According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online, a rat is either “a small animal that has a pointed nose and a long, thin tail,” “a person who is not loyal or who cannot be trusted,” or “a person who is bad or cruel.” The alternate uses of the word "rat" exemplify the negative characterizations of rats that are prevalent in our culture. Rats do not have the privilege of the generally favorable reputation that more popular pocket pets like hamsters, guinea pigs, and gerbils enjoy. Yet despite the myths you may have heard about rats being disease carriers or just plain mean, domesticated rats are actually some of the most rewarding pets you can have. In honor of the ten pet rats I have had so far (five currently), here are 10 reasons why rats are fantastic pets.
1.They make excellent study buddies and help reduce stress. This is my rat Ivy acting as my “statistical consultant.” She’s a genius. In all seriousness, though, you can usually find a rat on my shoulder when I am studying. It reduces my stress levels to have a sweet pet by my side, and rats are considerably less needy and distracting than my dog. Plus, rats can eat most things humans eat, so we can usually enjoy my healthy study snacks together.
2. They’re adorable. This one doesn’t really need explanation. Cinnamon’s face tells a thousand words.
3. They are as smart as your dog. This is Spear. Spear is actually more perceptive than my dog a lot of the time. She knows her name, will chase a small ball, and comes to look for me whenever she hears the toilet flush (she knows that means I’m about to walk out of the bathroom into her play area).
4. If you are away from home for long periods each day, they will be OK. Regardless of how often you are home, you should always have at least two rats. Rats are highly social animals, and they need a pack of their own kind to thrive. This doesn’t mean their rat friends are a replacement for your company altogether, but it is helpful if you can only play with your rats in the morning and evening. Rats sleep about 21 hours a day, and if they have a buddy to cuddle with they won’t be lonely when you are away from home. I think this is one of many characteristics that make rats a better option than a dog for busy students and young professionals (provided you live in an apartment that allows small pets). You don’t have to let your rat out of the house at midday.
5. Rats let you know when they’re really happy, and it’s adorable. My rats love a good cuddle with their human, and they usually express their love by chattering their teeth. This behavior is called bruxing. When they get really into it, blood flow increases through a vein behind their eye. This causes the eye to bulge, which is called boggling. There’s nothing sweeter than a bruxing, boggling, content rat. One of my rats bruxes and boggles whenever she sees my son. One of my rats loved eating so much that she would pause every few bites to brux and boggle!
6. Rats have fascinatingly unique personalities. My rat Snow White was obsessed with building nests. Tali loved running on her wheel. Ivy will do anything for a cuddle, as you can see below. Spear loves bananas. Even though I’ve had 12 rats already, each one stands out in her own unique way. It is truly a privilege to get to know each little personality.
8. Your trash could be your rats' treasure. I love to recycle, so I love that my rats put my leftover, damaged clothes and scrap cardboard to good use as toys and bedding. I use fleece scraps from my mother-in-law's sewing and old towels for bedding (I do a load of rat laundry once a week), make hammocks from old sweatshirt hoods, and provide lots of cardboard egg cartons and toiler paper rolls as nesting material. Here's a picture of the ratties chilling in a sweatshirt hammock.
9. They are hilarious to observe. Again, a picture tells a thousand words.
10. You'll find your only complaint is that you wish they could live longer. The average rat has a lifespan of 2-4 years. I lost Bear to brain cancer when she was only eight months old. The hardest and worst part of having rats is saying goodbye, but the reason it's so hard to say goodbye is because they are so worth having. That sounds like a pretty darn amazing pet to me.
