3 rats vs 2 rats and xmas problems

giantmutantbroccoli

[TL:DR - Which is better, three rats or two rats? ]

Hi guys!

Well I finally found someone near-ish to me who breeds (and rescues) rats. Only thing is she has two rat pups left and wants them to go as a pair. She sounds (in email) really nice, and although she's phrased it as she'd prefer them to go as a pair, I suspect her feelings towards it are a bit stronger than that. I'd only intended to get one rat to keep Penny company, if I take the two pups that will give me a grand total of three ratties. Not that I dislike the idea of having more than one rat pup, I mean they are adorable

I thought I'd ask for advice on here first off, rather than on the rat forums where most people have several rats and wouldn't think it at all odd to have five or more

First off, anyone here have more than two rats? Is it significantly more work than keeping just two? I live alone apart from the rats so there's just me to take care of them, and I don't want to take on more than I can look after properly. Do you notice a big difference in the amount of cleaning out you have to do?

I have a terrible fear of becoming a crazy cat lady, only with rats. I love having pets, and if I didn't engage my common sense every now and then I'd have a house full... of animals I couldn't look after, because I have to work as well!

Then there's the issue of what to do over Christmas. I spend xmas with my parents, and for the past 2 years have brought my rats back down to England to stay with us and everything was fine. The rats stayed in a make-shift plastic tub "cage" (with a well-wentilated lid, before you ask!), the cat lived outdoors anyway and the dogs learnt that they're not allowed to eat any small furries they come across.

However, I don't think the tub would be big enough for three energetic little ratties, and the cat is now a daytime indoor cat. That only leaves my spare cage, and while it is easily big enough for a small plague of rats, it is not at all cat-proof. This means keeping them upstairs in the bathroom with the door shut, which isn't such a bad thing for the rats, but isn't great for my parents. I know it's an imposition for them to be housing my rats at the best of times, having them in the bathroom is more intrusive, and I know from phone conversations that having three rats wouldn't exactly be a popular decision.
So. What would you do?

If you're a parent with grown-up (in terms of age at least lol) kid/s, how would you feel if they brought 3 rats home for the holidays?

dirtmother

I'd go for getting the pair - it was put to me that they'd not overly pester the existing rat as they have one another to play with but still be company and it did work out well for me (well, I got three little ones to keep one old one company, but she really wasn't long for this world)

Three rats really weren't any more work than two - I wouldn't want more than three though personally. Vet bills are another thing to consider of course since owning rats is like running a tumour factory.

giantmutantbroccoli

Ah right, that makes sense. Penny shoudl have a good long run left, she's only ~5months.
I haven't had any tumour problems, touch wood. My two old rats died of a heart-attack and respiratory problems.
Tumeric has anti-cancer properties. My rats get the odd supplement of poultry spice mixed into oatmeal, which has tumeric in it. It might help if it's a big problem you're having?

emmas42

I am a mad rat lady! :rotfl: I stupidly bought a huge cage that could house loads and ended up with 10. But to be very honest i was at my happiest with three. I had two boys to begin with which was fine, but then got my third (Wingnut) when I had a weak moment at the pets at home adoption centre :rolleyes:.
I found that there was no difference to looking after two in terms of cleaning and playtime etc and I loved the "cage dynamics" if one wanted some kip there was always someone else in the cage to play with.

I also live alone and I do miss the days when it was just me and my three boys a bit. I find I don't have as much time as I would like to spend with them anymore as there are so many.
As the numbers naturally dwindle I am aiming for three again. It was a good number!

Whatever you do, don't buy the biggest cage you can find like I did. When you have the space for them it can be difficult to walk away from the poor little lone rattie in the adoption centre.

I'm afraid I can't comment on the rats at the folk's house thing as my family all live locally and my Mum loves them

From a certified mad rat lady.

P.S. I had my three boys in a ferplast Jenny cage and they seemed fine in there. They had plenty of room to ignore each other if they needed it. Then I went a bit daft and got the monster cage I have now. Silly silly move on my part :rolleyes:

~Chameleon~

I always kept them in a trio so that if/when one died the other two still had each other for company. I would then introduce a new pup to the existing pair and so on and so forth. When kept in pairs, rats pine for their partner and can die from grief if left alone when the other dies.

giantmutantbroccoli

@Emmas42 - I have the Jenny cage, plus a spare ferret cage I adapted using cage wire (to make the holes smaller).
Fortunately I don't have room for a bigger cage. 10 rats! WOW. That's a lot of rats!
My parents used to have white rats as pets, back in the days when they weren't common - that was where I got the idea! When I got my first two bucks they liked them well enough. They live on a smallholding though, and after the local cat population dropped they started getting unwelcome visits from the local RAT population. My two boys, Psycho and Moz, were brown, rat-ty coloured, and grew pretty big - so they looked just like the wild rats outside. I think that's what put them off.
Of course, Penny and her potential cage-mates aren't brown, so that should help, and it's not like my parents were particularly hostile to Moz and Psycho. I'm just thinking about whether it's a bit much, to expect them to put up with three rats in their house. But I guess it's not much different from having two, provided I can find space to put them. It doesn't help the house has no central heating

@~chameleon~ - Sorry if this is an insensitive question, but how do they die? Do they stop eating? Penny's very sad - hiding in the corner of the cage, not watching tv, sitting quietly on my lap for minutes at a time (normally she just pings off the walls) but she's still got a hearty appetite and she's not neglecting herself. She's still nice and clean, still making her bed etc.

Fire_Fox

Would the rat rescue lady take on your rats for a few days over Xmas, perhaps for a modest donation?

PS. It's my life's ambition to be a crazy cat lady so don't knock it!

giantmutantbroccoli

@FireFox - I stay with my parents for 2 weeks, I couldn't ask her to look after them for that long! Plus it's a holiday, I'd want to be relaxed not worrying about what's happening with my rats.
I've got a friend who didn't mind looking after them before now but she's just got a puppy so she's pretty much got her hands full!

Lol, there's nothing wrong with having lots of cats/rats, sounds like fun! I used to keep chickens, geese, ducks and two dogs when I lived at my parents.

emmas42

My two boys, Psycho and Moz, were brown, rat-ty coloured, and grew pretty big - so they looked just like the wild rats outside. I think that's what put them off.

Most of mine are white or white/coloured. I've just got one brown one, call him my little pet vermin rat

Have just relocated a smaller cage to the front room to try and persuade the mice to naff off. I have a question for you regarding that...
As your parents live on a smallholding I would guess the natural mouse population is quite high. Did you/they ever happen to notice if the scent of the pets rats kept the mice away from that area?

Sorry for hijacking! Just wondering if my theory will work

giantmutantbroccoli

@emmas42 - Aw, cute little vermin! Penny's cream coloured with a pinky/ginger hood - sorry, I mean "champagne hooded". I love the coat colour names.

I only got the rats just before I moved out so I'm afraid I don't know from experience. However, they did have mice outside for a while, on the side where the dogs lived. Now the rats have moved out there, there's no mice. Rats have been known to kill and eat them (bit gruesome, sorry). I don't know what your pet rats would do if they saw a mouse, but I bet if it enroached on their territoy they'd attack it. Probably the smell would put the mice off anyway, because even if the mice didn't know the rats were a danger to them they'd still be competing for the same food, and mice are quite timid.

It's a good idea. We used to walk the dogs around the chicken field to try and put the fox off, the principles the same. Mind you, that would only have worked if we'd left the dogs in the field at night

~Chameleon~

giantmutantbroccoli wrote: »

@~chameleon~ - Sorry if this is an insensitive question, but how do they die? Do they stop eating? Penny's very sad - hiding in the corner of the cage, not watching tv, sitting quietly on my lap for minutes at a time (normally she just pings off the walls) but she's still got a hearty appetite and she's not neglecting herself. She's still nice and clean, still making her bed etc.

She does sound to be grieving but it's a good sign that she's still eating, drinking and cleaning herself. Some will just sit in a corner and basically give up on life. I'm sure she'll perk up no end with a new pair of pups to entertain her

Just out of curiosity, are the new pups male or female?