Pet rats - why it's important to have two or more

I find myself ina dilema i didnt think I woudl ahve to deal with so soon. But since I jsut Lost Quinten yesteday, Dant ei snow all alone.. I am not in a position to get more rats right now so he is goignt o have to be a singel rat and I jsut dont know what to do : ( makes me so sad to think about. ad I know it is selfish but I am not going to give him up no matter what....

Peach came to me alone in her cage. Sterling was just a 'neighbour' rat (cages were stacked on each other) and she was so nurturing to Sterling I knew I needed to get them both a companion. And especially after joining this group and seeing so many great groups! And in my area you can only get females, males are only available hours away. They work this out to avoid BYBs. Anyway. I got Puff and it was the first day on neutral ground Peach was in love with her new baby! They moved into their bigger cage on day 2! After a week I got Mellow another young female from Puffs's group (not sure they were all related. Mellow was much smaller) and intro'd end of day one and they were a beautiful trio on day 2 Mellow moved in!
I was looking for a cage mate for Sterling when his health took a turn (not that he was ever really super healthy, he had a URI that he had for goodness knows how long as he'd never seen a vet! And a nasty head tilt and appeared he'd had a stroke or something) and before I could make the trip out Sterling passed. This is where rats' bonds show. Peach went through a few days of sniffing about like she was looking for Sterling's smell and was quieter for a few days. A rat she lived near, not even the same cage she missed.
I'm so happy I have my groups now. Still working on getting the original group and Tatter and Tilly to play without a battle for alpha female. So we are still in separate cages for the time being its just two strong adult females who have been queen in their own cages for that long!
I know eventually they will simmer down and at least be able to free range together.

Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk

Cinderwolf said:

I find myself ina dilema i didnt think I woudl ahve to deal with so soon. But since I jsut Lost Quinten yesteday, Dant ei snow all alone.. I am not in a position to get more rats right now so he is goignt o have to be a singel rat and I jsut dont know what to do : ( makes me so sad to think about. ad I know it is selfish but I am not going to give him up no matter what....

Click to expand...

Just always keep in your mind what's best for Dante! And as soon as you can get more rats you should! With Dante being alone he is more susceptible to depression.

Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk

Cinderwolf said:

I find myself ina dilema i didnt think I woudl ahve to deal with so soon. But since I jsut Lost Quinten yesteday, Dant ei snow all alone.. I am not in a position to get more rats right now so he is goignt o have to be a singel rat and I jsut dont know what to do : ( makes me so sad to think about. ad I know it is selfish but I am not going to give him up no matter what....

Click to expand...

Just spend as much time as you possibly can with him :heart:

Cinderwolf said:

I find myself ina dilema i didnt think I woudl ahve to deal with so soon. But since I jsut Lost Quinten yesteday, Dant ei snow all alone.. I am not in a position to get more rats right now so he is goignt o have to be a singel rat and I jsut dont know what to do : ( makes me so sad to think about. ad I know it is selfish but I am not going to give him up no matter what....

Click to expand...

That's horrible, i'm so sorry to hear that! Poor Dante. :sad3:
I would also feel like you. I could never get rid of any of my rats! But i also could not keep one all by itself, especially him having just lost his friend (which is why i always have more than 2). He would be so, so sad.
How come you can't get another rat? Could you rescue?

Cinderwolf said:

I find myself ina dilema i didnt think I woudl ahve to deal with so soon. But since I jsut Lost Quinten yesteday, Dant ei snow all alone.. I am not in a position to get more rats right now so he is goignt o have to be a singel rat and I jsut dont know what to do : ( makes me so sad to think about. ad I know it is selfish but I am not going to give him up no matter what....

Click to expand...

It's a crappy situation to say the least. Is there a rescue close by that you could foster some friends from? If not then all you can do is having him with you as much as possible. Sorry for your loss :hugs:

Sometimes people can't get more rats.

I would never be able to give up a rattie either.
:hugs:

I live with my paretns so whent hey say no more rats i have ot stick with it. I am also nto sur eI am ready to take in more. it is really hard. I didnt think I would be faced with this situation so soon I hadnt even thought about it.

Cinderwolf said:

I live with my paretns so whent hey say no more rats i have ot stick with it. I am also nto sur eI am ready to take in more. it is really hard. I didnt think I would be faced with this situation so soon I hadnt even thought about it.

Click to expand...

Ah yes, i see. What a difficult situation. Do your parents know that's it's important for rats to have a cagemate? I wonder if they would let you rescue a rat Dante's age? If not, i do understand you have to listen to them.

I too am always going back and forth in my mind: Is the excruciating pain of loosing them really worth it, or Is the joy of having them worth the pain of loosing them.
Then i felt responsible because i CAN give them a good home and felt that i SHOULD even if it tears me up every time when i loose them.
Then i thought i'd take a break to see how i felt, and i was down to 3 older rats and i panicked at the thought of them possibly being my last, so it was a relief to get more.
So now i'm trying to work hard on accepting loss a little easier. And i think i'd like to keep rats the rest of my life.
It's a super hard decision, and everybody's different. One of my friends just can't have rabbits anymore because of the pain she went through when she lost her first one. But she can have guinea pigs just fine.

So if you can't get another rat and you can't get rid of Dante, the only thing is to spend lots and lots of time with him. As much as you can have him out of his cage with you, especially now as he's grieving.
Some ideas:
-Mine like to sleep in the hood of my hoody as i do things around the house.
-On one of the couches i put a big comforter so i can wash it, and i sit on it with them with their toys.
-Or if you can't use a couch, maybe a folding camping chair with a blanket on it and you can let him climb on you as you watch tv.
-Some people set up a play area in the tub (easy to clean) and you can sit with him there too (just make sure the toilet cover is down if you leave the room.)

Anyway best of luck. And again, i'm very sorry for your loss

I saw this vid on youtube the night I got my first rat. I went out the next day and rescued two rats who were destined to be sold to snake lovers. I think my first rat appreciates the friends.