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An altogether different pet

By Jim Mount

Fort Wayne Reader

2008-04-21

For some, the hairless tail is what triggers the squirm factor. For some, it's the beady eyes or the scuttling in the shadows. For others, it's the reputation as disease-carrying vermin. We're talking about rats. Their depiction in movies and on television (the murderous hordes of Willard and the sequel Ben come to mind) hasn't helped. But some people think rats are getting a bad rap.

Chelsea Freeman is such a person. A junior at Wayne High School, Chelsea is the owner and breeder of pet rats.

Her first exposure to rats-bred-as-pets came six years ago. “I had a friend who lived down the street from me who had a litter of rats,” Chelsea recalls. “I went down to see them and came home with three.”

Not shy about handling a rat, Chelsea breeds them and has done so since she brought the first three home. One favorite in particular is Blue. Just as the name implies, Blue is a Blue Headed Rex, an exotic breed of rat.

“She’s got a great personality, a great temperament,” Chelsea says. “She's just great to have around.”

Now an experienced breeder, Chelsea is quick to dispel common myths about rats. She is in short, a rat advocate. “A lot of people think that rats are filthy but this isn't true. Rats are intelligent social animals, they spend a lot of time grooming and cleaning each other and themselves. They're a lot like cats and very clean animals when properly cared for.”

But history has not been kind to the rat. The Bubonic Plaque in the Middle Ages damaged their rep, and the predilection of your wilder variety of rat to hang out in sewers doesn’t help much. In fact, rats have such a low reputation that their very name has come to mean someone of the lowest of character. But does the rat deserve all this? Chelsea and a growing number of people think differently, in spite of the overall perception of rats as perpetual sewer dwellers and the historical reality of the Bubonic Plaque (of which the rat is only partly responsible, the true culprit being the fleas they carried). Realizing that not everyone would take to the idea of having a rat as a pet, Chelsea feels that if people got to know rats as they truly are, they would find them to be enjoyable pets.

“Caring for a rat is not at all difficult,” Chelsea says. “They need wire cages for proper ventilation with periodic cleaning every two days or so, fresh food and water every day, and their bedding should be aspen, pelleted or other rat safe material. Never Cedar or Pine.”
Chelsea adds that as far as food goes, rats generally like nuts and Rat Blocks (which are specially compacted rat food) but small amounts of fruits and vegetables are also good for them.

The big turn-off on having a rat for a pet is the perception that they are all naturally infested with parasites. Chelsea offers some simple solutions where parasites can be controlled and eliminated. “Rats can get fleas much like cats and dogs and they can get mites and lice (the latter two of which are species specific and non- contagious to people) but these can be treated by using medicated shampoo available through any veterinarian.”

Why the rat? What is it about this little creature, so long vilified, that has captured the heart of Chelsea and is gaining the attention of pet lovers everywhere? Having rats as pets is becoming popular enough that there are rat clubs and shows popping up across the country (although none as of yet in Fort Wayne), where much like dogs and cats, rats are entered for show. “There are shows judging rats on conformation (balance) and how a contestant rat meets club standards such as size, weight and coat,” Chelsea says. “Rats are also judged on ability (what the owner has trained the rat to do), and agility (how well the rat performs what it's been trained to do).”

Chelsea, of course, recognizes that when a rat enters a home uninvited, something has to be done but offers a humane alternative that would spare the homeowner the gruesome task of removing a corpse. “You can use live traps which can be set out to trap them, and obviously you can use kill traps or poison, but a live trap is a safe, humane and clean way to get rid of a rat.”

Despite the reputation the rat has acquired over the centuries, Chelsea remains undaunted and believes that rats can and do make great pets and she cites the positives of having one. “Rats are generally quiet and very personable and they don't take up a lot of space. They keep themselves clean and they make great companions.”

If you are interested in getting a rat as a pet, Chelsea has a few suggestions. “You can look online for breeders, pet stores generally carry them but as far as I know, I'm the only rat breeder in Indiana and I'm hoping in the spring to have my own website up.”

Although dogs are in no danger of losing their long distinction as Man’s Best Friend and hordes of cats are enjoying the company of single, little old ladies, perhaps finally the humble and greatly maligned rat might finally be getting their due in the pantheon of favored pets.