Social Rats for a Social world

We had a wonderful experience with Tami. She truly cares for her customers, as well as her rats. At first, we adopted two previously owned male rats. Unfortunately, they did not adjust well, as they were a little older. Tami took them back without hesitation. Later, we adopted two baby male rats. They have been wonderful! They are very friendly and curious little creatures. They are very social and great with kids. In fact, we are going to adopt a third one. When we have questions about our new pets, Tami is always there to help us. She is very knowledgeable, and she is also very responsive. Tami takes great care to ensure that she's available well after you adopt your rats. We have had a great experience with her!






Paul and Lucy G.
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Social Rats is a wonderful organization managed by a fantastic woman. I have adopted five rats from Tami over the past year and they are all happy, healthy and best of all social little creatures. When I first met her, it was easy to see Tami’s devotion to her rats. She not only provides them with an excellent home while in her care, but she also ensures that they go to good homes when other loving owners adopt them. In the past, I was unable to make the trip to her home in Chicago and Tami was kind enough to take time from her day to make the journey to my house in the suburbs.

If I ever have a problem with my own rats, then I know that all I have to do is e-mail Tami and she will respond promptly with her advice. I have found all of her advice very helpful, especially in extremely stressful situations. For example, when I found little bugs crawling on my ratties, Tami was quick to identify them as lice and offer a solution as to how best to deal with the little pests. Today my rats are lice free. In the event that she does not know the answer to one of my questions she will direct me to another expert source, either the rat lady in California or my own veterinarian. Regardless, Tami is my first line of defense in the event of any rat ailment.

It gives me great pride to contribute to the Social Rats organization. The work that Tami does for our little rodent friends is invaluable. So, I want to take a moment to thank her for all the work she has done and continues to do. Thank you Tami! I thank you and all my little rat friends thank you!


Lots of love and rat kisses,

Megan and my 14 Ratties  Received on 3/29/10

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I adopted Remi a 9 month old male rat and wanted another male to bond with him. I seen one of Tamis ads and emailed her and she got right back to me. She recommed a younger male and told me about Larry a 3 month old rat even showed me a picture of him.

I asked to come down and see him and other rats she had so we set up a date and time I could come down. Larry didn t work out so she showed me others she had for adoption. Tami let me take my time holding and petting the rats and telling me all about them. She let me know if they were returned by potential owners or if they were shy things like that.
I met and fell in love with Paco I paid the adoption fee for him and she was going to hold him for me. I was getting ready to bring Paco home when my main rat fell ill. I let her know she was ok with holding Paco a bit longer and even offered advise for caring for my sick rat. Tami even let me see Paco until I was finaly able to bring him home.
If I had any questions or problems at all I  was able to email her
Paco got moody from stress and what we belive he wanted to live with Tami. He was acting strange one night when I went to pick him up and he acidently hurt me. I called Tami the next day she told me to bring him back even took time out of her day so I could. She told me she was going to keep him I don t blame him for anything and was happy he was going to live a good life.
Tami showed me a young male from one of her breeding litters so I took him home she didn t even recharge me. He had a sneeze so she even sent me home with medcine for him for free and extra in case him or Remi came down with anything. She helped me with bonding Remi and Rainbow.
Then later on I got 4 pet store rats that were sickly she even helped me with them. I didn t get them from her so it was amazing how she helps with any rats I have. Tami also sells items for great prices the medcine and rat food are the best for me. I am excited to get more rats from her. Rainbow the rat I got from Tami is a happy, healthy, and spoiled rat.

Received on 3/28/10 from Nikki F.

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The girls are doing really good. We named the black one Lucy and the brown one Suki. We can already see a big difference in personality Lucy is much more shy and Suki is fearless and very friendly. we have let them out of their cage several times already. We just open the door and let them come out, climb on us,and explore the area. My sister Cj, my mom, and me all watch them very carefully when they do this they are safe. Lucy likes to come explore a little then run very fast back to her cage and then come out again. Suki has begun to warm up to us, she lets us pick her up and place her back in her cage. We introduced them to our cat Gypsy. Lucy and Suki weren't scared at all. Gypsy didn't like Suki much but she likes Lucy. I think it is just because Suki moves around a lot. They seem to like their cage, Lucy prefers the shaded lower level where there is a hide away box but Suki likes to wait at the top level facing the door. Every time anyone enters the room the climbs all over the doors and wants to come out and play. When one comes out they like to wake up the other so the other will come with. We love how they have absolutely no regard for eachother's personal space. Suki will climb all over Lucy face without even glancing at her. We love them already. Lucy and Suki were supposed to be mine but they have won everybody's hearts and are now more like family pets. Their cage is in my room and I constantly have either my mother or sister in my room just watching them. Thank you so much for these lovely little pets.

Becky D.

Adopted 2 female rats on 4/11/09

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My children and I adopted two boys from you back in May, 2009 and I just wanted to tell you how happy we are with them! Emmett (the black and white boy) and Jasper (he is the blond and white one) are our first rats. They are the cutest and funniest little guys, but best of all, they are the friendliest! What I really wanted when we set out to get a pet, was to have animals that would be affectionate and fun. I got that and more with your rats. They are healthy and truly seem to want to be with us. When we let them roam, they will jump excitedly across the floor and explore everything, but they always "check in" with us every few minutes by running over to us and giving us a quick cuddle before running off again. I just can't tell you how pleased we are with them and they seem genuinely happy in their new home. Thank you so much for your obvious caring and attention to breeding rats with outstanding temperament. . . they have never even so much as nipped us even when hand feeding them little food like Cheerios. They are simply a joy to us! If you ever need a recommendation, I will be happy to give you one!

Best regards,
 
Amy S.
Adopted 2 male rats on 5/9/09
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reposted from Chicago Craigslist on 8/26.09:
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I had an amazing experience with Tami through Social rats! She was warm and welcoming, and very patient. A friend and i have been following Social Rats online for a little while so when my friend decided she wanted another rat, we contacted Tami with what she was looking for. Tami took time on the phone as well as answered emails. We were very comfortable with her, and felt she knew what she was doing. Now, just so you know, my friend and i are from southern illinois, so it's a good hike to chicago, but totally worth it when you're getting what you want, and more. We ended up picking up three wonderful little hairless girls (you can see their pics on Social Rats site) and they were sooooo much better than what we hoped for! All three were BEYOND friendly (which means they were socialized very regularally) and in healthy conditions. We could not have wished for better rats. they are wonderful little additions to our family, and we love them dearly! THANKS TAMI, if it werent for you, we wouldnt be enjoying these little darlings.
Naureen and Lisaa (reposted with permission from Chicago Craigslist)
Adopted 3 hairless girls on 7/22/09
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Tami was the only one to help me out when I had an issue with my rat giving birth. She offered to raise the babies on her own, foster, or even come to my home to help me out. She did all this just for one rat! Then recently one of my older girl ratties came down with an illness which was also causing my younger ratties to sneeze and get runny noses. She took the time out of her busy schedule to drive to my house in Indiana and bring me medication for them. She did not ask for money or anything from me..she did it for the rats. She also stayed for awhile looking them over and was extremely friendly and helpful. There is no reason for anyone to judge her unless you have met her yourself or seen problems with her rats..which there are none

Chelsey B. Current foster

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I think tami is a great person who knows her stuff. I had gotten some african soft furred rats from her and what i saw is the rats were housed in very nice cages not tanks, also she cares for them better than herself as they had good food, treats, hammocks to sleep on and all of them were very tame and also one thing to mention there was no smell in the house at all!!! For the people who say she is selling when you adopt an animal of any kind there is always a fee for the up keep of the animal like FOOD, CAGES, CARE and basic up keep of the animal. So in closing i think tami is a wounderful person who i hope to do bussiness again with..... bob. and you can put it on your website tami..... ! I would suggest anyone thinking about adopting a rat to go to Social Rats because you cannot find a more healthy and social rat around.
Bob S.
Adopter
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My boyfriend and I had a lonely rat who needed a friend, and I'm very glad
we found Tami! She was easy to contact, knowledgeable, and always very
warm. She talked to us about how sociable and playful each of the
available rats was, which helped us to make a decision about who to bring
home. Donna, the rat we ended up adopting, is curious, active, and very
friendly. She was clearly well socialized, and quickly found her way into
our hearts. But just as importantly, she almost immediately got along well
with our other rat, Echo. Tami made it clear that if there were any
problems with the introduction, we would be welcome to take Donna back in
and try exchanging her, but thankfully, that was unnecessary. Soon after
the adoption, Donna had some abnormal bleeding. We were quickly able to
contact Tami, who looked after her for us and took her to the vet so we
could be sure all was well. Tami has been very helpful and supportive, and
clearly takes great care to make sure her rats will be excellent pets. I
would recommend her to anyone in the Chicagoland area looking for a
friendly pet rat.

Kat
Adopted 1 female rat 8/15/09
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Dear Tami:
Alison and I just wanted you to know how thrilled we are with Jack and Henry aka Dustin and Justin...They are the CUTEST twins ever. We have been feeding them lots of peas, they love peas!!! We are so glad we found you and your wonderful rats!!! Alison has been writing lots of Rat stories about them too. They are the sweetest additions to our family and come running to the cage door every time we call them. I'm sure that we will never again be a family without rats!!
Thanks Again!!!
Angela and Alison P.

Adopted 2 male rats 8/17/09

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We brought Diamond to Chicago Exotics for a re-check and the vet confirmed that there were some issues, and her medication dose was doubled, but she's doing great in spite of the otherwise "bad" diagnosis.
 
Integration was a slow back and forth process, as she and our little Sweedle had some pretty pronounced boxing matches prior to everything settling down.  Socially, after a pretty rough adjustment, she's really getting the hang of things in her new home.  She started with an absurd amount of marking and territorial nesting, but those traits have diminished as she's grown more accustomed to her surroundings.
 
Diamond is an odd little rat, I must say.  While most female rats shy from human contact to a certain degree, she not only accepts it, but actively seeks it out.  Further, the more aggressively you pet her, the happier she seems to be.  At times, she seems more K9 than rodent, especially with her husky-like markings and propensity for digging and, yes, even chasing her tail on occasion. 
 
She's really been a great addition to the household, bringing a lot of life and character into the fold.
 
I hope everything is going well in your mischief of a household too, what with so many critters to care for.  I know it has to be taxing at times, but I'm sure if the rats could thank you for being in their corner when the rest of the world is against them, they surely would.  Keep up the good work.

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--Damian


Adopted  Diamond, Rex Female on 8/26/09

Hi there, Tami!

I know you said to e-mail you in a few days, but I am so excited, I just had to e-mail you sooner. Midnight and Cookie are doing great! They are still a little shy and unsure (probably wondering where they are and what all these new smells are), but they are still sweet as ever. I just got done giving them a little playtime and they are curled up together in their hammock. They really are sweet little girls. At the beginning of playtime, Midnight tried to jump back into the cage and missed and ended up falling to the floor, but no injuries. She was a little scared, but she let me pick her up without complaint and without a nip in sight. Ryatt is very curious about the new arrivals and keep standing at the bottom of the cage and trying to open the doors. The girls just kind of look at him - not even an attempt to nip at his little fingers when they come through the bars. I've been feeding them treats to try to get them accustomed to me (they seem to like the peanuts that come mixed in with their food) and they are so gentle when taking food out of my fingers. Only once did teeth hit my finger (I was feeding Cookie) and even then, it was not a nip or bite - I think she was just trying to take the treat and missed. As soon as my camera is charged, I will try and get some pictures of them to send to you. They are doing quite well and I am really thrilled to have found both them and you. :-) Thank you so much for all your hard work and for all the love you put into them.

Talk to you soon,
Bria

Adopted rattery Bred Midnight and Rescue Cookie on 9/6/09

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Hi, i was just writing to let you know how Molly (the rattie i adopted) was doing, she and wrigley are always together and wrigley, who used to be the shy one of the two, turned out to be the hyper and adventurous one, while molly is more of the laid back type who loves to cuddle. they are both doing great and i think that them being together has really made an impact.

Adopted female rat on 9/25/09

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Tami,
I don't think this little guy had a name when we picked him up from
you on the 26th, but he's called Sheldon now, and as you can see, he's
coming along nicely. He was laying around on my shoulder for about two
hours before I took this photo, and was asleep for only a little while
of that. The rest of the time, he was awake, but just hanging out,
watching videos with me.
He gets along with our other rat Robert as if they were siblings, and
I'm sure that helped Sheldon get comfy.
I've always like mice & rats, but never had one as a pet. They have
shown me what people like about rats.
We'll send another update later.
 
Neil & Kim H.
Adopted male rescue baby on 9/26/09