Any Cons On getting a rat?

[manyjumps93]

Okay I found 2 baby rats I would like to get from the humane society (click) and I was wondering what are the pros and cons of getting 2 baby male rats? or just getting 2 'first time' rats?

Pros:
friendship
responcibilty
require alot of attention
require alot of 'me' time
and alot more

Cons: none so far

[Kendalle]

cons... the only one i can think of is it's no fun cleaning cages. but that's any animal and i assume you already know that.

Males are less active but tend to be more snugglely so i don't know if that's a con either.

[kristie0593]

well they don't live as long as you might wish them to...you might be allergic to them(i am...i get bumps on my arms,so i have to wear sweatshirts or jackets when i hold them)..not many cons though

[manyjumps93]

Oh I want a cuddley rat lol. And well the cage thing is no big deal, I have had 2 hamsters and 3 birds all at once before. And that was 3 different cages. So cage is no big deal. And I have had hamsters and been around gerbils and chinchilles so I asume I am not allergic to rats. Thanks for the info keep it coming =]

[wickedlyspiced]

Cons for me are them not living as long as I'd like them to, and being allergic to them. I had guinea pigs before and wasn't allergic but the rats give me a rash after sniffing me and climbing on me. Still wouldn't change them for the world though :o) Also, if you have to keep them in your room, they are quite noisy at night! I luckily can keep them in my living room so not a problem for me, but as a friend of mine found out recently when he stayed over, they woke him up a lot!

[manyjumps93]

Lol my hamster was REALLY noisey and he was in my room and I always got sleep =]

[Kendalle]

my rats were in my room and i had 5 they weren't THAT loud and i miss the noise they made..

[clairebee1]

I got rats not that long ago and i would not live without rats they are so fun and so loving.

Cons. Cage can get quite messy sometimes although you can litter train them so it saves alot of hard cleaning.
Cages can be quite expensive

But over all they make excellent pets

If you are looking for a snuggle buddy i would say go for males
girls are hyper and ACTIVE although it just depends on the rat but alot of people say both Gender are different LOL

Good Luck x

[manyjumps93]

Thanks Claire mom said we might be able to go tomorrow depends on how hard it is to get to the place. And thanks kendalle. I can't wait. I HOPE we go tomorrow lol I am very excited!

[MooCowing]

Yay! I'm glad you were able to find some baby ratties~ Congrats. They are so cute!

For me there are 2 cons. One is that they don't live very long. Most of my females, and one male, have gotten tumors in their old age. I've only kept rats for almost 5 years now with no more than 5 rats at any given time, and I've had 14 rats. That'll kind of give you an idea of their lifespans... It's easy to say "two years", but when on the larger scale... it's pretty hard to accept it once it happens. Although, if you want to be optimistic about it you can think of it this way. They're not long-term pets, they're not a long-term commitment and every few years you can get babies. Babies are always soooo cute.

The other con is that they also get sick quickly. My best suggestion is to bookmark ratguide.com and Ratz R Us and become familiar with illness (start with Mycoplasma && Note: Ratguide.com may have some gruesome autopsy pictures in certain articles...). Those two sites have saved the lives of my rats on numerous occasions. Also find a good exotics vet in your area, one that is familiar with rats.

[manyjumps93]

Will do on the vet thing, and added them to my favorites as I type. Thanks for the links =]

[luvboyrats]

Same cons as any animal really, cages, cost of food and bedding, possible vet expenses. But yeah everyone else is right, the big draw back of rats is that you'll get attached to them like a dog because of all the affection and intelligence and personality, but they don't live nearly as long. And no matter how many times you do it, losing one is hard.

You're really going to be surprised at the difference between rats and other rodent pets. They love travelling to new places with you instead of being scared of anything new. They never bite. They're cleaner. They know their names and often basic tricks. They form real relationships with people. And anytime you have two or more together its like an anthropological study, they have such awesome social behaviors with eachother. In general I'd say you're gonna have a blast. I wouldn't trade any of mine for anything. Going home to rats is like gooing home to your own cheer section. They're always so excited to see you and all they want in the world is for you to let them out because they've been waiting all day to play and cuddle with you. You just can't feel bad with a rattie on your shoulder.

[manyjumps93]

aw luvboyrats, that makes me want a rat even MORE lol. See, I started wanting a rat once I saw the show Petfinder and this family all wanted a dog and ended up getting 2 rats. And then I found this place yesterday and I saw all the pictures and the storys you tell of your 'free range time' with your ratties and it made me want one even more. And I started asking questions, researching, etc. and I came to LOVE them and want one. So I am excited and can't wait =]

[mulder]

more ratties! so exciting. there arent many cons to rats unless you just hate them, but there's no reason to not like them. messy? litter train them. lol they're great really, like little dogs. but yeah the only con i can think of is that they don't live long enough!!

[laydeerodentzz]

Yay, your getting ratties LOL...

my cons; Keeping the cage clean and my worst con...

GETTING ADDICTED

yeah, well, I'm totally addicted to rats now LOL and sometimes get scared of going to the pet shop incase I come home with more LOL

nah, seriously, there are not alot of cons and you will absolutly love rats- no questions about it .. hehe

Good luck!
x