Rats: they have a bad rep, but here鈥檚 why they鈥檙e great as pets
12 November 2018
Rats have a bit of a reputation — and not a good one.
Eilidh, a contributor to The Social, keeps rats as pets and created this video to dispel some common misconceptions about her furry compania.
WHY RATS MAKE THE BEST PETS!
Eilidh has lots of pet rats and this is why she thinks they make perfect pets!
Argument: Rats started the plague and are gross, stinky, filthy sewer dwellers!
Eilidh’s comeback: “Not true actually. It was fleas that hitched a ride on rats that started the plague. Also, rats are actually incredibly clean, so much so that they even wash themselves after any contact with us humans.”
The positive side of rodents
Eilidh believes that rats and dogs have lots in common: you can tame them and teach them tricks like fetching, spinning and jumping.
All of Eilidh’s rats even have their own distinct personalities:-
- Daeny loves cuddles and will sleep in the pocket of her jumper.
- Shay is very confident and loves to investigate new places.
- Sansa loves solving puzzles and challenges – the Sherlock of the bunch!
- Arya is quite bossy and loves stealing food from the other rats.
And they even express happiness.
Popcorning is where rats bounce across a room like a rabbit, which happens when they’re quite excited. There is also braxing, a sound they make with their teeth when they’re feeling quite content. It has even been scientifically documented that rats are ticklish and that .
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We loved Roland Rat* in the 80s, so should we extend the same hospitality to real rodents? (*ask your folks, kids!)
Meet the 鈥榟ero rats鈥�
Rats in Mozambique are being trained to detect landmines. (From 2010)
Public rat-lations exercise
Nick from The Apprentice meets the National Fancy Rat Society to see if he can change the public perception of rats. (From 2016)
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