wanted pet rats!

gemma1977 · Sep 25th, 2009, 11:51

Hi everyone

This a strange request, does anyone know where I can buy some pet rats in or around Bangalore. Also known as fancy rats or maybe white rats. Ive been told people do have them but no one can seen to tell me where from!
Any point in the right direction would be great!!!

machadinha · Sep 25th, 2009, 12:52

If renowned pet shops there don't keep or sell them, you could ask with hospital or (medical) university laboratories I suppose where they get theirs. They might want to point you on, or maybe have the occasional litter.

(And before people are all over this, no, they make for really nice pets, and no, they can't be substituted by wild ones, which can't be kept.)

Be ready for them not getting very old though, and so a little heartbreak in the not-very-distant end (having been bred for laboratory use, they are prone to a number of diseases, notably cancer among them. It's not very nice to see your rat go that way; and/but you can pretty much count on this, often within just a few years. When getting them for your children, this should really be considered too.) Like most pets, they shouldn't be separated from their moms too early nor too late, also for you to hopefully have a non-neurotic animal that can be adequately grown into a pet with some attention; I could be back on advisable age later, or a quick web search should lead you on to plenty of sites on how best to keep them. I think as with most small pets it's 6-8 weeks (8 normally better), but I really should check.

A thing with pet shops in the west at least is they'll often want to get rid of any sort of litter as soon as possible, so quite possibly leaving you with an animal that was weaned too early and so developing problems indeed. (Not to mention the chance of them being inbred, or having picked up diseases in the shop, or whatnot.) These are normally not the best channels to get your pets through; far better to go by reliable breeders or friends or something. Could prove harder to do in India though, and going by your question alone. Here, there would be shelters looking after dumped animals, including plenty a dumped rat after their owners lost the original joy indeed (and then of course with a good chance of some problems having developed in the process); again, these may not be so readily found in India.

Being social animals, you can do them a big favor by keeping them in a (even a small) group; note females can be kept together, males (normally) can't; a male with several females can, but will lead to, er, lots of rats, of course. More than one male with females is a no-no.

They'll become less focused on you this way of course; although they'll still tend to be quite fond of their caretaker. Depends how much attention you can give them all, really.

DrHeckleAndMrSnide · Sep 25th, 2009, 13:44

I had pet white mice as a child. Like Mach suggested, I got them from a laboratory of a family friend, before they were subjected to any experiments. They were quite cute and used to run up my sleeve and pop out of the collar sometimes

. We had kept them in a cage for a major part of the day.

A few years later, I got another pair from a snake park where they were, I think, being bred to feed the snakes. These two, however, escaped as soon as they got home. One ran away and the other bit my dad when he tried to get hold of him to put him back in the cage.

So I think what you're looking for is white mice, not white rats. There's a difference, I believe.

machadinha · Sep 25th, 2009, 14:02

No, you can get "white" rats as well (they don't necessarily have to be white).

How tame they will be is again a matter of how you treat them, and then their personal character, and whatnot.

Again: Not to be confused with wild rats of no matter what color though. Those can't be kept. (I suppose wild mice wouldn't go so great, other than to look at them, either.)

I'll ask my Mrs. who's an animal caretaker & has a number of these chaps (mice as well, at times) under her custody about the finer details later. To the OP: Not in India though, so that still doesn't tell you where to get them. For their caretaking, again there should be plenty of dedicated websites, and there are good manuals and etc.

All I know is I (and she) have kept tame rats in the past, and they were well-behaved; mine had been well-trained by a loving owner before I took him over though. Grew to be quite old (for a rat) too; just don't count on this.

gemma1977 · Sep 25th, 2009, 16:20

Hi - Thank you all for your replys! I have kept rats before so looking after their welfare wont be a problem, There are many other issues here as you say, depending on where i may find them, But Im armed now with places to concider so Im a step nearer!!

DrHeckleAndMrSnide · Sep 25th, 2009, 18:04

Have you considered keeping a lawyer instead? They're cheaper than rats, you won't feel sad if you lose one and there are some things even rats won't do.

gemma1977 · Sep 28th, 2009, 13:17

Blimey what a day Sunday was! we visited Russell market, on the outskirts of the market is a collection of pet shops, if you are an animal lover STOP DONT THINK ABOUT GOING THERE EVER. although we got what we went for, 2 very cute baby white rats, for rs200 the pair, cage food etc. You can hear every type of animal here, they are all kept in small cages with wire mesh to stand on, no water or food seemed evident, they must be fed and watered at some point as they are actually alive, although I did see some very still kittens in a cage with about 10 others all fighting for a space and your affection as you walk past, some very clearly to young to be away from their mother, who was I think in a cage above them calling to them, it was heart braking, I was stood there holding 2 of the cutest kittens with tears streaming down my face. Puppies the same although they seemed to be a bit healthier looking, Im guessing they make more profit. Moving deeper into this maze of shops, the varity and size of the animal got bigger, goats, geese, ducks, fancy small birds, parrots, bugies, love birds ans chickens, all kept in the same cage system, some birds has all the feathers missing and deformed or missing beaks, these will never be homed and will die a very slow death. I was torn between not buying the rats to slow down the supply and demnand system or just to rescue them so at least 2 less animals are suffering. My baby rats are lovely and will make great and loved pets but they will be a constant reminder of those i left behind.

Sep 25th, 2009, 11:51	#1
gemma1977 Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: bangalore Posts: 14	wanted pet rats! Hi everyone This a strange request, does anyone know where I can buy some pet rats in or around Bangalore. Also known as fancy rats or maybe white rats. Ive been told people do have them but no one can seen to tell me where from! Any point in the right direction would be great!!!

Sep 25th, 2009, 12:52	#2
machadinha brother my cup is empty member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: yörp Posts: 14,394	If renowned pet shops there don't keep or sell them, you could ask with hospital or (medical) university laboratories I suppose where they get theirs. They might want to point you on, or maybe have the occasional litter. (And before people are all over this, no, they make for really nice pets, and no, they can't be substituted by wild ones, which can't be kept.) Be ready for them not getting very old though, and so a little heartbreak in the not-very-distant end (having been bred for laboratory use, they are prone to a number of diseases, notably cancer among them. It's not very nice to see your rat go that way; and/but you can pretty much count on this, often within just a few years. When getting them for your children, this should really be considered too.) Like most pets, they shouldn't be separated from their moms too early nor too late, also for you to hopefully have a non-neurotic animal that can be adequately grown into a pet with some attention; I could be back on advisable age later, or a quick web search should lead you on to plenty of sites on how best to keep them. I think as with most small pets it's 6-8 weeks (8 normally better), but I really should check. A thing with pet shops in the west at least is they'll often want to get rid of any sort of litter as soon as possible, so quite possibly leaving you with an animal that was weaned too early and so developing problems indeed. (Not to mention the chance of them being inbred, or having picked up diseases in the shop, or whatnot.) These are normally not the best channels to get your pets through; far better to go by reliable breeders or friends or something. Could prove harder to do in India though, and going by your question alone. Here, there would be shelters looking after dumped animals, including plenty a dumped rat after their owners lost the original joy indeed (and then of course with a good chance of some problems having developed in the process); again, these may not be so readily found in India. Being social animals, you can do them a big favor by keeping them in a (even a small) group; note females can be kept together, males (normally) can't; a male with several females can, but will lead to, er, lots of rats, of course. More than one male with females is a no-no. They'll become less focused on you this way of course; although they'll still tend to be quite fond of their caretaker. Depends how much attention you can give them all, really. __________________ Reading tips, all picked up at IndiaMike : INDAX's A Comprehensive Guide To India / Dinoj Surendran's Desi Humor / ITHVC on Culture Shock & Travel Health / JetLag Travel Guides For the Undiscerning Traveller / India Travel Links

Sep 25th, 2009, 13:44	#3
DrHeckleAndMrSnide We am what we am Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: India Posts: 154	I had pet white mice as a child. Like Mach suggested, I got them from a laboratory of a family friend, before they were subjected to any experiments. They were quite cute and used to run up my sleeve and pop out of the collar sometimes . We had kept them in a cage for a major part of the day. A few years later, I got another pair from a snake park where they were, I think, being bred to feed the snakes. These two, however, escaped as soon as they got home. One ran away and the other bit my dad when he tried to get hold of him to put him back in the cage. So I think what you're looking for is white mice, not white rats. There's a difference, I believe. __________________ If at first you don't succeed, try management

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Sep 25th, 2009, 14:02	#4
machadinha brother my cup is empty member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: yörp Posts: 14,394	No, you can get "white" rats as well (they don't necessarily have to be white). How tame they will be is again a matter of how you treat them, and then their personal character, and whatnot. Again: Not to be confused with wild rats of no matter what color though. Those can't be kept. (I suppose wild mice wouldn't go so great, other than to look at them, either.) I'll ask my Mrs. who's an animal caretaker & has a number of these chaps (mice as well, at times) under her custody about the finer details later. To the OP: Not in India though, so that still doesn't tell you where to get them. For their caretaking, again there should be plenty of dedicated websites, and there are good manuals and etc. All I know is I (and she) have kept tame rats in the past, and they were well-behaved; mine had been well-trained by a loving owner before I took him over though. Grew to be quite old (for a rat) too; just don't count on this.

Sep 25th, 2009, 16:20	#5
gemma1977 Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: bangalore Posts: 14	Hi - Thank you all for your replys! I have kept rats before so looking after their welfare wont be a problem, There are many other issues here as you say, depending on where i may find them, But Im armed now with places to concider so Im a step nearer!!

Sep 25th, 2009, 18:04	#6
DrHeckleAndMrSnide We am what we am Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: India Posts: 154	Have you considered keeping a lawyer instead? They're cheaper than rats, you won't feel sad if you lose one and there are some things even rats won't do.

Sep 28th, 2009, 13:17	#7
gemma1977 Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: bangalore Posts: 14	Blimey what a day Sunday was! we visited Russell market, on the outskirts of the market is a collection of pet shops, if you are an animal lover STOP DONT THINK ABOUT GOING THERE EVER. although we got what we went for, 2 very cute baby white rats, for rs200 the pair, cage food etc. You can hear every type of animal here, they are all kept in small cages with wire mesh to stand on, no water or food seemed evident, they must be fed and watered at some point as they are actually alive, although I did see some very still kittens in a cage with about 10 others all fighting for a space and your affection as you walk past, some very clearly to young to be away from their mother, who was I think in a cage above them calling to them, it was heart braking, I was stood there holding 2 of the cutest kittens with tears streaming down my face. Puppies the same although they seemed to be a bit healthier looking, Im guessing they make more profit. Moving deeper into this maze of shops, the varity and size of the animal got bigger, goats, geese, ducks, fancy small birds, parrots, bugies, love birds ans chickens, all kept in the same cage system, some birds has all the feathers missing and deformed or missing beaks, these will never be homed and will die a very slow death. I was torn between not buying the rats to slow down the supply and demnand system or just to rescue them so at least 2 less animals are suffering. My baby rats are lovely and will make great and loved pets but they will be a constant reminder of those i left behind.