Rat, The Best Pet Mammal?

Rats are amazingly social and intelligent creatures. They honestly make amazing pets. But is a rat the best pet mammal? And is it the best pet mammal for you?

#clintsreptiles #rat #petrat

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Clint is a professional biologist and educator, but above all, Clint LOVES reptiles and he loves to share that love with everyone he meets. Whether you're lover or a hater of reptiles, you can't help but get excited with Clint!
We post a new video every Saturday morning! So stay tuned!

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Clint's Reptiles
770 East Main Street # 127
Lehi, UT 84043

[bainbonic]

One time when one of my rats wound up alone when his brother died to cancer, I got two baby rats to keep him company. Normally you need to introduce new rats slowly to avoid fights, but he adopted the little rats within less than a minute, and within two they were all napping in a big pile together. He really became a parent to them, really looked after them, but what really left me astounded was when he managed to live so long that he wasn't able to walk by himself, those little rats he adopted, now adults, actively looked after him, bringing him food and helping him move around. It took me by such surprise, and was probably the moment I truly fell in love with rats.

[birdsforbrains]

Side note: this doesn't get talked about a lot, but rats can "boggle" their eyes in and out of their heads if they're especially happy or relaxed. It's not something to panic about! It definitely looks kinda freaky though, especially if you don't already know about it.

[Voxen]

almost every single rat story here is absolutely heartwarming - and all written in the past tense.
it really is a shame for such an amazing animal to live so short, isn't it..

[jasonblalock]

If anything, Clint is underselling just how incredibly social they are. Story time! So one rat I had, he was a chubster, and he'd managed to chew a hole in his shoe box home a bit too high up. He tried to climb through the hole, and got stuck, see-sawing back and forth. And then he freaked the f*** out. Animals trapped like this can easily hurt themselves trying to break free, so this was a problem.

I had a pair of scissors handy, but I didn't trust him to stay still long enough to cut him free. So, after a moment's thought... I stuck my finger in his mouth. Sure enough, he bit down, and his body relaxed. Snip-snip later, and he was free. He ran to the back of the cage, very shaken, and I went to wash my finger.

So a couple minutes later, I come back, and try to talk to him. But when I reached for him, he ran away like he was scared. So I clicked at him and called his name, and he eventually climbed slowly up onto my hand... and then grabbed my bitten finger between his tiny little hands and started furiously licking the wound. *He remembered biting me and felt bad about it!* So I let him clean the wound, and then scritched him behind the ears, and we were cool again.

Never in my life have I seen an animal so clearly express regret for an action. And what made it worse was that it wasn't his fault! I honestly felt a little bad because he felt bad, but I had no way of telling him it was all according to plan.

[rachelvedock]

"They steal your heart and break it into a million pieces two years later." Nothing could be a more accurate assessment of pet rats. I've had 5 throughout my life (2 as a kid and 3 in college), and they are the reason I started watching this channel. I wanted something small that is just as curious and personable AND wouldn't shatter my heart so quickly. My blue death-feigning beetles come pretty close, but simply nothing beats rats. 🥰

[SuperMongoosem]

My first rats were a pair of males, they each lived 5 years, no cancer in them, I think I got incredibly lucky. By the end they were both blind, and unable to ride on my shoulder anymore, there's truth in their need for a friend as they both died within a week of each other, as if they were only hanging on for their friends sake.

[Malygon]

My rats have amazed me on multiple occasions. I had a rescue rat (he was found abandoned on a train) who was very hard to socialize with, he probably didn't have a proper childhood and was bred as snake food, so he didn't know how to react to my other rats' social cues. He had a bad experience meeting them first and was really afraid of them. I thought about giving up on socializing him but I didn't want him to be alone. Then, I noticed that the other rats had basically accepted him, even though he was still afraid, and hissed at the other rats, warning them that he would attack. However, my pack leader seemed to have noticed that the rescue rat was all bark but no bite. He walked up to the rescue, turned his back towards the rescue, and lay down next to him. The rescue would hiss and run away after a while but the pack leader followed, repeating the gesture. This non-threatening, accepting behavior let the rescue rat calm down and finally accept the other rats. I have never seen an animal behave like that towards another that was actively threatening them.

[-Pol-]

My rat Rosey would 'sing' whenever she was handled. At first I thought it was her complaining because just a gentle squeeze would be enough for her to vocalise. However she would instantly come back for more and would also sing happily from her nest whenever being groomed by her companion or as she wriggled up a sleeve. She was an incredibly brave, curious and interactive animal.

[kikiseo]

On the pooping and peeing: in my experience, rats really don't like to relieve themselves outside of their cage, unless they're in an unfamiliar place and/or very stressed. Mine never pooped anywhere when I let them run around my room. They do "mark" with pee droplets here and there. But the only time I ever had a rat truly pee on me was when she'd spent too much time outside the cage and desperately had to go. She ran to me, started crawling on me and actually seemed distressed. I had no idea why...until she peed in my lap. She had the intelligence to try and communicate that she needed to go back to her cage, which was in another room. I felt so bad!

[brianthomas]

When my daughter was about four and was in public, she'd occasionally just shout to someone, "we have rats!". I'd always have to come in behind her and explain.

[xBloodxFangx]

My first rat named Dewey was the best rat ever and technically my first "service animal." he was so sweet and so smart. My school was a private school, so they did let me bring him to school since they noticed he helped me focus and be calm in school. Dewey would sleep on my shoulder all day long. He got me up for school too. Mom would open his cage and get breakfast ready while Dewey would head for the stairs and up to my room and then climb up onto my bed and gently lick my face to wake me up. He was amazing and it's so sad that people think they are just dirty, nasty creatures. They are extremely intelligent. Basically a pocket sized dog.

[mini-mei]

It is also incredible how intelligent rats can be. Izy, my very first rat, was able to understand the word 'kitchen'. Whenever someone mentioned that they were going into the kitchen, she would run there in the hope of getting some treats (because, of course, 'kitchen' meant food was involved 😉)

[jezlawrence]

It's not fair that such lovely, smart, emotional, *aware* animals live so short. They deserve decades. Need to breed them for slower fertility cycles and longer life!

[dungeonsandcritters]

I had rats years ago, but I don't think I could do it again. They were amazing, but with their life span it felt like adopting a heartbreak. I miss them often though. Great video.

[gtracer]

My wife got 2 feeder rats. After about a week we noticed they were putting on weight. Turns out the store kept all the rats in same encosure so both were pregnant. Shortly we had 12 babies. But only one mother could produce milk. But the one that could stepped up and nursed all 12 babies. She was an amazing rat and became my favorite. Of all of the rats we wound up, she turned out to be the smartest, most adventuresome and most affectionate. If there is a such thing I'm sure she is a rat heaven because she surely deserves it. R.I.P Katie

[rorytaylors]

I got insanely lucky with my rats; they were feeders, and two of them lived to be 3, while the third lived to be FIVE. I was blown away.

[amandalandon]

The heartbreak is right! They have such sweet little personalities and mine wouldn't poop outside of their cage so I would carry them around in my hoodie pocket.

[Fermifire]

I miss my old pet rats. They were so clean, smart and had big personalities.

[itsfishies]

I am so happy to see people loving rats in a big way. I've kept rats since my mom brought two home over 14 years ago - it changed my life completely! I do want to say one of my boys broke the 3 year club, and joined the 4 and a half! Absolutely ancient by rat standards.

[kristinzeiber]

I currently have 7 male rats. In particular, Squiggy (yes, I had Lenny but he recently passed), is one of the most laid-back, loving rats I've had. He's my "heart rat." I put him down on my bed while I am relaxing, and he lies next to me contentedly. No matter how long he is there, he NEVER poops or pees, or tries to chew my sheets or clothing. Somehow he just *knows* not to. He was incredibly tame from the moment I purchased him from a pet store, and he was still just a baby. In fact, he was so calm that he simply rode home with me on the passenger seat of my car, very relaxed as I petted and talked to him. He is a light blue hooded with pink eyes, so he has very poor eyesight. Yet, when I call his name, he runs straight to me for snuggles, kisses, and pets. I love ALL my ratty boys, and I wouldn't trade them for the world. I just wish they had more time here on earth with us.