Well years ago I did have a female hamster who was a rather lovely pet though one of the biggest (not fat just huge) hamsters I've personally ever seen. She adored sipping tea with milk and sugar in it and wouldn't leave me be if I had a cup of tea until she got a few drops in a saucer.
It is interesting that a few of us keep rodents as pets and yet are okay with using rodents for feeding purposes. I know a lot of our friends just can't get how we can do this but it's not a major problem for us. Our only upcoming issue will be when our 2 pet female rats have their babies and we will have to decide if we use their offspring for feeders or not. They are also the kid's pets so we have to tread very carefully there as well I'm just not sure if I can feed off their babies myself (I'm a bit of a softie that way).
~~Jo~~
09-15-2005, 09:53 AM
Ginevive
Re: Rodent issues
I breed rats, and I will be the first to admit, I mainly breed for feeders only. I do not handle the babies, and when they are weanling-sized, they are fed off to my snakes or whacked and stored in the freezer for later feedings.
But I do make an effort to tame-down the ones I use as breeding stock. I'll pluck a female out of a litter, every so often, based on temperament alone; some of them just naturally seem calmer and easier to grab. I will handle each future mother rat for a few minutes daily and nightly, after feeding time. And of course, I have my two big males, which are the "studs" for the operation, and they are friendly as can be. But it is definately worth it, to get your future breeders used-to people; makes things much more pleasant.
Rats can make super-awesome pets. I have one mother rat, who is tamer than any I have ever seen before. She was raised by a class of school-kids, and she is definately the only true "pet quality" rat I have besides my one male. My other females will let you pick them up, and sniff at your hand without biting, but if they got away onto the floor, you'd never see them again. Whereas, Delphi (the pet one) got out once, and came running right to me in the kitchen!
It is not the animal really, it is how much work a person is willing to invest into it!
