Sitemaps

Should i buy another rat2007-11-24 22:15:21

i currently have a 4 month old male fancy rat named fudge. he does not live with any other rats but i think he is lonely at night and i can't do anything about it.

Should i buy another boy for him?

Should it be a young rat?

If i am better off getting another playmate, how many more rats should i buy?

Thanks!

Answers:

DO NOT get a female rat unless you want babies! (saw someone had suggested that)

you should have bought 2 rats from the get go. rats are social creatures and NEED/CRAVE other rats around them.

what i would do is go back to the place that you got him and see if they have any of his MALE litter mates left, if not get another male rat around the same age or younger. if you get an older rat there is a bigger chance of fighting.

you cant throw the "new" rat into his cage and hope for the best. you will need another cage for the new rat until you get them familiar with each other.

you also have to consider the health of the new rat coming into your home as it MIGHT be sick.

a quarantine period of 3 weeks in another room so that air borne bacterias (if sick) don't get to your other rat.

then after all that, you can place the cages together (not so close that they can grab each other thru the bars) so they get to know each other. i would do this for a few days and watch their reactions to each other. rub them with vanilla extract (get rid of their natural sent) i have even heard of vanilla pudding so they clean it all off and bond. they might have a little fight here and there to establish dominence because there both males, just watch how things happen. if you think things are getting too rough separate them and try again later on.