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Post by bumblebee on Nov 13, 2013 18:24:08 GMT
Hi all im new hear and was just looking for some advice. I am thinking of adopting some rats and have been offered 4 with a big cage accessories for free or i can have two to put in my own smaller cage. My partner thinks that four is just a stupid idea but wanted to get your views. I have never kept rats before and these are 8month old does the lady also has two boys who i could have with the cage but id rather the girls due to the smell of boys. So what is your view is four just to many or not.
thank you in advance for your help!
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Post by SarahHound on Nov 13, 2013 18:55:32 GMT
Hmmm, that is hard! What sort of cage do the group of 4 come with? A lot of rat cages are unsuitable, meaning you may find you have to buy a larger cage for the 4 when you get them anyway. No reason why you shouldn't have 4 though, rats are lovely to watch in big groups, but you're right, they can be a bit smelly, you need to wash everything often. If you have the time to do this though and spend time interacting with 4, then go for it! Honestly, I'd be tempted by the 4, but each to their own
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Post by bumblebee on Nov 13, 2013 20:06:39 GMT
Dimensions: W 48cm x D 78cm x H 70cm Dimensions Height (in m): 0.7 Depth (in m): 0.79 Width (in m): 0.48
I live in a 2 bed flat with my partner and 3 children so don't want to many smells. We did have male mice not to long ago and honestly they made me feel sick. Are they as bad as them? Funny thing is my mum thinks my hamster stinks and i don't really notice it unless im a bit late on the weekly clean. I have her out of her cage every night and will be the same with the rats (not at the same time obviously. So do they smell more than hamsters?
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Post by SarahHound on Nov 13, 2013 22:34:16 GMT
Well I don't actually have rats, but looked after them a few times and personally thought they smelled way worse than hamsters, but then, I've never noticed hamsters having a smell. My hamsters are cleaned once every 3 months, and even then, they don't smell.
That cage, to me, seems a little small for 4, but then it has lots of height and rats do like to climb, so I think they could probably be quite happy. It really is up to you, hard decision. I think 4 males would smell, but if you keep up with the cleaning, they shouldn't.
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Post by bubbles87 on Nov 14, 2013 7:19:40 GMT
Rats are naturally social animals so they advise rats are kept as a pair at minimum so basically the more the merrier but obviously you need to make sure their cage is suitable and that you have enough time to keep all 4 plus your hamster socialised with humans. I don't own rats but my friend use to own 4 males & think it wad 7/8 females. Females all liked together but the males 2 lived together & the other 2 had their own cages as they all didn't get along. Her rat cages took up nearly half her living room because of the size you need and yes they can smell if you don't keep on top of cleaning.
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