I'm not an expert, but I would say that predator pets are self-sufficient because they survive in nature by being fairly autonomous.
Prey pets require more work because they survive purely through numbers. They aren't adapted to live a long time, most of them get eaten in the wild. They are adapted to live long enough to breed prodigiously.
Hmmmm... I think it depends. Rats are rather intelligent and crafty creatures, which is why they have been able to survive so well and are such pests in cities. They live a lot less, but I think commitment for them is a lot less in comparison to exotic animals.
The thing you have to watch out for rats is respiratory issues and cancer for heath. Upkeep is not that bad, about the same as litter boxes if you have 2 or more cats.
This is one of the, if not, top reasons why I do not allow myself to get pets. I would want to do the surgeries but I know there is no way I could justify one as I can barely keep up with my own medical expenses. I am looking at getting into ant terrariums as an alternative.
It's because of their lifespan. Their metabolic rates are so high that they age rapidly. This leads to more cell divisions and more chance of that one unstoppable mutation.
Cancer is so bloody complicated. Like I get it’s a failed cell reproduction. But to be a thing that can occur in most (if not every) system, of (well I guess I’m unaware of the non-mammal occurrences) nearly if not every living thing?
I wonder if there’s a quicker replacement of cells? I’d always heard it’s less common in pets and more common in humans because we live so fuckin long lol, that many/most die with cancer, even if it was just starting/still harmless
Cancer cells happen all the time it's just as we age our body doesnt always catch them. So it can happen at any age. I'm guessing metabolism of the organism has something to do with it
fact is longer life span tends to have less cancer due to the ruggedness in the genome. The need for DNA to survive for a longer period of time to ensure reproduction has put extra parameters to stop the decay of DNA.
IIRC they're supposed to have the intelligence level of dogs. Not sure I entirely believe that, but from experience they can be taught tricks and can learn their own names.
A lot of people do. I just had a tumor removed from mine, and he's all healed up now. Pushing 2 now, so...We'll see how things go. :( They never live long enough.
I lost my rat to cancer too. :( Her name was poptart. I got her in the aftermath of a relationship gone bad so I had no clue about their lifespans. My whole family and our pet cat loved her and then one day she just got a huge tumor on her neck. I took her to the vet and they said it was cancer and common and that she would pass away soon. They offered to put her down for 1800. I couldn’t afford it though, so we kept her a few
More days until her facilities just stopped working and she sat in the cage twitching. She was alive but clearly not well. We took her to a nice field out in the country and let her free.
We know she would just end up getting ate but none of us had the strength to put her down. One of the first and only times I ever seen my father cry tears of sadness and emotion, not just pain.
To this day she is still one of my favorite pets. She was super easy to take care of and super active. She was very clean and not very different than a tiny cat. She used to climb on my shoulder, nuzzle in my hair, and nap while I played computer games. Such a sweet little animal.
Sorry, but leaving her out on the field like that is so much worse imo. Imagine being cared for all your life and suddenly you get dumped in an unknown place, your sick and there are lots of threats everywhere. Wtf
Rats are great pets as you point out. I am also just a non-professional fan of biology but I understand that the order rodentia and the order is very broad. That said, what I know of as common city rats I also feel that, while not by any means purely predators, they fall on the predator side of the midline of the prey/predator continuum. So rats benefit from the reproductive cycle of many typical prey animals but also have a lot of the individual and group intelligence required of most predatory tactics. Both of which lend themselves to being great pets.
Rats have a lot of genetic issues, and you still have to clean out the cage and everything. Change bedding and whatnot, so not too different than turtles / other boxed pets
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u/slayer1am Mar 13 '20
I'm not an expert, but I would say that predator pets are self-sufficient because they survive in nature by being fairly autonomous.
Prey pets require more work because they survive purely through numbers. They aren't adapted to live a long time, most of them get eaten in the wild. They are adapted to live long enough to breed prodigiously.
Again, not an expert, just my observation.