Why Rats are NOT 'Starter Pets'
Before you decide to get a rat or any small animal for that matter, please understand that they do not make good “starter” pets for children. An animal is not a lesson in responsibility, character or commitment…nor is it an ‘experience’; it is a real, breathing, living creature. It is a sentient being that feels pain, cold, fear, joy, and despair. Just like you.
Rats require a life time commitment of care and expense that is both time consuming and can get expensive at times. They need exercise, a proper diet, and spacious cage
accomodations that will protect them as well as provide enrichment. Medical care for a small animal is frequently more expensive than medical care for a dog or a cat simply because small animals are considered to be ‘exotic pets’ and few vets are properly trained in exotics. Additionally, rats are extremely social beings; they not only enjoy, but REQUIRE attention from and bond extremely well with ‘their humans’. However a small child can be quite frightening to a smaller pet that is extremely fragile.
We hear all the time that parents want to give their children the experience of a pet, and a rat or other small animal seems to be the perfect 'first pet'. 80% or more of the rescues that we see come from this sort of a situation. And yes, they are ‘nice people…just like you’. They entered into this with the very best of intentions but good intentions are just never enough.
It does not teach a child responsibility to surrender a pet to a shelter, a rescue or God Forbid, ‘in the wild’ just because there was a loss of interest in caring for it. Think about it – what is this REALLY teaching a child? It's teaching them that if they do not think through a decision and look at it from all angles AHEAD OF TIME, that another person is responsible for taking care of their mistakes. Of course, no one goes into this thinking that it could happen…but what if the unthinkable does happen? You wouldn’t be the first ‘good’ person that has had this happen and I guarantee, unfortunately, that you won’t be the last.
You must know beyond a shadow of a doubt if your household is prepared for the commitment of inviting a pet to become part of the family. That way when the child loses interest, the live animal will not end up neglected or abandoned or worse.
Every year, many thousands of rats are abandoned to shelters or released outdoors (a sure death sentence for a domestic animal) often because of misunderstandings on the part of the parents who bought them for their kids.
There are numerous domesticated rats that have been abandoned by their guardians. They cannot fend for themselves because they do not have the instincts to live on their own. Most will fall prey to predators and others will starve due to inadequate food source. You can’t just ‘set a rat free’. A pet rat is of a totally different genus type than a wild rat; as different as a cat and a lion. They cannot ‘return to their instincts’ as they have none that could prepare them for life such as that. Another misconception is that they will just ‘blend in with the rats outside’. Pet rats and wild rats cannot cross breed and most times a wild rat can become a predator to a pet rat just as much as any other animal can.
Rats are prey animals by nature. They are physically delicate and fragile, and require specialized veterinary care. Children are naturally energetic, exuberant, and loving. But “loving” to a small child usually means holding, cuddling; carrying an animal around in whatever grip their small hands can manage— precisely the kinds of things that make most small animals feel insecure and frightened. A small animal that feels insecure or scared will generally scratch or bite, simply out of fear. After such behavior is when injury and/or surrender occurs.
Small animals are frequently dropped by small children (accidentally of course) resulting in broken limbs and backs. I can't tell you how often we see this in a surrendered animal. Small bones that are painfully fractured or delicate organs that are permanently damaged by a too-tight hug. Or an excited child grabbing more forcefully than they meant to when the animal is moving away from them. Usually it is at this point that the parent tells me, ‘but I have taught my children the proper way to handle animals; they KNOW what NOT to do’. My response generally is, how often does a child do the exact opposite of what the parent tells him or her to do? It’s part of being a kid…testing boundaries. But part of being an animal shouldn’t be having to pay for a typical child's lesson in pain or death. A child that realizes she has injured her beloved pet, suffers greatly…especially because she DIDN’T mean to do so.
Often child who wishes to show love will hug the animal too tightly (very much like they will hug US too tightly when wanting to show love and affection). The difference is, that this can so easily result in bodily damage of a small animal. Curious children often poke at fragile eyes (not in an attempt to hurt, but out of curiousity) or squeal and laugh loudly in delight at an animal that is running away in panicked fear, not understanding fear can be lethal to small animals. These things can emotionally scar an animal and an emotionally scarred animal can begin to bite. It’s not the animal’s fault…that is just their instincts kicking in. It isn’t the kids’ fault…it’s just the exhuberance of a typical child along with their natural curiosity and frenetic energy. But it's generally both the child and the animal that pay, andthey both pay dearly. The child with sadness and guilt; the animal with neglect, pain or abandonment.
Small animals quickly go from the cute baby stage to maturity. When they are no longer tiny and “cute,” kids often lose interest, and the animal, which has no voice to remind you he’s lonely or scared; hungry or thirsty or needs his cage cleaned, is gradually forgotten…neglected. Please let me reiterate…this does not mean that these children are ‘bad’ or mean; it doesn’t mean that the parents are not good parents or uncaring. It is simply a statistic that occurs everyday…even in ‘good, responsible families’. The sad part is, it’s that little animal that suffers the heart break and despair of neglect and lonliness. Bottom line – its just not okay. Not even a little bit.
Parents…. Please, PLEASE help. Help us, help the animals, help your kids and help your SELVES. Don’t buy on impulse….no matter HOW tempting it is. Make an informed decision by learning about small animal care first. Research the animal you have in mind and consider how much time you have to devote to that life between work, children, spouses, carpools and so forth. Consider what might happen if your child loses interest (which is VERY common and normal). Consider your finances; can you afford a $200 vet visit 3 days before pay-day? Or will the animal have to suffer for those 3 days? Consider what THAT is teaching your children, having to watch a beloved pet suffer and wait.
If after all of that, you determine that your life CAN handle inviting an animal to be a part of your family, please….adopt one from your local shelter or rescue group. A rescue animal is a grateful animal and will love you for the whole of its life.
For the animal’s health and well-being (as well as for your child’s) make sure a responsible, kind adult will be the primary caretaker and will always supervise any children in the household who are interacting with the animal. Pet rats are inquisitive, intelligent, and incredibly social by nature and will benefit from an safe, loving relationship as part of the family. Rats can be delightful companion animals as long as you remember: they are NOT a child’s toy. They are a real, live commitment. Help us to help THEM. Help us to help YOU.
We just cant do it alone.
Thank you.
