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Rats As Pets

Why do most people think it's gross to have rats as pets? I personally think they are adorable. I have two female rats.Most people think they are gross, when really, they take very good care of themselves. They bathe many many times a day. After holding them, your hands do not smell bad. Really, they're not as gross as you would think. Wild rats are, not pet ones.

Pets Rats

This is an easy one to answer.

Rats are pests. They are scavengers. They carry disease.

Of course pet rats aren't the same. But we all carry so much disgust for rats in general, that most of us can't get past that bias. And most of us don't care. There are much more important things to worry about.

My oldest son has a friend who has several rats as pets. I'll let him keep them far away from our house.

Rats As Pets UFO & Writing Art Education Sciences

I agree with Nighthawk. If rats are so clean, then why are there so many products out there that are designed to kill them, eg rat poison, rat traps, etc? Yes rats can be adorable, but they also pose health concerns if allowed to roam sewers, etc and then enter one's home. As a pet, I agree they are not exposed to unsanitary conditions and so will be more clean.

Pets Rats

We seemed to have missed the last two sentance's in DecayingSoul's post.

There is a world of difference between pet rats, which normally are the white rats, and the wild rats.

The three years I was in High School, I raised white rats and sold them to the University of Washington. I had quite an enterprise going. White rats are in great demand for scientific studies. They are no different in keeping and raising as are guina pigs or hamsters or gerbils.

I made harness's for my females and I pinned them to my collar [the harness's] so that they wouldn't get away and get hurt. As long as you keep their living quarters clean, they are clean. I seldom if ever took my Stud Males out for little excursions, they were a bit more aggressive than the females and nearly twice the size. Plus they did smell, just like nearly all breeding males in the animal kingdom. Goats for one is a great example.

Edited: AGene on 29th Nov, 2004 - 12:30am

Pets Rats

Boy dies after fever from pet rat

AN American boy died from rat-bite fever just two weeks after buying a pet rodent. Now his devastated family is suing the retailer for negligence. Ref. Source 1

Rats As Pets

Petco not liable in fatal 'rat bite fever' case, jury says

A San Diego jury has found that Petco was not negligent when it sold a pet rat to a 10-year-old boy who later became sick and died after handling the animal. Ref. Source 4m.

Rats Pets

There are pets and then there are pets. I wouldn't let a ten year old have a rat. I wouldn't let one have a gerbil, hamster, 12 foot long python, or panther either. These are pets for older children. The right cat or dog is best for children that aren't yet in their teens and even in their teens kids are kids and need supervision and sometimes to be told no.