New rats?

Hello from a new member!
I'm a complete rat novice but doing lots of reading up in readiness for getting a pair of female rats. I want rats because they are friendly, interested and intelligent.
I was advised to buy from a breeder who's handled the rats every day which seemed good advice. But when I went round to see the rats, they obviously hadn't been handled and they weren't eating, the breeder said. They were very skittish and I didn't get to handle them because she had several cats circling!
What should I do? Should I go ahead and get these 3 month old rats, or should I walk away? I would really appreciate your advice.

Kate Long said:

Hello from a new member!
I'm a complete rat novice but doing lots of reading up in readiness for getting a pair of female rats. I want rats because they are friendly, interested and intelligent.
I was advised to buy from a breeder who's handled the rats every day which seemed good advice. But when I went round to see the rats, they obviously hadn't been handled and they weren't eating, the breeder said. They were very skittish and I didn't get to handle them because she had several cats circling! The house was a mess and jammed with animals.
What should I do? Should I go ahead and get these 3 month old rats, or should I walk away? I would really appreciate your advice.

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I would walk away.. Buying may influence the breeder to breed more.. If you can find a rescue nearby then I'd go for that.!

Thank you. What's the optimum age for a new rat, would you say?

Hi, since you are in the UK, things may be different then here in North America
By that I mean here we have a problem with many rats in need of good homes - in shelters, rescues and being rehomed by their owners. I do not know if that is the case in the UK
I would encourage you to try to get rats form a shelter, a good rescue or rats that are being rehomed.

IMO there is no optimum age for getting rats, but if getting babies they should be at least 6 weeks old and need to come in same sex pairs or groups.
Since you are new to having pet rats, you may want to get rats that are well socialized, but it really does not take much to socialize ratties (see joinrats.com for ideas)

Here is some info you may find helpful https://www.ratshackforum.com/threads/thinking-of-getting-a-rat-things-to-consider.32306/
and the Reference Thread is a good place to check out too https://www.ratshackforum.com/threads/reference-thread-read-only.35894/

Before getting rats, make sure you have access to a good vet with the knowledge and experience to treat rats - this is essential

SQ said:

Hi, since you are in the UK, things may be different then here in North America
By that I mean here we have a problem with many rats in need of god homes - in shelters, rescues and being rehomed by their owners. I do not know if that is the case in the UK
I would encourage you to try to get rats form a shelter, a good rescue or rats that are being rehomed.

There is no optimum age for getting rats, but if getting babies they should be at least 6 weeks old and need to come in same sex pairs or groups.
Since you are new to having pet rats, you may want to get rats that are well socialized, but it really does not take much to socialize ratties (see joinrats.com for ideas)

Here is some info you may find helpful https://www.ratshackforum.com/threads/thinking-of-getting-a-rat-things-to-consider.32306/
and the Reference Thread is a good place to check out too https://www.ratshackforum.com/threads/reference-thread-read-only.35894/

Before getting rats, make sure you have access to a good vet with the knowledge and experience to treat rats - this is essential

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That is really helpful, thank you. Especially the line about instinct and red flags. I will keep looking.

I definitely agree, a breeder who allows cats near the rats, young or otherwise, is obviously not concerned with the safety of her animals or is just ignorant. If she says they were handled and ALL of the rats are skittish and running from you, she lied to you. If she lied to you on socialization, what else did she lie to you about? That's my concern with the breeder.

I also see this Red Flag List in a lot of dog groups--if the breeder is breeding more than two or three breeds of dogs/species of animal at the same time, they're generally in it for the money and not in it for the health of the animal (I saw this with German shepherds, Arabian horses, budgies or finches, and some kind of cow being bred all at once. I saw all of these breeding projects at once and was immediately turned off). If they have a constant supply of baby animals, that is the same as well. I can understand a breeder possibly breeding (an example) of rats, then gerbils, then hamsters, but never all at once. Obviously, another example is, the breeder doesn't have more than four or five litters because at that point, it becomes impossible to socialize upwards of forty to fifty rat pups properly.

I would definitely recommend a rescue as well. Depending on what the UK has, looking in Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, Kijiji, or even the newspaper (or any of these listed things equivalents) should help you see if there are any rats that need a new home.

I am very grateful for your point of view. Because we're not experienced with rats, I wasn't confident, but my gut was telling me to walk away. X

And your gut was right! Rescue rats are just as great as baby rats (and I do prefer the older, more slowed down boys anyways).