Looking for a rat.

Hi, Im looking for a baby rat (male) but am having a difficult time in finding one. There are curently no rats in the DSPCA or other rescue shelters. Can anyone suggest the best place to adopt/rescue/buy a rat? I have the cage/food/toys etc - just waiting for the lil dude now. Any advice woulod be greatly appreciated.

~ Laura

Hi Well,i would strongly recommend getting a pair of rats,two boys or two girls as they really need a companion-it doesnt really change much in the way of care or cage size,and you get the pleasure of seeing them interact i would recommend talking to Zoundz (Laura) on here,she is the only breeder id recommend

Hi and welcome to the Forum... :-)

Just to mention to you, that you will need more than one "lil dude"! Rats are highly social animals and need their own kind for company.... Keep an eye out on these boards as rescues/rehomes do sometimes come up!

Have a look around here and there is a uk version to, will give you some really good thoughts about the rats!

Best of luck

Thank you Grace and Abdou, for your excellent advice, which i will take on board but at the moment with my living conditions it was thought that having a single rat would do seen as though i am almost house-bound so that I could be the rats companion. I'll take note of what you have both said, thank you for your replies.

Laura,

Just to say that two pet rats are no more work than a single rat....and during your sleeping hours they would be company for each other...

To give you an example from my own experience:- In my original 5 pet rats, I had 2 left.... one had a couple of tumours and had already been operated on (wasnt putting her through another op) and the other was old and frail.....we made the difficult decision to put them both down at the same time so one would not be left on her own.....

Best of luck with it all...they're great fun!!

hi laura, it is absolutely vital that you keep rats in pairs or more. even if you spent 24/7 with him (which is impossible) you still cant interact with him the same way another rat would, i.e communitcating, grooming, playing. rats who are on their own can also develop aggression issues and end up seriously depressed. some can even end up refusing to eat, and eventually dying from being so lonely.
but if you decide to get two (please do!) i am looking for a home for a buck at the moment. he is somewhere in the rehoming section!

Thanks guys, i will look for a pair of rats, although the cage i have would only suit one, and i spent €230 on it so i'll see if i can sell that as its brand new and buy a larger cage or combine two cages. I have had single rats before when i was in my teens and one lived 3 yrs, the other 3 and half yrs, they went everywhere with me never had problems with agression with them although Rolo was a lil stubborn at times

wow, do you have a pic or link of the cage? a cage that costs that much you would think would fit a couple of rats!
they mightnt of shown any signs of loneliness, but since we're not able to communicate with them we cant possibly know what theyre feeling. rats are always happier in pairs or more, and as a pet owner you should want to have them as happy as possible.

I would love to see a cage that costs that much that wouldn't be fine for a pair! I'd expect it to be gold plated!

xx

I know, it cost a fortune and it was one of the cheapest cages in the store, the dearest rat cage being €450 - was in Petstop in Airside
I will get a pair of rat babies, when i can find them but am worried about the cage now.... as the pet shop guy told me that the cage i have would only suit one, i may have to be creative and attach another cage to it.

without sounding snooty, petshop workers are usually full of crap. i doubt your cage wouldnt fit even a couple of rats, i dont think theres a hamster cage in the world that would cost that much. can you take a pic or give me the name? im taking a litter of babies off someone who can no longer care for them cos theyre emigrating next week, so youre welcome to a pair of boys when theyre weaned. if youre looking for another cage, a critter 2 is a good option, costs 90euro and can hold about 3-4 rats provided they get regular free-ranging time outside of the cage.

Okay i'll try to figure out how to attach a pic, can you let me know if this cage is too small? Cant find name of it. Im thinking of bringing it back esp if it is not suitable enough for rats.

https://i.servimg.com/u/f74/18/17/24/45/100_0312.jpg


https://i.servimg.com/u/f74/18/17/24/45/100_0311.jpg

https://servimg.com/u/f74/18/17/24/45/100_0312.jpg

Not sure how to upload pic....

hmmm - i think it would be OK for a pair of lazy boys provided they got tons of free-ranging time... but i would bring it back and get a critter 2 since its 140 euro less than what you paid and loads more room. :0 you can get them in any petmania store, would you be able to get to santry? where did you get the hammock ropey thing? XD ive wanted one for ages.

Im gonna head to petmania in santry tomorrow and see what they have cage-wise. I got the rope shelf in Airside retail park in Petstop - €20, it can be a hammock or a shelf depending on how tight you attach it to cage. Thanks for the advice
I'll let ya know bout taking 2 of your boys

I would take it back as you have been 'had' - that cage is not worth more than €100! It's fine for 3-4 boys anyway - but the doors are small and it looks like it'd be a struggle to get rats in and out easily.

xx

Thank you Laura....i knew when i bought it that i was being ripped off but i was all excited coz i love buying things for my pets. I shall be returning it and i may just have to give them some stick about the matter
Thanks for the advice too, am so pleased that i found this site and forum
xx

No problem, and then I would look online - ebay is good for cages too, as is www.zooplus.ie but yeah, that's a hell of a lot of money for that cage. BUT, if they won't take it back and/or you want to keep it - it is fine for 3 lads

xx