Zombree93
Hatchling Dragon
- Messages
- 86
- Location
- Louisville, KY
So I was picking up crickets at my local pet store today. I had a wild impulse to hold one of the gerbils on display because their colors were beautiful. The keeper began to say that if I was interested in rodents he had one in the back that he called a project rat. He said that his owners gave him up to the store a week prior after owning him since October, 2020. Their reasoning was that he was a biter but upon further explanation the keeper informed me that he’d barely been held his entire life. I came to believe that the only positive association this rat had was the food coming into the enclosure. He asked me if I wanted to go into the back to see the rat who was named was Basil. Basil was separated for some reason from the rats on display but I think it was for quarantine reasons.
Before opening the cage I mentally prepared myself for a few bites. The keeper said, and I quote, “He mistakes fingers for French fries”. As I began to open the cage the keeper said they had no idea what to do with him but he could end up being food. That horrified me - he’s been a pet his entire life. He wasn’t bred to be a feeder and from the sounds of it he’d been neglected. Knowing this I placed my hand into the cage and sure enough he approached and began nibbling. The hardest nibble was uncomfortable at worst but not intolerable or even painful. After about 9 nibbles give or take he stopped and I placed him on my shoulder. He was a perfectly behaved citizen and I formed the conclusion that the previous owners simply didn’t want him.
After some consideration and more than a little impulse, I brought him home. He hasn’t nibbled on me once since the initial nibbles and he squeaks when I hold him because he’s stressed or scared. I don’t think he’s been loved a day in his life. He will likely live another year and that’s a blink of an eye in a human’s lifetime. Somewhere around 1/10th of Varok’s lifetime (resident Beardie).
SO NOW FOR THE QUESTIONS:
So far Varok has been more alert after seeing the rat (I renamed him Penance or Penny for short) on my computer chair and hearing him scurry around. I washed my hands and changed clothes before handling her. She was a little more flighty and definitely curious- so curious that she made a bee line for his cage. She immediately fell asleep on my chest afterwards though and there have been no signs of aggression or irritation.
I don’t want to keep Penny in my bedroom because I’m not in it enough and I don’t want him to be isolated. I have him out in the living room with Varok. Is this unnecessary stress on Varok? She seems fine. I have a schedule in place already for when to hold each of them and have them out of the enclosures. And I am very aware of washing my hands and changing before holding one or the other.
Is there anything I should know in order to better keep a rodent and a reptile in the same home? I could have let Penny stay at the pet store until he was sold as food but I’ve fed hundreds of rats to snakes over the years and it just didn’t feel like the right thing to do.
Any help would be appreciated! Please don’t roast me if this was a bad decision on my part. Attached are pictures of Penny, the distance between the enclosures and Varok asleep on my chest after her initial investigation. I should note that I essentially live in a studio apartment so there’s not much extra in the living room but my bedroom is nearly empty.
DISCLAIMER #1: I have new lights in the mail as I write this - - my 160 watt fixture completely failed so I have a back up basking bulb and two night time bulbs running temporarily. The lights are currently rigged so the cool side is on the right.
DISCLAIMER #2: Penny’s cage was given to me. It isn’t not permanent.
Before opening the cage I mentally prepared myself for a few bites. The keeper said, and I quote, “He mistakes fingers for French fries”. As I began to open the cage the keeper said they had no idea what to do with him but he could end up being food. That horrified me - he’s been a pet his entire life. He wasn’t bred to be a feeder and from the sounds of it he’d been neglected. Knowing this I placed my hand into the cage and sure enough he approached and began nibbling. The hardest nibble was uncomfortable at worst but not intolerable or even painful. After about 9 nibbles give or take he stopped and I placed him on my shoulder. He was a perfectly behaved citizen and I formed the conclusion that the previous owners simply didn’t want him.
After some consideration and more than a little impulse, I brought him home. He hasn’t nibbled on me once since the initial nibbles and he squeaks when I hold him because he’s stressed or scared. I don’t think he’s been loved a day in his life. He will likely live another year and that’s a blink of an eye in a human’s lifetime. Somewhere around 1/10th of Varok’s lifetime (resident Beardie).
SO NOW FOR THE QUESTIONS:
So far Varok has been more alert after seeing the rat (I renamed him Penance or Penny for short) on my computer chair and hearing him scurry around. I washed my hands and changed clothes before handling her. She was a little more flighty and definitely curious- so curious that she made a bee line for his cage. She immediately fell asleep on my chest afterwards though and there have been no signs of aggression or irritation.
I don’t want to keep Penny in my bedroom because I’m not in it enough and I don’t want him to be isolated. I have him out in the living room with Varok. Is this unnecessary stress on Varok? She seems fine. I have a schedule in place already for when to hold each of them and have them out of the enclosures. And I am very aware of washing my hands and changing before holding one or the other.
Is there anything I should know in order to better keep a rodent and a reptile in the same home? I could have let Penny stay at the pet store until he was sold as food but I’ve fed hundreds of rats to snakes over the years and it just didn’t feel like the right thing to do.
Any help would be appreciated! Please don’t roast me if this was a bad decision on my part. Attached are pictures of Penny, the distance between the enclosures and Varok asleep on my chest after her initial investigation. I should note that I essentially live in a studio apartment so there’s not much extra in the living room but my bedroom is nearly empty.
DISCLAIMER #1: I have new lights in the mail as I write this - - my 160 watt fixture completely failed so I have a back up basking bulb and two night time bulbs running temporarily. The lights are currently rigged so the cool side is on the right.
DISCLAIMER #2: Penny’s cage was given to me. It isn’t not permanent.
