Theoretical Question to end a Debate: Could wild rats escape a critter nation?

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Lirb

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So I love snakes and rats, both of which being outstanding animals in my opinion. So as I discussed wanting a snake with my friend, he told me that the snake would eat my rats. I explained that my snake would be in a secure cage in my closet (it’s a walk in, more like a room than a closet) and my rats are in their own secure housing (A CN). Then he said that’s true, but a wild rat could escape because they would have the adrenaline to do so. I disagree. I think the bar spacing is physically too small for a Norway Rat to fit through and even though they could slightly bend it, they aren’t not physically strong enough to apply that force to them to make an opening big enough for them to squeeze through. He says they would chew it, but again, not possible imo. I need to put this to rest. Norway rats can’t escape from a CN, right?
 
Hey Lirb.
So it’s depends on the wild rat honestly. If the rat feels safe in its environment, the rat will not have an strength to get threw. But if the rat is scared and needs to escape. They would try for ever to get out. The bin at the bottom may be chewed off. The medal may be chewed out, just depends on the situation.
 
I assume that living in the same household with a predator that eats rodents would be stressful (and frightening) for rats.
I know that it was for rats I have rescued ....... and I have rescued hundreds of rats since 2004
 
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I need to put this to rest. Norway rats can’t escape from a CN, right?

Do you intend to keep wild rats as pets? Wild rats are far more emotionally and mentally content spending their lives in their natural habitat, as no wild animal enjoys being kept forcibly captive. (Of course rescue and rehabilitation cases are different, as they are not kept for our entertainment and pleasure purposes, as "pets").

This is also most likely true for snakes as well, as they are also wild animals and not domestic, and if they had the choice, would in all likelihood prefer to live out their lives in their natural habitats over a tank.

To make matters worse, the "pet snake" hobby, has turned into a huge industry, and has spawned a massive rat-breeding enterprise, created strictly for "snake food" purposes. Now rats are bred by the thousands/millions -- often in the most atrocious conditions imaginable -- just because people want to keep wild animals like snakes, as "pets", captive in tanks/aquariums for the duration of their lives.

I know about the rat-breeding snake-food industry, because I was personally involved in reporting one such establishment for horrendous cruelty, where thousands of rats were kept in "shoe-box-size" containers, 6-12 rats at a time, rows and rows of them, living in their own waste, defecating on each other, forcibly confined, malnourished and leading to terrible consequences that led to cannibalism etc. This is what goes on and what feeds the "pet-snake" industry -- which in my opinion should be banned and illegal (to keep wild animals captive for our entertainment/pleasure).

If you have not made up your mind about having a "pet" snake, please consider reflecting on all of this before making your choice.
 
Snakes are captive wild or captive bred wild animals and belong in the wild.
I like snakes which is why I will never own one ...... they should stay in the wild imo
I can not imagine being responsible for an animal that eats the type of pets I love

Everything about owning a snake involves animal cruelty and the torture of animals
 
Snakes are captive wild or captive bred wild animals and belong in the wild.
I like snakes which is why I will never own one ...... they should stay in the wild imo
I can not imagine being responsible for an animal that eats the type of pets I love

Everything about owning a snake involves animal cruelty and the torture of animals

I wholeheartedly agree. It's very unfortunate what has happened to snakes. They have been exploited and turned into a commodity for profit. A lot of people who like snakes and want them as "pets" don't even seem to realize that snakes are wild animals and keeping them forcibly captive is actually very cruel to snakes. Let alone the whole unimaginable nightmare behind the 'industrial-scale, rat-breeding for snake-food' enterprise that ties into it.
 
I know some people might disagree, but I think generally speaking that reptiles, amphibians, and other baser animals are incapable of reciprocating affection for their human owners. Because of this, they are getting nothing out of their relationship with a human. To me, this makes keeping them a pointless endeavor. I don’t see a reason to keep an animal who can’t share the joy of human love.
 
Aside from the moral aspects of owning a snake, I think the combination of trying to house rats and snakes in the same area is a bad idea. I've heard from others that have tried it and done their research that the scent of rats would put a snake in a constant predatory state and never be satisfied, which is very bad for them. The opposite can happen to your rats. If they know there's a predator near by at all times, they'll never be secure, just as SQ said. It sounds like you're trying to sit on both sides of the fence at once.
 
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