# Got Rats?



## Marie5656 (Jun 15, 2018)

*Brought home two 9 week old baby boy rats today. The are not siblings, but are cousins.  Here they are just after they got into the cage. Going to wait until Rick gets home tomorrow to decide on names.


*


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## SeaBreeze (Jun 15, 2018)

Congratulations Marie, I'm glad you decided to get a couple more little ones after losing your dear Dot and Dash.  Have fun with your sweeties and let us know what you and Rick decided for their names. :love_heart:


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## Ruth n Jersey (Jun 15, 2018)

Marie,they are so cute. I bet they are busy exploring their new home. Can't wait to know what names you decide on. I thought Dot and Dash was so clever.


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## Marie5656 (Jun 16, 2018)

*
OK, here are more baby pictures.  First here is Max.  He is a Burmese.*





*Next, meet Bear.   He is a Velveteen Black.

*


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## Olive (Jun 16, 2018)

Isn't that amazing.  I have never known anyone to ever have a rat in a cage.  I wonder if that would be my solution to my problem (needing a pet)...I am afraid to get a dog or cat as they will outlive me and I don't want them to feel I deserted them.

Can you hold them?

What do they eat?

Do you let them out of the cage, do they run away?

Do they bite?

Hope you don't mind me asking these questions.  I am just so curious, they are so cute.


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## Marie5656 (Jun 16, 2018)

*Yes, they can be held. Boys, especially like cuddles.  They eat a rat formula of food. I use Oxbow The brand the breeder uses.  They also eat people food like bananas, mashed potatoes, cheereos, oats.  Peas and corn too.  The frozen kind.  They will nip a bit, but not to hurt. They are grooming us. Ask more questions if you want

*


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## Marie5656 (Jun 16, 2018)

They can free run in a controlled environ ment  I have a safe room for them.  Sometimes on the bed..with towels down to catch land mines and pee.


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## SeaBreeze (Jun 16, 2018)

Max and Bear look very cute Marie, they're lucky to be loved by you in your home.


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## Ruth n Jersey (Jun 16, 2018)

Great names. I didn't know there were different breeds. How much does an adult rat weigh? Some I've seen pictured in the wild seem to be pretty big. Enjoy your new babies.


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## Marie5656 (Jun 17, 2018)

Ruth n Jersey said:


> Great names. I didn't know there were different breeds. How much does an adult rat weigh? Some I've seen pictured in the wild seem to be pretty big. Enjoy your new babies.



*Yes there are many different breeds and colors of domestic rats.  Males are generally bigger, but 13 or 14 ounces is about the norm for a healthy weight.  Of these two, Bear, the black one is bigger than Max.  But it may be due to sizes of their parents. They are from different litters.  It will be interesting to see if Max remains smaller.   I just want to keep an eye that Bear does not bully Max.  Though play fighting is normal.  It is what they do. LOL.  They are kids .*


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## RadishRose (Jun 17, 2018)

They're cute. 

There was a song by a disc jockey named Joey Reynolds on WPOP Radio back in the early 60's that I vaguely remember sometimes when when I hear about rats. It was a silly, novelty song but I just looked it up and can't believe I found it! It was called "Rats In My Room"-


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## Lara (Jun 17, 2018)

I couldn't believe you remember a song called "Rats in my Room" RadishRose :laugh: ...so I googled "rat songs" and look what I found!! Michael Jackson did this song for a movie called Ben. Ben was the name of the rat. The song is vey sweet and mellow but I wouldn't recommend watching the movie because I read it's a horror film.

Song from the movie "BEN" by Michael Jackson


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## RadishRose (Jun 17, 2018)

Oh gosh, Lara, I remember this. I never knew it was about a rat. I thought it was about friends- didn't even recognize the Name Ben (Been, it sounds like) Didn't like it much. But, wow.


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