Pet Forum / Mammals / Rats / November 2007

I did wonder if we'd have problems because we travel about so much,

we're not full time travellers, we have a home base at our parents in
England, where we spend the winter... well the coldest parts anyway,
just each year we've come out to europe for longer and longer, 6 years
ago it was a quick 1 weeks rush around where ever i could get to in
time, next year it was 2 weeks, then 2 months, 4 months, and this
latest trip we've been out for just over 6 months, and are going back
home in 3 weeks time,

We'd have no problems with updates to keep the breeder informed of the
ratties progress, i'm actually looking forwards to that bit, we kept
the dogs home we got Toffee from updated on her progress from a
boisterous, lead pulling mad thing that people kept on returning
because she liked to jump up on them!, to a laid back almost docile
lap dog, who can still tear around and go mad, but only when we tell
her to, that dogs home is in Wales, and we live in the east midlands,
they were fine doing the home check on our motorhome.

like Nugget Toffee goes to the toilet on command too, this amazes most
people who see it and the dogs home staff were totaly amazed we'd
taught her anything at all, she was marked down as potentialy
untrainable, i had to choose another toilet word for Nugget, as asking
him to go for a pee or a crap made toffee obidiently come out from her
den under the bed and wait by the door to go out and 'perform'
Nugget's word is 'go toilets' which luckily Toffee dosent respond to,
Branden took no notice of this, but he did the little dance to tell me
he wanted to go when he was out, which noogie has picked up.

Not sure how breeders check up on people who live in a bricks and
mortar home all the time tho, do they canvass the neigbours to see if
you've ever trodden on a snail, or used a water pistol to keep the
neigbourhood cats from leaving 'presents' in your flower beds :)

I'd have no problems signing any contract that says we'd keep good
care of their ratties, we don't want to breed from them, not that i
know how to with 2 boys :) and they'd never make use of the bit that
says we'd return the rattie to them if we don't want it anymore, as
that'll never happen, any pet is for life, no matter what happens in
ours, the pets will always have a home with us, they come first, i
firmly believe animals deserve our care and attention the most, humans
can look after them selves, animals rely on us to help them out when
they are pets for us, not that we have any pets anyway, we have family
members who just happen to be hairier, smaller, and walk differently
than other peoples :)

We've seen a lovely rattie we'd like on a german ratterie site, they
are located not too far from where we are now, he's 2 days older than
Nugget, he's not a blue, but he sounds like he's got a great
character, and he's cute in his own way, but we mainly want him as a
friend for Nugget, hence my preferances for colour don't come into it
that much.