Why I Like Pet Rats

I've been treating one of my rats for an eye injury -- somehow he ended up with a cut on his cornea that may have penetrated the cornea. Anyway, his eye was just awful looking (very red and very swollen) and imagine it was very painful as well. One quick visit to the vet resulted in a three prescriptions, so for the past week I have been putting two types of eye drops in, three times a day for each, as well as an oral antibiotic once a day. I have to say I thought the eye was beyond saving but he has responded extremely well to the medications. But more importantly, he has been extremely compliant with the medications. I thought after a week of constantly bugging him with eye drops, he'd really be avoiding me and putting up a stink when it was time to medicate. But, he is just a sweetie -- he still comes to the side of the cage when I enter the room, and while he's not keen on coming out to see me he doesn't put up much fuss about being pulled out for medicine time. And he's still willing to have cuddles. This is just confirmation to me that rats are great pets!

On a related note, this experience highlights the need for having access to funds for medical emergencies. Ventura's bill was over $100 in total, plus I had to buy him is own cage so he could be separated from his brothers (unfortunately, the vet thinks it was an injury from one of the other rats). Some of my relations and friends are perplexed (well, some are actually appalled) by my willingness to spend so much on a rat, but he is part of the family and being able to pay for medical care is part of responsible pet ownership.