Does anybody have a pet rat, how old is it??

Question

I just ended up keeping a cute baby one because it was to nice to feed to my snake! haha and I was wondering how long they can live

I've heard 2-4 years, just wondering how old yours is? ♥

Answer 1

They do live 2-4 years, average is about three. I had one live to three-and-a-half, but all my others died sooner. Especially if you buy them from pet shops a lot of pet rats have poor health - subclinical respiratory disease that only causes problems when they get older, heart disease (impossible to diagnose) or tumors.
Female rats get a lot of mammary tumors late in life, but they're benign (don't spread) and a vet can remove them if they get too big.

You should really consider keeping another one too, because they're much more active, confident and happier in same-sex groups and you won't have to entertain him/her quite so much. Rats are actually really great, you can train them with food to come to a signal (mine come when I click my fingers).

There are studies showing that rats who are mentally stimulated (esp. when young) actually grow bigger brains and are cleverer, so you really do get as much out of them as you put in.

I have a kingsnake and feed him mice, but I buy them frozen, otherwise I would definitely have four million pet mice by now.

Sorry for going off the point, but rats are cool! Welcome to the wonderful world of rats... :)

Answer 2

my two boys are currently 7 months and 2 months. a friend of mines sister had one that live to be five.

Answer 3

Mine's nearly fifty two, been married to it too long. Maybe I should feed it to my snake.