Since you love animals have you considered volunteering at an animal shelter or for a local rescue? I think that would be a much better thing to do – you get the satisfaction of spending time with animals and doing something for your community!

I would imagine your parents know what is best and what you and they can manage as far as pets.

i may be wrong, but i believe rats have a pretty short lifespan… usually not more than 4 years or so.  how about you provide the best care you can to your rats while you have them?  in doing so, you will be showing your parents that you have the ability to care for your pets thoroughly.  i’m sure there are even rat forums around where you can go to share your experiences and learn more about them. 

when your rats do eventually pass away you can revisit the idea of volunteering at a shelter or rescue, you may be old enough by then.  at this time you’ll have more life experience, you will be able to work and pay for the costs and you may be able to make a better decision about whether or not you want to have a house rabbit.  you also need to be sure that having a rabbit will not interfere with any plans you may have for college or life after highschool.  many dorms do not allow pets, plus you wouldn’t have much time anyways.

you are right that animal lovers feel they can never have enough pets, but the truth is… you don’t want to be so overburdened that you are giving only minimal care to each animal you have.  irresponsible pet care is not limited to abuse or neglect, but also to having too many animals to do right by them.  remember, you have your entire adult life to have animals.  you don’t need to rush.  but please continue to visit BinkyBunny regardless of what you end up doing.  you’ll be able to learn from our mistakes (lol…) and you’ll be that much better of a bunny parent when the right time comes.

wow… it’s so great that you know your passion at a young age.  i know how frustrating it can be when your parents do not completely see or understand your passions.  unfortunately, until you are old enough to move out on your own and have a way to provide for yourself and your critters, it will be a hard sell.   i would also encourage you to find a way to volunteer some how.   if taking a bus to a local shelter is not possible, maybe your parents would help you start a part-time pet sitting service for friends & family that are nearby?  you can also research how to become fully licensed at this while you get experience with family & friend’s pets, and until you are old enough to go ahead.  good luck!

That is a pretty long bike ride and if I was your parent I would definately be concerned about that. Maybe you could start your own pet-sitting service instead? Put up flyers around your neighborhood and let your neighbors know too.

I can sympathize with you. I’ve always been a huge animal lover and it was hard when my parent’s didn’t understand. I had to beg and plead for all my pets as a child. The best advice I can give is to just hang in there. Although one way I convinced my parent’s to let me get my horse when I was 16 was to show how dedicated I was by saving every penny I had for a year.

Maybe if you start volunteering at a rabbit shelter you can bring your parents to visit the rabbits and who knows maybe it will soften their hearts towards letting you get one.

It’s hard to wait it out but you will appreciate your bunny all the more when you finally get him or her.

ps. Don’t forget that rabbits can get sick and need to be neutered and vet bills can add up real fast so you have to make sure you will be prepared for any emergencies financially before getting a bunny.

Well that is great you have started your business and I hope it picks up! Another thing to think about though is rabbits can live 15+ years and I think it would be better to wait until later when you know where your life is heading, going off to college, job & time etc. If you were to go off to school I don’t think your parents would do quite as good of a job as you.  In the mean time take care of your cute little rats and help educate your friend about having a house rabbit and you can both enjoy it together!

I totally understand! When you want something it’s easy to get fixated on it! I do. However, your business idea sounds like a great plan. Wish I’d thought of volunteering at a pet rescue or pet sitting at your age too, great fun, and no poo to come home too! Rats can be brilliant fun too you know. Why not make a fantastic condo for them! I’d love to see that. Tubes and tunnels running everywhere, different stations. You can even make temporary large structures out of cardboard. Be creative. Brilliant fun! They are sometimes a bit sleepy animals but they’ll really come alive with some excitement to play with. Rabbits look sleepy too, when they’re bored. Hell, they’re all rodents!

Here’s a good forum for rat lovers. Some great NIC condos for them for you to build too http://www.ratforum.com/
I’ll be honest, if you get a rabbit, as much as I love them, they will get on your nerves sometimes when they chew up the carpet, spray urine, scatter food everywhere. Chew on the bars when you want some rest (big scuffling about last night at 3am, had to do what I call a cabinet re-shuffle!), or to study. I’ve got 3 rabbits now, and I sometimes look back to the time when I didn’t have so much cleaning to do! Not that I’d ever swap them. What I’m trying to say is, if I went out and brought home a cat or a dog now, then my rabbits wouldn’t get the attention that they used to have, and that’d be a shame. Have fun, hope you enjoy the forum

Love Me!

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i’m not a *big* fan of rats… to each their own, right?  but that is such a cute picture!

Awe what a cute rattie!!

Cute rat – is that a dumbo rat? I’m not totally familiar with rat breeds but I think there is a dumbo rat. Rats are very sociable and smart animals – at least that’s what the Rat Association of Texas says :~) I’ve met a few rats when I’ve done events with them (the rat association) and they are very passionate about rats and good rat care. They also have a yahoo forum where they discuss their pet rats.

oh… that wonderful news!  please keep us posted on how you like it!

Congratulations! That’s wonderful news – do keep us updated on how you like it, we’d love to know.

Congrats!! I’ll bet you’ll love it!! I sympathize with you-my parents also would not let me get a bunny; I had guinea pigs while I was growing up, and of course the family dog! I got my first bunny a year ago and now I have two!