Pet Forum / Mammals / Rats / September 2006

my litter is just over three weeks old now and as many of you folks know, it
is an extremely cute time. they scamper around and fight in big balls of
several little rats. they are curious and have started to imitate the
behavior of their mother.

i have worked so hard to socialize them ( i don't really consider it work).
every day since two days after birth i have handled them. they are so well
socialized now that all i need to do is stick my hand into the cage and they
all run over and jump onto it and start nibbling and climing. for an open
palm they just jump right on and wait for me to do whatever with them. i'm
sure they will make great pets for whomever chooses to buy them.
unfortunatley, the pet stores that i deal with sell most of them as feeders.
as sad as that may sound i do take comfort in the fact that at least a few
of every litter become pets and the legacy of my rats lives on. for this
specific litter i will be keeping one of them for myself. it is a pure white
with red eyes little girl. this is a common type of rat but it is the first
time i have ever had one in a litter so she's a keeper.