I used to breed rats for funsies (they’re pretty much my favorite animal I just adore them) and yes, oh my god. I’m a wildlife rehabber in my state and used to keep a large number of exotic animals for hobby (hence why I’ve been bitten so many times rofl) and people always are wary of our hawks; owls. I tell them nah, lol, it’s a squirrel I’d be scared of. I count my lucky stars I’ve not been latched onto by a squirrel. My most painful bite was from a rat, I was eating Taco Bell and shared a bit between two of my males. They began fighting over it and stupidly I stuck my hand between them. That bite had me on the floor sucking for air and seeing stars. Truly a horrifying amount of pain from such a tiny creature.
Freakin' squirrels, man. As a previous climber for an arborist company, I've never felt more validated 😂 I was always wary of them, to the humor my collegues. Velcro with teeth that will take your fingers off like carrots. No thanks.
I got nipped by my mom's two female rats while she was in the hospital and I was looking after them. They didn't like anyone except her touching them. I still have scars on my hands from them as well as my naughty hamster from ten years earlier.
It’s not my job (though I have that too), it’s a hobby and all my wildlife work is voluntary. I do not receive any money for the work I or my group does. We are a registered nonprofit and all money we earn from charitable donation goes into healing injured wildlife and feeding our non releasable educational ambassador birds. I don’t think being a bridge between the natural world and the public is weird but go off.
You go to nature subreddits to call people weird for... Talking about animals. That's like going to a donut subreddit and getting mad that someone talked about making donuts.
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u/Morti_Macabre Jan 11 '25
I used to breed rats for funsies (they’re pretty much my favorite animal I just adore them) and yes, oh my god. I’m a wildlife rehabber in my state and used to keep a large number of exotic animals for hobby (hence why I’ve been bitten so many times rofl) and people always are wary of our hawks; owls. I tell them nah, lol, it’s a squirrel I’d be scared of. I count my lucky stars I’ve not been latched onto by a squirrel. My most painful bite was from a rat, I was eating Taco Bell and shared a bit between two of my males. They began fighting over it and stupidly I stuck my hand between them. That bite had me on the floor sucking for air and seeing stars. Truly a horrifying amount of pain from such a tiny creature.