Wanting rats so bad

Like every normal kid, i begged my parents to let me have a dog. But when i first asked we were residing in apartments and so they said no until we moved into a house. Senior year, and we finally move into a house. And i asked for a dog again and they said no because we have cats. Which mad me mad. So, like every summer, i go to my dads and at my dads we have 2 dogs so one day we visited Petco and i wondered off into the small animals section. I had a couple hamsters before so i enjoy looking at all the little animals; well i was looking at some of the rats and one was curious and came over to me and was up on the glass looking at me and it was so adorable and my heart melted and i left the store wanting a new small animal, although not sure which one. I did a few hours comparing gerbils, mice, and rats and then finally decided that i wanted a rat mainly from their personality. This happened about a couple weeks ago and ive literally done so much research simply because i'm way too excited to go back to my moms and ask if i can get a pet rat or 3... Ive watched so many rat videos, read tons of information, came up with several names, and even made a list of things ill be getting. I planned on getting a Critter Nation double unit. I just really hope my parents say yes or ill be crushed. Only kinda downside is, theres no local breeders near me, and non the 2 animal shelters by me do not have rats so Petsmart is my only option which, i know, is not the best option but i really want rats. I just find it upsetting that so many people think that theyre gross and carry diseases. I had a friend who thought that and so i told him some facts about rats and now hes on board with me and is actually excited for me to get rats! Any stories or pictures of their rats anyone would like to share?

Hi and welcome. Rats are definitely awesome pets but be sure to have more than one. 2 or 3 is a must for a healthy happy life. 3 even better.
You will need to work slowly on your parents, it might come as a shock to your mom because probably all she's ever heard about rats are negative facts.

It will probably take a while to convince your mom. Maybe show her some cute pictures from this site. Lilspaz68 Has some heart-stoppingly cute photos of babies this week.

It took me a year to convince my husband to give rats a try!

Congratulations for learning about the magical animal known as rats. They can be truly incredible companions. Rats are very clean animals. They clean themselves often just like a cat does. As the above poster said it is important that every rat has at least one buddy. I really love how loyal and sweet rats are. They rarely ever bite. I have never been bitten and I have had many rats over the last 10 years. Wow just realized it's been 10 years. They are very affectionate and actually seek out attention from their owners. Rats are really smart too. They can learn their names and be litter trained.

Where are you located? There are many people on the forum who do private unofficial rescuing. So we could potentially hook you up. Rescuing is the preferred method of obtaining rats here as there are so many rats in need.

1. I am in the same boat as you, where I live in an area where there are no rescues that take rats within a reasonable distance of me. I look online for people needing to surrender rats. There are plenty of rats that people buy and don't have time for that need a new home. However, I'd be careful, not just because dealing with people trading goods online is always something to be cautious of, but because you don't always know exactly how true their ads are. My rat Lucille was described as friendly and often-handled, and she was a biter who had no idea how to handle human contact. But Phil was a success and came exactly as described. Definitely meet somewhere where you can handle them first, or see them handled.
Hopefully someone on the forum has a rescue near you. That's the easiest and safest route.

2. I would recommend 3 rats. I had 2 when I first got rats and the lag between one dying and me getting a friend for the remaining rat really shook her up emotionally.

3. My mother was very anti-rat before she got to know mine. Maybe show your mother videos of pet rats doing cute things. Don't buy from the pet store, but maybe take her there and let her see the ones there, so she can see what they're like. Aside from personal traumas with rats, ignorance is the biggest reason people really hate them.

4. Personal cute rat stories, for your parents. The first month I got my three girls from a foster home, Dot was very scared of her new home, so Eos personally guarded her and snuggled with her and helped ease her out to explore. Gumdrop, another rat of mine, used to get tired of waiting to be picked up, so she would crawl up my pant leg and try to snuggle in my shirt. Gumdrop also used to stockpile treats in a small space of my closet, and it took me a month to find it. The General used to love paper, and I would tear strips and scatter them on the floor, and she would run around to gather them and fill her sleephouse with them, and once she started stuffing the sleephouse while Gumdrop was asleep and trapped her inside. Mohini was the sweetest and she used to give us lots of kisses and she would crawl up my shirt when I was eating and try to steal food from my mouth.

Hey OhaiAlyssa

Congrats on your new found love! One of my students convinced her mom to let her get rats (and her mom was so scared of rodents especially mice) by writting her an essay about what makes pet rats so great and what the responsibilities of owning one are and how she will fullfill those responsibilities. It sounds like you are doing all the right things by researching about behaviours, how to take care of them ect. Another good thing to show them you're serious about this is to start a small "Rataccount", a spot where you can save money for emergencies and other rattie related expenses.

Parents (in my experience of being a kid a long time ago) don't want to get animals because mainly of the fear that their child wont take care of the animal and the parent will end up looking after it. Also be ready for them to say no and maybe have a conversation with your parents about the reasons for not wanting them. It'll be good for you to maybe hear where they are coming from.
Just try and think of all the issues that they might bring up like who looks after them when your at your dads? when and where play time will be for them, ect. Just trying to think of things said to me when I was a kid asking for an animal, I did grow up with a cat a dog and a gerbil so maybe ive got experience in convincing ;P

There are tons of cute photos of rats on pintrest if you have that or a bunch here on the forum, my boys when a bit older get really lazy and snuggly they act like a cat or dog and crawl into my lap for scratches super sweet. But an animals personality, I believe, is reflective of their owners, if you treat them with care and love you'll get that in return.

Gdlk with your parents well cross our fingers for you, let us know what happens.

Rats need vet care as they become ill and need to see a vet immediately and get meds or they will die.

Make sure there is a good rat vet in your area and consider getting a part time job to help cover future medical expenses
Continue to do research ... this forum is a good place (ignore the articles on this site as most are wrong)

When you are ready to get 2 or 3 or 4 same sex rats, try craigslist or kijiji and keep checking shelters.
Rescues and rat owners will help transport long distances for good homes.

Please add your country and prov., or state (and possibly city) to your profile. Where you are does make a difference

trihkal said:

Congratulations for learning about the magical animal known as rats. They can be truly incredible companions. Rats are very clean animals. They clean themselves often just like a cat does. As the above poster said it is important that every rat has at least one buddy. I really love how loyal and sweet rats are. They rarely ever bite. I have never been bitten and I have had many rats over the last 10 years. Wow just realized it's been 10 years. They are very affectionate and actually seek out attention from their owners. Rats are really smart too. They can learn their names and be litter trained.

Where are you located? There are many people on the forum who do private unofficial rescuing. So we could potentially hook you up. Rescuing is the preferred method of obtaining rats here as there are so many rats in need.

Click to expand...

Hey thankyou! Im currently in central michigan area

Update: found a local small animal rescue thats about 30 minutes away im fairly sure. They also have ratties up for adoption so i think ill head there to get mine if my parents say yes :idea2:

Ratty cheers over here!! [emoji106]

My mom is still getting used to my rats. She won't touch them and she scoffs and calls them ugly when she sees them. [emoji58]
And they are a huge expense/responsibility. But I really think for kids learning responsibility these guys are the way to go.
I had hamsters and gerbils when I was younger as my parents attempt to teach me responsibility. But none of them were social or liked being handled at all so they were very easy to forget about. My rats on the other hand are right up in my face as soon as I get home. Always coming up to the front of the cage to say hi and see if I bring food. And they go nuts at night time which is when they usually get play time.
Cage cleaning has always been my biggest issue but with these guys I do I spot cleaning daily especially since we're working on litter training. And cleaning the cage weekly is still a pain. But hopefully when I get different liners it won't be as hard...
Anyways I have a neutered/spayed boy and girl. And my girl, Sweet Pea is crazy adventurous and my boy, Buck is the biggest sweet heart. He loves giving me kisses cuddles.

Here is Sweet Pea


And Buck


I hate saying this but best pictures to convince parents are of young black-eyed and furry female rats.
Rat balls, red eyes, and that big naked tails, or naked bodies are big turn-offs for a lot of people.

Definitely recommend rescue! Both mine are. Although I'm pretty sure Buck was originally from a pet store before he was turned over to a shelter. Only markings I've seen at my local pet stores are black hooded. And that's exactly what he is.