Rat Appreciation & Information

[Trash Mammal]

Kipluck

Morphine Kiss

Kipluck

Morphine Kiss

Kipluck

Morphine Kiss

Oh wow, it's rare to see that for animals who work. Do you think that they'll ever become a more widely used thing?
I'm not sure their efficiency vs dog efficiency of course but to me it seems like it would be a lot better to use rats vs dogs.

I'm not sure, but when I was interviewing APOPO, the research company that does the HeroRats I was just SO impressed with both their work and the quality of life the animals had. I would really like them to become more widely used. I think they aren't being used for as many things as those rats are capable of. They are extremely smart and have amazing noses!

As i've come to notice rats aren't given the appreciation they deserve in a lot of cases. When I refer to my rats as being similar to a dog, and extremely smart, most people scoff at me. I think a lot of people tend to just let their fears of rats over come things.

I love my little ones. <3

I showed my husband the article by the way, he almost didn't believe it at first, but thought it was really cool!

The only thing I could see ever going wrong is someone who has a fear of a rat who goes somewhere like an airport, if they had them scurrying around with security to check bags. But at the same time, that's conditioning yourself so you aren't afraid anymore. I think it'd be wonderful.

He should check out my sources and look up APOPO himself. It's a little newsy and businessy, and I wrote it more accessible, but there is a lot more information out there about them. Their HeroRat page is more aimed at kids writing reports, but it is fun to read about. It was such a fun article to write. I loved talking to them, and I LOVE the rats! I love regular rats too, though.

I will show him when he gets home from work =D
You know, for an article aimed more at children with reports, i'd almost go as far as to say that could even be used for my psychology class in -college-
So, how did you get into writing articles like that?

I had read a little of the Examiner before when one of my friends wrote me and said that she was making pretty good money writing for the Roanoke Examiner as their Religion columnist. She suggested I apply to be Salt Lake's Pet columnist. Well, I did but they told me no, they had a Pet person already but if I thought I could come up with enough material and localize it I could be the Exotic Pet columnist. I told them I definitely could. I don't make a lot. I write about 2 pieces a week and make about 50 dollars a week but it makes a debt in the pet food bill.

That's actually pretty awesome if you ask me, and 50 dollars is quite a bit!

[Trash Mammal]

grey eyed gypsy

These are the only pictures I could find (I uploaded them to photobucket a while ago so they aren't good, but they're passable. I only have a photo of their cage and of Cocoa, but I'll post some more late (and I'm sure I could get a picture of my African Grey and Nessa through the bars of the cage.

[snip][snip]
She was begging me to pick her up (or threatening to jump out)

I'm very jealous of that setup! Very nice!!!
And Cocoa is very cute. smile
I'm going to be making a post on the front page with cage setups so I will add yours. =D

[Trash Mammal]

CLAIRExREDFIELDx

Morphine Kiss

CLAIRExREDFIELDx

This thread is awesome and has the approval of my naked girls:

[snip]

wink

Aww, they're so cute. ^_^
The one sitting up has a silly facial expression.

I don't personally own any hairless rats, i've read about them, but from your experience is it harder to take care of them?

Hehe thanks. :3
That's Zelda, she's full of adorable poses and faces. Harley is just a crazy monkey.

It's a bit different but not totally harder. The diets a tad different but other than that it's been about the same as a furred. They get scratches easy but I've never had anything bleed.

They're very cuddly since they love warmth. I'm thinking about eventually getting a fuzzy friend for them to snug with. And they feel so nice. <3

In the future, I think I will own a hairless rat. Far into the future though. I use to not like them so much but i've come to learn you just can't discriminate with these little guys. <3
Do you have any photos of your cage setup?

[grey eyed girly]

Morphine Kiss

grey eyed gypsy

These are the only pictures I could find (I uploaded them to photobucket a while ago so they aren't good, but they're passable. I only have a photo of their cage and of Cocoa, but I'll post some more late (and I'm sure I could get a picture of my African Grey and Nessa through the bars of the cage.

[snip][snip]
She was begging me to pick her up (or threatening to jump out)

I'm very jealous of that setup! Very nice!!!
And Cocoa is very cute. smile
I'm going to be making a post on the front page with cage setups so I will add yours. =D

Cool sounds aawesome, and thanks. We have set ups for are birds that go beyond average, so why not treat our rats the same way. My family takes owning pets very seriously.

[Trash Mammal]

grey eyed gypsy

Morphine Kiss

grey eyed gypsy

These are the only pictures I could find (I uploaded them to photobucket a while ago so they aren't good, but they're passable. I only have a photo of their cage and of Cocoa, but I'll post some more late (and I'm sure I could get a picture of my African Grey and Nessa through the bars of the cage.

[snip][snip]
She was begging me to pick her up (or threatening to jump out)

I'm very jealous of that setup! Very nice!!!
And Cocoa is very cute. smile
I'm going to be making a post on the front page with cage setups so I will add yours. =D

Cool sounds aawesome, and thanks. We have set ups for are birds that go beyond average, so why not treat our rats the same way. My family takes owning pets very seriously.

For the majority, out of my large family, only a few of us take anything seriously. In our new house we'll have an entire bedroom for animals ^_^
One of my sisters is a majorly against animal abuse driven woman, went vegetarian at a young age even. Then one brother raises rats, snakes, and beardies, while the other goes with Geckos only now. Their houses in general used to have animals everywhere, which I had no problem with. Over the years they've downsized though as far as animals go. The one who raises snakes makes his own cages and what not too which is pretty rad. (At least, he used too, not sure if he has for a while)

[Do It Try It]

Morphine Kiss

CLAIRExREDFIELDx

Morphine Kiss

CLAIRExREDFIELDx

This thread is awesome and has the approval of my naked girls:

[snip]

wink

Aww, they're so cute. ^_^
The one sitting up has a silly facial expression.

I don't personally own any hairless rats, i've read about them, but from your experience is it harder to take care of them?

Hehe thanks. :3
That's Zelda, she's full of adorable poses and faces. Harley is just a crazy monkey.

It's a bit different but not totally harder. The diets a tad different but other than that it's been about the same as a furred. They get scratches easy but I've never had anything bleed.

They're very cuddly since they love warmth. I'm thinking about eventually getting a fuzzy friend for them to snug with. And they feel so nice. <3

In the future, I think I will own a hairless rat. Far into the future though. I use to not like them so much but i've come to learn you just can't discriminate with these little guys. <3
Do you have any photos of your cage setup?

Haha, a lot of people find them weird but they're just adorable and I'm really loving the nakies. Everyone that meets my girls falls in love with em.

I do not but I can try to snap some. My setup isn't the best because I'm not the best decorator and colors on everything don't match (I've seen some awesome setups) but the girls like it a lot. Haha.

[Trash Mammal]

CLAIRExREDFIELDx

Morphine Kiss

CLAIRExREDFIELDx

Morphine Kiss

CLAIRExREDFIELDx

This thread is awesome and has the approval of my naked girls:

[snip]

wink

Aww, they're so cute. ^_^
The one sitting up has a silly facial expression.

I don't personally own any hairless rats, i've read about them, but from your experience is it harder to take care of them?

Hehe thanks. :3
That's Zelda, she's full of adorable poses and faces. Harley is just a crazy monkey.

It's a bit different but not totally harder. The diets a tad different but other than that it's been about the same as a furred. They get scratches easy but I've never had anything bleed.

They're very cuddly since they love warmth. I'm thinking about eventually getting a fuzzy friend for them to snug with. And they feel so nice. <3

In the future, I think I will own a hairless rat. Far into the future though. I use to not like them so much but i've come to learn you just can't discriminate with these little guys. <3
Do you have any photos of your cage setup?

Haha, a lot of people find them weird but they're just adorable and I'm really loving the nakies. Everyone that meets my girls falls in love with em.

I do not but I can try to snap some. My setup isn't the best because I'm not the best decorator and colors on everything don't match (I've seen some awesome setups) but the girls like it a lot. Haha.

Haha, it's okay smile The girls I keep in my aquarium (And soon they're moving to a bigger aquarium after I clean it up and buy a screen top, at least until we move) have a weird setup. And the boys get jipped and there's is plain, and today I ran out of cardboard boxes xD

I wish there was a way to meet other people's pets on the internet. Like a virtual world everyone goes into, like Tron, but different. cool o.o Because I really want to pet yours. D:

This is my girl setup. I stick each box with a rolled up peice of newspaper that they can drag out and do as they please with it. Actually took that pic today. This is what it looks like after cleaning day. They tear all of it down pretty quickly, so I guess its a good thing I redo/clean every 2 to 3 days haha. And, since we don't recycle, this is recycling!

So yeah, i'm sure yours can't be any more bland than this. xD

[Do It Try It]

Morphine Kiss

CLAIRExREDFIELDx

Morphine Kiss

CLAIRExREDFIELDx

Morphine Kiss

CLAIRExREDFIELDx

This thread is awesome and has the approval of my naked girls:

[snip]

wink

Aww, they're so cute. ^_^
The one sitting up has a silly facial expression.

I don't personally own any hairless rats, i've read about them, but from your experience is it harder to take care of them?

Hehe thanks. :3
That's Zelda, she's full of adorable poses and faces. Harley is just a crazy monkey.

It's a bit different but not totally harder. The diets a tad different but other than that it's been about the same as a furred. They get scratches easy but I've never had anything bleed.

They're very cuddly since they love warmth. I'm thinking about eventually getting a fuzzy friend for them to snug with. And they feel so nice. <3

In the future, I think I will own a hairless rat. Far into the future though. I use to not like them so much but i've come to learn you just can't discriminate with these little guys. <3
Do you have any photos of your cage setup?

Haha, a lot of people find them weird but they're just adorable and I'm really loving the nakies. Everyone that meets my girls falls in love with em.

I do not but I can try to snap some. My setup isn't the best because I'm not the best decorator and colors on everything don't match (I've seen some awesome setups) but the girls like it a lot. Haha.

Haha, it's okay smile The girls I keep in my aquarium (And soon they're moving to a bigger aquarium after I clean it up and buy a screen top, at least until we move) have a weird setup. And the boys get jipped and there's is plain, and today I ran out of cardboard boxes xD

I wish there was a way to meet other people's pets on the internet. Like a virtual world everyone goes into, like Tron, but different. cool o.o Because I really want to pet yours. D:

This is my girl setup. I stick each box with a rolled up peice of newspaper that they can drag out and do as they please with it. Actually took that pic today. This is what it looks like after cleaning day. They tear all of it down pretty quickly, so I guess its a good thing I redo/clean every 2 to 3 days haha. And, since we don't recycle, this is recycling!

So yeah, i'm sure yours can't be any more bland than this. xD

Hehe it looks like they could have fun with that, though.
Mine isn't so much bland as it is messy looking. LOL

Here's a few more pics of the girls, I'll try to snap some of my set up tomorrow:





This is when Har was a baby. LOL she got so much balder.

[Trash Mammal]

CLAIRExREDFIELDx

Hehe it looks like they could have fun with that, though.
Mine isn't so much bland as it is messy looking. LOL

Here's a few more pics of the girls, I'll try to snap some of my set up tomorrow:

[SnipSnipSnip]

I love that very last picture!
A messy rat home is a happy home? smile

[USS_Galactica]

Morphine Kiss

What type of shavings are you using in there?

I really hope it isn't pine (or cedar).

Also, the toxicity of pine and cedar is probably something you should mention on the first page.

[Trash Mammal]

Lunarflowermaiden

Morphine Kiss

What type of shavings are you using in there?

I really hope it isn't pine (or cedar).

Also, the toxicity of pine and cedar is probably something you should mention on the first page.

Nope, as stated a couple times on the front page, I use Kiln Dried which is changed every 2 to 3 days.

[remdog_gangster_bunny]

goood mrgreen

[Trash Mammal]

remis14

goood mrgreen

3nodding

Do you own a pet rat?

[Trash Mammal]

Fun Rat Fact:
Rats are routinely worshipped and fed in the Karni Devi, a temple completely devoted to them. These thousands of wild rats never gave any of their worshippers infected Bubonic fleas even during the plague years - scientists suspect this is because being territorial they kept invading rats (and their fleas) out of the area.

[grey eyed girly]

Morphine Kiss

Fun Rat Fact:
Rats are routinely worshipped and fed in the Karni Devi, a temple completely devoted to them. These thousands of wild rats never gave any of their worshippers infected Bubonic fleas even during the plague years - scientists suspect this is because being territorial they kept invading rats (and their fleas) out of the area.

I heard about that, that sounds really cool. Did you know that rats laugh when being tickled, I'll have to find that video, is it bad of me to tickle torture my rats.