Sorry this is OT. I answered privately, because it was OT, thinking it was
Donna who had the question. Turns out it wasn't, so have to go on list and
hope whoever did ask reads this.
>Hi Ronni -- thanks for all the great info on rats.
>But I was not the one who posted the original message.
> I think it was Lisa. Donna
>--- Ronni Mcdonald <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> >
> > >when I first bought my gerbils this summer the girl
> > that worked there
> > >said most people are reluctant to buy gerbils
> > because of their tails. >I
> > >wonder if that holds true for mice and rats too? I
> > would think those two
> > >would have even greater prejudices against them.
> > Just out of
> > >curiosity, how are mice and rats as pets?
> >
> > Hi!
> >
> > I'm responding privately because rats are OT for GML
> > and I don't want to
> > upset anyone.
> >
> > When my kids were small, and they wanted a pet other
> > than a dog and cat, we
> > tried a couple mice. They were easy to take care
> > of, but didn't live really
> > a long time. And they were very squirmy and
> > skittish. This may have been
> > just the ones we had.
> >
> > Then we tried rats. Other than gerbils, they're my
> > favorite. They are very
> > personable and friendly. Because my kids were small
> > at the time, I wanted a
> > rodent that wouldn't squirm out of their hands too
> > easily and sustain injury
> > when dropped. I was told by my vet that rats have
> > one of the strongest
> > skeletal systems and are very hardy. Plus they
> > cling! So my kids would
> > walk around with a rat clinging to the front of
> > their shirt, or their
> > shoulder, or in their pocket, and there were never
> > any injuries. They don't
> > look as pretty as some rodents, and prejudice
> > abounds about them, but
> > they're clean and seldom bite. I've been bitten far
> > more by my gerbils than
> > I ever was by the rats. I came to really enjoy
> > them.
> >
> > The only downside I found was they're bigger, so
> > need more space, they have
> > more babies than gerbils, and their cages get smelly
> > faster, and the smell's
> > quite pungent! But if you want a pet pair, and can
> > deal with the smell,
> > they make excellent pets.
> >
> > If you have any other questions, please feel free to
> > email me privately.
> >
> > Ronni
_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com
