Any Moms or Dads whose children have pet rats?

What were your initial thoughts when your child asked you for pet rats? Had they done their research? Did they beg? Has your opinion on rats changed since you got the rats?





Did your child eventually stop taking care of the rats? Did it become your responsibility?





Do you enjoy spending time with the rats? Have you gotten more rats since the first rats?





Thanks for all who answer.Any Moms or Dads whose children have pet rats?
Rats are highly intelligent, trainable, less fast than other rodents, quieter than some, soft, affectionate and chew less than other species.





I work in a pet store and I'm ALWAYS recommending rats and degu's for children. Sadly to many people want hamsters which are more likely to bite for many reasons and much more strongly nocturnal.





However, most children are blocked from getting a rat because the mother has an issue with tails.





The majority of people will keep a pair of females or a single male. (No babies please). Get them young so you train them the way you want them. And I urge you, EVEN if your child is responsible for the care of the rat, PLEASE supervise it to make sure the cage is properly cleaned and food and water done properly.





And please, even if you and your child think its an easy pet to take care of. PLEASE research their care in a book rather than just hoping internet advice is correct. Ask people in more than one pet store as well.





Good LuckAny Moms or Dads whose children have pet rats?
No, my husband is allergic. But get him a gerbil inseat, they are better.
rats are kool little creatures to have as pets. i used to raise and sell them and all of mine were tame. the kids liked to have me bring them to school for show and tell. the kids cleaned out the cages and fed them 90 percent of the time and they played with them all the time too.
my kids and i had a pet rat once and for awhile it was ok, she was nice and never hurt the kids and we could play with her for hours....we took really good care of her and kept her and her cage really clean and somehow she ended up getting some kind of lice and we had to get rid of her so be carful if you do get one
Hmm, I did end up with a pet rat once. Incidently tried to feed the big snake twice and she just wouldn't eat the damn thing. so I chucked him outside....figured he'd faced death twice and lived so he deserved to be free. But he wouldn't leave, stayed right next to the dog house...being captive bred with winter coming on I felt badly for him. So, we made him nest of reminant carpet and he fed off the dog food and water and we named him Charles. He did well for some time, but at some point he disappeared and the dog tore up his nest...apparently done sharing food. Having dealt with many rats (as snake food mostly). They are actually friendly curious pets, that a great number of people just adore (I've not really shared the attraction but must admit to digging Charles a bit and missing seeing him drive the cats nuts). As far as the kids go, any child may lose interest in any pet. If they are at least 8-9 years old, I think they handle responsibility better. Younger than that you'd have to be your own judge of your child. But as far as rats in particular....they are fairly easy loving pets although less loyal and playful than a dog and not as maintanence free as a cat (they crap and make messes everywhere....not the brightest of pets).





Good Luck
She has a pet hamster. She did basically stop taking care of it and lost it. I took it for awhile and then made a chart. She now has it back.. if she gets too many strikes on her chart, I will give the hamster to someone (put it in the classifieds). If she gets 20 strikes for taking care of it, she gets a prize and starts a new sheet over. I am kinda attatched to that thing.. he is tame
I had 2 rats, but not because of my kids...because of my husband..lol. But he ended up going out of town to work, so they ended up being my responsibility. My 3 boys didnt really pay too much attention to them. The rats are both dead now, and I wouldnt get anymore.
I got my son 2 rats a year ago i dint really have a problem with them after talking with rat owenrs i just could not get over the tail.rats make great pets and are great with kids you can actully let them roam and they will go back to there cage.I now look at rats in a diffrent way a good one.i am the one who cares for the rats but my son is young only 6.i do injoy spending time with them the only thing is they dont live long get them as babys handle them alot and get 2.
We got my son a hairless rat a few years ago. He didn't beg and he took really good care of it (he was probably 7 or so at the time). No matter how clean he kept the cage it always smelled kinda strange to me so that wasn't a good thing. He would cover the cage at night to try to help keep it warm, but it got unexpectedly cold one night and the rat died. It didn't change my views on them, I never really minded them and had one when I was younger. We did not get more as my youngest is severely autistic and he is freaked out by animals (he was too young to really notice the rat much when we had it so it wasn't an issue then).
My brother has a rat...He is eleven and I had to live with it for 1 month while my husband was on a trip. He begged, he did research, he got 1 more rat now to ';keep it company'; He has kept care of it well, I hate rats...