I love my rats and have already written a bit about my rat Pippa on my blog so now I just have to write about her sister Poppy. Rats are best kept in pairs because they are intelligent and social creatures.
Poppy is a beautiful brown and white hooded rat. She is the dominat rat of the pair and also by far the most intelligent. She is also much more sociable and much less destructive than her sister Pippa.
The reason I decided to get these two rats from the pet shop was Poppy. Pippa was hiding at the time but Poppy was trying to climb out of a hole that had been chewed in their wooden vivarium. At the time I thought Poppy was the one that had chewed the hole, although I now suspect it was Pippa because she chews everything.
So Poppy was there with her head out the hole and her legs dangling down inside the vivarium. She was holding herself up there with her front paws, an impressive sight. She seemed really friendly and that made me decide to take her home. She has a very charming face.
It later turned out that Pippa was the brave one and Poppy was much more nervous. Poppy is always waiting in the morning and as soon as I go in the room she comes and begs for her breakfast. She is also pretty accurate at knowing what time I have my lunch, mostly because she has learned that I will give her a small piece of brown bread as a treat.
Poppy hates strange noises and when she gets frightened she runs to the corner of the sofa and sits there all hunched up. She is also far less keen to try new things. It took 2 days to get her to go in a rat ball and she only went in after watching her sister do so several times.
The thing I love most about Poppy is her affectionate nature. You can guarantee she will lick your fingers and sit on your hand while you stroke her lovely fluffy fur. Poppy and Pippa are so different from eachother but thats why they get on so well and are both so special to me. I would urge people that don't like rats to get to know a friendly pet rat and see if they change their mind.
Showing posts with label pet rats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pet rats. Show all posts
Saturday, 23 October 2010
Monday, 11 October 2010
Pippa and her terrible teeth
I have two female rats right now called Poppy and Pippa. They have such different personalities, part of what makes them so special to me. I want to share a few of their funny little habits to show what rats are really like.
Pippa was the one in the pet shop that hid in the corner and looked nervous. I was expecting her to be the shrinking violet of the pair but I have been proved completely wrong.
It is true that Pippa is the subordinate rat and her sister will reinforce this by having a little wee on Pippa from time to time and sometimes rolling her over on her back and pinning her there until she starts squeaking. Luckily female rats rarely harm eachother when they have disputes and this is the case with Pippa and Poppy.
Pippa is not a scaredy rat at all. She is usually the one that clings to the cage wires and chews them to attract attention. She will do this anytime, but especially late at night and first thing in the morning when she is trying to let me know she wants her food.
Pippa is not the most intelligent rat I have ever had, far from it. She really loves to run around in her big blue plastic rat ball. Most of the other rats I have owned quickly get bored in their rat ball but not Pippa.
Pippa loves to jump on my shoulder. She launches herself from an armchair and lands on me. On one occasion she just aimed straight for my face. I have never had a rat do that before and I now have to be careful to make sure she doesn't do it again. I had scratches on my face for days and she wasn't far away from getting my eyes. She didn't mean to do it she just didn't understand that she can't land on my face.
Pippa has one major problem. She chews everything. I even took her to the vet to make sure there was no problem with her teeth. She chews the cage wires, the armchair and my t shirts. Everything that comes within reach goes straight in her mouth. My vet has assured me there is nothing wrong with her teeth so she is just a really naughty rat.
Pippa lives to eat but luckily she is so active that she does not get fat. There is no fat on her, she is just pure muscle. She never runs out of food so she doesn't chew everything out of hunger. Her favourite food is cucumber, one of the range of veg treats that she gets a small amount of.
Pippa is truly unique and I wouldn't change her for any other rat. I just have to come to terms with the fact that I am going to lose a t shirt or twenty during her time with me.
Pippa was the one in the pet shop that hid in the corner and looked nervous. I was expecting her to be the shrinking violet of the pair but I have been proved completely wrong.
It is true that Pippa is the subordinate rat and her sister will reinforce this by having a little wee on Pippa from time to time and sometimes rolling her over on her back and pinning her there until she starts squeaking. Luckily female rats rarely harm eachother when they have disputes and this is the case with Pippa and Poppy.
Pippa is not a scaredy rat at all. She is usually the one that clings to the cage wires and chews them to attract attention. She will do this anytime, but especially late at night and first thing in the morning when she is trying to let me know she wants her food.
Pippa is not the most intelligent rat I have ever had, far from it. She really loves to run around in her big blue plastic rat ball. Most of the other rats I have owned quickly get bored in their rat ball but not Pippa.
Pippa loves to jump on my shoulder. She launches herself from an armchair and lands on me. On one occasion she just aimed straight for my face. I have never had a rat do that before and I now have to be careful to make sure she doesn't do it again. I had scratches on my face for days and she wasn't far away from getting my eyes. She didn't mean to do it she just didn't understand that she can't land on my face.
Pippa has one major problem. She chews everything. I even took her to the vet to make sure there was no problem with her teeth. She chews the cage wires, the armchair and my t shirts. Everything that comes within reach goes straight in her mouth. My vet has assured me there is nothing wrong with her teeth so she is just a really naughty rat.
Pippa lives to eat but luckily she is so active that she does not get fat. There is no fat on her, she is just pure muscle. She never runs out of food so she doesn't chew everything out of hunger. Her favourite food is cucumber, one of the range of veg treats that she gets a small amount of.
Pippa is truly unique and I wouldn't change her for any other rat. I just have to come to terms with the fact that I am going to lose a t shirt or twenty during her time with me.
Thursday, 23 September 2010
The Joy of rats
I might have mentioned once or twice that I really like rats. I have kept a lot of animals and I have to say I think you can't do better than a rat. I admit never having owned a dog or cat, or really worked with them much either, but rats are amazing.
I have had a lot of rats, most of them rescued. I have had babies that I got from pet shops and ones from breeders too.
I have noticed that males, known as bucks, tend to be a bit cleaner than females (does). I am not sure why this would be the case.
One particular favourite rat was Snowball. I rehomed him from a pet shop. He was quite an old rat when I got him and I quickly discovered that he hadn't been handled very much. He was a Himalayan colour, not your everyday pet shop rat, so I suspect his previous owner was using him as a breeding buck to produce show quality babies. Maybe he got too old to breed from so they just gave him away.
Snowball was a large rat and his fur was a beautiful white colour, apart from his nose and bottom that were brown, the typical Himalayan markings. He had to live alone because you can't put adult male rats together or they will fight to the death. All my rescued females were not spayed so he couldn't live with them.
Snowball took quite a bit of taming. He was not a vicious rat at all but he was not used to hands and every time I tried to pick him up he tried to bite. This was just his way of defending himself and not his fault at all.
In the case of a nervous rat that will bite I tend to find using something like a towel to get them out of the cage works really well. Once he was out of his cage he was no longer territorial and soon got used to the idea of sitting on my lap and letting me stroke him.
Snowy never became a cuddly pet but as long as he was happy that was the main thing. He would tend to sleep a lot being an old rat and slept on my sofa. At the end of the day he had learned that he was going into his cage for the night and would crawl onto my hand and let me put him home.
I don't really like to talk too much about the end of any of my animals but it is enough to say that he got sleepy and doddery like a proper old man. He began to go off his food and eventually would only take soft food like weetabix and baby food. Fortunately nature took its course and he died in his sleep before I had to make the decision to have him put to sleep by my vet.
What I will always remember about Snowy is the time I brought him home from the pet shop. I had to take the cage apart to get it in my friends car and had him just sitting in a tube which he could have run out of at any minute. It was far from ideal. When I got him home I just put my hand in the tube and picked him up. I was so greatful to him that he chose not to bite me that day. It was clear from his behaviour in his cage that if I put my hand in there he was going to let me have it.
It isn't ideal having to get your pet out all wrapped in a towel but to be fair to him he was a rehomed animal that hadn't been handled by his previous owner and he was perfectly fine once he was out of his cage.
Rats are not vicious animals at all. My current pair Pippa and Poppy are so sweet. They came from a pet shop but were babies when I got them. The shop hadn't handled them at all. They are so clever they learned to come out and let me pick them up. I have no doubt in my mind about them. They will not bite. They are such rewarding pets to keep and Pip and Pop both know their names so they come when they are called. You won't find a better pet than a rat I am sure of it.
Here are some things from my shop that feature a photo of Snowball so you can appreciate how beautiful my big boy was.
I have had a lot of rats, most of them rescued. I have had babies that I got from pet shops and ones from breeders too.
I have noticed that males, known as bucks, tend to be a bit cleaner than females (does). I am not sure why this would be the case.
One particular favourite rat was Snowball. I rehomed him from a pet shop. He was quite an old rat when I got him and I quickly discovered that he hadn't been handled very much. He was a Himalayan colour, not your everyday pet shop rat, so I suspect his previous owner was using him as a breeding buck to produce show quality babies. Maybe he got too old to breed from so they just gave him away.
Snowball was a large rat and his fur was a beautiful white colour, apart from his nose and bottom that were brown, the typical Himalayan markings. He had to live alone because you can't put adult male rats together or they will fight to the death. All my rescued females were not spayed so he couldn't live with them.
Snowball took quite a bit of taming. He was not a vicious rat at all but he was not used to hands and every time I tried to pick him up he tried to bite. This was just his way of defending himself and not his fault at all.
In the case of a nervous rat that will bite I tend to find using something like a towel to get them out of the cage works really well. Once he was out of his cage he was no longer territorial and soon got used to the idea of sitting on my lap and letting me stroke him.
Snowy never became a cuddly pet but as long as he was happy that was the main thing. He would tend to sleep a lot being an old rat and slept on my sofa. At the end of the day he had learned that he was going into his cage for the night and would crawl onto my hand and let me put him home.
I don't really like to talk too much about the end of any of my animals but it is enough to say that he got sleepy and doddery like a proper old man. He began to go off his food and eventually would only take soft food like weetabix and baby food. Fortunately nature took its course and he died in his sleep before I had to make the decision to have him put to sleep by my vet.
What I will always remember about Snowy is the time I brought him home from the pet shop. I had to take the cage apart to get it in my friends car and had him just sitting in a tube which he could have run out of at any minute. It was far from ideal. When I got him home I just put my hand in the tube and picked him up. I was so greatful to him that he chose not to bite me that day. It was clear from his behaviour in his cage that if I put my hand in there he was going to let me have it.
It isn't ideal having to get your pet out all wrapped in a towel but to be fair to him he was a rehomed animal that hadn't been handled by his previous owner and he was perfectly fine once he was out of his cage.
Rats are not vicious animals at all. My current pair Pippa and Poppy are so sweet. They came from a pet shop but were babies when I got them. The shop hadn't handled them at all. They are so clever they learned to come out and let me pick them up. I have no doubt in my mind about them. They will not bite. They are such rewarding pets to keep and Pip and Pop both know their names so they come when they are called. You won't find a better pet than a rat I am sure of it.
Here are some things from my shop that feature a photo of Snowball so you can appreciate how beautiful my big boy was.
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