Rats, Ferrets, Snakes, other exotic animals.

[Kumiho]

Some people have prejudice even against certain breeds of dogs and cats, which are held as 'common', socially acceptable pets. There's not much one can do, in my experience, to avoid or revert that. So be it, I say. Let them be. Don't let those stupid misconceptions hurt you. In the end, it's their loss, not yours.

 

Common, street rats do dig in garbage, yes, but so do stray dogs and cats. They do smell bad, yes, but so does any other animal that's not properly taken care of. They do bite, sure they do, but isn't it an expected reaction from any wild animal? Even a purebred toy poodle would turn into a smelly aggressive little pest if let loose and uncared for. And if even insects turn into nice pets if properly cared for, well, why wouldn't a rat?

 

I love exotic animals. I've had rats [which we call 'twisters' here, don't ask me why] and they were the loveliest, most adorable pets ever. The male was much tamer than the female, and I would often take him with me to do grocery, run small errands for my parents, etc. He was a little fur ball of fun, he loved me, I loved him. So, what people thought of me having a rat didn't really annoy me, as long as they didn't try to hurt him.

 

But what I really want now is a snake. Dear gods, I'm in love with snakes. They're AWSUM.

Edited April 24, 2011 by Kumiho

[quupee]

Gahhh I love rodents. <3 More than big animals. I've owned rats, hamsters, a mouse (long story, I won't go into why it was kept on it's own), and I'm thinking of getting some ASFs. African soft furred mice are often used for snake food, but apparently they have virtually no odour and are incredibly smart.

Although supposedly 'aggresive', I don't trust a word of it. If you keep them in tiny cages which I can't even fit my hand in then they're bound to be scared of you. ¬¬

[SmileyPerson]

I hope this includes gerbils C:

I had three gerbils.  They died pretty fast, while I was away at camp.  Then we got two more, and these lived for a few months before HAVING BABIES.  We seperated them up into boys and girls, giving my brother the tank with 3 boys while I kept the one with 2 girls.  Recently, the mother gerbil died.  We;re thinking of getting a companion or two for my little girl.

And my friend has an adorable chinchilla. 8D

I had three gerbils too. One of them died of pneumonia or something, and the others from organ failure. The last one that died was my own special one D:

 

If you're thinking of giving your gerbil some friends, BE CAREFUL. If she is any older than about 12 weeks or so, then she may be aggressive to any new gerbils. They can even fight to the death, so, introduce them very slowly.

 

We're gonna get some degus soon, I think. They are a bit like a mix of gerbil and chinchilla.

[Aerouant]

I have 3 red corn snakes and 2 African dwars frogs.

I have a job in education, and the kids know I have these 'odd' critters at home. Some of them don't really care, but others still cannot believe it.

They dislike the snakes, think they are poisonous (but they only strangle), think they are slimy (eh?) and disgusting, but they never expecienced a snake up close

 

Even my grandmother, who's afraid of snakes, likes these lazy critters. They usually sleep all day and they are really easy to handle. They are quite curious

 

Oh and when you tell them they eat mice, one half is sorry for them and the other half goes crazy because they so not like mice either

 

[hokankai]

I LOVE my rats. I have two adorable dwarf rats named Milo and Oliver. They are basically like little puppies in a cage, haha!

 

I also have one crested gecko named Zima. She's absolutely gorgeous!

 

In the future I'd like to get another crested gecko, a gargoyle gecko, a pied ball python, ferrets, guinea pigs, and of course dogs/cats.

[toxicneon]

hokankai, that crestie is adorable! I want one. <3

 

Here's my Australian water dragon, Jub Jub:

 

 

Most people have never even heard of water dragons. They're always like "Oooh looks like a beardie!" They look nothing alike.

[Pink]

I used to have ferrets, but the one I had wasn't able to get out very much due to my roommate and he used to chew on his cage bars.

He was the sweetest little thing, and it nearly killed me to give him up, but my roommate kind of forced me too.

I still lament over losing him to this day.

My poor baby Punk, at least he went to a good home.

 

Now I have a snake. I don't think I have a picture hanging around on this computer (I didn't dare leave any info on this one, because it could go out any day...) but he's a young ball python.

He's cute, scaly, and unusually easy for a ball. He's not picky about eating at all (although that might be because I feed him live. I think feeding problems come in when you try to feed them frozen rats/mice), and not THAT head shy.

 

 

When I move out on my own (which will hopefully be fairly soon), I'm getting another little black ferret.

I love those little carpet sharks.

<3

 

My mom is scared of rats, but I think if I ever wanted one and brought home a baby she wouldn't be able to resist.

Whenever I get one of those rat pups for my snakie, she always wants me to keep it instead of feeding it to him.

They ARE really cute though, and so sweet. <3

 

@toxicneon

 

I had a friend who tried breeding water dragons for a while.

I remember his would always jump on me and sit on my shoulder.

They were pretty darn cute little lizzies.

Reptiles ftw.

 

 

Edited April 24, 2011 by Pink

[Kazeko]

I'd really like a lizard or a snake. Or a domesticated fox.

 

None of those are happening, though, 'cos I'm going off to college in a few years. :/ I'm stuck with my budgies for now.

Edited April 24, 2011 by Kazeko

[Xbcdrt8741]

If you're thinking of giving your gerbil some friends, BE CAREFUL. If she is any older than about 12 weeks or so, then she may be aggressive to any new gerbils. They can even fight to the death, so, introduce them very slowly.

Don't worry. I have a reliable method for introducing gerbils to one another. It mostly involes an awful lot of patience ^^;

[Imaginary Worm]

@ toxicneon - you have total cuttie there! Jub Jub is gorgeous!

 

Cats aren't so exotic, are they? Well, I have one, totally spoiled and self centered (like cats usually are).

But turtle is a bit exotic, right?

 

Here's my real dino, stealing (and eating) some salad...

[Voxezi]

I'd like rats, mice, chinchillas, rabbits, flying squirrels, ferrets, foxes, African gray parrots, or any form of birds that are easy to keep.

[Kazeko]

I love grays, I hear they require a lot of attention though? I mean, they're smart enough it's like having a friend (or a small child), not just a pet.

[DaniBoo]

I have 2 gerbils, 2 mice and a leopard gecko.

[aj20]

I have two female rats and they're the sweetest little creatures imaginable. I also have two male guinea pigs, three cats, one dog, and a number of fish. I hate it when people ask me why I would consider owning "all those animals" and even "those disgusting things with tails". I just reply with "They don't bother me and they're very good pets." My friends aren't grossed out expcept for the tails, but other than that they think they're pretty cool. I hate it when people ask me "Don't they carry diseases? And don't they stink?" Uuum, not if you clean the cage out regularly, and gee, I've had my rats for several months now, if they had some sort of disease, don't you think it would've shown up by now? It makes me so mad when people think I'm some sort of freak for owning rats and rodents in general. They're cute and sweet and I love them.

Edited April 25, 2011 by aj20

[tomboy3603]

I have 2 guinea pigs. Apparently, most people think they are fat and dirty animals who sit around and do nothing. WRONG! I have a guinea pig named XL and when you take him out and let him run around he goes __-_ XL

He takes off in a burst of light. Guinea pigs are very social animals who AREN'T FAT!!!

[tomboy3603]

I have two female rats and they're the sweetest little creatures imaginable. I also have two male guinea pigs, three cats, one dog, and a number of fish. I hate it when people ask me why I would consider owning "all those animals" and even "those disgusting things with tails". I just reply with "They don't bother me and they're very good pets." My friends aren't grossed out expcept for the tails, but other than that they think they're pretty cool. I hate it when people ask me "Don't they carry diseases? And don't they stink?" Uuum, not if you clean the cage out regularly, and gee, I've had my rats for several months now, if they had some sort of disease, don't you think it would've shown up by now? It makes me so mad when people think I'm some sort of freak for owning rats and rodents in general. They're cute and sweet and I love them

-x-

YAY another person with awesome rodents Also I have 2 males soo....

[gramma2jaakk]

Right now I have 2 of the sweetest little girl rats. In the last 3 years, I've had a total of 12. 3 of them were boys, all brothers, and the rest were girls. I've lost 4 since Christmas, one on Christmas day and the other 3 in March. I want more but have promised my husband that I wouldn't get more until my 2 girls are gone. I don't want to introduce any illnesses into my little group, which is always possible when adopting more rats.

 

I got my first rat when I was 13, and he was an albino male named Hector. I've also had other rats, mice, lizards, fish, and ferrets along with more 'normal' pets. Most of these were after I was all grown up, and a mom. They were not my kids pets.

[Delphine]

I got some cute pics of my two mouse girls Verona and Ophelia

 

Ophelia in mah pocket

 

Verona being a clean freak on my lap.

 

Both the girls together.

[requiesticat]

I have two female rats and they're the sweetest little creatures imaginable. I also have two male guinea pigs, three cats, one dog, and a number of fish. I hate it when people ask me why I would consider owning "all those animals" and even "those disgusting things with tails". I just reply with "They don't bother me and they're very good pets." My friends aren't grossed out expcept for the tails, but other than that they think they're pretty cool. I hate it when people ask me "Don't they carry diseases? And don't they stink?" Uuum, not if you clean the cage out regularly, and gee, I've had my rats for several months now, if they had some sort of disease, don't you think it would've shown up by now? It makes me so mad when people think I'm some sort of freak for owning rats and rodents in general. They're cute and sweet and I love them

-x-

YAY another person with awesome rodents Also I have 2 males soo....

I used to have a mouse for a pet... well, my brother did. Since he was a male and male mice usually stink worse than females, I'm surprised no one we knew bothered to complain about the smell.

 

And I would also love to have a pet dog. Right now I don't think it would get along with my 2 cats.

 

Or a fennec fox, chinchilla, rodent (rat, pika, or rabbit), or reptile (lizard of some sort, or an iguana). Or maybe a frog... yeah, I'm sure life in my house would still be calm if I actually got all of those animals and brought them home with me.

 

I'm one of those people who can tolerate animals like rats, snakes, or even spiders. I agree with you and just hate when the general/stereotypical view of them being 'pests' gets overboard, and I don't really get why people just expect the perfect pet to be furry, cute, and never smell. At all.

 

...I think my odds of getting beaten up have just increased.

Edited April 25, 2011 by Kandycat

[libby2999]

my bff has a llama!!

[requiesticat]

my bff has a llama!!

CARRRRL, WHY DID YOU EAT THAT MAN'S HANDS?

[RuthlessWolves]

I want to buy myself a little rat, but Im afraid of the allergies it can bring D: Anyway, Ive always failed when came to at least keeping a pet alive o-o If someone could educate me a bit about these creatures, I could convince my mother to get me one.

[Tiki G]

I want to buy myself a little rat, but Im afraid of the allergies it can bring D: Anyway, Ive always failed when came to at least keeping a pet alive o-o If someone could educate me a bit about these creatures, I could convince my mother to get me one.

Just do some research. Or better yet, join a rat forum.

That's how I learned so much about birds; by joining a bird forum.

[Kiraine]

Beowulf passed away two days ago. ._.

He fought pneumonia for three weeks, seemed to recover, but got a bunch of opportunistic infections on top of it and finally died of a stroke or something similar on saturday.

 

Four fatbags left.

[Catspwndogs29]

CARRRRL, WHY DID YOU EAT THAT MAN'S HANDS?

MY TUMMY HAD THE RUMBLES THAT ONLY HANDS CAN SATISFY

[/off topic]

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I had a pet newt named Mr. Wiggles :'D I found him in my yard with Taco. He died yesterday :[ He was the awesomest newt ever, though...I also had baby mice. They didn't last long...

Oh, yeah, we have baby mallard ducks. We started out with 8, and all of them died except for 1. So then we got 8 more and left the survivor with them...all of them died except for 3. So now we have 3 little teeny babies and one huge duck 5 times the size of them. We think that he's a serial killer.