Post by Die Fledermaus on Mar 6, 2007 23:53:32 GMT -4
This should be required reading for people without rats!
>> Pocket pets come in on little rats' feet
Park your prejudices. The furry creatures are clean, highly intelligent, fun and come in classy colors
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
The Russell family is about as all-American as you can get. They've got the sprawling ranch house with the big backyard in a suburban Portland neighborhood. Mom Donna is famous for her cookies and volunteers for nearly everything. The three boys have a gaggle of friends.
This is just the family you'd expect to have a Labrador retriever. After all, what could be a better pet? They're friendly, faithful, trainable and smart. The Russells say their pets are all that -- and a lot more portable. This family loves their two pet rats, Iris and Violet.
Even the Russells admit rats have an image problem. "People think of them as sort of Black Plague-ish," admits Donna.
The reality is rats have a bad rap and make some of the best small pets you'll find anywhere. Iris and Violet have pretty brown and white markings a little bit like a collie's. They play in empty boxes and piles of clean clothes. Mostly, they love to ride around on human shoulders and snuggle.
"They're soft and cute, like bunny rabbits," says son Brian, whose love of rats introduced the family to the animals several years ago.
Pet rats don't carry plague or other weird diseases: "Not unless they're hobnobbing with wild rodents," explains veterinarian Mark Burgess, who owns the Southwest Animal Hospital in Beaverton. Domestic rats are unusually clean animals who bathe themselves regularly like little cats. If they're raised in captivity and well cared for, these little creatures are less likely to carry diseases that can affect humans than dogs or cats.
While pet rats are unlikely to carry disease, people can be allergic to rats, just as they can be allergic to cats. Handle some rats before considering purchasing one to make sure you don't have a rat allergy.
Rats are friendly: Forget Hollywood visions of evil rats that eat babies. "Rats are my favorite pocket pet. They have much more personality than hamsters and gerbils," says veterinarian Tye Wood, who practices at the Canyon Pet Hospital in Beaverton. "Hamsters can be nippy. If you want a pet that's unlikely to bite, it's a rat."
While any animal that's in pain or frightened may bite, rats don't bite as their first line of defense. Wood, who has worked with exotic pets for more than 30 years, says rats have become noticeably friendlier over the years.
Male rats and female rats are different. No, it's not because someone gave the little girl rodent a Barbie Rat. Females mature to a much smaller size than males. They also have different behavior. Males tend to be more mellow and cuddly, while females tend to be busier and sometimes more entertaining. According to an article in "Rats" (a magazine-style book about rats available at pet supply stores), female rats are genetically programmed to be busy to forage food, keep the nest clean, care for their young and find a mate every few weeks.
"It's a busy, hectic lifestyle," concludes the article. On the other hand, "The wild male's job includes three simple things: eat, sleep and breed. And he is quite good at all these low-stress tasks." Ouch. But still, the truth is there are gender differences that can make some rats better for certain homes than others.
Rats are highly intelligent. This is the thinking person's rodent. Give a rat a treat when you say its name, and quickly you will have a rat who comes on command. Rats are very trainable and can learn complicated tricks. (If you've ever used clicker training on a dog, give it a try with a pet rat, too.)
Sometimes that intelligence can get a rat into trouble. Veterinarian Mark Burgess remembers a pet rat of his that was a master at getting out of her cage. One night he awoke in a panic after hearing a man's voice in the kitchen. His pet rat had extricated herself from her cage and made her way to the kitchen counter, where she'd walked across the answering machine. "Rats are intelligent, like dogs," he says.
Rats can win Best in Show. Human beings love to play with Mother Nature. We've taken dog genes and molded them into everything from a Pekingese to a Saint Bernard. We've created flat-faced Persian cats and hairless sphynx cats. We've done the same to pet rats.
Fancy rat lovers show their rats in events a little bit like dog shows. They've created new rats never found in nature. Check out hairless rats, longer-haired (called Harley) rats and rats with unusual color patterns, such as Siamese and Dalmatian.
Downsides of rats: Every pet has its downside, and rats are no exception.
Let's start with the tail. Some people never get over it. If they had fluffy tails like a squirrel, rats would be a lot more popular. It might help to understand that the rat tail is one of nature's great tails. Rats use their tail for balance and leverage and will casually drape their tails around people they love.
Then there is the short lifespan. They typically live just two to three years. That's been hard for the Russell family. "We got our first rats thinking they were the perfect pet because it was a limited commitment," says Donna. She thought it was a great pet for the limited attention span of grade-school-age kids. She hadn't counted on how much all the family members would grow to love the little animals. "The first funeral was the hardest," she says.
Like any other animal, rats need care. If you want a friendly rat, they need to be out of their cages every day and given love, attention and mental stimulation. Rats develop respiratory disease easily, and it's crucial for their cages to be kept clean. They also frequently develop tumors, both benign and cancerous. While most rats don't need a lot of veterinary care, a checkup every six months is a good idea.
For the Russell family, rats have been the perfect pets. Brian, who is now almost 14, became knowledgeable about the animals when he was in grade school. That kind of expertise added to his confidence as he grew.
Iris and Violet are happy family pets. One of their favorite places to hang out is in dad Gregory's home office while he works. They sleep on his lap, or have a drawer where they like to play. Now, that's better than the typical corporate rat race, by far.
The Oregonian Pet Talk columnist Deborah Wood is the author of 10 books, including "Little Dogs: Training Your Pint-Sized Companion." You can reach her by e-mail at TaoBowwow@aol.com; by mail at Deborah Wood/Pet Talk, The Oregonian, 1320 S.W. Broadway, Portland, OR 97201; fax, 503-294-7691; phone, 503-221-8416. <<
ARTICLE LINK
>> Pocket pets come in on little rats' feet
Park your prejudices. The furry creatures are clean, highly intelligent, fun and come in classy colors
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
The Russell family is about as all-American as you can get. They've got the sprawling ranch house with the big backyard in a suburban Portland neighborhood. Mom Donna is famous for her cookies and volunteers for nearly everything. The three boys have a gaggle of friends.
This is just the family you'd expect to have a Labrador retriever. After all, what could be a better pet? They're friendly, faithful, trainable and smart. The Russells say their pets are all that -- and a lot more portable. This family loves their two pet rats, Iris and Violet.
Even the Russells admit rats have an image problem. "People think of them as sort of Black Plague-ish," admits Donna.
The reality is rats have a bad rap and make some of the best small pets you'll find anywhere. Iris and Violet have pretty brown and white markings a little bit like a collie's. They play in empty boxes and piles of clean clothes. Mostly, they love to ride around on human shoulders and snuggle.
"They're soft and cute, like bunny rabbits," says son Brian, whose love of rats introduced the family to the animals several years ago.
Pet rats don't carry plague or other weird diseases: "Not unless they're hobnobbing with wild rodents," explains veterinarian Mark Burgess, who owns the Southwest Animal Hospital in Beaverton. Domestic rats are unusually clean animals who bathe themselves regularly like little cats. If they're raised in captivity and well cared for, these little creatures are less likely to carry diseases that can affect humans than dogs or cats.
While pet rats are unlikely to carry disease, people can be allergic to rats, just as they can be allergic to cats. Handle some rats before considering purchasing one to make sure you don't have a rat allergy.
Rats are friendly: Forget Hollywood visions of evil rats that eat babies. "Rats are my favorite pocket pet. They have much more personality than hamsters and gerbils," says veterinarian Tye Wood, who practices at the Canyon Pet Hospital in Beaverton. "Hamsters can be nippy. If you want a pet that's unlikely to bite, it's a rat."
While any animal that's in pain or frightened may bite, rats don't bite as their first line of defense. Wood, who has worked with exotic pets for more than 30 years, says rats have become noticeably friendlier over the years.
Male rats and female rats are different. No, it's not because someone gave the little girl rodent a Barbie Rat. Females mature to a much smaller size than males. They also have different behavior. Males tend to be more mellow and cuddly, while females tend to be busier and sometimes more entertaining. According to an article in "Rats" (a magazine-style book about rats available at pet supply stores), female rats are genetically programmed to be busy to forage food, keep the nest clean, care for their young and find a mate every few weeks.
"It's a busy, hectic lifestyle," concludes the article. On the other hand, "The wild male's job includes three simple things: eat, sleep and breed. And he is quite good at all these low-stress tasks." Ouch. But still, the truth is there are gender differences that can make some rats better for certain homes than others.
Rats are highly intelligent. This is the thinking person's rodent. Give a rat a treat when you say its name, and quickly you will have a rat who comes on command. Rats are very trainable and can learn complicated tricks. (If you've ever used clicker training on a dog, give it a try with a pet rat, too.)
Sometimes that intelligence can get a rat into trouble. Veterinarian Mark Burgess remembers a pet rat of his that was a master at getting out of her cage. One night he awoke in a panic after hearing a man's voice in the kitchen. His pet rat had extricated herself from her cage and made her way to the kitchen counter, where she'd walked across the answering machine. "Rats are intelligent, like dogs," he says.
Rats can win Best in Show. Human beings love to play with Mother Nature. We've taken dog genes and molded them into everything from a Pekingese to a Saint Bernard. We've created flat-faced Persian cats and hairless sphynx cats. We've done the same to pet rats.
Fancy rat lovers show their rats in events a little bit like dog shows. They've created new rats never found in nature. Check out hairless rats, longer-haired (called Harley) rats and rats with unusual color patterns, such as Siamese and Dalmatian.
Downsides of rats: Every pet has its downside, and rats are no exception.
Let's start with the tail. Some people never get over it. If they had fluffy tails like a squirrel, rats would be a lot more popular. It might help to understand that the rat tail is one of nature's great tails. Rats use their tail for balance and leverage and will casually drape their tails around people they love.
Then there is the short lifespan. They typically live just two to three years. That's been hard for the Russell family. "We got our first rats thinking they were the perfect pet because it was a limited commitment," says Donna. She thought it was a great pet for the limited attention span of grade-school-age kids. She hadn't counted on how much all the family members would grow to love the little animals. "The first funeral was the hardest," she says.
Like any other animal, rats need care. If you want a friendly rat, they need to be out of their cages every day and given love, attention and mental stimulation. Rats develop respiratory disease easily, and it's crucial for their cages to be kept clean. They also frequently develop tumors, both benign and cancerous. While most rats don't need a lot of veterinary care, a checkup every six months is a good idea.
For the Russell family, rats have been the perfect pets. Brian, who is now almost 14, became knowledgeable about the animals when he was in grade school. That kind of expertise added to his confidence as he grew.
Iris and Violet are happy family pets. One of their favorite places to hang out is in dad Gregory's home office while he works. They sleep on his lap, or have a drawer where they like to play. Now, that's better than the typical corporate rat race, by far.
The Oregonian Pet Talk columnist Deborah Wood is the author of 10 books, including "Little Dogs: Training Your Pint-Sized Companion." You can reach her by e-mail at TaoBowwow@aol.com; by mail at Deborah Wood/Pet Talk, The Oregonian, 1320 S.W. Broadway, Portland, OR 97201; fax, 503-294-7691; phone, 503-221-8416. <<
ARTICLE LINK
