Hi True confession time. For a while I decided to purchase a rat. It was a little girl and I decided to name it Rat. This rat kept squeaking each time I picked it up. But I petted it for a while but then it stopped breathing and went limp in my hand. I then purchased three rats and decided they should be girls and I named them Olivia and Anna. They were cute and adorable things. I petted them but they died again. Since then I have never purchased rats but had an addiction. I needed another rat to fill in that emptiness as I was quite upset. I nearly cried on one occasion. Rats are quite nice but they just seemed to die every time I pet them. I just don't know why? Never got to the bottom of that one.
No just scared. Especially if they hadn't been handled by you alot before. You have to take it easy with rats.
i've had rats...i got them when they were still pretty young... I loved my dear ratty...one was called whiskers and the other squeak.... I also had a hamster...and saw it when it went to sleep for the last time...somehow even though i had seen it go to sleep loads of times before, i just knew that she was going to die....
If the rats have never been handled on a daily basis and then at three someone wants to hold them they get scared. They can have a heart attack and die that why you need to get them when they are babies.
Got them from a local pet shop and they were well handled and weened. Probably they didn't like being petted too much. I remember one of them liked shoulder riding and I did actually get two of the rats to relax with me on lap. Usually girls are more active than those males. Oh well, I gave them a decent burial. Stuck them in a Tesco carrier bag and buried them under an Acorn tree.
They Only Live for 2-3 Years... I Do not Believe You! You better Not be making this up Because I've had Pet Rats...And They were the Best Pets I Had up to Then...
I made a mistake when I said 2-3 years. They were actually atleast 1 year olds. Why would I or anyone make anything up? The paranoid forums are definately for you
One thing I loved about rats was the smell of their fur. They really had a nice rustic smell to them and they were always active during the night. I read up about keeping rats and it was suggested I got a cage rather than a glass cage. This way they can climb and there is proper ventilation. My rattys didn't live long enough. I must have over petted them. Surely they don't get heart attacks just being petted. I was only petting them for like twenty minutes a day and one liked shoulder riding. The other just kept coming down all the time. Don't suppose it is possible one can pet them too hard without realising it?
All I can picture is that Looney Tunes cartoon where the big abdonimal snowman is chasing Bugs Bunny and everytime he gets him he squeezes him and pets him and alls him George. In all seriousness though, I happen to be a rat freak. I love them. I actually have three ladies right now, all of which are very healthy, very active and very much enjoy being pet without the fear of dying. As another poster said, the average lifespan is only 2 years or so, with some claiming to have lived to 3 and beyond. What you really need to do is, if you're buying them froma pet store, make sure they where bred to be pet rats (fancy rats) -- and not bred in some mill to be fed to snakes and lizards. I've bought a few feeder rats with the intent on trying to "save them", but due to the horrible conditions they are bred in, most of them have diseases already. I couldn't keep them with with my other rats because I was afraid they would catch what the feeders had. All the feeders I have already tried to rescue, even after taking one to a vet, have died of pnuemonia or other complciations due to how they where kept as pinkies. Also, you need to do you research on rats. They're NOT hamsters or gerbils. They require a different type of bedding (NO CEDAR NO PINE! YOU MUST USE DUST FREE BEDDING/LITTER!) and different types of food. I would try to buy some younger rats. Always buy atleast 2 (same sex) as they are VERY social animals and need company of their own kind. Also, let them stay in their cage for atleast 24 hours after you buy them, so they get used to and feel safe. Then, after that, each day for about a week or two (maybe more) hold them for about 20 minutes -- don't force them to be pet and don't sqeeze them, just be incontact with them for atleast 15 to 20 minutes a day. Rats actually cannot feel fear for more than 10 or so minutes, so after freaking for that long, they naturally calm down and start to bath and clean themselves. Try getting some male rats if you can. I have never had any, but from what I have read they are much more prone to becoming "lap rats" and enjoy being petted.
