PetLvr.com - [The Blog]

“Should I get one rat, or two?”

That’s a question I hear asked very often, and, unlike most pet questions, it’s got an easy answer. Get two! Or, better yet, three, or as many rats as you have the time, space, and money to support! Rats are gregarious animals and need the company of their own kind in order to be happy. In fact, most good rat breeders require that babies be adopted in pairs.

In the wild, rats live in groups of hundreds. They are social animals that do not leave their colonies at adulthood, but simply expand their foraging radius and the size of their colony’s nesting area as the colony expands. Activities like play and social grooming help rats’ brains to develop. Studies have shown that social grooming is so important to rats that baby rats raised by a mother that does not lick and groom them grow up to be unfriendly and less intelligent than rats raised by a mother who is attentive.

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Have you ever been on vacation, feeling homesick, and wanted, more than anything, to see your pet? Royce  Hong, CEO of the electronics company IPEVO, has. While traveling, Royce found himself missing his bulldog, Roy. That’s when inspiration struck. Royce designed the IPEVO PoV USB web camera so that he could continue to interact with Roy while away from home. Roy, a four-year-old English Bulldog, is seen below in a photo taken with the PoV web camera:

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Let me begin by saying that, as a pet rat owner and fancier, I detest the mill-style breeding that Rainbow Exotics practices. As a result of these conditions, as well as the treatment of animals seen in stores, I avoid shopping at Petco or Petsmart whenever possible. In general, I prefer Petsmart if I must choose to shop at a chain pet store that sells live animals, because they keep only one gender of mammals at a time and do not sell live feeders. However, I was forced to enter Petco today due to a crisis– no cat litter left, and Petsmart was out of our brand– and was pleased to see some changes occurring.

Changes at Local Petco Stores

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If you’ve decided to add a small mammal like a rabbit, rat, or hamster to your family, the next step is to choose between adopting a rescued or rehomed pet, or purchasing from a reputable, responsible breeder.

You’ll notice that I haven’t listed purchasing from a pet store as an option. That’s entirely intentional, for a number of reasons, including, but not limited to the following three: More →

Many people seeking a new pet bypass the adoption option for one reason or another. While there are certainly some situations in which purchasing from a reputable, responsible breeder is ideal, consider this list of five myths about pet adoption before bypassing rescue to look for a breeder.

1. Shelter dogs are all mutts.

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One question that I frequently hear from prospective rat owners is, "I have a cat. Will the rats be safe with a cat in the house?"

Unfortunately, there is no single right answer to that question. In fact, there are as many answers as there are cats and owners. Some cats have a very high prey drive and will attack any small mammal introduced into the home. Other cats couldn’t possibly care less that a "prey item" is sitting on the kitchen table stealing tidbits from the humans’ breakfasts. Most kitties fall somewhere between these two extremes.

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This was forwarded to my attention via Email with the following description:

This is a video of one of the homeless in Santa Barbara and his pets. They work State Street every week for donations. The animals are pretty well fed and are mellow. They are a family. The man who owns them rigged a harness up for his cat so she wouldn’t have to walk so much (like the dog and himself). At some juncture, the rat came along, and because no one wanted to eat anyone else, the rat started riding with the cat and often, on the cat. The dog will stand all day and let you talk to him and admire him for a few chin scratches. The mayor of Santa Barbara filmed this clip and sent it out as a Christmas card.

From the YouTube Description

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By Catherine Smith

Is your rat aggressive?

Does your rats often start fights with the other rats? Does he bite, or scratch you, or the other rats? If he does, I may just be able to help you. Whether he is aggressive towards you or other ratties, it is important to take action to stop anyone getting hurt.

Why is your rat aggressive?

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By Scott McHenry

So you’ve decided to get a pet rat. There are many things you will need to decide on to prepare for your new pet. We’ll go over each of these items in this article.

The first decision you have to make is whether you want a male or female. There are a number of differences between male and female rats.

Males tend to mark their territory with drops of their urine. Because of this habit their cage will require slightly more frequent cleaning than a cage of females. Males are usually larger than females which make them easier for children to handle. Generally males are lazier and more relaxed than females. Most of the time males are content to just lay around most of the day. This makes them great lap pets.

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