How many rats should I have?

Question

I have one rat, and it is always banging on its cage wanting me to play with it although I am very busy. I feel bad!!!! should I get a nether pet ratm, PS-I have a big enough cage for 2 or 3

Answer 1

It Definantly depends on the sex of your rat...
More than one female is always good!!!
More than one male usually doesn't work out so well.
Rats are very social animals, if you don't have enough time to spend with them it is highly recomended that you get a cage mate of the same sex.

When introducing a new female, clean out your cage, to get rid of the scent of your first rat.
Do not introduce them by throwing them together in a cage!!
They need to be introduced in nutral territory, an empty bath tub usually works out well.
They can be introduced at a young age but, there is no harm in introducing two adults.
You can indroduce more than one rat at a time, there is no problem as long as your cage is big enough.
When you put them in the tub, they usually just start sniffing eachother, then they start cleaning eachother, then they try to get out of the tub. If they clean eachother with no problems, then go ahead and put them in the cage.

With two males, you can try the same process but it usually doesn't work out well. Males can usually be introduced at a VERY young age or kept togther with the other males from their litter. When you try to introduce two adult males, they get territorial and it's not pretty.

Please never put a male with a female. They reproduce constantly, having up to 22 pups in a litter. Each pup can reproduce once they are 6 weeks old, and the mother can get pregnant with in a few days of having a littler. Unless you are a licensed breeder, please never breed your rats!!!
It quickly gets out of controll.

I have 7 females in one cage(the cage is HUGE) and two males in one cage with a divider between them. I've owned rats most of my life and I work with them.

Please disreguard "brennan.." he probably knows absolutly nothing about small animals and is just answering questions for points.

Answer 2

As a bare minimum, the floor-space should be at least 24" long and 12" wide, Another site recommends a minimum of 40" floor space for a single adult rat.

I would only get one more for the company. Also make sure it's the same sex or you'll end up with babies. The informaton below in quotation was found in the second cite.

Introducing Rats

"It is easiest to introduce rats to their companions when they are young (preferably under 10 weeks old). However, even adult rats can be introduced to companions. When introducing adult rats, first clean out the cage thoroughly to remove territorial scents from the resident rat. Dab both rats with perfume or vanilla essence (to disguise their smells) and introduce them on neutral territory, not in a cage which one recognises as its own. There will usually be some fighting for the first few days after they are introduced. This is not usually serious, but to avoid it you may prefer to introduce them gradually, letting them first just sniff each other and then work up to putting them in the same cage over about a week. It is harder to introduce adult male rats to other adult males, and such introductions need to be done over several weeks. It is usually fairly easy to introduce an adult male to a young baby male of 6-10 weeks, although the introduction must be carefully supervised."

Answer 3

Play with your rat. You can just let her run around the room or sit on your lap if she likes you a lot. Just make sure there is nothing dangerous to chew (electrical cords) or escape routes (holes in the baseboard, furniture she can climb into). I used to leave the cage door open and the bedroom door closed. She always came out of hiding when I came home. She never got into trouble, although I did lose a few t-shirts. Put her on your shoulder and walk around the house. After she gets used to that, you can take her with you around town. (although if you do this, you will probably get peed on a bit.)

You can't get another rat now, they won't get along. If you had gotten them together it would have been fine, even two females. But she or the other rat might be killed if you introduce a new rat into the environment. The other problem is that having a rat partner makes them less likely to want to spend time with you. I have had two rats and a single rat, and this was my experience. The one rat loved me, the pair didn't really care.

There's no need to lock her up all the time and feel bad. I used to take my rat to class, and she would nap in my sleeve the whole time. She didn't need me to "play" with her constantly, she just wanted to be with me.

Answer 4

no. you can get multiple rats from the same litter, but if you put a strange rat in the cage, one or both will be killed in the fight over territory that will! happen.
make time for your pet or find it a home where it will be the priority it should be. no harsh judgement on you. maybe you're busy with crucial things such as work, etc, but your rat should not have to suffer because of this.
it is a pack animal & needs company, but there are limits to the company it will accept. you'll be wiser than to get an animal you haven't time for next time.
re the 1st answer, wrong. unless you plan to breed, you should get 2 females (sisters) or 2 males (brothers).
if the males are allowed to become sexually active, they must immediately be separated or they will fight to the death. but they can stay in seperate f/f or m/m pairs all their lives, so long as they
a) don't breed
b) are brothers/sisters from the same litter

Answer 5

Rats usually live in pairs or groups, so getting another will really help. Be careful though, I once saw my rats making a ladder trying to get out.

Answer 6

depends on the rats. if it's still a baby you could always try it but could be very diasterious. try one of those wheel ball things. they sometimes like those. i always just put mine on my shoulder and carry her as i cook clean take a bath i keeps her entertained.

Answer 7

You should probably get another rat, it woul help a lot!
Also, don't put a male and a female together, it's NOT fun to have little babies, unless you just don't care of course. >.<

Answer 8

Get one more. I think three would be too much to jump to with just one now. Plus, if you get three, two might gang up.