Do you keep snakes and Pet rats?

[Bruce Whitehead]

I am up to my eyeballs in allergy meds, so I may miss most of the points... but will do my best.

I feed rats, mice, ASFs, and FT chicks. As well I feed FT rats.

I try to feed FT to most, and get all my new hatchlings on FT, but mostly I feed live.

I love my pet rats, and ended up getting into rats after keeping snakes. My first batch of feeders ended up being to big to feed off (I was new to the hobby and misjudged), so I held them back as breeders.

The more time I spent with them, the more I enjoyed them. Smart and socialable, they were just a great animal. I had one female that was always escaping, and I would find her nearby every day, place her back and she would escape again.

Each time she got out I would sit with her and hold her and chat before putting her back in the cage. Eventually it came to a point where I knew she was out because she would come over and pull on my pant leg asking for a treat.

My first group were given very generous house privileges, with the above mentioned rat eventually getting her own cage with an open door. The only free-range rat I have had, and one of the best pets I could have ever asked for. She spent most of her time in her nest in my closest, and was always underfoot if we were around. Something very comforting about being up working at night and just catching a glimpse of her out of the corner of my eye, having her tug (or crawl up) my pant leg, and knowing that if I did call her she would come running everytime.

Despite this, I do not have issues with feeding rats off. I can covet the parents, but I can feed the babes and I do not have any issue with it. But there is the odd occasion where one of us will bond to (purely on our part and for what reason I do not know) one of the pups and then it gets held back).

Trevor, Belle, Maurice, Pepper, Sven, Frank, Denise, Chantel, Clarisse, Suzanne, Gloria, and Sharon can all attest to that...

The times I notice I have problems, is euthanizing any rat that gets too big to feed off. I can euthanize them, but I always try to re-home them first. Even if they have simply been in the feeder bin without much interaction, as in no bonding. I have probably placed 40 rats as pets... and I am always recommending them to people. I do think they are one of the best pets. I think if every house had two rats in it as pets, the world would be a better place.

Feel free to roll your eyes there.

Same with as pets for kids. I think they are ideal. They teach love, compassion, responsibility, and yes... ultimately death and mourning. Seeing my friend's 5 year old daughter handfeeding her two pet rats while they perch on her shoulder as she watches TV is just a really great feeling.

Gerbils, ASFs, Mice... not so much. I like my colonies overall, and I appreciate their good dispositions (and I feel affection for them), but I can feed off retired breeders as easily as I can feed off the babes.

I can open a tub to find a dead breeder and feel *bad* but I still toss it. I open a tub to find a dead rat - breeder or pet, and I mourn each and everytime for them.

And what is a rat post without a few pics?