Salem The Rat said:
So she won't return to the forum?
At this point, perhaps I should apologize, since it was my first comment that started this arguement. I just wanted to state my opinion on something I was sure someone else would comment on sooner or later.
As the other members said, we would welcome photos of your rat and more posts of you. You came into the forum because not so many people understand rats as pets and you wanted to share your experience, and that's why everyone joins the forum. So why leave, because of a disagreement (on something that's a fact), when there are so many things you could ask and learn here?
emberanne said:
My husband would not agree to adopt a pair unless they were adopted together as cagemates.
It didnt happen that way. Now, I cant un-adopt her. I made the choice to rescue her as she was because I knew I could
offer her a good home and because I love rats very much.
My entire family is very attached to her, giving her away is out of the question. Selfishness or not, im not ripping her away from
my children who adore her as much as I do.
I could sneak out and get another rat against my husbands wishes, and maybe it comes as a surprise to you, but between them I actually love my husband more and would never do such a thing.
And again, no one said you must throw away your rat. And it was great that you rescued her. Ripping her away from your family? Nobody said that. One last question, however:I don't intend to sound nosy, but why your husband disagrees to get another rat -he wouldn't mind if you got a pair, so obviously he doesn't have a problem with the number of rats. Might I ask what his exact beliefs on this issue are? If you, indeed, returned to the forum and enlightened us a bit more maybe we, all, could find a solution? If he believes that they won't get along, for example, we could send you articles that prove the contrary, and advise on how to introduce new rats. Honestly, I'm not seeing what the problem is with getting a rat or two-when you would get a pair, if you had the chance. What is this that I'm overseeing?
Please, if you decide to reply, don't accept my question as rude, and I never intended to comment on you or your family in any way. Also, I never said that you don't take care of your rat, apart from not getting her a companion. It's caring to rescue a pet and raise it, I just don't understand why is it so difficult to do this little thing, getting her a companion, which would make your rat's life fullfilled. I understand that you don't agree on that with your husband, yes. I would only want to know why, and discuss about it.
:hithorse:
I know this person has been inactive for almost 2 years, and i'm really sorry, i don't want re-hash arguments. But i do feel like some people were exasperating. Her husband was NOT going to let her get a second rat now cause he was afraid that they wouldn't get along and they'd have 2 cages. Very sad, but end of story. What i would've wanted to tell her had i happened upon this thread back then is this, and it might also help others wondering about how many rats to get:
You seem to be contradicting yourself saying that you think one rat is perfectly fine and happy, but then saying you agree that 2 rats would be ideal, but then again saying you are entitled to your opinion. Which is it?
I know your rat probably does show happiness. But most of us who own pets want them to be their happiEST. If a lone rat were happy, but two rats were happiER and healthiER, most of us who love our pets would want this for them. It has nothing to do with opinion. It's a fact, rats are social beings. In the wild, they live in groups. That is how they were made. A tiger lives alone and is happiest this way. So do wild hamsters. Lions, elephants, wolves, and rats live in groups.
I know you really can't go against your husband and get a second one now, but we were just hoping you'd want to learn how to make any future rats the happiest they can be. When i got my first rat 10 years ago, i thought it was a matter of opinion, some people saying it was ok, others saying it wasn't. So he was alone for a while. But because of my love for him and the rat species, i did lots of diligent research, anything i could find about them. I gradually learned things i wish i had known right from the beginning. I'm so, so sad poor Willow spent most of his life alone. Now, i will never ever have a lone rat, no matter how lengthy an intro might be. I'm patient, and i definitely want what's BEST for my rats, so they can live a FULLY SATISFYING life. (The great majority of intros are a breeze away.)
Another point, a rat will not get any less attached to you because she has a rat friend. (They might even come out of their shell more.) Does your first child love you less because you had a second, or a third? Of course not.
Most of us on here WANT to learn and expand our knowledge of rats. We drink up any info we can, always wanting to learn how to make our rats the happiest. We try not to take things personally, especially when it comes to the welfare of our rats.
Anyway, along with that awesome video, here are a couple more links that helped me:
http://ratfanclub.org/single.html
http://www.nfrs.org/company.html
I've also figured out that i'd never want just 2 rats. If they grew up together and are really close and then one dies, the one that's left would be so sad! Even if you got another, by the time the quarantine is up, then the intros... it's alot of sadness and stress for a grieving rat, especially if he's older and the new rat is a young bouncy thing. I'd rather a grieving rat not have to go through that. So starting off with 3 rats, when one passes away, there are still two left who are bonded, and they have each other. Then i would adopt a lone rat in need of a home, or two younger rats (so they have each other to play with and not bother the grieving adults as much). That was my theory. But then i keep way more than 2 rats now anyway. They're addictive!
So that was my rant, :blahblah: if anybody actually takes the time to read it. Sorry.