Anyone watch Willard?

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Beautiful_Insanity

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 13, 2011
Messages
47
Location
NB, Canada
So I watched the movie 'Willard' last night, and I have a question.

Does anyone know what type of rat Ben was? [The really huge brown rat.]

Even though he was pretty 'evil', he was cool looking. And I've been curious, what kind he is..and where can I get one!?

Thanks!
 
Beautiful_Insanity said:
So I watched the movie 'Willard' last night, and I have a question.

Does anyone know what type of rat Ben was? [The really huge brown rat.]

Even though he was pretty 'evil', he was cool looking. And I've been curious, what kind he is..and where can I get one!?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Giant Pouched Rat or Gambian.

They are not common at all but not an animal to get on a whim, you need to research like crazy and you would have to get one from a GOOD breeder.

http://www.qwiki.com/q/?_escaped_fragme ... ouched_rat
 
I was very disappoint that they didn't use a rattus norvegicus rat. We've got some rather large ones, I'm sure could have done what that Gambian did.
 
I love that movie. I watched it in theaters in high school, long before I got my first rat, and left thinking, "Man I want a rat."

Gambian giant rats are awesome, but way too aggressive for me to consider. They're not really domesticated, they're a wile exotic, so they're sort of untested water in a lot of ways. Also extremely territorial and about the size of my chihuahua, so that would probably not bode well for the dog.

They HAVE, however, trained them to find land mines and bombs in parts of Africa. They used to do that with dogs, but the rats are actually much better suited to the job.
 
That's actually what I was sort of thinking. I heard about the rats searching out land mines, and I think it's about the coolest thing ever. I always tell people when we get talking about rats.. especially the ones that go "eww" when I say that I have pet rats <3
Don't worry, I would never get any pet on a whim, without at least a few months of research. Depending on the pet, could be 1year+ of research, looking for good breeders, etc.
And, considering that I have a 3 month old baby, and a house full of critters... I probably wont be getting a Gambian. I was honestly more curious as to what type of rat it was. Very beautiful creature :)

Thanks for the replies!
 
I was under the impression that Gambian Pouched Rats were prohibited (or at least restricted) in Canada and the US, due to the risk of them becoming an invasive species...
 
Bamboo said:
I was under the impression that Gambian Pouched Rats were prohibited (or at least restricted) in Canada and the US, due to the risk of them becoming an invasive species...
Click to expand...


I know that the shipment of them from outside of the country has been prohibited because a few years ago, a shipment of sick rats caused an outbreak of Monkey Pox in the sates. Even though it's still illegal to ship them in from out of the country, it IS legal to own Gambian's as pets now, the ban was lifted in 2008, and there are breeders out there. You just need to do some serious research, and like it was said, be careful, because they're not a completely "tame" species. Especially the males, they tend to be aggressive during the onset of puberty, but once they calm down afterward they tend to be okay, though it's not smart to have two males in the same house, they're pretty territorial. A neuter may help. Also, Gambians can get along famously with regular fancy rats, but only if raised with them from a young age.
 

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