Are you born in the Year Of The Rat

The Year Of The Rat: "1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996

People born in the Year of the Rat are noted for their charm and attraction for the opposite sex. They are very intelligent, work hard to achieve their goals, acquire possessions, and are likely to be perfectionists. They are basically thrifty with money. Rat people are easily angered and love to gossip. Their ambitions are big, and they are usually very successful. They are most compatible with people born in the years of the Dragon, Monkey, and Ox."

Are you a Rat?

Rats' brain waves could find trapped people

New Scientist Breaking News - Rats' brain waves could find trapped people: "Rats equipped with radios that transmit their brainwaves could soon be helping to locate earthquake survivors buried in the wreckage of collapsed buildings.

Rats have an exquisitely sensitive sense of smell and can crawl just about anywhere. This combination makes them ideal candidates for sniffing out buried survivors. For that, the animals need to be taught to home in on people, and they must also signal their position to rescuers on the surface."

Rats to replace sniffer dogs...one day

Did you know? More Rat Facts....

Adorable Rats: " Rat Bytes

* Rats have hands and feet, not paws.
* Rats can get along quite splendidly with cats, dogs, birds, and even hedgehogs.
* Rats don't take kindly to Snakes, Iguanas, Guinea Pigs, hamsters, and some nervous mice.
* Debbie “The Rat Lady” Ducommunsays that comparing domestic rats to wild rats is like comparing poodles to wolves.
* Jack Hannah says that rats are the nearest thing to a dog you'll find in a small mammal.
* Female rats have soft, silky hair and tend to be chewers. They're always busy and curious.
* Male rats have coarse hair as adults and tend to get fat. They're usually couch potatoes and cuddly.
* A new breed of rat is completely hairless, another variety is tail-less ( a Manx rat), and there's the Dumbo that has big ears.
* Rats love Ravioli and are fun to watch as they eat spaghetti noodles.
* Rats love lots of silly games like Tag, Hide 'n Seek, and Wrestling.
* Most rats will leave a few drops of urine to mark.
* Rats can grieve for months over the death of another rat or a favorite person.
* Although naturally nocturnal, rats will adjust their schedule to yours.
* Rats come when called (when they're in the mood) and know other pets' names.
* Rats squeak when they don't like something
* Daily servings of broccoli will help prevent tumors, which rats are very susceptible to.
* Echinacea tea will lessen the need for antibiotics for mycoplasmosis symptoms.
* Pine or cedar shavings should never be used for bedding. Use Carefresh, Yesterday's News, Aspen. Use newspapers - not pages with colored ink - and old towels washed without fabric softenener.

Not just a cute rat...

One Rat or Two?

the Rat Report: "Rats are highly social animals which gain a great deal of enjoyment and stimulation from each other's company. It just isn't natural for them to live alone. Rats play, groom each other, and cuddle up to sleep together, keeping each other warm. They also communicate by touch and smell, and by sound at frequencies we can't hear. No amount of human attention can entirely replace the company of another rat. Even though rats love their humans, having your own human plus a rat friend is always preferable to just having your own human!"

You feed 1 rat you feed 2 rats ...! Two rats are no more work than one...

Toys for Pet Rats...

Care of Pet Rat - Setting up a Cage for Pet Rats: "Toys and Accessories

Rats love to climb, and will make good use of ladders, ropes, hammocks, tunnels, and platforms. Toys should be provided as well - blocks of wood for chewing, cardboard tubes, and toys designed for ferrets or parrots are good choices. Look for rope and wood toys as many plastic toys can't stand up to chewing by a determined rat. The thick cotton rope found in parrot toys can be chewed up pretty quickly too, and you might want to check your hardware store and make your own cotton rope toys. Be creative - washed coconut shells, fleece tubes or sacks (or sleeves off old sweatshirts), large cardboard mailing tubes, crumpled paper, paper bags, cardboard boxes, and other items can make wonderful toys. If you are creative, you can get supplies (such as vegetable tanned leather or other bird toy parts) and make your own elaborate toys. Remember that rats are very intelligent and need to be challenged, so rotate the toys on a regular basis so the rats do not become bored.

Some rats like to run on exercise wheels (and some will never try!), but the wire type commonly found in pet stores isn't very safe for rats as their feet or tail can get caught in the rungs or the supports on which the wheel is suspended. A solid surface wheel is preferred, for example something like the Wodent Wheel.

Heavy ceramic food dishes are probably easiest to use as they are sturdy, don't tip over too easily, and they are easy to clean. A water bottle with a sipper tube can be used for water. Make sure a supply of fresh clean water is always available."

Pet Rats are very intelligent and need challenging toys... SU-DU-KU will keep the occupied for a very long time....

Pet Rats 101

Rats as Pets: "Rat Facts
What You Need to Know about your Pet Rats:
* Average life span of 2-3 years.
* Length: body 9-11 inches; tail 7-9 inches.
* Nocturnal, so will be most active at night.
* Males are called bucks, females are does, and babies are pups or kittens.
* Rats are social so do best if kept with another rat (or group of rats).
* Rats reach puberty very young - at 6-8 weeks of age. They shouldn't be bred this young, though, so make sure males and females are separated before this age.
* Females go into heat every 4-5 days (for about 24 hours) and may seem agitated or restless during this time.
* Wide range of markings, as well as varieties (e.g. standard/smooth, rex, hairless, tailless)."

Pet Rat tips for dummies...

Did you know Nicole Richie is a huge rat fan....

: "Nicole Richie named her six pet rats after:

* Characters from the TV show 'Beverly Hills, 90210.'
* Los Angeles Lakers basketball players.
* Disney characters.
* Her brothers and sisters."

oh let me guess: Brenda, Brandon, Steve, Andrea, Kelly, Donna, David...oh no thats 7 names...let me start again!