# how many rats is too many?



## darkiss4428 (May 31, 2014)

my friend has several rats and says there is no such thing as too many if you can agford to take care of them(food housing health care the works) and the time of day to spend with them, she got me into them and letting my boys free range then rotateing to girls in separate rooms what are thoughts on this?


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## LeStan82 (Dec 31, 2013)

Let me start off by saying I love all of my rats. They are a joyful handful. But, they are a handful! l have 6 boys and have discovered that is all I can handle at one time. Some times I feel it is a bit too many, especially at free range time...lol.( they get the whole bedroom for free range time)..they all are constantly getting into something, chewing something and are all over the place. Its hard work keeping up with 6 ratties....lol. .I have mischievous litttle boogers! so I guess you would have to ask yourself how many can you afford?( vet bills: what if more than one is sick. Food expense: the more you have the more food you go through. Housing: the more you have the bigger the cage will need to be and are expensive for proper cage. How many can you put up with at free range time? More ratties = more $ and more mess and more time. They are wonderful, fun,loving little critters. only you can decide how many is too many for you.  best wishes


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## Marie5656 (Jun 1, 2014)

Too many would be one more than you are comfortable with. I think every owner will have a different answer. My two will always be enough for me. They are very active, and Both a handful. Especially Roxy. Roxy has lovingly become nicknamed my little brat.
I think we all have to know our limits, financially, and time wise.


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## darkiss4428 (May 31, 2014)

i have 4 girls and three boys as of today got two free because they were gonna be snake food cost iant a problem we both work security and make 175 a night 6 nights a week i have no problem with mine but she has way more than me i keep in my bed room and free range in the living room that my knowledge is rat proof lol she has a entire room for hers aswell to free roam and its set up where they can free range 12 hours each so i was just wondering how many anyone would think would be too many


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

I have twelve (reigning champ of ratforum?!?) and it's not too many. You need to be able to spend time, socialize, provide food, entertainment (new toys minimum monthly), and vet care with each. You should never approach an absolute limit such that if some fell ill all at once you couldn't nurse them all. 

The number is different for everyone. It depends on time, schedules, management skills, money, space, etc. 

Twelve rats take about four hours a day, $200 in a six month period for bedding/toys/food, with vet bills varying ($35/rat, $20 meds)


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## ksaxton (Apr 20, 2014)

I mean as long as you have the time, money, space, etc you can have as many rats as you want. There are people on the rat Facebook groups who have 50+. However, even if you have all the resources to have lots of rats, you've got to consider whether or not you have the patience and energy for all of them. We all know what a handful rats can be, I only have four and free range time can quickly become too much when one starts chewing on the door and the other is digging through the trash an yet another is peeing on my bed. I don't think I would have the patience to deal with more than maybe 6, and certainly not the energy. 


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## Bronte18 (Jun 2, 2014)

I agree with the others, It depends on how many your comfortable with. I live quite comfortably and can afford vet visits regularly for all my pets and I have 6 rats. Its the time for them I think is the issue if I had to have more, I don't work just now so have all day to spend with my rats, I don't think it would be fair or right to have any more, they all need the individual love and care that they are getting right now, and that's with me spending an hour 1 on 1 time with each rat that's 6 hours of my day already, plus the free ranging time we have together, my room is rat proof and I can usually leave them unsupervised for short periods of time depending on where my oldest rat is, during this time ill go downstairs, prepare food, spend time with my parrot etc. Most of the time im in the room with them anyways but they usually just do their own thing during free range and I do mines. Anyway, any more than 6 for me is not fair on any animal as my time is already taken up by them!


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## delilahrene (Nov 1, 2013)

Aside from expenses, it only become a problem when you cannot give each individual the attention they deserve. I do believe there is a limit, but it is different for everyone. The most rats I have had at one point is 6, based off this I think the most I could comfortably have is 7 or 8. Personally, if I cannot have a strong bond with each and every pet then it means I have too many. Rats are way too easy to collect because they are small and easy to house


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## inod3 (Jun 13, 2014)

It depends. I mean, at one extreme you have people breeding for non-pet reasons that might have hundreds of rats. They're able to feed, house, and clean the cages but obviously they aren't looking to provide socialization or spend time playing with the rats. They just don't care about that. For those who keep rats as pets obviously we have a different measure of care and not everyone is looking for the same thing in their pet rats. So the answer will vary depending on your goals and the time and resources you have to spend.

For me, I look at it in a "What does it add to my enjoyment of having pet rats?" context. I have three girls. I like 3-4. One rat is obviously not a good choice because it will get lonely. Two rats is good. A concern might be when one dies the other is now alone and you're back to one rat again. Three gives you a little insurance on that - when one dies you still have two and can replace the lost rat before you get to one. I like to replace the lost rat with two more. It gives the new rats company until you can introduce them and if you do quarantine. Giving me a 3-4 count.

Past four, for me, it has diminishing returns. Three-four rats keeps me busy and entertained. I get to know them well, their individual personalities. I just don't see the need to increase numbers beyond that. That isn't to say someone else shouldn't or won't enjoy having five, six, etc... rats.


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## darkiss4428 (May 31, 2014)

i don't feel so bad with how many i have now lol, i have 4 girls and 3 boys


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## darkiss4428 (May 31, 2014)

my friend has like 3 girls and 7 boys


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## MssofCeremony (Jun 28, 2014)

I'm not sure. I think the rats benefit from having more cagemates, so if I would have six instead of two, it might not be worse from the rats perspective at all - possibly better. I don't think it's bad to have 'just' two, but I think rats like bigger groups and might prefer a big group even if it means sharing their human.

I have been to peoples houses where they had forty rats or more. One house had quite a bad smell, though I don't think that bothers the rats as much as it did me. Another house smelled ok but had a lot of small cages with just 1-2 rats per cage. That made me think maybe if there were less rats they'd have bigger cages and would be better off. Those cages were way too small in my opinion, though it is entirely possible they were only in those cages for having babies or waiting to get introduced to the bigger groups that lived in large cages. I didn't ask.

If someone has a big room where the rats can roam around and has lots of money for vet bills and has enough time to keep their cages clean, I don't really see a problem.


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## ClassicFAIL (Aug 2, 2013)

I only have chase right now, but sometimes he is more then i can handle, I think it is because he is deaf. He listens when I can get his attention and he's near me. But I am getting a baby soon and the one I have in mind already listens to me and behaves very well.


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## Perocore (Jan 6, 2014)

I think the number of rats depends on both you and your current rats. If you have the room and time of day to give each individual rat attention and think you can handle more, then the only other limiting factor (besides money) is your current rats. Would adding more rats make your current rats happier or would it do just the opposite, because it takes away from the time you're spending with them? How does more rats affect what you have now in terms of time spent with you and over all happiness and health? More rats means more playmates, but it also means more stress.

For me, I was very happy with my two boys, but part of me really wanted to add a third (and a thirty-sixth, haha) to the pack. It took a lot of debating with myself before deciding to go with it, and I only did because I have the room in the cage with the boys, and because my boys' personalities collide so much that I figured Isaac needs a buffer from his hyper brother, and Styles needs a playmate, hence bringing the new baby into the pack. 

A lot of people are right in thinking about money and their own time, but often times the current rats are forgotten in the process, does a new playmate benefit them? While rats are social creatures, just like us humans, they are all individuals and not might appreciate even more playmates, just as some humans prefer only a small number of close friends.

Not sure if that makes sense...but there's my two cents!


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## MssofCeremony (Jun 28, 2014)

It does make sense - but how would you know before you started introductions?


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## xColdBones (Jun 21, 2014)

I feel like 3 ratties would be the most I could go to, maybe 4. Obviously, that's only me. I feel like you can have as many rats/pets as long as you can give each one proper care, love, and attention.


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## Jessiferatu (Apr 30, 2014)

Right now I have 7 rats - 5 boys and 2 girls. I love all my ratties to death but this is definitely my limit, lol. In the future I'd prefer 3-4 at a time.

What's too many? Depends on the person and how much time and money they can devote to their rats' care.


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## Aeyna (Jun 16, 2014)

Right now we are handling 3 just fine, and although I've promised no more rats to my boyfriend, I keep eyeing this girl at a local rescue: https://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/29346246/

She's just so cute, but I don't want to lose a human relationship for an extra rattie one...


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## portkeytonowhere (Dec 24, 2007)

I currently have 5 boys and 2 girls. I feel more than 8 rats is too much for me but 6 seems to be a perfect number. 

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## portkeytonowhere (Dec 24, 2007)

portkeytonowhere said:


> I currently have 5 boys and 2 girls. I feel more than 8 rats is too much for me but 6 seems to be a perfect number.
> 
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7 is lucky number though. Sorry I just realized that it looks like I've miscounted how many rats I have and Idk how to edit on this app. 3 girls and 3 boys is where I'm happiest. But no more than 8 for me 

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