mad biker

I brought my self a rat harness from ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI....e=STRK:MEWN:IT

what does everybody think of them?

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keith schiffner

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I brought my self a rat harness from ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI....e=STRK:MEWN:IT

what does everybody think of them

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Neat idea, but with 4 ratties...I just can't see it. I
mean, can you imagine the looks I'd get walking 4 rats down
the street at a pace that would be slow for even a toddler?

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What a cute wee bike you ride. ;^) I ride a 79' GL1000
that sensei Honda says doesn't need Mr. Vetter's crap on it.
I get the funds and my 1972 T-500 will get rebuilt with the
new "squish heads" and mild porting.
Sorry folks, if you think rat owners are an odd sort.
Well you ought to meet those of us who would rather own a
motorcycle as our sole means of transportation...yes I keep
a "ratty old truck" for hauling anything that wont fit.

--
Keith Schiffner
Dum vivimus, vivamus
<3 )3~ <3 )3~
<3 )~ <3 )~
http://community.webshots.com/user/sciffners

mariette

No experience with them myself, but I found lots of opinions over at
the Rats Rule forum: http://www.goosemoose.com/rfc/index.php

You'd have to sign up and register to do a forum search on "harness"
yourself (the smaller box partway down with the magnifying glass, not
the larger search box on the top right). But I can link a few of the
longer threads from there:
http://tinyurl.com/6qu8r
http://tinyurl.com/65y3z
http://tinyurl.com/4qbny

Seems to depend on the personality of the rat, definitely, and how
young you start them and probably the type of harness too (seems to
have been more luck with a figure-of-8 type similar to yours, Mad
Biker, which surprised me, as I thought the vest-type might work
better ... see the last thread).

--
Mariette
(wabewawa61-at-earthlink-dot-net)

sue schultz

Kind of looks like the ferret harness I bought. Works pretty good. I
haven't used mine in years but when I only had a couple of rats it was nice
to be able to take them outside and sit onthe grass with them and not have
to worry about them running away. I wouldn't have been able to catch them
because I have to use a cane to walk...my rattie definitely can walk faster
then ME!
Have fun with your ratties.
Sue

mad biker

well i havnt got it yet :-)

But ive got two rat balls they dont really use.. so maybe a harness might
make em do something..

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mariette

Well, it sounds like it might be good for taking one outside on, for
some change of scenery for the rat, at least.

But now in terms of them doing "something," I've found mine quite
entertaining just being their eminently fun, lovable little selves in
their own right. There aren't any rattie tapshoes or the like on the
market that I know of. <sounds of distress here>

Some of them do like to chase things, though (those "fishing-pole"
type of cat toys that have a feather dangling on a string from a stick
can be fun), or enjoy a little hand wrestling/run and chase the hand,
etc., so maybe you might find some entertainment value in playing
with them like that.

And here are some other ideas (though these are mainly from the
point of view of keeping the *rats* entertained, which their human
companions would thus find enjoyable too, one would hope):
http://www.ratsauce.com/toys_games/index.php

--
Mariette
http://community.webshots.com/user/wabewawa
(wabewawa61-at-earthlink-dot-net)

keith schiffner

Better than those ball things. My first rat "Phil" got
motion sick the first time I put him in one of those evil
things...he'd rather take a bath than go back in the ball.


--
Keith Schiffner
Dum vivimus, vivamus
<3 )3~ <3 )3~
<3 )~ <3 )~
http://community.webshots.com/user/sciffners

mariette

Really. When I was a kid, we used to put a hamster in one, and
the dogs would follow the poor thing around the house and drool all
over it, which would then go inside (the drool, i.e.) through the
so-called little air slits. Poor thing. Ick. And even if the dogs
hadn't drooled on it, I just don't think there was enough ventilation
regardless, and so they've always seemed rather evil to me too.

--
Mariette
http://community.webshots.com/user/wabewawa
(wabewawa61-at-earthlink-dot-net)

keith schiffner

I can imagine that. <lol> But you might have
misunderstood me. I think they are a good idea as the little
dears don't get to find out what "Live Wire" means. I've had
the misfortune of smelling, then cleaning up what happens
when feral mice chew through wiring or get across the
terminals of an electric stove(ewww!).
No poor old Phil REALLY hated his ball...he really would
submit to a bath when given the choice "Bath or ball?" Not
that he minded baths that much...especially once he figured
out how to jump out when he'd had enough! Like a flea he
was, when he'd enough of his bath. 8^) Kind of fun really.


--
Keith Schiffner
Dum vivimus, vivamus
<3 )3~ <3 )3~
<3 )~ <3 )~
http://community.webshots.com/user/sciffners

mariette

Ah, I guess I was totally empathizing with _Phil's_ feelings about it
being evil then. (I do agree that it can cut down on some dangers, as
long as no stairs are involved when they're in the thing.)

But now having something like that to help foster good behavior in
other areas (such as willingly taking a bath) can be very handy
indeed. I've been known to resort to an 'either/or threat' with my
own daughter on occasion ("Either you _____, or it's your turn to wash
the dishes." ... <eg>).

--
Mariette
http://community.webshots.com/user/wabewawa
(wabewawa61-at-earthlink-dot-net)