Rat Appreciation & Information

[Trash Mammal]

-iZatch-

Morphine Kiss

-iZatch-

Morphine Kiss

-iZatch-

I used to have rats, They were mice actually, but still they were cute, but the family of mice we had had a genitic proplem annd some got tummors when they got old, I was sad, but I loved my pets. 3nodding

Mice are pretty cute, but i've never owned any. I went the size up and got rats, instead xD
Did they inbreed a lot and that's why they ended up with genetic problems?

AActially one of the first rats we got from the store died from a growth/Tommor and two of her babies died of growths when they got old too.

Awww D: Where do you buy your pets from?

Pet Land in the Mall

Ahh, a lot of mall places don't tend to take care where they get their pets from. sad I'd almost be willing to bet it had to do with that. In the closest mall to me, they got their pet store shut down due to getting their dogs from puppy mills and such.

[Trash Mammal]

heart

[Trash Mammal]

Fun Fact:

According to the Guinness Book of World Records the longest lived domestic rat died at seven years and four months of age (which far exceeds the 2-3 year expected lifespan

[Trash Mammal]

Fun Fact:

Inbred laboratory rats are created by breeding brother to sister for at least 300 generations. This produces animals who are more then 99% genetically identical, which is more similar then even current clones are!

[k ! w !]

Morphine Kiss

k ! w !

Morphine Kiss

That is awesome!
What are the requirements in becoming one? And schooling necessities?

It varies from state to state. In CA, you have to go to an AVMA accredited school, complete the program, then sit for the state boards to get your license.

About how long did it take for you to get it? Was it hard to do?

The program was 2 years.. It wasnt hard for me, but for some others it was. It depends on how book smart you are, because that's most of the program. By the end of the program we had less than half the people left that had started out.

You really have to want it. You can love animals, and still not be fit to work as a tech. Sometimes you get bad cases of abuse or neglect coming in, where a dog is literally crawling with maggots in its skin, or 4 paws so infected that the dog can literally hardly walk.. Ive seen cases of neglect so bad that the cat had about an hour left to live when they were brought to us. So it can be extremely emotionally tiring, and you have to handle yourself professionally in those situations. You can't yell at a client.

You also have to be good around needles and blood.

[Trash Mammal]

k ! w !

Morphine Kiss

k ! w !

Morphine Kiss

That is awesome!
What are the requirements in becoming one? And schooling necessities?

It varies from state to state. In CA, you have to go to an AVMA accredited school, complete the program, then sit for the state boards to get your license.

About how long did it take for you to get it? Was it hard to do?

The program was 2 years.. It wasnt hard for me, but for some others it was. It depends on how book smart you are, because that's most of the program. By the end of the program we had less than half the people left that had started out.

You really have to want it. You can love animals, and still not be fit to work as a tech. Sometimes you get bad cases of abuse or neglect coming in, where a dog is literally crawling with maggots in its skin, or 4 paws so infected that the dog can literally hardly walk.. Ive seen cases of neglect so bad that the cat had about an hour left to live when they were brought to us. So it can be extremely emotionally tiring, and you have to handle yourself professionally in those situations. You can't yell at a client.

You also have to be good around needles and blood.

Do you guys report the people who bring in the animals, how does that work?
I don't think I could go without giving someone a piece of my mind, well, maybe I could, if I could at least get silent revenge of reporting them.
I've contemplated doing some sort of vet work, but then I get reminded of the things you mentioned and it puts me back into perspective. I'm a good people person---but not with certain people.
It's sad that most jobs in the animal industry have to see cases of abuse and neglect. There's not really a way around it anymore it seems. I even see it at the pet shop I work at.
One woman repeatedly comes in, she wants to get a hamster for her son, right. 3 hamsters later she brings us one with it's legs broken and asks for 2 more of opposite genders so she could breed her own. After that it was service refusal from then on. We'd get weird calls from her too like, "How do you get 'sticky stuff' out of a hamster hair? Oops you're not suppose to put them in a bath?" Things like that.

[k ! w !]

Morphine Kiss

Do you guys report the people who bring in the animals, how does that work?
I don't think I could go without giving someone a piece of my mind, well, maybe I could, if I could at least get silent revenge of reporting them.
I've contemplated doing some sort of vet work, but then I get reminded of the things you mentioned and it puts me back into perspective. I'm a good people person---but not with certain people.
It's sad that most jobs in the animal industry have to see cases of abuse and neglect. There's not really a way around it anymore it seems. I even see it at the pet shop I work at.
One woman repeatedly comes in, she wants to get a hamster for her son, right. 3 hamsters later she brings us one with it's legs broken and asks for 2 more of opposite genders so she could breed her own. After that it was service refusal from then on. We'd get weird calls from her too like, "How do you get 'sticky stuff' out of a hamster hair? Oops you're not suppose to put them in a bath?" Things like that.

Its the vet's decision to report cases of abuse or neglect. You cant blow up at a customer, because you could and probably would be fired. Some people want to work with animals because they don't like working with people, but don't realize that at the end of every leash is an owner. You are also always working with the other techs and doctors. Its a lot of physical labor too.. Lifting heavy dogs, boxes of supplies/ food, etc. And it can be somewhat dangerous, because chances are you're going to get bitten and scratched at some point.

[Trash Mammal]

k ! w !

Morphine Kiss

Do you guys report the people who bring in the animals, how does that work?
I don't think I could go without giving someone a piece of my mind, well, maybe I could, if I could at least get silent revenge of reporting them.
I've contemplated doing some sort of vet work, but then I get reminded of the things you mentioned and it puts me back into perspective. I'm a good people person---but not with certain people.
It's sad that most jobs in the animal industry have to see cases of abuse and neglect. There's not really a way around it anymore it seems. I even see it at the pet shop I work at.
One woman repeatedly comes in, she wants to get a hamster for her son, right. 3 hamsters later she brings us one with it's legs broken and asks for 2 more of opposite genders so she could breed her own. After that it was service refusal from then on. We'd get weird calls from her too like, "How do you get 'sticky stuff' out of a hamster hair? Oops you're not suppose to put them in a bath?" Things like that.

Its the vet's decision to report cases of abuse or neglect. You cant blow up at a customer, because you could and probably would be fired. Some people want to work with animals because they don't like working with people, but don't realize that at the end of every leash is an owner. You are also always working with the other techs and doctors. Its a lot of physical labor too.. Lifting heavy dogs, boxes of supplies/ food, etc. And it can be somewhat dangerous, because chances are you're going to get bitten and scratched at some point.

Well, yeah, I know you wouldn't be able to blow up. I'd just have the major need. D: I can't honestly see myself going into that field.

Have you ever ended up being badly bitten or scratched at some point? I know that's just hand in hand for the job. Even for small animal vets.

Also, I think it's funny when people only want to work with pets. Or in general don't want to work with people so they choose a job that they don't think they have too. There's always going to be a need to talk with people at some point. =3

[k ! w !]

Morphine Kiss

Well, yeah, I know you wouldn't be able to blow up. I'd just have the major need. D: I can't honestly see myself going into that field.

Have you ever ended up being badly bitten or scratched at some point? I know that's just hand in hand for the job. Even for small animal vets.

Also, I think it's funny when people only want to work with pets. Or in general don't want to work with people so they choose a job that they don't think they have too. There's always going to be a need to talk with people at some point. =3

I was bitten on the pinky finger by a small dog, but it didnt hurt. She wasnt trying to be mean or anything.

I have been scratched a lot more. Cats can be eviiiiiillll. I've gotten scratched on the arms, neck, and face one time. The face one was really minor, and not the cats fault. i was bringing him to the cat ward in back and the doctor strolled in with a large dog without checking in there first, so kitty tried to climb my head. sweatdrop

Dog and cat bites differ in how they suck. large dog bites crush your hand. cat bites cause major infection. I think getting bitten is more common in small animal medicine, cause with large animals, you're typically working with cattle, sheep, or horses and they arent usually very.. bite-y.

[Trash Mammal]

k ! w !

Morphine Kiss

Well, yeah, I know you wouldn't be able to blow up. I'd just have the major need. D: I can't honestly see myself going into that field.

Have you ever ended up being badly bitten or scratched at some point? I know that's just hand in hand for the job. Even for small animal vets.

Also, I think it's funny when people only want to work with pets. Or in general don't want to work with people so they choose a job that they don't think they have too. There's always going to be a need to talk with people at some point. =3

I was bitten on the pinky finger by a small dog, but it didnt hurt. She wasnt trying to be mean or anything.

I have been scratched a lot more. Cats can be eviiiiiillll. I've gotten scratched on the arms, neck, and face one time. The face one was really minor, and not the cats fault. i was bringing him to the cat ward in back and the doctor strolled in with a large dog without checking in there first, so kitty tried to climb my head. sweatdrop

Dog and cat bites differ in how they suck. large dog bites crush your hand. cat bites cause major infection. I think getting bitten is more common in small animal medicine, cause with large animals, you're typically working with cattle, sheep, or horses and they arent usually very.. bite-y.

Well, I can attest for being an animal of a scratchy cat. My cats have a sort of fear of the vet, I guess because they tend to be sickly and need shots or temperatures checked, etc;. They just pretty much hate going now, except one. She only likes to go to ride in the car though. Weirdest Cat Ever.

Is it just the feral cats that will cause infection or can a house cat do the same? o.o; (My cats who frequent the vet have no teeth...so no worry on that =D )

I always figured dog bites would have infection rather than a cat.

[k ! w !]

Morphine Kiss

Well, I can attest for being an animal of a scratchy cat. My cats have a sort of fear of the vet, I guess because they tend to be sickly and need shots or temperatures checked, etc;. They just pretty much hate going now, except one. She only likes to go to ride in the car though. Weirdest Cat Ever.

Is it just the feral cats that will cause infection or can a house cat do the same? o.o; (My cats who frequent the vet have no teeth...so no worry on that =D )

I always figured dog bites would have infection rather than a cat.

Its cats in general. Dogs dont have a lot of bacteria in their mouth, so the damage is from the bite in itself. All cats have a lot of really nasty bacteria in their mouth.

[Trash Mammal]

k ! w !

Morphine Kiss

Well, I can attest for being an animal of a scratchy cat. My cats have a sort of fear of the vet, I guess because they tend to be sickly and need shots or temperatures checked, etc;. They just pretty much hate going now, except one. She only likes to go to ride in the car though. Weirdest Cat Ever.

Is it just the feral cats that will cause infection or can a house cat do the same? o.o; (My cats who frequent the vet have no teeth...so no worry on that =D )

I always figured dog bites would have infection rather than a cat.

Its cats in general. Dogs dont have a lot of bacteria in their mouth, so the damage is from the bite in itself. All cats have a lot of really nasty bacteria in their mouth.

Oh wow D:
I will now make sure to start disinfecting bites from cats. .-.
I learn something new everyday I suppose =3

[Trash Mammal]

Gambian Pouch Rats have been trained to sniff out mines in war torn countries - due to their light weight they are far less likely to explode the mines then sniffer dogs are.

[Kipluck]

Morphine Kiss

Gambian Pouch Rats have been trained to sniff out mines in war torn countries - due to their light weight they are far less likely to explode the mines then sniffer dogs are.

They ALSO sniff out tuberculosis! http://www.examiner.com/exotic-pets-in-salt-lake-city/rats-that-save-life-and-limb-how-gambian-herorats-may-change-the-world

[Trash Mammal]

Kipluck

Morphine Kiss

Gambian Pouch Rats have been trained to sniff out mines in war torn countries - due to their light weight they are far less likely to explode the mines then sniffer dogs are.

They ALSO sniff out tuberculosis! http://www.examiner.com/exotic-pets-in-salt-lake-city/rats-that-save-life-and-limb-how-gambian-herorats-may-change-the-world

Holy crap that's awesome.
How is TB spread? They can't catch it themselves, can they?
I'd rather see rats than dogs in an airport, that's for sure. xD
I love both, but rats are rad. <3