Hairless rat!!

[Maggies mommy]

I know members have hairless rats!! Ibsaw a beautiful girl in the store today she is completly bald & has a little grey on her face with black eyes the rest of her is pink!!! I'm just not sure if it's best to get her? What do the members with the hairless rats think? Any advice???

 

[heather]

Awww sounds so cute!!!

I had a rat but with hair long ago. She was the best pet! She was a lot of fun and always burrowed in a sock I put in her tank. The only thing about small pets is they don't live long. But even then I don't know if I'd be able to resist!

 

[ultra_stella]

The only thing about small pets is they don't live long.

Nope. . . they don't.

She sounds beautiful! When I would buy mice for my snake a while back, I remember the pet store owner was appalled by the hairless rat they had. He couldn't wait to get rid of it. . . I couldn't take it at the time. I had two hairy rats when I was younger. One got a hold of my T-Shirt and shorts (my fault for thinking it was a smart idea to place the cage next to my bed). Couldn't wear them after I got them back.

 

[Luvmysphynx]

Nope. . . they don't.

She sounds beautiful! When I would buy mice for my snake a while back, I remember the pet store owner was appalled by the hairless rat they had. He couldn't wait to get rid of it. . . I couldn't take it at the time. I had two hairy rats when I was younger. One got a hold of my T-Shirt and shorts (my fault for thinking it was a smart idea to place the cage next to my bed). Couldn't wear them after I got them back.

I've also had hairy rats before - They make great pets! I had hairless guinea pigs, though! The big difference with the hairless is they do catch a chill alot easier and aren't as disease resistant as the hairy once, and like our Sphynx, they have to be bathed to keep their skin healthy, but other then that they're about the same to care for. Rats are great pets!

 

[dragynflye]

check out ratsrule.com.

the BIGGEST piece of advice i can give any potential rat owner is GET TWO! rats are extremely social animals. a lone rat is more prone to sickness, behavior issues, depression, ect. they live shorter lives (and rat lives aren't long to begin with) and are usually shyer. rats kept with a partner are more confident, bolder, and outgoing. they are healthier and longer living. keeping a single rat alone is like locking a human in a room all by themselves, with nothing but a tv to occasionally keep them company. no matter how much attention you give her, it's still not the same as having a rattie companion.

rats are pretty low maintenance pets, but there is a ton of misinformation out there on their care. they are the best pets i've ever had, and my family is not complete without a couple (errr... five!).

if you are willing to commit to at least TWO same-sex rats, and are willing to do a little bit of reading up on proper care, then go for it. they are such fabulous, loving, intelligent, funny, playful little critters!

 

[dragynflye]

I've also had hairy rats before - They make great pets! I had hairless guinea pigs, though! The big difference with the hairless is they do catch a chill alot easier and aren't as disease resistant as the hairy once, and like our Sphynx, they have to be bathed to keep their skin healthy, but other then that they're about the same to care for. Rats are great pets!

hairless rats don't need baths. they keep themselves just as clean as a haired rat. some need to be rubbed down with a little bit of olive oil every once in a while to prevent dry skin, that's it, though. keeping hairless rats is really no different than the hairy variety. i've had three hairlesses at different times. they've always had furry cage mates to snuggle with and keep them warm.

 

[kiennasmom]

rats are pretty low maintenance pets, but there is a ton of misinformation out there on their care. they are the best pets i've ever had, and my family is not complete without a couple (errr... five!).

errr...14, in my case. It started out as 4 but one of the boys was very determined and not only snuck out of his cage, but into the girls cage That's okay, I loved every single one of them!! I would say get the hairless baby. She sounds very cute. Dragynflye gave excellent advice, in my opinion!! !

 

[dragynflye]

haha kathy! at one point, when i was doing rescue, i had 32! 13 were mine, the rest were fosters, including two nursing mamas.

my current group is all female. i love my spastic girls, but i'm on the lookout of the perfect male, who will promptly be neutered so he can live with his very own harem!

 

[kiennasmom]

haha kathy! at one point, when i was doing rescue, i had 32! 13 were mine, the rest were fosters, including two nursing mamas.

my current group is all female. i love my spastic girls, but i'm on the lookout of the perfect male, who will promptly be neutered so he can live with his very own harem!

32?!?!? OMG You are lucky to have all that mad rattie love!!! I miss the sound of bruxing

 

[lemmysmommy]

I think that it would be neat to have a hairless rat.....I think you should go for it!!

 

[Marnasobsession]

Rats are awesome pets! Go for it!

 

[Luvmysphynx]

I had to bathe my hairless guinea pigs, and I always bathed my hairy rat, but that's really only because she loved water LOL Glad hairless rats don't need that!!! I've always loved hairless rats, or rats of any kind really! My last just died a few months ago, at almost 7 years old! Good long life for a rat, that I think is the biggest drawback to them, they don't have a very long life span! I know I've heard people say Sphynx don't usually live as long as other types of cats, is the same true for hairless rats?

 

[Mug-ys mumma]

I had to bathe my hairless guinea pigs,

Oh wow! I adore hairless guinea pigs!! I've kept free range house guinea pigs for the last 15 years and had to have my last one (Loki) put to sleep last November I so miss them and there squeaks and have been really intrigued by the hairless ones but they are so few and far between here in the UK. Same with hairless rats as well.

She sounds beautiful MaggiesMommy!! You should definately get her and a playmate then post pics for us all!

 

[PitRottMommy]

I stay away from petstore rats because they often have mycoplasma (a respiratory infection that is hard to get ahead of, and is questionably transmissible to other animals...like kitties).

That being said, I LOVE hairless rats!! They have the best little personalities!

 

[PitRottMommy]

hairless guinea pigs

Skinny pigs!!

And, no, hairless rats live about 1-1.5 years less than haired rats. The longest lived hairless rat I had was 3 years old.

 

[Brooke]

Skinny pigs!!

And, no, hairless rats live about 1-1.5 years less than haired rats. The longest lived hairless rat I had was 3 years old.

Same here...Agnes made it to just over 3 years old before cancer got her and I had her put down. She was amazing. They really are great pets!! My only complaint is how short their lives are.

 

[PitRottMommy]

My only complaint is how short their lives are.

Yes, I cannot agree more. My beloved Noodle passed when he was only 3. I have found that my rats that eat a vegetarian diet live longer than those who are fed on a diet that includes meat.

I had a single male I bought from a breeder named Beau (and then Boomer). Beau was about 8 months old when I got Boomer. They were from the same parents and so forth, essentially brothers from another litter. I left Boomer (at age of 1 year) with the breeder to have him stud for another litter (his dad was very old at this time) and the breeder fed him chicken and rice and such. He died at a year and two months. Beau, who was always fed a strictly vegetarian diet, didn't die until he was pushing 2.5.

I did this experiment with about 20 rats before them and had each of them live much longer than their littermates. I did have a single haired rat, Pyp, to lived to be 6. I adopted her when she was 3 and had her 3 years following. Because I can't be 100% sure that she was really 3 when I rescued her, I don't count her in my number of old rats. She was at least 4, of course, because she was a big, fat adult when I purchased her.

I have noticed that males who are neutered (yes, you can neuter them) do tend to live longer. I, personally, have never neutered my boys (just keep them separated) but I've had friends who were veterinarians who neutered their boys and got a year or so addition to their expected life span.

 

[Luvmysphynx]

Yes, I cannot agree more. My beloved Noodle passed when he was only 3. I have found that my rats that eat a vegetarian diet live longer than those who are fed on a diet that includes meat.

I had a single male I bought from a breeder named Beau (and then Boomer). Beau was about 8 months old when I got Boomer. They were from the same parents and so forth, essentially brothers from another litter. I left Boomer (at age of 1 year) with the breeder to have him stud for another litter (his dad was very old at this time) and the breeder fed him chicken and rice and such. He died at a year and two months. Beau, who was always fed a strictly vegetarian diet, didn't die until he was pushing 2.5.

I did this experiment with about 20 rats before them and had each of them live much longer than their littermates. I did have a single haired rat, Pyp, to lived to be 6. I adopted her when she was 3 and had her 3 years following. Because I can't be 100% sure that she was really 3 when I rescued her, I don't count her in my number of old rats. She was at least 4, of course, because she was a big, fat adult when I purchased her.

I have noticed that males who are neutered (yes, you can neuter them) do tend to live longer. I, personally, have never neutered my boys (just keep them separated) but I've had friends who were veterinarians who neutered their boys and got a year or so addition to their expected life span.

I've heard this!!! I've had both male and female rats, and while I love them both, I must say my boys have been more affectionate!!!!!!

As for the Skinny pigs - LOVED them! I bought one from a breeder, my other was a pet store rescue - The pet store was the only one in town that sold teh right food for my dog so I'd grit my teeth and go in there every couple of weeks (the lady that ran it was very sweet!), she would often take animals someone didn't want, that's how she got 3 hairless guinea pigs and 1 angora. They where obviously bonded and she had others at the time, so she asked me if I'd like another hairless pig - I took all 3 and the angora, the angora was pregnant - Babies where SOOO cute, fluffy and CURLY haired, who knows where that came from LOL

 

[Barrelstar]

Yes, get it!!! I want one but my honey is appalled by a rat in the house, ha ha! The naked cat, hairy cat, dogs, and horses are all he'll tolerate You get this one and I wil live vicariously through you. I agree about getting 2 of them.

 

[for_serious]

I had a hairless guinea pig once... she was awesome.

 

[ckutkuhn7]

I have no advice but goodluck with your decision!!

 

[BareOnAHotTinRoof]

Just an aside...

ALL rats have Mycoplasma. Every single one of them. Unless you get the rat from a laboratory and it was born via cesarean section, then it's going to have myco.

Just because they have Myco does not mean they will succumb to it. If their immune system is strong, then it will rarely flare up. Only in times of great stress such as changing homes when very young, will cause them to get a slight flare up. A bit of Baytril and Doxycycline will get rid of that very easily.

It is also not transferable. They will not pass it on to any other rats or any other animals. It does not work that way. It works like a virus in a way, like Bordatella(just not transferable), and weakens the immune system. The secondary infection that results from the weakened immune system is what makes the rat sick, not the myco itself.

Sorry, I had to clear that up. I've been keeping ratties since 2002 and have had quite a few live to be 4+ years old. They are very much so omnivores and I've had great success feeding them Mazuri 9F rodent blocks and an organic homemade grain/cereal/fruit/nut mix over the years. I add a bit of Wellness Senior dog food too so they have a high quality meat source.

 

[Maggies mommy]

i have decided that im not going to get another animal @least not @ this time!

 

[dragynflye]

Just an aside...

ALL rats have Mycoplasma. Every single one of them. Unless you get the rat from a laboratory and it was born via cesarean section, then it's going to have myco.

Just because they have Myco does not mean they will succumb to it. If their immune system is strong, then it will rarely flare up. Only in times of great stress such as changing homes when very young, will cause them to get a slight flare up. A bit of Baytril and Doxycycline will get rid of that very easily.

It is also not transferable. They will not pass it on to any other rats or any other animals. It does not work that way. It works like a virus in a way, like Bordatella(just not transferable), and weakens the immune system. The secondary infection that results from the weakened immune system is what makes the rat sick, not the myco itself.

Sorry, I had to clear that up. I've been keeping ratties since 2002 and have had quite a few live to be 4+ years old. They are very much so omnivores and I've had great success feeding them Mazuri 9F rodent blocks and an organic homemade grain/cereal/fruit/nut mix over the years. I add a bit of Wellness Senior dog food too so they have a high quality meat source.

hehe i was just about to post the same thing, almost word for word!

also, hairless rats don't have a shorter lifespan than their furred counterparts. the average lifespan of ANY rat is only 2.5-3 years. a rat over 3 is considered very old, and their owners very lucky. i've had several make it past three, but none never made it to four. amy, the hairless girl that was my avi, was 34 months before i had to let her go (inoperable mammary tumor). something like 94% of unaltered female rats develop mammary tumors at some point. that number drops significantly (i don't remember to what) if they are spayed.

i actually found a little hairless girl at petsmart yesterday that i fell in love with. she was the cutest little black berk, with great white gloves and a little white milk mustache. she was so sweet and kept playing with me through the glass. every time i'd walk by her tank, she would run up and put her little hands on the glass like she was saying hi. ariana and i stood there just watching her for the longest time. i was so tempted! i have a spare hospital/quarantine cage, i have a rat-free place to quarantine her, i have room in my cage.... i decided against it, though. one of my older girls is a bit snarky, and until i get her spayed, i really shouldn't add another. *sigh* responsibility sucks some time!

 

[dragynflye]

i have decided that im not going to get another animal @least not @ this time!

awww! see, responsibility sucks! i'm sure that if you ever do decide to add a couple of ratties to your family, you'll be a great rat-mom!