# I am a terrible pet owner. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 29, 2005, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-terrible-pet-owner/287213 "2005-01-29T00:43:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![andygirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@andygirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andygirl)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2005, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-terrible-pet-owner/287213/1 "2005-01-29T00:43:57Z")
Some of you may have eagerly been awaiting a follow-up to my recent thread entitled “My pet rat has lice.” If you are in fact one of those people, I heavily recommend that you go outside more. Anyway, today was Tweek’s follow-up vet visit. He’s still riddled with eggs, unfortunately. So they shaved him. And now I can’t help but laugh hysterically every time I look at my obese bald rat who is attempting to recover his dignity. I’m terrible. ---
**Author:** ![papergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aca169/32.png) [@papergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papergirl)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2005, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-terrible-pet-owner/287213/2 "2005-01-29T01:05:17Z")
Oh, my. I can’t imagine anything rattier looking than a…well, a shaved rat. Poor guy. Is he nice and warm? We had to put a heating pad into our rat cage when our Gloria took ill. I hope the shaving takes care of the problem. Maybe you could knit him a little grey sweater, sort of like a rat toupee. 🙂 Best, karol ---
**Author:** ![katie1341](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/91b2a8/32.png) [@katie1341](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/katie1341)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2005, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-terrible-pet-owner/287213/3 "2005-01-29T02:02:44Z")
Who’s my little bald rattie boy?? Who’s my little bald rattie boy?? You are! you are! You’re my little bald rattie boy!! ``` :ahem: Sorry. Hope your little bald rattie boy gets well soon! ``` ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2005, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-terrible-pet-owner/287213/4 "2005-01-29T02:26:51Z")
_ahem_ I would like – no, I _insist_ – that there be pictures of this naked rat. ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2005, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-terrible-pet-owner/287213/5 "2005-01-29T03:27:59Z")
**katie1341** , that was hilarious 😃 ---
**Author:** ![andygirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@andygirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andygirl)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2005, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-terrible-pet-owner/287213/6 "2005-01-29T05:36:23Z")
I’m sure it does not help that my girl and I have been making poodle jokes all night. Oh dear. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2005, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-terrible-pet-owner/287213/7 "2005-01-29T05:57:12Z")
Pictures! Humiliation of the critter is incomplete without. ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2005, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-terrible-pet-owner/287213/8 "2005-01-29T06:00:57Z")
Poor naked rat. I wonder what’s going through his little rat brain upon the shaving business. ---
**Author:** ![zoogirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b9bd4f/32.png) [@zoogirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoogirl)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2005, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-terrible-pet-owner/287213/9 "2005-01-29T06:10:01Z")
Hey, that’s _nuthin’_! We’ve got rats at work that are totally hairless. Mice, too. They were originally bred for medical research. At least your little guy will grow it back. I hope. Seriously, you might want to ask the Vet about itching. I know freshly growing-in hair from a complete shave can be a special king of torture. (Don’t Ask. TMI) Keep an eye on him or excess scratching. It might be okay, though. One of our office rats at work had a shaved spot from surgery and it never seemed to bother her. In the meantime just keep him warm and dry and try to keep uncontrolable sniggering to a minimum, in front of him anyway. Those guys are _smart_. He may seek revenge… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2005, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-terrible-pet-owner/287213/10 "2005-01-29T06:13:18Z")
I have a smallish bunny sweater I could send to help keep him warm. I promise that Benny wouldn’t miss it… ---
**Author:** ![Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soul_brother_number_two/32/3515_2.png) [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2005, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-terrible-pet-owner/287213/11 "2005-01-29T06:16:10Z")
Oh, it could have been worse. You could have had to have your pussy shaved. What? ---
**Author:** ![Wonko\_The\_Sane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/258eb7/32.png) [@Wonko\_The\_Sane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wonko_The_Sane)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2005, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-terrible-pet-owner/287213/12 "2005-01-29T17:17:21Z")
I know this is an odd question, but is your shaved rat all wrinkly? When I worked with “nude rats” at a pharmaceutical company, they were all wrinkly, like old men, and I didn’t know if that was a result of the specific breeding, or if all rats were like that underneath the hair. ---
**Author:** ![harmless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/2acd7d/32.png) [@harmless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmless)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2005, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-terrible-pet-owner/287213/13 "2005-01-29T17:22:50Z")
I agree, there must be a tiny sweater and lots of pictures. Hell, you’ve got next Christmas’ greeting card right there! ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2005, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-terrible-pet-owner/287213/14 "2005-01-29T17:30:48Z")
If I might offer a suggestion: When we had to stick a sweater on our cat, we discovered that tights worked really well. So, I’m thinking that a baby sock with holes cut into it might make a perfect rat leotard! ---
**Author:** ![harmless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/2acd7d/32.png) [@harmless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmless)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2005, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-terrible-pet-owner/287213/15 "2005-01-29T17:33:41Z")
While that is a very sound and sensible idea, I still have to say: BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! 😛 : wipes tear from eye : Get one of those footy socks with the pom-pom on the back! ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2005, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-terrible-pet-owner/287213/16 "2005-01-29T17:55:16Z")
Does he look anything like this: [http://www.hrw.com/science/si-science/biology/animals/molerats/molerat.html](http://www.hrw.com/science/si-science/biology/animals/molerats/molerat.html) > [@zoogirl](#): > > Hey, that’s _nuthin’_! We’ve got rats at work that are totally hairless. Mice, too. They were originally bred for medical research. > In the meantime just keep him warm and dry and try to keep uncontrolable sniggering to a minimum, in front of him anyway. Those guys are _smart_. He may seek revenge… 😃 Indeed. Have you read The Secrets of NIMH? I think you should be worried. ---
**Author:** ![andygirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@andygirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andygirl)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2005, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-terrible-pet-owner/287213/17 "2005-01-29T19:35:01Z")
He doesn’t look bald and wrinkly, actually. He looks like a poodle- his hair on his body is still there for the most part, but it’s a hell of a lot shorter. Sort of looks like when someone shaves their head on the next to lowest setting- there’s still just a little bit of hair there. It’s adorable. And feels really soft. But the hair on his head is normal length. Excuse me, I’m going to go laugh hysterically again. ---
**Author:** ![harmless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/2acd7d/32.png) [@harmless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmless)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2005, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-terrible-pet-owner/287213/18 "2005-01-29T19:40:16Z")
So are we going to get any pics? Puh-lease! I want something new for my desktop background. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![andygirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@andygirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andygirl)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2005, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-terrible-pet-owner/287213/19 "2005-01-29T19:54:19Z")
Well, neither me or my girl has a digital camera. She got one for her birthday, she just needs to pick it out. I think we’re going shopping for it this afternoon. ---
**Author:** ![butter\_pie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aca169/32.png) [@butter\_pie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butter_pie)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2005, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-terrible-pet-owner/287213/20 "2005-01-29T22:02:54Z")
My rats recently got lice. My vet gave them a bit of Revolution for puppies/kittens on the back of the head, everything was gone within three days and it’s killed off the subsequent hatchings. I didn’t look up your previous thread, but what treatment did you use? My vet is a specialist in exotics so I trust it was safe and they haven’t suffered any ill effects from the medicine that I can tell (I had to medicate all five though only three had lice/they live in separate cages). I know people that use it fairly regularly if they have recurring problems. Also, my vet told me I could give them 0.1cc of children’s Benedryl (the regular allegry kind/I bought the dye-free stuff) for the itching. Just make sure the only ingredient is the antihistamine and that’s the stuff. I have a syringe I dose it with that the vet gave me. You can give it to them once every 4-6 hours and it really does help with them scratching until they give themselves scabbies. I squirt it on a tiny corner of bread and they gobble it up. As always, I am not a vet, YMMV and all that. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-terrible-pet-owner/287213.md?page=2)