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The only thing about small pets is they don't live long.
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!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!
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!).
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!
I had to bathe my hairless guinea pigs,
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.
My only complaint is how short their lives are.
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!!!!!!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.
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.
i have decided that im not going to get another animal @least not @ this time!