Does anyone else not like rodents?

I don't know exactly where it came from, but I have a strong dislike for most rodents. I'm far from a bloodthirsty, I-must-kill-everything-smaller-than-me kind of guy, but I almost enjoy feeding my bp. I really find this odd, because I'm extremely against stuff like hunting (except squirrels, more about that later), and feel HORRIBLE if I ever hit a possum or whatever with my car.

We lived in the country when I was young, so mice were always present. I would help my dad check traps, and we always had cats killing stuff. The grudge against squirrels comes from a bunch of them eating their way into my wife's parents' house, causing a whole lot of work and costly repairs.

Most people here seem to like rats, many keeping some as pets. I guess I'm just curious if there's anybody else who doesn't like them :)

To be honest - I really don't care to much for rats - I don't hate them but I have no problem breeding them for feeders...Getting attached to a rat will never happen at the Taylor household...I hate mice - Mice suck...I hate ASF's worse than mice...There just plain ol' mean...Squirrels - I like - Deep fried or on the grill - Either way is good eatin to me...I love hunting - Duck - Dove -Squirrel - Deer - Rabbit...That's how we were raised down south - We eat it all...:gj:
BT

I wish my snakes would all take f/t. I hate having rodents around. Little crap factories. I too will never be attached to any rat or mouse.

I should've said that if you're gonna eat what you hunt, it's a-ok. The exception to that would be stuff like squirrels. I USED to be anti-all hunting, but realized that I can't really eat meat and gripe about people killing animals. My wife's family live in Kentucky, so I'm coming around to a lot of southern stuff :)

I should've also said that part of the reason I enjoy feeding the snake live is that I find it very difficult to believe that they aren't a little happier getting to "hunt" (I realize having a mouse dropped in front of it hardly counts as hunting). However, I am most definitely NOT trying to preach that anybody else should feed live or f/t or pre-killed or whatever. As long as a rat or mouse is meeting it's demise, whatever is ok :D

It's all good...Hunting is about conservation and eatin good...Growing up in Louisiana there was always plenty of things to hunt...Loads of squirrles - True story - I actually killed 2 squirrels with 1 shot (12 gauge)...That's one I know you'll appreciate...I'm beginning to think Kentucky is to cold to be a southern state...LOL...8 degrees this morning with 3 inches of snow - Snow sucks...
BT

To be honest, there isn't any animals that I dont like. I get nervous around big ol spiders, because I just dont know what their going to do next lol, and I am allergic to mosquitos, so I dont like those buggers at all. So they would be the exception, for every other animal, I havent met one or seen one I don't like. :)

Oh, I didn't see you were in Florence. I just drove through there the other day, going to and from Cadiz (near Land Between the Lakes, just north of Tennessee).

BTW, do you know why the water tower says "Florence Y'all"?

Yep - I've been in Florence a little over 4 years - Actually like it here...The water tower is about 10 miles from my house...For the record - I'm an animal lover too just not a PETA freak...:D
BT

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I'm an animal lover too just not a PETA freak...
BT

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PETA is definitely overkill

I hope you didn't think that comment was intended for you - It wasn't - Just a general statement about fanatics...
BT

Yep ,like most people here I too feel that I'll never be atached to rats especially mice. Mice are just nasty and even stinkier than rats. For that reason I switched all my snakes to frozen rats. Perhaps if they did't stink as much and if they weren't historicly notorious for carrying so many diseases I would feel differently about them. Squirels I hate for obvious reasons, they always chew my mosquito screens and try to get in the house.
As far as the hunting goes , I don't kill nothing unless I'm going to eat it, not even a spider , well pests are exception to that but you get my point.

Yeah, I love animals, but think PETA is pretty much nuts, just like I love guns but think the NRA is pretty much nuts. Same with pretty much all extremist groups.

That water tower used to say "Florence Mall", but due to some legal thing, they weren't allowed to advertise on it, so "Mall" became "Y'all".

I'm not a huge rodent fan, but I do have a few rats who aren't really "pets" but they are my favorite breeders. I use to LOVE rats and kept a few as pets but now since I've gotten snakes and breed my own rats, I've toned it down a notch on getting attached or thinking a rat is cute and that I must keep it. I look at them like they all serve a purpose and that is to either be held back and become a breeder, or to be fed off to feed my snakes.

As far as mice go... I HATE HATE HAAATE mice. They are nasty little buggers who stink to high heavens. I will never own a mouse eating snake. Mice don't breed well and the few litters I've had, have just been eaten by that mother mouse. They aren't worth it imo!

African soft furred rats don't bug me to much, at least they are some what cute and some are nice and they don't smell really at all. I didn't mind keeping or breeding them when I had to for one of my old snakes.

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Originally Posted by ChrisBowsman

Yeah, I love animals, but think PETA is pretty much nuts, just like I love guns but think the NRA is pretty much nuts. Same with pretty much all extremist groups.

That water tower used to say "Florence Mall", but due to some legal thing, they weren't allowed to advertise on it, so "Mall" became "Y'all".

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PETA is 100 times worse than NRA.

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Originally Posted by stangs13

PETA is 100 times worse than NRA.

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I agree. I'm not a gun owner or a hunter, but I think the NRA is a great and very much needed organization. PETA can go get their freak on with themselves.

NRA was probably a bad example. Pretend I mentioned some nutjob survivalist group :)

Green Peace?
BT

They Stink HORRIBLY.... Eat way too much, Poo too much, don't breed enough. And sometimes the big ones bite me too!

I can't stand them. They take too much time to deal with but it's what the snakes want to eat so I have to keep them happy too!

But sometimes I like them, they do look cute once and a while! Not very often though!

Back when I was about 8 years old. My sister and I caught a bunch of mice that we found in grain sacks. We kept them in an old aquarium with a hardware cloth lid on the back porch and played with them everyday. Being wild mice, they bit us a lot but we didn't mind all that much. This kept up for over a week until one night at the supper table my mom saw my sisters hands and asked why her hands were all scarred up with little cuts. My sister then spilled the beans about the mice. We knew that Mom and Dad would be mad because they had warned us before about the dangers of keeping wild animals as pets. Dad said that he wanted these mice so that he could bring them in and have them tested for rabies. I didn't want my pet mice to be hurt so I ran back to the porch and let them all go.

The next day at the Dr's office it was decided that as a precaution, my sister and I should undergo the 14 day treatment for rabies. 14 shots in the stomach. 7 up one side and 7 down the other side. One every day for the next 2 weeks. It was very painful not only from the shots but because of the swelling from the vaccine. Thanks to that swelling, I had a pretty impressive looking six pack for a second grader, but man did it hurt. My sister had a reaction to getting the shots in her stomach so they finished off the series in her hip. She could barely walk until at least a week after they were done.

I still don't hate mice. But ever since then I've really never felt that fond of them either. Rats are OK, but they're little pooping and peeing machines and I've never really considered them to be companion animals. I've got a Dog and a Cat and Several birds that show plenty of affection and are part of the family. I really don't need to add any rodents to that list.

Mark

Also for the record, I've kept guns and have hunted for most of my life, and I think the NRA is run by a bunch of conservative nut jobs and is nothing more then a puppet organization for the republican party. They are JUST as bad as PETA in my opinion.

There is not one animal I don't like. They all have something that makes them themselves that we will never be able to imitate. I like mice I like rats, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

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Originally Posted by BT41042

I hope you didn't think that comment was intended for you - It wasn't - Just a general statement about fanatics...
BT

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LOL, no. I was agreeing with you ;)

We breed rats and ASF and to be honest we have become attatched to a few rats since starting. We have one hairless that our 4 year old held from the time the rat was fuzzy size. Our daughter named her madota and that rat is very fun to have around. I really despised small mice, rats...basically any rodent until we started breeding for our snakes
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My wife does most of the rat care and she really likes the rats that are good mothers...I guess with humans and rats alike not all mothers are created equal. Now that we are breeding ASF we are actually planning to weed out our rats that are too spastic and not good mothers and just keep the rats that are pretty tame and good mothers. The asf rats breed really well and have large litters and we will probably go to them completely once our american rats are beyond breeding.

Just my 2c worth.

I dislike rats too. I use to gloves for them. Im not scared as I use to be with them. Its those wild big black jumping rats that get to me!

People Eating Tasty Animals,my kind of folks !