rat?

Question
QUESTION: hi i want to know how old a pinky rat/mouse is when you get it? I want to get for a pet except i don't know how old they are alls i know is that people feed them to snakes and lizards   =( and they are quite young?

ANSWER: A pinky is 0 to 4 days old. Fuzzies have begun to grow fur and usually that begins at day 5.

If you're considering "rescuing" a pinky, keep in mind that 99.9% of the babies under 3 weeks old I've tried to handraise (and I've been raising rats for years and owned them much longer) have died. Everyone I have personally heard from has had zero luck saving an infant. It's tragic, but an unfortunately gruesome aspect of the pet industry.

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QUESTION: ok well when i was on here the the other day i saw picture of a pinky rat but it had its fur

ANSWER: then it wasn't a pinky. Pinkies are called such because of their pink appearance. Once they have fur, they're a fuzzy, and once they've begun to toddle and have opened their eyes, they're a hopper.

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QUESTION: ok how old are those? and where can i get one? also is safe for me to keep a wild mouse if my cat was trying to eat it?

Answer
A hopper is about 2 weeks old. Any attempt to "save" a feeder-bred baby is usually futile. The instant you buy a baby intended for snakefood, its taken away from its mother. At that point, they're NOT ready to be weaned, and won't be for another 3 weeks. A 2 week old baby requires around the clock feedings, the amount based on weight. You'll need to keep this baby warm and teach it how to be a rat. Then as it reaches adult hood, you'll be lucky if it has a decent healthy life in front of it, as most feeder rats are not bred to be healthy because they die very early in life at the hands of snake owners. Also, they're not bred for temperament, and you may raise this baby only to find out it hates people and has that bred into it.

In my opinion, supporting the live feeder pet industry is extremely irresponsible and I have no ideas where to acquire a live feeder, nor will I look one up for you, that is all research on your part depending on where you live.

As for keeping a wild mouse, no, it isn't safe. If its an adult, it's scared to no end and may possible be carrying all types of icky diseases that can be passed on to other rodents in your household. If its a baby, the likelihood of it living is, as aforementioned, slim if its still nursing on Mom.

If you want a pet rat or mouse, I recommend you find a breeder, and do not support the live feeder trade in any way. To buy from them is only to increase demand of supply, which leads them to breed more and perpetuates the problem. There are so many lovely rats in rescues and bred intentionally to be healthy, long-lived pets, why not spend a few dollars more and get something healthier, happier and well-adjusted?