Rat owners.. quick question. Help please?

I've owned two rats thinking they would do better but they always fought because one had to be dominant. I don't know where you would read that they needed a friend around. I always thought that they liked to be by themselves sometimes. This has always worked better for me because I was his companion. You are all the friend he/she needs.

Mine were cage-trained so I left the cage opened during the day. I would be sitting on the couch watching t.v. and mine would jump into my lap whenever he needed attention. It got to where rats were just as good of a pet as dogs or cats. Way better than cats! I've always had males.

Rats are simply not creatures that are built for solitude. Human companionship isn't enough for a lone rat, they really need that bond with another rat.

I did own just one rat. And I thought he was just fine. Someone had kept him alone his whole life, and he was about a year or so when I got him. I knew about rats needing company, so I got 3 little boys to introduce to him. I had to quarantine for 2 weeks, and in that time got to know Reggie, my lonely guy. He seemed perfectly OK, and I'd hold him and play with him all the time.

THEN I introduced him to my 3 bouncing baby brothers. That's when I realized just how depressed he was.. once I saw how energetic and happy he was with his new companions. Wrestling, grooming, & lounging together in a group.

It's not easy to tell if a rat is unhappy if that's the only way you've ever seen them, know what I mean? A lot of people (including myself) consider it cruel to keep a rat alone.

It's really not much more work to get two rats, and your little guys will be so much happier & more entertaining as a result.

i have 4 rats. 2 boys and 2 girls.

Almost everyone who answers this question will tell you, "Get 2 rats! A rat living alone will go crazy and become depressed!" This is simply not true.

Rats are social animals, but as long as you can spend hours a day with your rat and give it plenty of free range time out of its cage, it will live a long and happy life. My eldest rat was 4 when she died (had to put her down due to a tumor) and she lived alone in her cage for her entire life, except for the few weeks she was at the pet store before i got her. We spent hours together everyday, and i just rat-proofed my room, set her cage on the floor, and opened the door to her cage so she pretty much just shared my room with me. i tried getting her a cagemate when she was about 2 years old, and she attacked the new rat even though i introduced them perfectly. She was used to living alone and liked her own space. She lived alone in her cage and always spent at least 6 hours a day by herself while i was at school, even more on days i had to work or when i went somewhere overnight. She was perfectly healthy and happy.

But if you don't have time to spend hours a day with your rat (including time to let it roam free), then you should consider getting it a cagemate. But if you can devote a few hours a day with your rat and bond with it, your rat should be perfectly happy living by itself. Otherwise, get it a friend if you have a busy schedule.

Good luck!!!

I didn't want any rats at first. My son wanted one and convinced me, so we got one and a tank topper cage(mistake #2). Until I found out that 2 rats is better. I'd rather have happy healthy pets. Charlie was much happier with a cagemate (and most definitely a bigger cage, that I was able to hang a few hammocks, beds and room for toys). Here is a great forum I found while researching pet rat care. They have sections for other pets as well up at the top under the pet forums tab. http://www.goosemoose.com/component/option,com_smf...

Oh I forgot to mention I now have 12 rats :D 7 females in one Critter Nation and 5 males in a separate CN

I have 5 rats, but before i got larger cages and more rats, i had two rats in two separate cages. They were fine, but seemed to get lonely once in a while. I recommend getting two rats because if you get one, be prepared to spend like 3 hours every day playing with it. Also, you could get a boy or a girl. Just make sure you only get one gender. Whichever one you get is completely up to you. It depends on your preferences. Hope i helped!

I no longer have any rats but for years I had just one. I paid a lot of attention to him so he didn't seem to mind not having another rat companion. I let him out of his cage for hours on end after I had him for quite awhile. He always came when I called him so I had no problems with leaving him out of his cage, but I didn't have any other animals to worry about him getting hurt and I watched where I walked so I didn't step on him. He always greeted me when I would come home from work by running up my leg up to my cheek and give me a little kiss. I have also had rats that were not as smart as my first one but I wasn't able to give them as much attention as I did the first and that may have been why.

If you do get two rats, stick to two females or two males unless you want to be faced with 10 to 15 babies every few weeks.

Good luck.

I have 16 female rats because we just had one cross the rainbow bridge. Rats are very social animals which means they not only need companionship from there human but also one of there own kind. Rats are noctournal so when you are sleeping a lone rat would be up all by himself trying to find things to do. Rats that are kept solitary sometimes from boredom will start to show nuerotic behavior like severe aggressive biting. Thats why they always say to get two and two rats are no harder to take care of then one rat. Think about it this way. How would you feel if you lived in one room all by yourself all the time and no one to talk to. You not only would get bored but also lonely. I always tell people to get at least 3. Rats do grieve and at least when one dies you have the other 2 to lend support to each other. The only time you would want to keep a rat by itself is if it is a very aggressive rat. Like if every rat you put it with it attacks. There are rat hating rats out there. Believe me. I have owned a few but this is not the norm and they live pretty happy lives by themselves as long as they get plenty of interaction from there humans. Also with bedding. I know you didnt ask this but Im going to say it anyway. Rats have very goofy respitory systems. So I only recommend using carefresh bedding or Soft Sorbant bedding with pet rats. These 2 beddings have little to no dust and no phenol oils in the bedding to make the rat sick. Whatever you do DO NOT use pine or cedar. These 2 beddings will give your rats severe respitory infections. I know alot of rat owners like aspen bedding but it gave my rats horrible respitory infections so we went back to carefresh. But rats make awsome pets. They are very affectionate and just as loyal as a dog in my own opinion. There silly little antics will keep you busy watching for hours. Oh and on a male and female. Well this is all on you. I have owned both and they both make great pets but there is a difference. Females are more bouncy and love to investigate everything. Females are also very hyper. The males are hyper when they are young but as time progresses they tend to get lazy and just like to be lap rats. When all my girls die Im thinking about just getting 3 or 4 boys. I will always own rats. I like them almost better than dogs. But if you have anymore questions I would love to answr them. Just email me. My email is darkangel145011@yahoo.com. A very good website on caring for pet rats and rat illnesses and treatments is rathealthguide.com

Rats are extremely social and it is always recommended to get 2 or more.

Myself, I get 3.

I've never known anyone to have one. I always see rats on their own in the pet store and I feel so bad cause they look so lonely.

I have 2. I first got 1. But he was sad and slept all the time. So a week later I bought his brother and he is soooo much happier. I didn't want two. But really is just as easy except you need to give attention to both. They are great pets!

you must get 2. just because you have 2 doesnt make them harder to care for. if you get 1 rat are you prepared to have it out with you for 6 or 7 hours a day, sometimes more. and what is it going to do when you are out, who will it groom, play with it when your asleep.