[FireDingo20]

Hi! My name is Haila (weird name, I know...), and I first got into rats through a zoology course, in university. I've loved animals since I was a baby, and we used to have guinea pigs whilst I was young (4, I think). Anyway, I grew up around dogs as well (a golden retriever, a greyhound, and 2 whippets). So, here I was in uni, given a rat, told that I had to teach this rat unique tricks... and not having a clue on how to do it. I guess I started with handling it, I can't really remember. All I can clearly recall for definite was that I had two, a black and white one I named Milk (For some reason I thought she looked like a cow...) and an albino named Ruby. Soon, I left uni. Of course, I took the rats with me, but 6 months after I moved into my new flat, unfortunately I got back from work to see Ruby dead, with no signs of any wound or pain on her. Just 2 weeks later, Milk passed away-probably from old age, I don't know. I wanted another rat-but this time, not as a research project, just as a pet. I haven't got one yet-I joined the forum to learn more about rats before I get another one-maybe I might even breed them someday. Who knows? How did you first find out about rats? What did you call them?

 

[CleverRat]

I got my rats near the end of last summer from a humane society. They are black and white boys and their names are Wesley and Farley. I first got interested in rats when I went to a pet store and they had a tank full of these ADORABLE baby dumbo rats. I went home and researched all about rats but I got a little overwhelmed with how much care they needed. I got a hamster instead that I loved. After that I was a lot more familiar with rodent care and a rat sounded like my dream pet. So after a ton of more research, convincing my parents, and buying supplies, I finally got my rats and now they are almost a year old. Your story is very interesting and welcome to the forum!