[Destrega2002]

I was in PetSmart looking for a pet bird when I noticed that they had rats, for some reason I was curious about them as pets thinking about Willard and thinking I could raise my own army of rats and take over the world (I'm crazy). One of the employees noticed me staring at the rats, went into the kiosk, picked one of them up, and placed him on her shoulder. She walked over to me and asked me if I wanted to pet it (I kept thinking about the tail,) I was like nah, it's cute though. She then went over how rats are this and that how they are misunderstood and how she owns some and that they are the best small pet you could possibly get, I wasn't really paying much attention I was staring at the tail of the rat.

Eventually I decided against birds (they can poke your eyes out if they really wanted to) and focused on small mammals. That **** employee won me over on rats... DAMNIT! So I got two and got them a decent sized cage and they have been the best pets I have ever had. So, here I am on this forum three months later chatting with other rat lovers... I blame the tails, because ever since then the tails have been the COOLEST aspect of the rat I have come to admire.

I blame the cute PetSmart employee for making me like rats. (GRRR... lol)

 

[Forensic]

You just go right on blaming her... yes... the rats won. :lol:

 

[lilspaz68]

My eldest sister had one, then my brother, then my next eldest sister got 2. AFter that I got my first...poor PEW Ratty, what an original name and we didn't have the information on rat care that we do now. Only those darn Pet Rat books in the petstore. I have always had rats since then but only became a proper owner later in the game.

 

[punkinbritches12]

i used to be TERRIFIED of rats thanx to some sewer rats getting into my house (EWWW)...then my cousin had some she made me touch, then pet, etc.....now i have 3

 

[OnlyOno]

i want a lot of animals (one day i wish to own a pygmy goat, a miniature donkey, a st. vincent's amazon, a 200+ gal aquarium, a lot of terriers (lol) and a giraffe... at least). so one day i went in to petco (i go there a lot for fish stuff) and saw a nakie rat. my petco is a male store, so i had to drive 40 miles for a female, but i saw one and i WANTED one, so as soon as my last hamster died i went and got me a rat. it's not mean, lol, toast was a dwarf hamster sent straight from hells bowels. that's how i fell in love with rats, ha ha, a little naked face staring at me from his giant igloo. i think i just like taking care of animals. meh. whateva.

 

[chefner]

I was in PetSmart looking for a pet bird when I noticed that they had rats, for some reason I was curious about them as pets thinking about Willard and thinking I could raise my own army of rats and take over the world (I'm crazy). One of the employees noticed me staring at the rats, went into the kiosk, picked one of them up, and placed him on her shoulder. She walked over to me and asked me if I wanted to pet it (I kept thinking about the tail,) I was like nah, it's cute though. She then went over how rats are this and that how they are misunderstood and how she owns some and that they are the best small pet you could possibly get, I wasn't really paying much attention I was staring at the tail of the rat.

Eventually I decided against birds (they can poke your eyes out if they really wanted to) and focused on small mammals. That **** employee won me over on rats... DAMNIT! So I got two and got them a decent sized cage and they have been the best pets I have ever had. So, here I am on this forum three months later chatting with other rat lovers... I blame the tails, because ever since then the tails have been the COOLEST aspect of the rat I have come to admire.

I blame the cute PetSmart employee for making me like rats. (GRRR... lol)

First of all, why can't every Petsmart and Petco have employees like that?!?!?!

As for me, I started with hamsters in college after being animal deprived my entire childhood life. Hamsters were cute and furry, but way too grouchy! Plus they weren't much fun since they are solitary and don't have much interaction. As I read up on hamsters I continued to find info. on rats making great rodent pets. So I took the plunge and got my first two rats - a black self and an agouti. They were wonderful and I have never turned back. Now 15 rats later.....

 

[yonksgirl]

I blame berks! LOL! When she told me that she was getting one I was skeeved, I too hated the tail! Well when she got her PEW I fell in love now 5 rats later (and lots of playing with rat tails) I can not see my self with out them!

 

[Berks]

I fell in love with rats about 15 years ago when i had one squishy, solitary male. And seeing everyones fab pics on here def. does not help GGMR!
i think my mom wants a few ratties now as well. She has been looking at different cages. Theyre addicting!

 

[ManBeard]

My family had to move into an apartment that didnt allow pets, and I had to give up my cat of 13 years. To cheer me up my mom got me a siberian dwarf hamster that I could hide in my room. Her name was Geo and she was awesome, but had a fairly tragic death, at which point one of my friends mothers got me a mouse. I liked the mouse a lot, but he was honestly not very smart. Durring this time I came into ownership of an awesome turtle, and a scorpion named Spartacus. My mouse died a year and a half later, and once again, was "replaced". This time it was with a little green snake named Mr. Zulu. I fell completely in love with Mr. Zulu, but he died quickly, as it turns out the batch of snakes at the pet store where I got him had all fallen victim to parasites. I felt aweful because I thought Id killed him somehow, but couldnt figure out why. After lots of research I decided that rats would be most, um, "compatable" pet for me, and that I could take very good care of them. I still wasnt sure if I was going to actually get one, but one day at the pet store, one looked me right in the eye, and I fell completely in love with her. I took her out and carried her around the store on my shoulder for an hour before I called my mom to get her approval. She wasnt too thrilled when I brought home the scorpion and the snake, so I didnt know how she would feel about the rats. When she got to the store I made sure she saw Skurge's face before her tail. She went "awe, cute. Is she a hamster?" "No, she's a rat." "EEEWWWWWWW!!!"

I won out in the end and brought Skurge home. A couple days later I brought home Plague, since Skurge seemed bored when she was in her cage. They've become a constant obsession ever since.

 

[chrisstrikeagain]

I agree with Chefner...all pet stores should have at least one but preferibly more rat person. im my stores rat person =]


and yeahhhh the tails are the best. i love when they wrap around my hand

 

[lizzydeztic]

my first small animal was an evil gerbil i got on my 11th that liked to stick his two front teeth into my finger tips. i had him for a year and then he passed. this saddened me but i decided not to deal with small animals again. when i was 16 my mother came home with a rex bunny with grey fur and a cotton tail. me and my dad built her a HUGE hutch for the front enclosed porch and she was a fabulous pet for about 2 years when i started feeling bad about her being so lonely that i let her go live with my friend uncle who dedicated his entire basement to bunnies. she later had babies. i honestly think she is still alive somehow, he keeps calling me to offer me another bunny. i loved having a bunny but they are honestly a TON of work. i may consider it in the future though when i get my own place, i'll have the bunny fixed and potty trained and rabbit proof my place. my aunt lets her bunny run free all day under supervision and there are hardly ever any poopy accidents.

anyway, enough with bunnies. my mom got guinea pigs for herself but i noticed she was taking poor care of them so i took them. i had an albino with colics who was TERRIBLY mean to the other black silky haired one. i eventually gave the albino to a neighbor that had her chinchilla pass away after some 5 years. she's an elderly woman and i felt very bad for her. the albino was diagnosed after 1 year in this womans care with stomach tumors and had to be put to sleep. my mother took my other guinea pig and gave it to the woman. i wasn't too happy about this but decided against getting more guinea pigs since they didn't seem terribly interesting to me.

so last.....october i think it was i started working on my parents about a pet rat. i did my research and found out i needed two or more. so i worked on them harder, lol. i finally got permission sometime in march or february of this year. went to petsmart frequently and held the ratties often until i found two girls that i loved. it took about a month for me to find the perfect pair, but in the tank there was another sister they left behind and the next day after taking the two home i went back to look for her. a friend from high school works there in the small animal department and said she sold her yesterday to a lady that has been coming there for years who's a good rat owner so i wasn't too worried.

now i am in love. they suit my personal idea of a good pet to the fullest. i love it when they sit on my shoulder and brux in my ear, they are extremely vocal too. they don't just brux but make an odd little squeaky noise too. sorry for my insanely love post, i'm just so passionate about my rats. my friends make fun of me for it but ah well. i rescued an albino dumbo from my friend that treated her terribly so now i have three. they all get alone famously. i've love to get a bigger cage and get another one.