Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #871547 in Books
• Published on: 1997-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 64 pages

Synopsis
Illustrated with individually laminated colour photographs, a pet care manual which explains all aspects of owning and caring for a rat.

Customer Reviews

Could be better.
This book is probably more suitable for children than any adults making decisions about pet rats. It has lots of good colour photos (though some are of mice!), an informative section on the history of the rat and some interesting tips for training and tricks. The feeding section is fairly good but makes no mention of foods which are poisonous to rats which is a glaring oversight in my opinion (no raw brussels sprouts please!) and some home recipies would have been good. The biggest problem is that the author actually advises people that they can keep just one rat as it "might be more responsive and friendly because you are its only playmate". This is rather cruel because rats are social animals who need company and no owner, no matter how caring, can be with their rat 24/7, grooming, fighting, playing and sleeping with it. Finally, the health section. This is actually quite good considering the size of the book but a section on abcesses and their home treatment would have been useful. Overall this book isn't too bad but more reliable sources should be consulted before making any major decisions. Kids will love this book though.

Cruel!
Rats are very intelligent and active little animals. This book suggests keeping them in a cage with dimensiods of 16X10X10...I wouldnt even keep a gerbil in that! Rats need at least two foot of length in a cage. The book also suggests keeping a single rat, because it will become more devoted to its owner. This is nonsense. Rats thrive on and NEED their own company and often live longer if they have other rats around. A pair of rats can become just as tame as a single rat, and be much happier. There is other false information in this book as well...for example, the author suggests you can keep your rat out of doors, which is not the case at all, its too cold for them. Avoid this like the plague.