Bad Reactions to Pet Rats

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I have normal pets, 2 dogs, a cat, a fish. But I also have 4 pets that most people thing are strange. I have 4 pet rats. They are very sweet, and I'm very fond of them. But whenever I talk about my pet rats I get a lot of people who say Gross or Ewwww or tell me that they are not pets that they are snake food. It really irritates me, as my pet rats are not any different than some kids pet hamster (Except they are a lot less likely to BITE me than a hamster is), but people think its okay to tell me that I should feed my loved pets to a snake? Personally I'm not a fan of "toy" dogs that fit inside purses, but I don't go around telling people who own them how disgusting I think they are. Have you ever had a pet that others thought was unconventional and that you should get rid of?