Is there a way to avoid getting two rats?

I only want one rat, I haven't had one in a really long time so I want to make it easy for myself and just get one. I know it's apparently more healthy for your rat if you give them a friend, but is there a way I can avoid getting to? Like how can I make it okay to just get one? Like if I spend more time with it or whatever Hopefully I'm making sense lol

KawaiiCallie said:

I only want one rat, I haven't had one in a really long time so I want to make it easy for myself and just get one. I know it's apparently more healthy for your rat if you give them a friend, but is there a way I can avoid getting to? Like how can I make it okay to just get one? Like if I spend more time with it or whatever Hopefully I'm making sense lol

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it's really really not fair to a rat to not get them a friend, watch this video it explains some of the reasons
https://youtu.be/cDy3bMRuobE


that being said, there are some rare instances where a rat can not live with a buddy, such as an overly aggressive male rat. Neutering a hormonal male usually makes it so they can live with females or other males but I have heard some ppl say that they just could not get a certain rat to get along with any other rat they put him with (I have never heard of this with a female but I guess it's possible...)

here is more about that; please read thru the whole thing, though, not just the parts about those rare cases, so you are going into this with your eyes wide open to what it means for the rat involved ok?

http://www.curiousv.com/curiosityrats/files/infolone.html

Think it through a little. You want to make it easier on yourself, but that will result in much more work for you than just having two rats due to the time you will have to spend making sure your rat isn't lonely. Two rats really isn't more work than one. And imagine living your whole life with a cat and never speaking to another human again. It might be a nice cat, and I'm sure you would love him, but wouldn't you still want to talk to a person?

They are so much happier and healthier in groups- I know it might sound strange but it will be easier on you to get two and probably cheaper on vet bills as well.

Honestly... rats really need to be with other rats. Have you thought about hamsters? Some can be really friendly and do much better alone.

No, rats need to live with at least one other rat
and it is much easier to have 2 or 3 rats then it would be to try to care for 1 lone rat

As Jorats suggested, you might want to research getting a type of hamster that prefers to live alone (some species of hamsters need to live with other hamsters)

You could try to find someone who has a lone rat already because the rat doesn't like living with other rats. I've had two of those. They had to be separated from their cagemate because they literally sliced them open (of course one of them sliced me open and the other was my heart rat who kissed me everyday and loved being with me as I loved being with her).

I have had rats that were aggressive toward other rats ... one boy I rescued would try to kill other rats ..... but getting them spayed or neutered and finding the right combo of rats to introduce them to is important.

For example, when I finally, carefully, introduced Christmas to a group of baby rats he became their surrogate father, he loved them and they loved him ...... Christmas, the aggressive boy who tried to kill other rats even months after being neutered, finally had a family and the companionship of other rats.

No, it is not ok to keep a rat living by itself except in the short term as you work towards integrating them with at least one other rat.

I agree with SQ. I've had plenty of aggressive males and I always managed to get them to be with a buddy. Plus, a new rat person taking on an aggressive rat is a recipe for disaster.