 | |
History of the Rat
Domestication of rats began in the 1800s when they were "over running" the streets of Britain threatening disease. Rat catchers were hired to stop the epidemic. If the rat catcher found unsually colored rats, they would sell them for display instead of for the rat pits where terriers would go after them and customers would bet on how long the terriers catching them would take.
Queen Victoria's "main rat catcher," Jack Black is said to have bred a large number of pied rats and selling them in pairs all over Europe. He recorded having white, black and exotics including fawns and tortise shells.
The brown rat is the ancestor of all of todays fancy rats. This species started it's relative, the black rat, in much of Europe in the 1700s, with browns becomming rare in the 1800s. At the start of rat keeping some color forms of the black rat were kept and exhibited, including a strange greenish colored one! In the 1920s, came fawns and BEWs.
|
Contrary To Popular Belief...
When you say that you have a pet rat, the most common reaction I have received is "A RAT! Ewww! What would you want with a rat?" And I've sure you've heard the terms "dirty rat," "greasy rat," or the word rat used as an insult in general. But rats make great pets!
Rats are very clean, they don't make any noise like barking, howling, or screeching, they don't require being let out or walked and you don't need a pooper scooper! Ratties are usually inexpensive, cheap to keep and easy to take care of. They also love attention from their human companions.
|
| |
| |
|
The Smarts
Rats are very smart little creatures. They have very high IQs, (in fact I know some humans that have WAY smaller IQs!). This combined with their ability to remember things, and also their ability to "solve problems," makes them great little candidates for training! You can teach them to beg, come when called and even walk on a little leash among other things. Just make sure you have plenty of treats! If you are going to teach your rattie to walk on a leash, I recommend a ferret leash & harness. My Boomer has one and though a bit awkward at first, he learned quick.
When it comes to training rats, the most important thing is patience! And of course a little treat whenever the rattie does whatever it is you are teaching him correctly!
|
|
|
|
| | | |  |
|
|
|
| |
|
