I was playing a video game online with some people (everquest... for those who are familiar with it).. and I had milo out on my lap, but he was getting really hyper and I couldnt concentrate on the game, so I told my group... "Just a sec, putting my rat away"

So one of the people in the group said you have PET RATS??" So I told him that I had 2 rats and some hammies...
Then he said.. well I better not tell you that I ahve a pet python... so I ignored him... then a few minutes later he says... "my python is really hungry" so I said "do you live feed?" and he goes "yep, you got any extra rats for me to feed my snake??"

And then another person in the group asked what we where talking about... So another group member piped in.. "They are talking about snakes and icky rats" soo... my natural response... "rats ARENT icky..."

THEN one of the other guys starts talking about how he used to feed whole live rabits to one of his snake... UGH! It made me sooo pissed! I promptly left the group.

Some people are sooo lame!

-D

That is just awful. People who talk about icky rats have never known one personaly, hehe.

Geez.  Why couldn't the python guy just let the whole thing drop instead of saying his snake was hungry?  If it isn't funny the first time, it's not going to be funny the 100th time, and he should have just SHUT UP.

What eats snakes?  Owls eat snakes.  What else?  Hmmm... Help me out here... Next time you go in there, lie and say you've got some kind of predatory bird like a falcon and tell him your falcon is hungry.  LOL!

People eat snakes.  Snake eat snakes.  Mongooses eat snakes.  Then you got the animals that don't care what they eat as long as they eat.

quit EQ and join Ultima Online!  I've been a member for almost 3 years now.. and have many GM Tamers on different shards!  

I even have a couple characters with rat themes!  on Pacific, I have a gm blacksmith, tinker, tailor, carpenter, chef, who's name is "a rat" so every time you craft a GM item, it gives it the name "a so-and-so crafted with exceptional quality by a rat".  then I have a tamer named ImaRatcatcher, who's got a pet giant rat that she's had since she first started taming.   on another shard I have a character named "a rat catcher" who tames hoards of rats, and goes off to kill weaker spawn with her "minions"... lol!  

I've run into a lot of understanding people on my two shards on UO... and personally I love taming on UO.. and my computer supports the software, unlike evil EQ... bah..  

oh gee my dragon, Memnoch is hungry again... time to take him out to kill some ophidians (snake people).  

oh.. I've always thought of starting to buy 5-6 baby pythons in a store.. and if they ask why so many, I'd tell them I was going to feed my rats at home and thought snakes would be nutritious enough for them.  tell them your rats would eat a baby snake and would delight in the treat.  

No NO! Join ANARCHY!
It rocks0rs!
And one time I mentioned my rat, he stepped on akey that made my character run forward, and the folks I was with looked at me funny.
They laughed about a rat going aggroe ("attacked") on a keyboard!  

Well, the worst comment I've ever had was when I had my lovely Sweep put to sleep, and someone at work said 'Murderer!' Charming eh?

to tell you the truth, I have done that.  I used to frequent another message board and I'd get this one guy who'd say ALL the time "my dogs killed another rat today", etc..  he kept pit bulls..   I'd freak out and tell him how fun it would be to kill puppies.  well of course EVERYONE jumped on my back and yelled at me about it.   I definitely struck a nerve, but the thing is.... I wanted them to know exactly what it's like for me.  even with my roaches if they told me how delightful it is to kill roaches, I'd have told them how delightful it is to smash a puppy's head in with a brick.   hurt my feelings, I hurt yours.  then they get upset because I'm comparing a rat or a roach loss to that of a dog or a baby..!?  sorry but I DO feel it's equal.  

and about cockroaches... more fun filled facts about the madagascar hissing roach and why they make interesting pets!  

- they live in colonies, unlike any other roach!  a single male lives with a group of females, and battle other male roaches for their females... sort of like certain monkeys or lions.  

-a hissing roach reaches maturity at 1 year of age.  they give birth to about 15-30 LIVE young, and their pregnancy lasts about 2-3 months!!  they are a non pest species, and there's only a small percentage (something like 5%.. I can't remember exatly right now) of roaches in the world who are pest species.

-they only breed if all requirements are met, as in: humidity is correct, heat is correct, food, etc.  even then it's not guaranteed that they will breed.  vegetable oil, however, acts as an aphrodesiac for them.  

-a cockroach can survive for up to a year without eating, but cannot survive more than a few days without water.  

-a cockroach can live without a head, but dies of dehydration after a week or so

-cockroaches have TWO brains!  one in their head, one in the end of their abdomen/tail

-cockroaches survive radiation, and it doesn't affect them

-madagascar hissers are completely wingless, however once in a while, one moults to have wings..  it is extremely rare, however.. but it's another unexplained thing like axolotyl's who turn into salamander thingies suddenly, even though they're axolotyls their entire life normally.  

-male hissers have horns on their thorax, while females have very tiny barely noticeable ones.  the males fight for territory and females using these horns, and they head butt with them, it's really interesting to watch!  

-they have this little dance.. which is very entertaining to watch.  They hiss a lot, wiggle around, etc, to attract females...  

all in all, roaches are quite fun to have!  I keep only a couple of different species, as I don't really want a colony.. but when  I had three hissing cockroaches (two male), it was the most entertaining thing to watch.  they're so primitive but at the same time, they are one of the only social roaches out there!  

Those facts about cockroaches were brilliant! Vegetable oil as an aphrodisiac? Hmm, interesting thought, but I prefer baby oil myself  

Cochroaches have brains in their butts? I know a few men like that.

All in all, they seem to be quite amazing animals. However, I don't think they're for me. No offence, but give me something with fur every time!

pest species would be like the american or german cockroach.  one that just keeps multiplying and overrunning your area.   the tropical roaches like hissers, death's head, etc, can't survive in most climates and would die off.  

they live around 1-3 years, at least hissers do.  my first hissing roach ever died last year at over 3 years

they're more of a terrarium pet, like fish or frogs.  I used to take my hissers out a lot, and they're far easier to handle than other roaches are.  they tend to stay put and dont' run off.  they don't really acknowledge you, though... and aren't exactly playful, etc..  

I wish I contacted that pet photographer, because I won second place in a pet costume contest with my two hissing roaches two years ago..  I dressed them up as a bride and groom, and people thought they looked absolutely adorable!  it definitely gave roaches a more positive look.  the male had a little top hat that fit with a string going between his first pair and second pair of legs underneath, and he had little tails that fit with a string, going between his second and third pair of legs underneath.  female had a veil complete with little sewn beads, and had a skirt with frills and everything.  they kept saying my male looked like jiminy cricket, LOL!  

the year before, I entered my rat dressed as a witch and won second place, and last year I entered my rat dressed as a mad scientist, complete with wild grey hair, glasses that fit just right, and a lab coat!  I won first place... and they know how to pronounce my last name finally!


-one more fact about roaches.  they DO NOT carry any form of disease, germs, etc!  they actually secrete an oil on their exoskeleton that kills germs.  the ONLY way they can carry it is if there was dirt or dung physically on their bodies.  

-OOH another fact about roaches, for any potential pet owners..  hissing roaches can aggravate asthma..  at least, their feces can.. so if you have asthma they're probably not a good pet for you anyway..

/edit- by the way I found out the percentage of household pests...  it's 1% of all cockroach species are pests, and that's out of 4000 species of roaches..

Yeah, just a few. The rest of the men I know, their brains are somewhere else. Still not in their heads though ...  

I like to say things such as "Yeah?  Well my rat would love to chew your kid's face off!"  Granted, it's perpetuating the myth of rats eating babies, but it makes me feel better.  

I play UO too, on the Lake Superior shard.   I have told lots of people there about my ratties, and they seem to not be so weird about it.

Funny DragonTamer, when I saw your screen name I was going to ask if you played UO, but I thought, nah, it prbably means something else.   Hehehe.    My hubby might be beta testing a new one called Shadow Bane.   Looks really neat! I'll keep you posted if it's any good.