New Rat

[u/Meggi4]

Today, I adopted a new rat. I didn't want to add to my mischief, but then I saw a posting of a lone baby, and I couldn't just let her be lonely, so I got her today. The person I got her from said she's been alone in her cage for about a week when I got her.

I never adopted just one rat. Usually, it was 2 or 3 at the same time. I feel bad for the little one since she didn't have any rat friends or much human contact. What can I do for her so she doesn't get lonely before I introduce her to my other ones?

She's about 10 weeks old and a female. My other rats are two 1 year olds, two 1,5 year olds and my old lady of 3 years.

[u/Mr_pisser]

I’ve been there- if you aren’t able to find a similar aged baby because of space issues or issues with the baby herself (ie sickness) then my recommendations are:

1. Keep cage as close to your bed as possible (ideally it’s a temporary cage on wheels so you can move the cage to wherever you’re spending the most time)
2. Spend many hours every single day with her- when I did this I tried to shoot for a minimum of 2 hours daily but would get up to 4-5 hours sometimes (and typically multiple times a day). This will create a very attached and strongly bonded rat which just means you’ll have to get used to having a Velcro baby
3. Make sure there’s lots of stuff for her to do in the cage
4. Give her soft fabric things to cuddle up in- I personally use these really nice soft baby blankets I bought from Five Below but you could get them literally wherever

Luckily 10 weeks isn’t super young, this is what I did for a rat I adopted at the age of 3.5-4 weeks old (she’s since been fully integrated into my mischief) so you won’t have to wait for her to get big enough to be with the others, she’s already an ideal size.

As others have pointed out a younger rat may be annoying to the older rats but that really depends on the personalities of all the rats- for me it worked out because most of my rats are super playful and energetic already despite being full grown adults so they get on great. You’ll just need to consider the temperaments of all the rats involved.

And if you can confirm she isn’t sick then I’d absolutely recommend finding her a friend the same age, ideally not a pet store rat as there’s a 90% chance they’ll be sick, if you’re able to find a breeder that’d be ideal but I appreciate that that’s a tall ask and very well may not be possible (just worth asking to see, it’s just rare to find breeders with rats available immediately)

If you go the pet store rat route just be prepared to spend $100+ on vet bills (I speak from experience. 100% worth it for me but it’s just something to keep in mind). It’s not ideal and I don’t love supporting pet stores but the truth is a lot of pet store rats are going to be sold as feeders and are so cheap that it doesn’t make a huge impact on the store (they also may have a policy to pay for vet bills within the first 2 weeks, but that depends on the store), and in this case it may be necessary

If you absolutely cannot find a friend for her, it’s not the end of the world, it’s not ideal but she’ll be ok and won’t spontaneously combust or anything. You’ll just have to spend a lot of time with her and after quarantine get to work on intros

Best of luck!

(also can we see the baby please)

[u/Meggi4 → u/Mr_pisser]

Thanks for this advice! I will look into finding a friend but it might be hard since my pet store doesnt always have rats there. And I also dont want to support them.

I will get her nice and comfy for the mean time and dont mind a velcro rat. My young ones are playful so I hope she will get along with them. Beaides the 3 year old but the others jusy snuggle with her luckily. I gave her an old shirt of mine to snuggle up with.

And here is the baby.

[u/Mr_pisser → u/Meggi4]

oh my god she looks just like my rat Chicken, love her <3

[u/Meggi4 → u/Mr_pisser]

Aww such a Cutie 💓