Sitemaps

Whats a good age to bring home a rat pup2007-11-24 22:18:38

my hairless rat died in a month the place i got her is sketchy i want to replace her with the same breed, they said i could buy a baby but im afraid they'll sell it to me even if it's too young, what age should i ask for?

Answers:

Rats should stay with their mothers for 5 weeks -- after that, bring them home!

I hope you will get TWO rats. Rats are VERY social and they NEED other rats to be really happy. No matter how much time you spend with your rat, you cannot communicate with her or groom her like another rat can. And just think -- you will save TWO rats from this 'sketchy' place and you will have TWICE the love!

---

Three to four weeks or older.

I always used to separate my rat pups from the mom at three weeks, as they do fine on regular rat food then. Some people like to go for 4 weeks.

Disinfect your cage before getting a new rat.

---

About 5 weeks

---

Try to get them as young as you can after 5 weeks. They will be easier to train. :) :) :) :)

---

I wean my rats at between 4 - 5 weeks, depending on the size of the pups. I would not suggest bringing home ANY rat that is younger than 5 weeks and would suggest waiting til 6 - 8 weeks to make sure they are doing well on their own first.

If this breeder is trying to sell you another rat, I'd stay WELL away! If one of my rats died within a month of me selling it, I'd replace it for free!