Optimum No. of rats per cage?

[pagz]

Just wondering what the more experienced members think the best number of rats to have in a cage is (ie. before it becomes too crowded/they start bickering amongst themselves).

Since I'm looking to buy my first rats, I'm wondering whether to buy 2 or 3 of them. I know they say its best to keep a minimum of 2, but would they feel better if there are 3 instead? I'd like them to feel as comfortable as possible in their new home!

[christie]

Really as long as your cage is big enough and you can afford the vet bills, the more the merrier. Rats live in large groups and are happy that way. So i would say to get 3 over the 2.

[Colleen]

Two would be fine, more would be great, but a hand full.

once you have found a cage you like, you can fine out how many rats it can hold by going here: www.rattycorner.com/odds/calc.shtml

[Kim]

I have cages that are big enough to hold between 12 - 20 rats per cage.

I find with my rats that they tend to fight more when they have loads of extra room.

So if I had 6 rats in a 16 rat cage I would have a number of fights breaking out.

Where as having 16 rats in a 16 rat cage I tend to have less fights.

Of course rats are individuals and therefore not all rats are like mine.

I dont think it would make much difference to the rats if there were 2 or 3, for you though if you had 3 there would be more personalities to watch.

[christie]

I actually found i liked having 3 or 4 because i could take one out for some one on one time and not have only the one left in the cage.

[tassiebetty]

I recommend keeping a even number, only because ive found they seem to get on better, mine tend to pair up and sleep in pairs togeather for some strange reason! Maybe its because they are all males. Our rat cage is pretty large for them, they love all the space to explore and they can get away ;)from each other if they want to..

[tariss]

It's sad that my parents won't let me get more than two ratties. I'd love more! But two it'll have to be... Maybe I can somehow convince them.... *sneaky eyes* lol. I don't think that's gonna work! Though my cage is certainly large enough for more than two!

[Kim]

TassieBetty, my male rats are the opposite of yours, they get on much better when they dont have a lot of space.



Tariss are you getting your rats from a breeder or from a pet shop?

[wulfyskingdom]

On the comment of getting away from each other, not necessarily cage size related (as both smaller/larger sizes work, just depends on the rats & numbers) but I read on a rat behaviour study someone did that when it comes to fights, always make sure there is room for the attacked rat to get away - have nesting boxes with two openings etc as if the attacked rat starts to fight back the situation can escalate.

I havent really had a problem but I have seen one of my boys get cornered before and they looked so tense.

[nathan]

i kept two rats per a cage

[tariss]

Oops, sorry Kim, I haven't read this thread for a bit, so my bad for not posting earlier.
I'm going to get my ratties from a pet store, mainly because there aren't any proper breeders that I know of in this area, and I've inquired about the rats in their store and they breed their own rats. Though the cage seems slightly smaller than it should be, it's clean and they seem happy enough. and I've handled them a few times, and they don't seem bothered by it at all. They're very tame. They also get a bit of variety in their diet (Most times I come there, there's fresh vegetables in there) So, yeah, long story short. I'm getting them from a pet store.

[oldratmum]

so, I'm better off getting 2?

how would a de-sexed male and a female go?

or is it better to keep the same sex together?

and what is the "best" cage system?

oldratmum (christine)

[Kim]

2 are normally better than one.

A de-sexed male can live with a female happily.

The male can not go in with the female until at least 4 weeks after he has been de-sexed though.

De-sexing a female can help stop her getting tumours later on, but not always.

De-sexing a male can help stop hormonal aggression if the male is prone to it, but not always.

Rats also dont have to be related to live together, so you can have 2 males or 2 females from different litters or ecven different breeders, and they will normally be happy to live together.



By best cage system, what do you mean?

Size?

Toys?

[oldratmum]

Kim wrote <<<By best cage system, what do you mean?

Size? Toys?>>>

I come from the dark ages of rat keeping. No lovely hammocks or toys etc, just what I could think up. And the cages were small and plain

Several years ago, I had ferrets......they had the BEST toys etc that I could afford......(and to watch a confused greyhound watching a ferret springing on the lawn is priceless!!)

Now there are as many (if not more) options for rat house/life enrichment than any other animals, barring dogs and cats.

I have my eye on a 3 tier cage, it has a hammock already

Would like an igloo (or 2) fleece hammock, and tube-y thing, rope climber and a twist-y, rope-y thing

I want a cage big enough that if I went from 2 to 4 or even 6 rats(shh...don't tell the DH ) I would have enough room without "needing" another cage.

I know what I'm like, I started with a 3 foot marine aquarium, added a 6 foot, and a 60 litre, now I NEED an 8 foot long job, and I'll be able to buy more fish

[Kim]

Nov 18, 2008 22:51:52 GMT 10 oldratmum said:

I come from the dark ages of rat keeping. No lovely hammocks or toys etc, just what I could think up. And the cages were small and plain

Christine, I also started "in the dark ages" I'm not that much younger than you.



2009 will make it 19 years since I got my first rat.

I lived in a small outback town in the N.T at the time and my first rat lived alone in a very small cage, too small in fact, as I had no idea it was better for them to have a rat friend as well as me and I had no idea about toys or bedding or food or cage space or anything at all.

Everything I have learned has been from trial and error and just watching and studying my rats and until about 4 or 5 years ago I didnt even have a clue that the colours had actual names other than white, black, orange, grey.

The internet is a great tool for learning all this stuff I wish I had it 19 years ago.

Now I know there is Topaz, Cinnamon, PEW, BEW, Mink, Dove, Agouti, and so on...



Basically I didnt understand what you meant by the words "cage system", which was why I was asking, because I wasnt sure if you wanted to know cage size, or just what type of toys or where the best place to put it was.

Unfortunately my brain works the opposite to most peoples as I see words not as words but as pictures so sometimes I can get confused easily and not understand something someone is trying to get across to me.

So please forgive me when or if I dont get what you are saying right away.

As for a cage, you can buy a cage like this on ebay for around $65-



Which is good for 2 to 4 adult rats.


Or this one for around $165-



These can fit up to 20 adult rats, so 2 to 4 rats would love this one. This one is good value for for cost but I have 2 of these and dont like the doors much as they just have small flip down doors that you close with a bit of steel that drops down over the door... not my fave cage door wise, space wise its great though. Its easy for the rats to get that bar up.


Or this one you can buy for around $425- *A bit cheaper if you bid and win rather than buying it straight up*



Again this one can also fit around 16 to 20 rats. This one is slightly better than the one above in the fact that the doors open up wide and have a proper catch on the door which the rats can not open easily. Again 2 to 4 rats would love this cage.



Here is a photo of one of my cages like this one above...



I had this one set up so that my very young girls were at the top and my very young boys were in the bottom, now that they have gotten older I've again made it one cage so the girls now have the whole top and bottom to run around in and the boys have their own cage to.

I have 4 of these (2 full of girls and 2 full of boys) plus 2 of the ones before this, with the doors I dont like. Again 1 is full of girls and 1 is full of boys.

I have between 11 and 18 rats in each cage.

But basically it depends on how much space you have for a cage, if you can fit a huge cage in then get it, even if you only have 2 or 4 rats as they will love the space and you can include more hammocks and toys if you want to and there will be enough room if you decide to get even more rats later on.



As for toys, bird toys and ferret toys are the best things for rats.

Anything you can get for a ferret you can give to a rat basically, so their hammocks, their toys.

Wooded hanging bird toys, even some strong plastic ones are also good for rat toys, bird ladders, nesting boxes.

Also some guinea pig and rabbit things like guinea pig igloos are great for rats.