I need help for a science fair! Rat questions!

[daisym6]

I have a science fair coming up and i need help with the question, all i want to know is if your a kid or adult, and what is the first thing that comes to your mind about rats in general, if you like them tell why you like them and if you don't like them why you don't like them thats all and thanks for the help!

[China Doll]

Adult. I just get an image of a rat scurrying along a wall. I have no feelings on rats at all, they don't scare me and other than not really wanting one in the house, I have no feelings towards them at all.

[S_C]

RATTER15

no where in the posted question does it state species of rat.

the black rat was accredited for the spread of the flea's that spread the black plauge however these generaly " accordin to my old history teacher " lived by water and onboard ships.

flea's will live on any furry animal as long as they can feed.

wild rats that i have seen are not clean animals , having gotten in properties they will make a nest and are not house trained.

pet rats i know little about " not that i know much about rats anyway " however i presume if kept in a clean enviroment wouldnt make to much mess.

[Zhukov]

Adult...not keen..especially the ones with pink eyes

However,I am amazed by those huge Malagasy rats,trained to detect mines.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UcA8V_EEx0

[NOX]

I'm an adult and the first thing I think of when I think of rats are some pet rats I had as a kid. I love rats, they are clever, funny and affectionate and I've made sure most of my kids have had a pet rat at some time as they make great pets. Awesome little beggars:)

[RATTER15]

S_C, look to your history books again, the plague was totally caused by the black rat (Rattus rattus)! there were no brown rats (Ratus norvegicus) in this county of any numbers at that time.

Not house trained! lol, that does not make them dirty, that just means we dont want their excrement on our floors. I can promise you I have seem more rats in the course of one hour than you have seen in a lifetime and ever will see. Rats are clean, even rats living in a sewer will keep themselves spotlessly clean.

[S_C]

Ratter
i am unsure as to your point here , i have already stated the black rat was stated to be the carrier. in fact i have never mensioned the brown rat at all unless you take the mensionof pet rat to be that.

As for how many rats you have seen , i do not care , in fact i would rather you see them than me because if i saw them i would be likely to kill them as vermin. i have however seen wild rats that managed to find dwellings to live in and they along with the dwelling were dirty and there were flea's.

now here i am on a grey area. but would i be right in presuming that a pet rat can be of any species of rat ? . i would presume so as the film Ben used a trained black rat

one interesting point .. if you kill a rat and take its carcass to the town hall they used to reward you. Probably still do

[RATTER15]

Generally speaking the pet rats we have in the UK are nearly all Brown rats (Rattus Norvegicus) "brown rat by species rather than colour" as the pet rat fanciers have selectively bred these to produce the different colours we see today.

Im sure the Black rat would also make an ideal pet but I have never heard of one being kept as a pet.

[Ratty2E]

An animal that has fleas, invades your territory and does it's business everywhere.......sounds like most of the cats around here and they also kill the local wildlife for fun. In case you have not guessed I love domestic fancy rats but I would be wary of a wild one but would'nt want to kill it. I am most definately an adult in age at least and have had many pet rats along with lots of other pet animals and apart from my dogs they are definately the best animals to have if you want a proper relationship with them.
I really don't understand why people dislike their tails, they are not scaley they are covered in short hairs and when they are babies they are as soft as velvet. I would not let all and sundry handle your rats unsupervised it would probably distress and possibly hurt the rats and having one bite someone will not help your cause.

[RATTER15]

Rattyratgirl, do you know anything of keeping the Black rat (Rattus rattus) as a pet?

Just interested.

[S_C]

RATTER15

this link may answer your question

http://www.ramshornstudio.com/rat_history.htm

[RATTER15]

So the black rat is more timid, thank you S_C.

[Baldric]

Given the 'Is This Too Cheesy' thread (28-12-11) I just can't take this poster seriously!
However, Adult, Vermin, pass the shotgun.

[daisym6]

Fun fact rats can't have rabies!! Or at least not very often! Many people think just because they are "pests" they have rabies. It's not true! Here is the site that i found it on:
http://pelotes.jea.com/rabies.htm If it doesn't work I'll put it on the URL thing if that won't work try coping and pasting. ( New here... or I just havn't done this yet.

[Buenchico]

Rats?
Beautiful, wild creatures that should be left alone to get on with their lives. It's just as much their planet as it is ours!

[RATTER15]

Well said Buenchico!! I must admit we do need to do something when they invade our homes, but in the countryside, leave them be!

daisym6, im assuming you are not from UK as we dont have rabies on our quaint little island thankfully, I just hope we can keep it that way.

[firewatch]

adult, if pets yay cool love them! Wild euch no way have them in the back garden and they are vermin.

[daisym6]

haha yea your right ratter i'm not from the uk... i hope that won't change how people think about me... last time i mentioned that everybody in the uk was like here in the uk... they make it seem like its a bad thing to live in the us

[daisym6]

please go to my other question my partner changed it and i need help deciding what i should do still want to do it with rats! go there for more info