Rats, Ferrets, Snakes, other exotic animals.

[RheaZen]

Try a guinea pig cage.

 

Generally, though, I prefer to overshoot in size than undershoot. It might not be such a problem with your rats since they'll have each other, though.

 

And bigger cages -> more bedding needed per change...

[TheDarkCynder]

When I go to the store to buy my rats, I think i'll just buy a cage from the store. I'm NOT going under at least 24" long and 12" wide dimensions.

[RainDear]

Amazon has a nice cage in that price range with free shipping:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Super-Pet-First-Delu...65424469&sr=8-3

 

There is also:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Super-Pet-First-Mult...5424545&sr=8-21

 

but you would have to pay shipping.

 

Sometimes PetSmart or Petco will price match, so if you know what cage you want, and can find a good price online, print the ad and take it with you. They usually don't price match Ebay, though.

 

My rats are in a two lever Ferret Nation cage, which I love.

 

Ebay sometimes has good ones at good prices. You can also check the local Freecycle or Craig's list, or look for local rat groups.

 

A really good pet forum for information on rats is Goosemoose:

 

http://www.goosemoose.com/

[Rhowyn]

I have three Rats right now. I had snakes previously, have had rabbits, guinea pigs, mice, and of course cats and dogs. I'm a pet magnet. I love having pets.

 

If you're wondering what you should keep your rats in I'll give you a nice tip:

 

Sterilite Tubs - the ones with the flip top handles. They're perfect for keeping rats/mice/snakes in. You can get wire mesh from Home Depot or Lowes, cut the middle of the lid out and hot glue the wire mesh. Cheap, easy, and no risk of losing your pets.

 

Of all the pets I've kept in steralite tubs not one snake/rat/mouse has ever escaped. I do caution you to be sure the tub is deep enough or you risk them getting over the lip when the lid is open if you're not careful. Though that problem was mostly with my snakes when I was putting them away after handling - they liked to spaz and slither back over the other side if I wasn't careful, deeper tubs were purchased after almost losing one.

 

For the water bottle you can use a dremel, cut a hole big enough for the metal piece to fit down through and then attach velcro to the bottle and tub.

 

I've got some pictures:

 

 

 

As for people who dislike rats... it's something you just have to get used to. As someone who owns rats and has owned snakes (which a lot of people are also set against) you just have to let it go by you, you know the truth, if they refuse to see it then that's their loss.

 

I took my pet rat, Gwen, to one of my classes on campus this last semester... We had been reading the book "The Plague" which starts out describing the disgust the population of this town has at the freakish sitings of rats dying and dead all over the town. I used the rat to show how people associating dirtiness with things that are often just misunderstood.

 

Mice on the other hand.... omg, I hate mice. I tried breeding my own feeder mice and I will tell you now... mice can be downright nasty. (IE, cannabalism) I would never recommend more than one mouse as a pet. I owned a pet mouse as a kid and it was great, but a colony of them is way different.

 

*is babbling and gonna shut up now*

I'm reposting this for the OP since it was at the bottom of page 1 and he may not have seen it.

 

You can get a big enough rat tub and the wiremesh for under $20 or round abouts. If your Dad is handy he shouldn't have any problems setting this up.

[nepherim]

I hav had just about evry kind of pet you can imagine,

 

Birds, snakes, ferrets, cats, dogs, pigs, horses.

 

I also have my falconer's license, though I never actually trapped a bird for myself. I served my apprenticeship under a master falconer who used our land to hunt his bird.

 

I am also actively in the process of trying to adopt a fennec. I have my hopes that a little will be born in my state soon, as it is illegal to import them without a license.

[cartoon_hero]

I disagree with your friends. I think that rats would make great pets!

Not sure how exotic hamsters are, but I have one & I love her! =D

Sorry, but I have to share this with you!!

Her name is Creampuff!

[miszamouse]

My guinea pig died today. She was a month away from turning 5.

[TheDarkCynder]

My guinea pig died today. She was a month away from turning 5.

^ Aww... Sorry to hear that. I'm sure she had an amazing, wonderful life with you.

 

~~~~

 

Thanks, raindear! I shop at PetSmart, so i'll see into that.

[cpoggie]

I don't think I know anyone with an 'exotic' pet, but they sound interesting. Just not something I'd like to own. Most types of pets scare me, unless they're my own pets, so that's not saying much.

 

And sure, there are the dirty rats and such that your friends were talking about, but what about stray cats and dogs?

[brightheart]

I have an albino leopard gecko. closest I could find to his appearance was this.

 

I think I've had him for about 5 years now..

[NekoA]

When I was 9 years old, my family used to have an armadillo, and before that we got a baby monkey.

[Starscream]

I've actually just got a juvi bullfrog

 

Pic of him this evening:

 

 

Pick of him about a month ago:

 

[Crisis]

i have a ferret

[Kiraine]

I've actually just got a juvi bullfrog

 

Pic of him this evening:

 

 

Pick of him about a month ago:

 

That looks like one huge tadpole. O_o

Actually, I'll go do research on frog pets. Hmmm.

[MrsStorms]

If you want a decent cage for 100 or less, then I recommend this cage.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?...2&lmdn=Pet+Type

 

It has plenty of room for 2-3 rats and is fairly easy to clean if you sprinkle bedding on the trays to prevent 'urine' rivers. I use SoftSorbant by Katee for this as it usually stays in the tray grooves better than aspen shavings or Carefresh due to particle size. I use aspen on the bottom w/ a small cat litter tray filled unscented yesterday news. Just be mindful that all the bars are welded properly when you purchase. My cage had a few bars loose so I did some creative meshing in the problem spot. Rats, especially youngsters and small females, can squeeze out of unbelievably small spaces so be aware of this. If the gaps of any cage you are looking at are larger than 1/2 " keep looking or be prepared to mod the cage BEFORE you get the rats.

 

Also to anyone in general, female mice SHOULD live in groups, despite what a previous poster suggested. Males can depend on age, temperament and previous living arrangements or whether they have previously been bred. Mice, like rats, are very social creatures and no human could possibly interact, groom, cuddle or play as much as another mouse could. My mice have never cannibalized and live in groups of 3 - 5. My only disappointments with mice are that they have such short lives and often are bred with so little regard to temp or health as they are usually only considered snake feed in many pet stores.

 

As with any pet RESEARCH first and from quality sources.

[ArgentiAertheri]

If you want a decent cage for 100 or less, then I recommend this cage.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?...2&lmdn=Pet+Type

That looks like a dream for a rat or ferret....

 

I have fish...depending how you define exotic, some of them might be -- the 29 gallon tank houses perfectly common danios, but the 55 gallons holds my pride and joy clown loaches, my wild caught loaches *sound* exotic anyways...

 

I've had mice, never rats, I hear rats are much smarter -- if you get two females, make sure they are actually both females, we had baby mice (very cute, not very amusing from my mother's view point)...and the idea of them eating each other seems silly, given they were really good parents. I had no clue what to feed these hairless, tiny, pink mice, but their parents did something right as they grew up fine. (and my mother was neurotic the tiny ones would escape, I kept careful count of them)

[jazz]

I used to have a couple Sugar-Gliders. They were cute, but my next door neighbour let them out of their cage.

[MacKenziex]

I had a python when I was a kid, his name was Sir Hiss. And yes, I did watch too many Disney movies as a kid.

 

Unfortunately he died in quarantine the last time we transferred from a State Side military base to a European one. Stupid, stupid, stupid person turned off his heat lamp. In Winter.

[Anniepimm]

I had two rats Gizzo & Beno but they died of old age

My eldest daughter had two chipmunks and two chinchillas..

And my grandson has a corn snake...

[Morgan]

I've got a California Kingsnake and a Honduran Milksnake, a gecko, and a Greek Tortoise...those are my exotics. I've also got one parakeet, 4 cats and a gerbil.

 

ETA: I also owned 2 ferrets before: D'Artagnan and Dimitri, as well as a blue and gold Macaw named Morgan....hence my screenname.

Edited February 8, 2010 by Morgan

[Wookieinmashoo]

I would really like to get another pet once my house is finished. I just don't know what I want :3

I like small birds, but I really want a rat, but then again I've wanted a snake for a while too. I have also seen some other nice animals at pet smart. I just need to remember to get an animal I can take care of with my schedule. Right now I have one cat, one beta, and a Madagascar hissing cockroach named Lady.

If your friends think rats are gross, tell them about a pet cockroach

[RheaZen]

One exotic animal I dislike people having as pets would be parrots.

 

When I went to the Petsmart nearby, I saw their parrot had plucked a lot of its tailfeathers out from boredom.

[lightbird]

I've never had anything more interesting than cats, but I'm quite interested in keeping either hissing roaches or a gecko. The latter might be quite difficult to obtain where I live.

[Kiraine]

One exotic animal I dislike people having as pets would be parrots.

 

When I went to the Petsmart nearby, I saw their parrot had plucked a lot of its tailfeathers out from boredom.

Petsmart mishandles their animals anyway. If a person knows how to keep a parrot, the person also knows it must have a huge cage and loads of toys, frequently updated environment and interesting mixtures of food so it won't get bored or stressed.

[skimboard808]

I have tons of pets, but my most exotic would probably be my African grey parrot, bare eyed cockatoo(she's like a screaming demon from hell), my clown fish, and my red eared slider turtle. I have a couple of cockatiels too.