ratcreature | argh.

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rats

argh.

My stupid rat somehow managed to pull out some of the stitches holding his left eye closed. Right now it is still barely closed, though it seems mostly due to one remaining stitch in the middle, but I don't see that holding until Monday (when they were supposed to come out), not with him continuing to pick at it. So I guess it's yet another trip to the vet tomorrow morning. I just hope it'll hold at least until tomorrow and he doesn't injure or harm his eye overnight. I have no idea how he even managed to pull on these. Initially I couldn't even see any of the tiny stitches or the thread.

Sigh. It's not that I don't understand that having thread in your eye/eyelids is uncomfortable and irritating, but he is not helping himself.

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Jeez, I feel for you - animals (like kids) don't know or do what's good for them and it's really aggravating. Hope all goes well at the vet. Keeping my fingers crossed. Love, mxm

Yeah, injured or sick rats can get really labor/time intensive, between the vet visits and their lack of cooperation when it comes to wounds or meds or anything really. Like most pets I guess. I mean, I always try to remind myself that I signed up for this when I decided on wanting to have someone cute and furry to cuddle, and it's not like it's his fault that he's sick or anything, but still.

Yeah, I've really been wondering, how did you decide that the pets you wanted were rats? I find it an unusual choice (mice, gerbils, snakes, etc., also not my first thought when it comes to pets). When I was a kid I was afraid of dogs and cats, so my folks got me parakeets (I still remember the names I gave them - Dandy and Peppy!) which I liked but my dad ended up taking care of. Also, I had turtles. This was many years ago (I'm retired, to give you an idea of my age now). When I was cured of my fear of dogs and cats in my mid-twenties (by staying with a friend who had a dachshund and gradually getting used to it), I got dogs, later on cats. Later, years ago, my husband Hannes caught a mouse in our apartment. We couldn't bring ourselves to kill the mouse so Hannes ended up building a cage. The hole where the mouse came from ended up becoming a conduit to our cage and we had mice (dozens) for pets for a while. So, I guess I have had an unconventional pet, after all! We also had birds (for the life of me, I can't think of the name of the type of bird - a little smaller than sparrows - really pretty - oh, I just remembered, finches). And recently, my daughter lived with us and we had cats again. My own favorite cat, Teddy, a tabby, was a wonderful pet, lived for many years. But I never had any pet as unconventional as a rat. Rats really get bad press, as I'm sure you know!

So, how did you get started with rats and why? I'm new on LJ so if you've told this story before (I'm sure you have), I'd love to hear it - short version would be fine, long version even better!

Love,
Max

I got my first rat as a teenager. (I was stupid then and didn't realize that you had to keep them in a group.) A cat or a dog wasn't an option because they weren't allowed in my parents' apartment, and I wanted a furry pet to cuddle. And rats make really good pets, because unlike hamsters for example they are not night active or solitary, but social and will play and interact with you and get fairly attached to humans. And of course as a teenager there was the coolness factor of rats in that my mother didn't like them much at first (though she came around) but she had only forbidden snakes and spiders.

I used to have a guinea pig when I was little, but they aren't as entertaining as rats. Mice are just too tiny for my taste. I was never much into rabbits (also it would have kind of weird to keep an animal as pet that you eat regularly, as I didn't used to be vegetarian back then). Also, it sounds a bit harsh, but as a teenager I thought that rats were a good option because their lifespan is only 2-3 years. I mean, I had no idea what my living situation would be in five or eight years and what I would have done with rabbits or guinea pigs or cat (who live even longer) then, but I could guarantee that I would be able to care for the rats for their whole life. So I had rats for a while as a teenager. (I got two others after my first rat died after two years.)

Then when I considered getting pets again, I thought about maybe getting a cat instead, because my siblings have cats now, and I like cats okay, but they are more expensive in the upkeep, also my place isn't large and has no garden or outside access. Also cats seem kind of fickle to me. I mean, it seems like such a crap shot whether a cat will even like you. With my luck I'd get a really prickly one that won't let me pet it, but just attacks me, vomits on my bed and destroys my stuff (that last rats admittedly rats do too, being rodents who like to chew on everything), with no reward, and then I'm stuck with a cat for the next twenty years.

Also, after having been vegetarian since I've been 17, I find the idea of keeping meat for my pets kind of gross, whereas my rats eat scraps of whatever fruit and vegetables I eat that are okay for them (like you can't feed them cabbage for example, but most human food stuff is okay for them) in addition to the rat food mix. I think in the pre-made rat food is some animal products, but the pressed stuff looks all the same, and doesn't smell like meat either, not even like dry cat food, let alone wet or fresh. A couple of times I fed my brother's cats, and I much prefer feeding rats.

Besides that, rats are entertaining to watch when you have a group, they are cute, friendly and relatively easy to keep. And did I mention cute? Seriously, a couple of times when I brought one in its carrier on public transport people would ask me what kind of animal that was, and I'd go "huh? it's a rat." and they'd be all surprised and say "but it's so cute!" You'd think people would recognize rats, but maybe they imagine them dog-sized and with glowing red eyes or something.
This are the three I have right now (from left to right: Emil, Ignatz and Krümel):

And here's a gallery full of pictures of filled with ratty cuteness (though I haven't uploaded that many of my current ones as adults yet):
http://pics.livejournal.com/ratcreature/gallery/00002p51

Well, you know, you're right, they ARE cute! Certainly as cute as gerbils or hamsters! And I perfectly understand that as a vegetarian you wouldn't want to stock meat for your pets - this sounds like an ideal solution, rats! God, I can't believe I just said that! I feel like Rodney - what? what? - as they always picture him saying in fanfic!!

Thanks for the history - I enjoyed reading about your life with this original type of pet. Altho, I guess if they sell them in pet stores, they aren't SO unusual as pets, are they!

At any rate, prayers for Krumel's health.

Love, Max

Re: pet stores. I actually got all of mine the last years from hobby rat breeders, because then you know their history, they are already used to humans, and bred for health and good social qualities rather than primarily as lab animals and such, and it avoids the whole set of issues that pet stores have with "producing" and selling animals as commodity as if they were some product. It's a bit more effort, and more complicated than getting a rat from a pet store, but worth it IMO.

I didn't think of that - that some people breed rats (and other animals) as a hobby. But your reasoning is good, especially that the animals are used to humans, healthy and sociable. Those qualities are certainly important in any pet. Thanks for the info. Love, mxm

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argh.

argh

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Rat cuteness

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