Have you ever had a rat as a pet? How was the experience?

Question

Aw, sorry about the cancer. :( So do they chew so much at night that it keeps you awake. I live in a two bedroom condo, so it's not huge and I wonder how far the sound travels. I had a hamster as a kid who always tried to escape when not out of the cage and it drove the whole family crazy because we could hear him clawing throughout the house.

Answer 1

I had 2 rats a few years ago that were both females and they were honestly the coolest pets to have.  They loved to go swimming either in the bath tub or out in a little baby pool. We eventually built them a cage outside that was really big so they could run around in the grass without having to worry about them running off and they loved it.  They're really sweet and make the cutest little chirping noises.

Mine didn't chew that much.  If you get them little chew sticks or they make edible houses you can buy, they would love that.  I have a mouse now that I just got one of those edible houses and he's in heaven.

Answer 2

I had rats as a child and then as an adult. They are nocturnal and will chew, but it is usually not that noisy. I was never bothered by noise.

  My daughter did make the mistake of putting newspaper in the cage once. The rat tore it up for bedding and that noise did keep disturb her sleep.

  Also rats are social. Unlike other rodents that I have had, they do not try to run away and hide if they get out of their cage. My daughter let hers around around her room and it would go under furniture to explore, but it would come out to play with her, too.

Answer 3

I had a rat for a few years in high school.  He was really cool.  They become used to their owners the more you handle them.  Mine would crawl around under my hair and stuff.  People thought it was really gross.  They usually stay up at night and chew anything they can.  I used to give mine pop boxes to sleep in and he would chew it to bits in the middle of the night.  Mine only lived a few years.  I think it got some sort of tumor (cancer?) and eventually died.  He was really fun while I had him though.

Answer 4

i looked after 5 for my mate while he went away to Jamaica on honeymoon, trouble was i had just creosoted my shed doors when he brought them round and after he got back they all died. felt guilty but its to late now.

Answer 5

Ive had tons of rats and as long as you read up on how to care for and handle them properly I think they make great pets! as long as you treat them right they are able to become very interested in humans and learn to love being out with you^_^ (just remember to keep at least 2 of the same gender together bc they are very social)

and when it comes to noise at night, if you give them a wheel it might squeak but if you take it out at night then there wont be a problem, otherwise they ARE mostly nocturnal so they're most active at night but i think the amount of noise they'd make would depend on the cage and their toys. I'm not saying make sure they have no toys at night bc they'd get bored and that'd be plain cruel to them, but just keep that in mind i guess when you set up their cage bc mayb you could switch their toys to quieter ones at night if the other ones are noisy.

Answer 6

I THINK YOU MEAN HAMSTER :-) YEA HAVING A HAMSTER IS GOOD BUT THE ONLY THINK IS THAT IT POOPS A LOT LOL

Answer 7

there excellent pets but noisy at night. just put them in another room at night.

Answer 8

i have owned rats since i can remember. they are fantastic pets. they are so fun to watch and play with. there are some issues with rats developing health problems like cancer and respiratory  infections. other than that, they are amazing. :)