Home› General Chat
If you need urgent support, call 999 or go to your nearest A&E. To contact our Crisis Messenger (open 24/7) text THEMIX to 85258.
Options

odd topic im looking for a pet

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
in General Chat
well not quite at the moment, but for when i finish uni

currently i'm thinking of a pet rat, and i'm wondering it'd be possible to get a young, but not quite baby rat from a place that breeds them for medical research, as they're extremely tame and comfortable around humans

any idea on prices or sites or anything? :s

i'm thinknig a rat because they can be extremely clean and healthy, they're relatively intelligent so will respond to good treatment nicely, and they can probably live off a nice variety of food but i dont want one from a pet shop as they're normally really nervous i hear

Comments

  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i used to have a pet rat, was really cool, i got mine from a pet shop, but mine was fine coz it was quite young. :thumb: mine died though, we think our cat gave it a hearattak :(
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i want a pet white rat. Ive always wanted one. Its got to be female, as boy rats testicles make me feel sick.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I had a pet rat from a pet shop and he was lovely and friendly, and so have been most of the ones that people i know had, so i'm not sure where you heard that? The cost of the rat was about £5, the tank £15 and then food and stuff is quite cheap they eat most dry food. I think they are quite fun, better than hamsters anyway.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Not totally sure, but couldn't you buy a baby rat and then handle it loads so it becomes tame?
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Yeah, get a rat! They are fantastic pets! We would have them, but my boyfriend is allergic to them :( He did have one about 4 years ago, it used to snuggle up on my lap :love:
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    My housemate got a hamster from a shop on Holloway Road but it died last week - it was only 2-3 months old!
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    It will vary between pet shops.

    In fact go in a pet shop like pets at home, and look on the notice board. There will often be adverts for unwanted young rats and given away for free.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    you should get a pair of gerbils :) gerbils are so cuuute!! plus they dont have weird tails :p
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    soraliah wrote:
    you should get a pair of gerbils :) gerbils are so cuuute!! plus they dont have weird tails :p
    My cat ate my gerbil :crying:
  • Options
    Teh_GerbilTeh_Gerbil Posts: 13,332 Born on Earth, Raised by The Mix
    Get me as ap et if you want a gerbil. :D

    Erm, I want a rat. I want a lab rat, they rock.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I have kept pet rats for years .I have a male ray called dougal .|I also have 6 cats and all my cats ar scared of him but with us humans he is lovely , cuddly and friendly .He is a husky rat and i bought him from the local pet shop for a fiver.They actually crave attention and love being handled, my rat sits on my shoulder and goes to sleep.Have no fear of buying a rat from a pet shop. Just make sure it looks healthy , bright clear eyes , clean nose and bob's ur uncle ..!
  • Options
    Indrid ColdIndrid Cold Posts: 16,688 Skive's The Limit
    Randomgirl wrote:
    My cat ate my gerbil :crying:
    :(
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    My girlfriend has always kept rats. we were talking about them the other day, and she told me that if you get rats you should have at least 2. never have just one as they get very lonely. But they should always be from the same litter (do rats have litters, or is that just cats and dogs, anyway i'm sure you know what i mean). Also the female are more aggressive than the males.

    I've know a lot of ppl who've had them, they all say rats make good pets
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    promo_hamster_250x94.jpg
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I used to keep mice- they were great. I had a gerbil once, it was a smeg.

    The nicest thing to do is to build your own cage. Mine used to have three stories, the back and top and bottom were solid, the other sides were covered with chicken wire stuff. The floors were floating shelves with gaps to the sides so they didn't need stairs- they could climb up the chicken wire see. The front would come right off for easy access and cleaning. If you do this you might want to make edges around the floating shelves too so that you can put sawdust or other stuff on the shelves...
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    You need to get the biggest cage you can afford for rats. Also, make sure you don't get a cage with a wire flooring - or if you do, be aware that you need to cover it. Wire floors can damage their feet.

    If someone's gonna be home most of the day every day then it's safe enough to just get one, because you'll be able to give it the individual attention it needs. if you're going to have less time to spend with it then I would get two.

    I had male rats and they were really quite smelly. If I was to get rats again I would definitely opt for female ones instead.

    The pet shop issue - I certainly didn't notice any nervousness. I think as long as you get them pretty young and you play with them lots it should be ok. They're the most sociable creatures ever. I loved having them. Unfortunately I was severely allergic to them and had to give them away.
Sign In or Register to comment.