[ameliaflame]

Yesterday I took my two rats, Ms. Marsha Willamina Treacle and Ms. Rhia Clarissa Treacle to school as I usually do once a month, set them up in the lab with all their toys and treats, and went to class. In third hour, while I was in algebra and there was a senior class upstairs in the lab, two kids thought it would be funny to put Rhia in with the school hampster. They have been told by teachers over and over not to touch my rats when I am not there, but they did. So they put Rhia and the little dwarf hampster in the hampster's cage, and went off to do there biology research. The hampster defended it's territory by attacking and biting Rhia (and those little teeth are sharp!). Rhia defended herself and attacked the hampster back, killing it in only a few seconds. Now I feel really horrible because everybody loved that hampster, including me, and my rat has killed it. It makes me feel different about sweet little Rhia, and its akward at school. What should I do?

 

[Lexarius]

I'd say that the class has learned a valuable lesson on biology: Rats are predators, and predators are likely to kill smaller animals if given half a reason. Especially something like a hamster or mouse, since rats are natural predators of smaller rodents. Would you feel any different about your cat or dog if it killed a mouse in the yard?

I would recommend not bringing your rats to school any more, since the class has proven itself to be insufficiently mature to handle animals. If you're feeling overly guilty about it (and you shouldn't, it's not your fault), you might offer to buy a new hamster for them.

 

[FalconStorm]

I would agree that it's neither the rat's fault, nor your own. The responsible parties would be the ones that placed the rat in the hamster's cage. Rats are omnivores, and part of the reason that they are so smart is because they eat meat as part of their diet. That means that it is in their nature to hunter other, smaller animals. In addition, it is in any animal's rights to defend themselves if attacked by another animal.

It's a sad event, but the ones I would be angry at is the ones that put your rat in the cage, not the rat for acting according to its nature. She's the same rat you had before, just showing that she's willing to defend herself if need be.

 

[ameliaflame]

Aw and shes sleeping in my hoodie right now what an angel...just look at my pic of her. Priceless? Yes! We got a new hampster and it has issues it bites everything and runs in circles in its cage running into the wall 8O

 

[ameliaflame]

Hmm it won't show the picture... oh click on gallery. The black one is Rhia.