pet rats and minding

[mushpea]

Hope your all haven'tng lovely christmases.
Not working and having chill time has got me thinking about our critters and how they affect work, we have 4 bunnies one of whom lives indoors, 6 g.pigs, 2 cats, a Labrador and 2 rats . The rats are in a big cage in the living room and when prospective parents visit they mostly say they don't mind rats and a couple have even said they had some as kids but since having them I have only taken on two more families and that's was because no one else would have them due to SEN and work hours, I have seen about 6 other familyd who haven't come back, there isn't much work and lots of minders here have spaces so it could be due to all the choice but I'm worried the rats are putting people off, what do you think?,

[FussyElmo]

Personally I think if someone isnt put off by your 4 bunnies, 6 guinea pigs, 2 cats, and a lab then 2 rats are not going to put them off :D

Some people dont like animals full stop so regardless of what animal you have you will not appeal to.

I warn my any prspective parents of my animals and I stress if its going to be a problem then Im not the minder for them :thumbsup:

[TAZ]

Different people will look for different things, some will be put off by animals, others will see it as a huge plus (particularly if they don't have pets at home as they often want their children to be comfortable around animals without the hassle of owning them!!)

Personally rats wouldn't put me off (although I had 2 as a child & didn't get on with them as I never managed to tame them) but I can see that not everyone would be happy with them. However unless a parent specifically states this as the reason for not choosing your setting you're never likely to know.

[Daisy De]

Difficult question really, if prospective clients know you have lots of animals including rats before they visit, I can't see that they would visit if they weren't happy with your zoo.

I make sure everyone knows up front I have cats, dogs and guinea pigs and some people, I know, wouldn't come near me but thats fine because I choose to have my pets and mind and so far I do not seem to have a problem getting clients. We all cater for different clients and mindees and I think there is a space for everyone.

Rats would put some people off, personally I think they make great pets, but they do have an unfortunate and unjustified image to some people, however on the other hand you have so many other pets including lots of rodents so I doubt the rats put people off.

Just be upfront when people call or on your profile and then you will get people who are matched with you and your setting. :)

[mushpea]

I put the animals in my adverts and website so people are aware before they visit so perhaps they aren't the problem I think they are then, I think I've just got disheartened because they are choosing other minders but then they do have plenty of choice,

[Kiddleywinks]

Personally I think if someone isnt put off by your 4 bunnies, 6 guinea pigs, 2 cats, and a lab then 2 rats are not going to put them off :D


:laughing::laughing: Had to laugh at this, and totally agree.

If you're up front before parents visit of the pets you have, then I think it's something else that has persuaded them to go elsewhere.
When parents get back to you, have you actually asked them (for feedback purposes) why they've chosen someone else?

[mushpea]

Yea tried asking but they say I'm too far away from then or one parent said she decided not to go back to work then she choose a friend, her face when she dropped off to my friend and saw me there was halirious

[LauraS]

Do they smell at all? Not that I'm suggesting that you don't keep them clean, but we have two guinea pigs who come indoors for the coldest winter weather and even when freshly cleaned out they smell a bit sawdusty. Might put people off?

[bunyip]

It might possibly be causing a problem Mushpea, but visiting parents aren't going to come out and say so because they'd be socially uncomfortable about saying it. So if pets float your boat, then I wouldn't be in a rush to start getting rid of any.

It's a very personal thing and some people will be put off whilst others find them a delightful, positive aspect of your home setting. I'm not personally keen on having livestock in the house, but I wouldn't single out any particular species such as a rat for any particular individual distaste. But I know some people would: there is very little logic to the different ways people react to, say, a baby seal and a spider.

When I worked on the railways, we had passengers travelling with all sorts of pets. Mostly dogs, but we had 1 person who travelled with a rat (which was awfully well-behaved and sat in a large pocket on their baseball cap) and another who slung a large live lizard across her shoulders/neck. I was always amazed that other passengers/staff who thought dogs were lovely would object about the rat and the lizard, and try to prevent them from travelling. To me, they were no different, so long as the owners took proper precautions and kept them controlled. I mean, comparitively speaking, how many people do you hear of being savaged to death by a lizard every year? or a rat? :huh:

[mushpea]

Do they smell at all? Not that I'm suggesting that you don't keep them clean, but we have two guinea pigs who come indoors for the coldest winter weather and even when freshly cleaned out they smell a bit sawdusty. Might put people off?

if you get up close the bottom of their cage then there is a 'wee' smell but you have to be pretty close, they are cleaned every day so arent that smelly, we would never get rid of our animals but as they pass on we wont be replacing them, the rats could live up stairs in our spare room and to be honest would probably get more attention from my son up there because thats he's games room but can't do that with the dog, rabbit or cats lol.
love the fact people took a lizard and a rat on the train ! how funny .
I dont think having a dog always helps as people often ask how I make sur the children are safe around him which is a perfectly fine question but I think all bad press surrounding dogs dosent help people to decide to tsend their child here although I do get lots of people say positive things about him and some people have said they choose me because they want their child to grow up around dogs to learn to respect and not be afraid of them so I gues it just depends on peoples tastes. I asked about the rats as I know some people still think of them as dirty and smelly disease carring things but they so arent.