employing people they KNOW will take care of the animals, and they make sure they all get the right type of bedding and food. I bought my Choco from there and he doesn't seem to be scarred for life by his experiences there. In fact, he's the life of the cage right now. Very curious little fellow, keeps taking off my glasses and chewing on the part that's supposed to go around my ear...

 

[punkchica321]

Hi Scarecrow yeah that is true some petstores arent bad if I had to get some ratties from a pet store I'd go to this small non-chain petstore, but I'd love to adopt two instead... Thanks Nazarath for the site.

 

[fallinstar]

hello n welcome

 

[linz_04]

I think it REALLY depends on the petstore. The small local petstore where I'm from is aweful. The Petco here is really bad too. The petsmart on the other hand, is great! I've talked MANY MANY times with one of the managers there and she is awesome. They know me by name now and they're always asking how my rats are doing. She told me that if the little animals get sick and she feels their vet isn't doing a good job, she takes them HERSELF to the exotic specialist in the area. So, some petstores aren't horrible, although I don't agree with the mass breeding they do.

 

[cyrescaer]

as far as the parent thing goes, just give it time. don't push them into it, and don't just get them without your parents knowing or giving you permission.
learn as much as you can about them, and tell your parents what you find out. gather some resources to be sure about what you're saying, and your parents will soon see how keen and informed you are. hopefully, this'll help towards pursuading them to your ideas.

 

[Inesita]

Welcome!