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White
I understand, dear, stepping on them would have been traumatic, partly because they would have squeaked, and it would have made a nasty crunching noise! But I must tell you -
hamsters are not
rats...
posted by
Nautikos
on October 20, 2007 at 5:28 PM
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Naut
I had hamsters when I was a kid ~ thought they were cute!
... when I let them out of the cage I was always scared mum or dad would step on them though!
so I used to tell them not to wander too far ~ of course they never ever listened to me!!! I think mine were
dumb!
posted by
White_Elephant
on October 19, 2007 at 12:56 AM
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katz
They would flunk out of University if they weren't intelligent and able to learn a lot...
posted by
Nautikos
on October 18, 2007 at 12:04 PM
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Re: Naut, so when Charlie Brown would exclaim, "Aww, rats!" he was right on..
Rumored, Charlie Brown is ahead even of
our time...
posted by
Nautikos
on October 18, 2007 at 12:01 PM
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Re: YUCK, Nautikos........
I see what you mean, Maggie...
posted by
Nautikos
on October 18, 2007 at 12:00 PM
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Re: I'll stick with cats, thank you very much...
They remain my #1 choice as well, Troosha...
posted by
Nautikos
on October 18, 2007 at 11:59 AM
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Re: Last night's Nova on PBS focused on genetics...
Yes Pat, very interesting. I read about that research! I would certainly like my brain to recognize satiety without having to stuff myself...
posted by
Nautikos
on October 18, 2007 at 11:58 AM
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Wiley
I'm sure they were the
creme de la creme...
posted by
Nautikos
on October 18, 2007 at 11:53 AM
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Corbin
I didn't see the movie! Was it frigthening?
posted by
Nautikos
on October 18, 2007 at 11:51 AM
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mneme
They do, for the most part...
posted by
Nautikos
on October 18, 2007 at 11:49 AM
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Justi
Not much...
posted by
Nautikos
on October 18, 2007 at 11:48 AM
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Re: Boo would love to live next door to people who kept rats.
Kabu, hang on tight and have a good flight...
posted by
Nautikos
on October 18, 2007 at 11:47 AM
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Re: As soon as they do one on mice, send them to my house to collect them.
I've made a note of it, Ariala...
posted by
Nautikos
on October 18, 2007 at 11:45 AM
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Re: Mostly I've been acquainted with the 2-legged rat variety...
Pity, ain't it, Pat...
posted by
Nautikos
on October 18, 2007 at 11:44 AM
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Re: A pet rat?!
You
sure it was a hamster, Sheilah?
posted by
Nautikos
on October 18, 2007 at 11:43 AM
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OTA
That's an interesting menagerie. I take it they all get along, with the hermit crabs probably pinching the odd nose...
posted by
Nautikos
on October 18, 2007 at 11:41 AM
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Offy hon
They have a short memory...
posted by
Nautikos
on October 18, 2007 at 11:37 AM
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riri
posted by
Nautikos
on October 18, 2007 at 11:36 AM
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TAPS
Let's hope they're the only rats in that package...
posted by
Nautikos
on October 18, 2007 at 11:36 AM
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They are highly intelligent creatures, which is why they are always used in laboratory tests.
katzs
posted by
katzs
on October 17, 2007 at 9:41 PM
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Naut, so when Charlie Brown would exclaim, "Aww, rats!" he was right on..
and ahead of his time..
...
posted by
Rumor
on October 17, 2007 at 7:52 PM
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YUCK, Nautikos........
posted by
MaggieMae
on October 17, 2007 at 5:06 PM
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I'll stick with cats, thank you very much...
posted by
Troosha
on October 17, 2007 at 3:57 PM
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Last night's Nova on PBS focused on genetics...
Using obese yellow female rats as their experiment du jour, the scientists began tracking the statistics among littermates. The littermates had the same genes, but a marker on certain codes caused the satiety sensor in the brain to turn off, so they were always hungry. The yellow ones ate themselves into obesity, heart disease, diabetes, etc... The darker mice stopped eating when full, didn't get fat, lived a normal lifespan...
So they treated a pregnant fatty mouse in early pregnancy with B12 and Folate and all the pups in that litter came out normal dark... The thinking is obesity could come from poor nutrition at a critical early stage in pregnancy. A marker on the satiety gene causes them not to recognize satiety -- they eat constantly. Now they're working on a way to mark that gene in adult fat rats so their brains recognize satiety. From there, it's not such a giant step to treating people...
posted by
Pat_B
on October 17, 2007 at 8:17 AM
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Nautikos
I used to raise them for one of my daughters when she was doing psychology in college. They were interesting and very sociable, nothing like the Montreal sewer rats I grew up with.LOL
posted by
WileyJohn
on October 17, 2007 at 6:38 AM
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Ugh!!!
I'm sorry.......that movie turned me even more against rats.................now way is there going to willingly be one in my house.....
posted by
Corbin_Dallas
on October 17, 2007 at 4:48 AM
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Nautikos
Hmmm - interesting, but I think I'd prefer they stayed outside.
posted by
mneme
on October 17, 2007 at 4:11 AM
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Naut
How much nuttier can people go before they self destruct? Good post.
posted by
Justi
on October 17, 2007 at 2:57 AM
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Boo would love to live next door to people who kept rats.
Hey Naut. My broom goes into the broom-auto tomorrow for a complete overhaul. Y'know ready for the Northern Migration!!!!!!!!!
posted by
Kabu
on October 16, 2007 at 10:28 PM
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posted by
Amanda__
on October 16, 2007 at 5:01 PM
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As soon as they do one on mice, send them to my house to collect them.
Thanks.
posted by
Ariala
on October 16, 2007 at 4:55 PM
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Mostly I've been acquainted with the 2-legged rat variety...
but it's not strictly legal to set traps or poison them... shhhhh!
posted by
Pat_B
on October 16, 2007 at 4:44 PM
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A pet rat?!
... well I did have a whit hamster once when I was a kid, and I did find it cute! LOL
posted by
Sheilah
on October 16, 2007 at 12:48 PM
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Naut, We have 3 hermit crabs, 2 dogs and 1 cat at my house. We went to see that movie this summer. Sure enough my daughter thinks the rats are sooooooo cute. The film came with a disclaimer from me to my kids that there would be no rats as pets in our home. ~Peace, OTA
posted by
Blue_feathers
on October 16, 2007 at 11:56 AM
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Maybe they should remember the black plague, especially in France!
posted by
Offy
on October 16, 2007 at 10:54 AM
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posted by
riri0322
on October 16, 2007 at 10:46 AM
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Nautikos
One of my grandsons has two white rats. Every day after school he takes them out of their cage and claims one of the sofa's for his own and lies there and lets them run all up and down him. They will even go up his pants legs and come out at the neck of his shirt. Stuff like that. I don't know how long he's had them, he only became my grandson in February of this year when his mom and my son got married. The rats came with the family package.
posted by
TAPS.
on October 16, 2007 at 10:43 AM
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