Ever get stuck with a rat?

Last night was the first time we tried to feed Lola
( i know we should let her settle in for a bit before we feed her)
We bought her on Saturday.
Originally I purchased a rat that was way to big for her, So I ended up having to buy a mouse for khan and using the weanling or super baby rat for Lola. Now I was stuck with this huge blonde rat! Our local pet store didnt have room for her so we ended up finally taking her to another pet store at 9pm right as they were about to close! Dan originally wanted to just kill it but there was no way I was going to stand for that ( i love all animals except horses and birds).

Feeding time rolls around at about 10pm and khan takes the white mouse no problem! He's a champ! Then its the weanling and Lolas turn. She goes right up to it and they sit face to face smelling each other. She shows little interest and after about 15 minutes we take Lola out and let her go back into her box.
Now once again I am stuck with a rat. Who by the way is the cutest thing I have ever seen. He is gary and has a split down the middle of his face: one half is white the other gray, perfectly centered! So I buy some gerbil food and some baby carrots and put some in the feeder tank for the little guy to eat. Dan is all about trying to feed Lola it again tonight.
Well this baby rat has grown on me. It's very small and every time I pick it up it falls asleep in my hand or in my shirt. It wobbles whe in walks too!
Today i went and picked it up a little house and water bottle and some greens to eat. I am attatched! I even named him Fernando! I wont let dan feed it to Lola so when he gets bigger I said I'll take him to the petstore to be adopted.

Has anyone else ever felt bad for a baby rat? I mean the adult I had no problem getting rid of... just not the cute lil baby!

I have two young kids that get attached to the caterpillars in the backyard. This is why I feed f/t!! :neener: It's hard to get attached to them. :giggle:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by tigerlily

I have two young kids that get attached to the caterpillars in the backyard. This is why I feed f/t!! :neener: It's hard to get attached to them. :giggle:

---

aww man! I guess im a sucker hunh?:giggle:

Yeahhh....you may have to switch to f/t if you get emotionally attached to each rat that doesn't get eaten. (There will be more...it's just a fact of life in the bp world...LOL)


I had one just the other day....Kisasa didn't eat it last week, so I put it in a little cage (left over from gerbil-keeping days) with food and water and some chew toys to keep it occupied...pretty little black/white rat. So, when the new feeding day rolls around, I take the rat and put it in with Kisasa again....who was sleeping in her warm hide at the time. Well.....that tricky little rat...let me tell ya....

I'm watching from off to the side...and see the hide bumping around a bit. Pretty soon Kisasa comes out all tongue-flicking and hunting....looks ALL over her tank for the rat she knows is around somewhere, but never goes into the cool-side hide, which has gone very still by now. Eventually K. gives up and curls back up in her warm cave.

I move around to the other side of the tank to see what the little rat is up to...and discover she'd completely buried the hide-entrance in bedding! :O :rofl: I really, just about fell over laughing.

K never did eat that precocious little thing. I think she's destined for bigger and better things than being snake-food. I had to fight really, really hard not to get attached to her because it's just not the right time or place for us to be keeping rats right now. Fortunately, the pet store took her back and she was happily reunited with her old cage mates.

It's a tough job...being a snake mommy! LOL

sometimes our little one Ty (4yr. old) will hide the weaned/baby rat tub from me on feeding day. she likes to keep one for her. i tell her the snakes have to eat something right. usually she gets to keep an extra one for a few days. i tell her we will get more next week, she gets a new "pet" every week. works so far!



vaughn

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 4Khan

Last night was the first time we tried to feed Lola
( i know we should let her settle in for a bit before we feed her)
We bought her on Saturday.
Originally I purchased a rat that was way to big for her, So I ended up having to buy a mouse for khan and using the weanling or super baby rat for Lola. Now I was stuck with this huge blonde rat! Our local pet store didnt have room for her so we ended up finally taking her to another pet store at 9pm right as they were about to close! Dan originally wanted to just kill it but there was no way I was going to stand for that ( i love all animals except horses and birds).

Feeding time rolls around at about 10pm and khan takes the white mouse no problem! He's a champ! Then its the weanling and Lolas turn. She goes right up to it and they sit face to face smelling each other. She shows little interest and after about 15 minutes we take Lola out and let her go back into her box.
Now once again I am stuck with a rat. Who by the way is the cutest thing I have ever seen. He is gary and has a split down the middle of his face: one half is white the other gray, perfectly centered! So I buy some gerbil food and some baby carrots and put some in the feeder tank for the little guy to eat. Dan is all about trying to feed Lola it again tonight.
Well this baby rat has grown on me. It's very small and every time I pick it up it falls asleep in my hand or in my shirt. It wobbles whe in walks too!
Today i went and picked it up a little house and water bottle and some greens to eat. I am attatched! I even named him Fernando! I wont let dan feed it to Lola so when he gets bigger I said I'll take him to the petstore to be adopted.

Has anyone else ever felt bad for a baby rat? I mean the adult I had no problem getting rid of... just not the cute lil baby!

---

No not one NINE, My daughter has two female pet fancy rats and I got a male to breed snake food so they both had babies one had five the other ten, managed to freeze 6 pinkies, went to gas the fuzzies and could not do it now they are cute and fluffy besides I dont think any of my children would talk to me again if I did. So I now have to convince a pet shop to take them to sell as pets. I have rehomed the male and shall stick to buying frozen thawed in future.
Regards Maki

the sooner both snakes get on f/t the better!

anymore uneaten dinners and i'll be starting a rat colony in my spare bedroom!

I luck out in this area because I have two other friends that have snakes, one has a Adult Cali King and whatever she can't eat (size wise) goes to my adult BP's, once in a while My adult BP's get a rat that is too big so I send them to my other friend who has a 7ft BCI that can take them no problem.

I just cant believe how adorable Fernando (the baby rat) is! i mean he is just to cute to do anything but cuddle. I am usually not that attatched to animals except big Mike my feline companion with the 6 toes.

I am hoping somone will want to adopt him once he is a good size. I couldnt imagine feeding him to any snake at this point...it made me cringe when dan was holding him by the tail and dangling him infront of Lola and he started to squeek.

Funny thing I have just been in this situation, we had two breeder rats that I was in love with, they were cuddly and would lay there and watch TV with me. My GF ended up giving them to our friend with the 7ft BCI (without me knowing) and I was told after the fact, I was actually hurt by this. I waited until my girlfriend was out for the day and fed her two favorite mice to my adult BP and then told her after the fact. We are now even. Kinda wierd, it's was a quiet argument and noone even raised their voice. So now we have an agreement to talk to eachother if we are in question about feeding an animal to the snakes.