[HPforGrownups] Of Rats and Ron

[jazmyn]

No: HPFGUIDX 48580



Susanne wrote:
> 
> Hi,
> 
> Thursday, December 19, 2002, 8:29:33 AM, anakinbester wrote:
> 
> > Why does everyone, especially Ron, pick Scabbers up by his tail!
> > That's something I knew before I even owned a rat! you do _not_ pick
> 
> > them up by their tails. EVER! Except in the direst of emergencies.
> 
> > I can't imagine that JKR did not know this, though maybe she didn't.
> 
> > If she did know that, though, it's an interesting point on Ron's
> > character that he does abuse Scabbers like this. (I'm sure it's not
> > meant to be mean, I'm not saying this)
> 
> I tend to think that JKR is just repeating what many people
> still perceive as the best way to handle a rodent.
> 
> We've had rodents as pets for many years now, and we thought
> it would be easy to find good homes for some of the
> offspring (we had one accidental breeding pair of gerbils, once).
> 
> After seeing many of our daughter's friends trying to handle
> them, hearing them talk about pets in general, and hearing
> the parents opinions, we kept them all ourselves!
> 
> Holding a rat/mouse/gerbil by the tail is still the
> stereotypical way many people think is the right way, and
> seeing how JKR chose the rat as animagi form for PP makes me
> think she doesn't see rats as the lovely pets they
> *can* be <g>.
> 
> Many pet store workers also practice this way of picking up
> mice/rats and pass it on to the future owners.
> 
> And concerning PP/Scabbers fighting Ron to get away, I think
> that's also JKR not knowing how much it hurts to be bitten
> by a rat (or maybe we'll find out later that PP will save
> Ron, because he grew to love him, though he didn't seem very
> concerning when he cursed him during his escape).
> 

I have raised rats for a long time and have maintained the Fancy Rat FAQ
online for years.  Its okay to pick up a rat by the tail IF you do it
the right way. Grasping the base of the tail, close to the body.  While
its preferred to pick them up  by the body, you can't always do this
when a rat is frightened, angry, bad tempered or just not tame enough.
Ron was dealing with what he thought was an upset Scabbers, so he opted
for the safer tail lift then risk getting nipped.

> Harry also pulls Crookshanks out by the end of his tail,
> when he tries to sneak into the boys dorm, instead of
> grabbing him the correct way.
> 

So how many pets has Harry been allowed to have that he would know the
proper way to handle cats?  I don't see the Dursley's having any cats.


> Animals seem to serve as comic relief a bit in HP, too,
> looking at Errol and Pigwidgeon, for example.
> 
> --
> Best regards,
> Susanne                           mailto:siskiou at earthlink.net

Don't forget the amazing bouncing ferret.

Jazmyn