This is a subject talked about a lot in the rat community and conclusions widely accepted and communicated are as a plain and simple answer when asked…..no, you should not keep a rat on its own. There are absolutely extreme circumstances when a rat will have to be kept on its own but this is very rare and should only be concluded after trying everything possible first to ensure all possibilities have been attempted. With the correct amounts of knowledge, experience, research and patience almost any lone rat can be introduced to others safely and with much less stress on the rats. Usually this means the correct intro process can be done to easily introduce them, (mostly the carrier method) some may need a hormone adjustment such as a neuter or an implant to make them feel a bit better or in extreme cases something a little more in depth like an extremely slow and modified introduction method is needed to work.
The sad thing is although it’s now widely known rats should have other rat company you still see a lot of people try intros and, for whatever reason it fails just once, they immediately either come to the conclusion that rat must now live on its own or seek the wrong advice and are told to keep them separated and isolate them. Even though this could have been a one off and the “incident” could have been avoided or worked through successfully this lone rat could potentially spend the rest of its life separated from others when it doesn’t need to be.
So with that in mind today I’m just going to run through a few reasons of why rats should be kept in groups (usually a group minimum of 3 is best) and why no matter how good we are as keepers we still can’t give them what other same species company can give them. Most of these people will already know, but it never harms to keep refreshing these in your minds and passing the advice onto others who may ask for advice on the subject.
As rat parents we really do try and give our rats the best lives possible and giving our furry friends other company the same as them is one of the easiest and best ways of giving them the best life possible. It’s all well and good providing them with the best food and cage setup possible but if they have nobody to share all the experiences with that comes to it then it’s going to be a pretty lonely life for them. Because with others they can explore together, play fight and pounce on each other and chase friends around the cage. It’s having others to play with that makes things even more fun and can build a rat’s confidence to levels which make them even better pets. You want your rats to be confident and friendly rather than shy and nervous and a big part of that is them building this confidence with the help of others.
As humans there are just so many things we can’t give them that other rats can. We can’t groom them in the hard to reach areas they just can’t get to themselves. We can’t get in a hammock with them so they have someone to cuddle up with. We can’t keep them warm like being in the middle of a big rat pile can or make them feel safe and secure when they get a little scared by something. They can reassure each other when they are not sure about something and problem solve together when they can’t work something out. Adults teach kittens vital behaviours and manners whilst kittens can bring older rats a new sense of youth and fun.
The plain fact of it all is no matter how much we want to we simply just can’t be around 24 hours a day for them but other rats can. Instinctually they are pack animals who live in large groups in the wild. Just because they are domesticated doesn’t mean years upon years of hard wired genetic instinct goes away. Loneliness can cause depression and anxiety quickly in rats and often they will become clingy towards their owners. This is frequently misinterpreted as the rat really loving a human and being happy but this isn’t the case. You often see phrases scattered around the internet like “Don’t worry I have a lone rat and they are so happy, they never leave me alone” which isn’t good. You want a happy rat with lots of friends that wants to come see its owner because it is happy and content within itself not one so starved of company so much it’s desperately trying to find any sort of affection possible. It’s also worth mentioning that it’s not only mental issues that can be caused by being alone the general stress of loneliness can also start affecting a rats physical health too.
This is why it’s very important to plan ahead so you never have a lone rat situation if it can be avoided. Add 2-3 rats to your group every so often so you have a mix of ages. This is called a “Rolling group”. If you can’t find any registered breeder rats in time then consider a rescue or a Facebook re-homing group. Rats can easily be introduced to each other at any age so you don’t always have to get babies every time. If you decide you don’t want to keep rats anymore then as hard as it may be please consider either re-homing when you get down to your final 2 or at the least have a plan together for when you are down to 1. This is usually having someone ready in advance with a group of rats that they are happy to introduce your last remaining rat to. It’s also worth mentioning that you should never have a lone baby rat, they need same age company while they are growing up so if a breeder ever offers you just 1 then they this should raise red flags and I would recommend you avoid them. Finally if you are thinking of keeping rats but don’t want a minimum of 3-4 rats at any time it’s a good idea to consider another pet that don’t have the social needs or numbers that rats require, as it’s not fair on either rat or owner to be forced into a situation that isn’t ideal for them.
Hopefully that helps some people and if you ever see others needing help on this matter be sure to give them the best advice possible. Most of the time they will either not know or will have been given bad or outdated information so it’s always best to steer them in the right direction and hopefully as a community we can minimise the chances of lone rat situations as much as possible.
Below are a few different sources you can use to obtain some friends for your rats to make sure they are never alone.
The Rat Wiki 