[VanillaRat]

Till is one of my squishy boys who loves to be with me and is very kissy. He watches movies/TV with me on the couch and will hang out on the couch with me & a friend or me & my daughter. Here are a few Till pictures.

I hold him like this and rub his belly and he really seems to like it.

Silly face.

Hanging out on the couch with me.

 

[Vladina]

LOVED the pictures! Till is such a sweetie pie, I just love him! I wanted to scoop him out of the pictures and rub my face in his belly and smooch him like crazy. Ahh, the joys of ratty love. There is no substitute, eh? Thanks for posting those! Kisses to Till from me! :wavey:

 

[Jess]

OMG, I wanna poke his squishy little belly! :heart:

 

[Vladina]

Ha ha Jess, isn't he just adorable? I want to rub his tummy and smooch him too. Just a sweet pea.

 

[Purple-Hops]

HAHA What a cute fat belly he has

 

[VanillaRat]

Thanks everyone.
And everyone is welcome to kiss and poke his squishy belly!
He will probably just lick your hands. He's very kissy.
:heart:

 

[Jess]

If only I could poke him through my computer screen...


This will have to do for now: oke:

 

[Vladina]

Thanks Vanilla, I am glad we have permission for belly kisses! Smooches to sweet Till. Love ya! :wave:

 

[breyer08]

Awww, he's a cutie pie! :heart:

 

[Storyseeker]

Such an awesome little guy! How much personality can you pack into one rat anyway? Lord what a little hambone.

 

[Elliriyanna]

So cute and Lucky my rats werent cuddly at all

 

[VanillaRat]

Thanks everyone!

And really? Sorry to hear that. Did you have females? Females are not really cuddly and my 4 girls are not cuddly. My males though are big lovers.

 

[Elliriyanna]

Aww yeah mine were girls. Thanks for the tip

 

[VanillaRat]

Aww yeah mine were girls. Thanks for the tip

That is why then...females are generally a lot more active, adventurous and go,go,go! And while they make good pets,I am definitely partial to the males.

Males make better lap pets then females. I can watch a movie or something with one of my boys and they will sit there with me or curl into my shirt,but if I try with a girl...well,she don't keep still. And then I have to watch her to make sure she don't get up to mischief or go in the couch or something.

 

[Storyseeker]

They each have their own idiosyncrasies.

Stereotypically-with the caveat that every rat is an individual and prone to their own quirks:

Males: Lazy, snuggly, as adults more territorial against other new adult males, bigger piddle makers, a bit stinkier. Occasionally prone to hormonal aggression which is often fixable by neutering.

Females: Very active and silly. Quicker to learn tricks. Bigger chewers. Less stinky. Prone to mammary tumors, which can be all but eliminated by early spaying. More appealing to non-rat owners because they don't have big garbanzos hanging off their bums.

I have owned nothing but boys, and have no plans to ever own girls. I like my big lazy squishy luv muffins. The odor issues are not bad to my nose and is controlled further by feeding them olive oil once a week and keeping them on a healthy balanced diet.

The scent marking they do is not nearly as bad as the mice I had, so it's not a big deal to me.

I have had problems with two poorly bred hairless rats having minor hormonal aggression issues, but I found a good vet who neutered cheaply ($35 dollars each) and it seems to have solved the problem. I could have avoided the problem completely by getting my naked rats from a reputable breeder who screened better against aggression.

I also had issues with integrating my current six boys because of the hairless rats' temperaments, but with patience and no pushing, and providing a huge cage to prevent overcrowding, after 30 days of work I have been able to house them together amicably.

 

[Vladina]

I personally agree with you about boys. Marc and I have always had boys (gerbils, rats) and we just love the big, lazy, cuddly nature of boy rats. They are just such big lovable squishies that adore lazing around on laps and shoulders. Big rat boy fans here.

 

[VanillaRat]

I have 4 girls and while I love them,they are more interested in playing and exploring and running around then being up with me. Bronagh and Amherst are the two more independent girls,while Summer & Caoimhe will tolerate being loved on a bit longer,before they wanna get down and join the other girls.

All rats have their own personality...I have had lazy females and active boys in the past too. But generally males are lazy,lap rats and females are active,adventure seekers.

I am happy to say,that even though tumors are common in female rats...in the over 10+ years I had rats,I only ever had ONE rat with tumors. Respiratory illness is much more common IMO (at least in MY experience) and I have had RI,lice,mites,one case of "bumblefoot" and a few abscesses....so I feel sort of lucky. I mean,I ALWAYS hear of people with rats needing surgery for tumors and I count myself lucky for rarely having to deal with them.

And as for "goolies","baubles" or whatever else you wish to call them...they don't bother me. I don't neuter my rats and would only neuter one if there was severe hormonal aggression,which none of my rats have with me. Some of the boys don't like each other,but they don't live together...I just have to make sure they are not out during free range time. And scent marking...well don't bother me,that is why we have soap and water...

I will take my big,squishy males over females any day.

 

[Vladina]

Yep, I agree with Storyseeker and you too, about male rats. I never noticed any offensive scent at all with my boys (but I also kept their house very clean too, and changed their bedding several times a week so that helps) and I LOVED their big squishy boy cajones, ha ha. Part of their charm.

 

[Purple-Hops]

I like that girl rats smell like grape kool-aid!

 

[VanillaRat]

I like that girl rats smell like grape kool-aid!

Yes,that is another female charm...their grape juice/Kool-Aid smell. I don't find males smell bad personally...they have a "warm musky smell" as I call it or sometimes a "warm nacho smell".