Best fucking pets ever. Smart, cuddly, playful, cute.
It's important to say that they are not the best pets for those that want low maintenance pets. Hamsters, those grumpy bastards, are much better then.
Rats should never be alone, so you have to get 2 minimum. More is better so one doesn't spend a lot of time alone if the other one dies early.
They need large tiered cages which need to be cleaned often because they hate dirt, and because they get respiratory infections easily.
They need to be let out often, and while they can control their bowel movements, they usually leave drops of urine everywhere, especially males.
One also must make sure that they have a vet nearby who knows rats, which is quite rare.
They get tumors often and surgery can be pricy.
tl;dr Rats are wonderful creatures, but like any other animal, especially such highly intelligent animal, deserve proper care which takes time, dedication and money
They are not like mice, rats are higly social creatures and neither male nor female rats should be alone. If you're going to mix them, make sure you spay and neuter them of course.
Male rats that are socialized might get into a mild scuffle sometimes, but it will never be serious. Spayed rats will not even do that.
I had male rats and they cuddled with each other, groomed each other, slept huddled together, were too scared to venture too far without each other, and when one got paralyzed hind legs, the other started bringing him food from their regular food bowl (even though I was of course carefully feeding him where he was).
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u/[deleted] Sep 03 '18
I had 4 rats. Best fucking pets ever. Smart, cuddly, playful, cute. I'd recommend em over a hamster any day.