Tuesday, May 13, 2014

My Published Articles


So this month and last month I was a busy writer and wrote a few more articles and now they've been published. I'd love it if you took a look at one or all and let me know what you think. I mostly write about rats and hamsters but I do occasionally write about other things. And yes, I do use pictures of my own rats in my articles. 

It's not the first time that I've written an article about what to consider before adopting a pet rat or how much they cost me each month. The reason I keep writing on these topics is because people keep asking me questions that just make me shake my head in disbelief. Here's just a couple of the questions I've been asked on Twitter, FB and by email in the past couple of months. 

1. Can I house my rat in a hamster cage?

Answer: No, you cannot. A hamster cage is not at all big enough for even a small rat. The tubes, wheels, beds and space pods are much too small and you run the risk of them getting stuck and hurting themselves. 

2. Can I leave my rat at home alone for a week if I put a lot of food in his cage and add an extra water bottle?

Answer: No, absolutely not. Rats are social animals and require human interaction everyday or you run the risk of having an unsocial, unfriendly rat who is mad that you left them alone for so long. If you need to leave for a long period of time, you should get a baby sitter for your rat. Someone you trust to take care of your rat. 

3. Can I leave the rat cage door open while I'm at work?

Answer: Not unless you want your rat to chew through all the wires to your tv, lights, cable, phone and refrigerator and probably electrocute himself. 

Good grief, a little common sense. Is that really too much to ask for?


  1. I will check out the articles Mary. I love how passionate you are about your pets and about keeping them happy and safe.

  2. Tons of info you provide and look at those views you got far and wide

  3. Didn't know they needed more space than hamsters

  4. Those re fascinating articles, Mary. I didn't realize doe of the more technical things. And, yes, rats are really social animals.

    Blessings and Bear hugs!

  5. i'm glad you write these articles.

  6. Keith- Thank you, Keith. I appreciate it.

    Pat- Oh, yeah I am loving the page views I am getting right now. Almost at 1 Million.

    Adam- Glad you found out something new then.

    Rob- Thank you.

    TexWisGirl- I appreciate that.

  7. Wow, you're a real rat expert! Do brown rats always make the best pets? I find the black rat more fascinating because it's Latin name is "rattus rattus". Where do you stand on rattus rattus?

  8. Nice. You seem to be an expert. I will be checking out some of the links you provided.

  9. Gorilla- Brown rats and blacks rats that you're speaking of are wild rats. They are not the domesticated rats of which I speak. Wild rats including the brown and black can be raised as pets if caught as babies. But domesticated rats such as the ones I have, are bred by breeders to have special characters. Such as coloring, hair types, friendliness, eye color ect. So when I talk about rats in my articles, I'm mostly talking about the domesticated ones.

    Lady Lilith- Thanks, hope you enjoy them.

  10. Thanks for helping to educate the world.

    With your #3, I learned the hard way on that one with a puppy. I worked 3rd shift and would come home and try to wear my little puppy out for a couple of hours so that we could get some sleep. Evidently, puppy had more energy then I thought one day, and chewed through 4 sets of wires (none plugged in)--one set was quite expensive to replace.

