rats - for Casey
#261216 - 05/03/06 12:37 AM
|
|
|
|
|
CathUK
Reged: 05/25/04
Posts: 373
Loc: Cambridge, UK
|
|
|
Casey, was just wondering how your rats are. I've got two new additions - two little hooded girlies called Parker and Primrose. I got them from a local rescue centre to keep Poppy company, as I had to have Petal put down (she had cancer).
If you are interested there is a brilliant message board called Fancy rats, which is very addictive.
Hope you are well,
Catherine
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
Hi Catherine!
#261233 - 05/03/06 05:33 AM
|
|
|
|
|
atomic rose
Reged: 06/01/04
Posts: 7013
Loc: Maine (IBS-A stable since July '05!)
|
|
|
I'm sorry to hear about Petal!  But hooray for Parker and Primrose! I'm all about rats in quantity, heh.
Lew and Gwen are doing well... well, actually, Gwen is getting thin, which worries us, but she's eating and playing and otherwise acting normally, so we're just keeping an eye on her for now. We just got them a new wheel - the biggest one in the pet store -
(Don't mind the messy cage  - it's cleaning day.)
I'm off to check that board out right now!
Hope things are good with you otherwise, too.
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Hi Casey, Wow, you hadn't mentioned that own rats, or maybe I
missed it. What kind are they? I see they're not small either.
Have they ever had litters of little rats, or are they nueter-
ed? Can they be trained to do tricks too? -Bob
--------------------
<img src="http://www.math.mtu.edu/~rwkolkka/BritPicA.jpg">
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
ooh! Let me get in on this post! I work at COSI-- a sceince center in Columbus, OH and we teach our rats to paly basketball. No, this isn't mean at all! I promise! It is the cutest thing ever! We really spoil them, and I love our girls SOO much! Right now, we have 2 sets of sisters that are trained. We use conditioning to help them along and after 6-8 months, they play a game in a mini court... they get a piece of cheerio when they make a basket! It's so cute...I'll try to take some pics of them and post them soon! But yes, I love my fancy rats;)
--------------------
IBS-A
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Very cute! Fingers crossed for Gwen. Your two look just like Poppy and Petal.
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
That I would love to see!
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
Hehe...
#261432 - 05/04/06 05:23 AM
|
|
|
|
|
atomic rose
Reged: 06/01/04
Posts: 7013
Loc: Maine (IBS-A stable since July '05!)
|
|
|
Rats are such awesome pets! This is the third pair of rats that I've had. They're medium fancy rats, if you go by the pet store's tags... although I guess they've gotten pretty darn big, hehe.
These two don't do tricks, unfortunately. My last pair, I acquired from my boss when they were still babies, and they were very easy to train. They didn't do tricks, per se, but I let them run around my apartment freely, because all I had to do was clap my hands twice, and they'd run back to their cage. As far as I was concerned, that's the best trick anyway. LOL! But the two I have now - Gwendolyn and Llewella - were a bit older when I got them, and they still don't even like to be held, so I think tricks are out of the question.
No baby rats out of these, either. I've thought about buying a male rat and breeding, but then I think, "what the heck am I going to do with a dozen little rats?!" I couldn't keep them all, and I will NEVER sell them back to a pet store, because 99% of pet store rats up here end up as snake food! But holy cow, are baby rats ADORABLE. Someday....
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Basketball-playing rats!! Tee hee! I wouldn't think it's mean at all, anyway - rats love to play, after all. I'd love to see it!
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
For some reason, I always get my rats in mismatched pairs - one dark, one light. And my dark ones always have a goofiness about them. Heh.
I registered on the rat board, btw. I'm "atomicrose" if you happen to see me lurking around.
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
I'm cath'n'rats - not very original!!!!
Warning - the site is addictive - you'll be feeding them porridge and babyfood before you know it!!
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
Re: Hehe...
#261551 - 05/04/06 11:42 AM
|
|
|
|
Johnny T. Reb
Reged: 07/09/05
Posts: 987
Loc: Lake Linden, Mich in the U.P. IBS-C
|
|
|
Casey, Medium fancy rats, huh. I guess the store didn't know
the technical classification of the rats, like if they were a
Great Northern Rat, or a Kangaroo Rat, or whatever. Boy, if
they're medium, I'd like to see the large ones<laugh>.
Oh, by tricks, I meant something like clapping your hands to
get them back in the cage, not just entertainment tricks. Is
it recommended to get them very young in order to train
them?
The reason I asked about baby rats was because I thought
that Lew was a male. I see they are tan and grey, do they
come in other colors or even multicolored?
I also noticed an electric wire connected to their wheel,
is it motorized, i.e., like a treadmill for rats?
-Bob
--------------------
<img src="http://www.math.mtu.edu/~rwkolkka/BritPicA.jpg">
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
Actually....
#261600 - 05/04/06 01:50 PM
|
|
|
|
|
atomic rose
Reged: 06/01/04
Posts: 7013
Loc: Maine (IBS-A stable since July '05!)
|
|
|
"Fancy rats" is a classification of rats.  Not a breed exactly, I don't think... it's hard to explain, I might have to look that up to explain it a little better!
No wires attached to the wheel - that's actually the metal frame that holds the wheel. We had to rig it up so it was attached to the side of the cage, or the rats would flip it right over!
I think you can train rats at any age, but as with most any pet, it's easier when they're young. The advantage I had with my last pair of rats, since I had them since they were babies, is that they were VERY used to being handled, and that's something that they really do have to learn as young as possible. Lew and Gwen didn't get that, and so they kind of fear human touch - they cringe and run away even when you try to pet them, and they've never grown out of it.
And no, Lew is definitely female. You'd KNOW if a rat was male. Next time you're near a pet store, go in, look at the rats, and see what I mean. LOL! 
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
Posts
