Rats really are smart and cute, despite what the vast majority of people think.
Not necessarily the rat you meet under a subway in New York City, but other rats are great little critters to have around. Great pix!
Rats laugh (chirp) when you tickle them.
Those pictures are awfully damned cute, LawMonkey.
We have determined that these Teddy Bears are Safe for Human Consumption.
Don’t ask us how we know.
I’m sending this to my rodent-obsessed roomie. She’ll be all over it.
Great, now our rats are going to be wanting teddy bears of thier own. It’s like if you give a mouse a cookie, only it’s rats.
For some reason, those particular rats are… really cute.
OK, people who actually own rats – how long before those cute teddy bears are gnawed into bedding if left with the rats?
I’d estimate somewhere between a few hours and a few days, depending on how interested the rat is in her new toy.
Considering that the ones in the first set of pictures already look like they’re trying to lick something off the bears’ heads (presumably to get them to show sufficient interest in holding them upright), I wonder how many bears they went through during shooting, let alone after.
Disclaimer: I do not currently own rats, but I have in the past.
Pretty darn quickly… or not at all. Some of my rats would immediately begin to chew, and some would simply ignore them or bury them in bedding. Rats are amazingly individual.
I’ve been breeding rats (for PETS) 17 years and I love that lady’s photography. They’re such amazing little animals, completely fascinating, and I never get tired of watching them and interacting with them. They’re just about the best pets there are - and I’ve had just about everything.
How frickin’ adorable! I’ve never had a pet rat but always wanted to. I think the short lifespan would break my heart tho.
There’s a pet supply store in Cary, NC that features all sorts of rescued animals. They’ve had some rats in the store for awhile now…the newest ones are sort of smallish with dark fur, and are extremely cute! One of them likes to cling to the outside of the exercise wheel and attempt to balance.
I am Malleus’s roomie and ze is right; I now need tiny teddies for my ratticals!
Yup, two of my ratties enjoyed a hammock that I gave them by actually sleeping and snuggling in it. The third rattie started chewing holes in it right away when I got her and making it into a net rather than a solid hammock. Each rat has hir own likes and dislikes.
One of my cats has her own teddy bear. It’s a miniature teddy bear Christmas tree ornament. She stole it off the tree, and carries it around the house. She apparently thinks it’s her kitten.
We’re boycotting pronouns today?
(Oh, and welcome to the Straight Dope).
So cute!!!
I grew up with a dog who would carefully nudge and sniff all the low-hanging ornaments on the tree when she thought no one was looking. She never removed any though.
Those pics were so amazingly cute, that I feel awful that I had to call the pest people at work yesterday! *
I love watching rats and all the gerbilly micey things at the pet store, though I’ve never owned one.
*Sorry, they’re the nasty outdoor wild rats and I work in a giant Retailmart and they’re digging into the bread. Trust me it’s very eww, in that version.