# Male Rats vs Female Rats (Pros & Cons)



## Matt_89 (Nov 26, 2013)

I am getting my 2 baby rats in January, I have spoke to my breeder and she says that male rats would be better as this is the first time I ever own rats. I have suggested to her that I would be getting male rats but I am not 100% sure which sex to go for. Can anyone help? I have got the Freddy 2 cage for them as a starter cage but I will be getting a bigger cage next year sometime. If you could tell me your pros and cons for both, also if you could suggest which one would be better as my first rats I would be grateful, thanks.


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## skar (Aug 3, 2013)

Male / female ... It really doesn't matter . Males are a bit more lazy and can be territorial with new comers.
I prefer females now because I have multiple rats but both are great pets.
Females also scent mark less frequently. I suggest females because I'm paranoid of fighting rats . 
As your first rats try to pick two explorative rats that are not timid.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Without knowing your lifestyle, males are what I suggest for first rats. They're lazier less prone to all the ailments like tumors and hld, and generally mellow. 

However, if you want someone to play then girls will be best. But you've gotta have at least an hour you can sit and play with them not just let them run around. 

It depends on your lifestyle and your desires. 


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## Matt_89 (Nov 26, 2013)

nanashi7 said:


> Without knowing your lifestyle, males are what I suggest for first rats. They're lazier less prone to all the ailments like tumors and hld, and generally mellow.
> 
> However, if you want someone to play then girls will be best. But you've gotta have at least an hour you can sit and play with them not just let them run around.
> 
> ...


 Well I want something I can play with and I will sit with my rats for at least an hour 5 days a week, but also as they are my first I don't want them scatty in the cage but I do want them playful in there own way. Also I have heard that male rats very smelly is this true and if so how bad are they?


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

I do not think my males smell. I have two intact and one neutered. They pee more but it smells like pee. 

Girls are very playful but sometimes too energetic for you. I love males because they come to the door just to be loved and seek me out just for love. The girls climb all over a quick grooming session an are off to play. 


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## Mball77 (Jul 3, 2013)

I got males hoping for lazy lap rats to watch TV with me. This was not the case for my boys. Last night they ran around from 8pm till 12 none stop. Like girls they run up to say hi (or groom my hair) then run off to do their rat things. They just recently got cuddly with me regularly when it got cold out. All rats are different and there are always exceptions to the rules male or female. These are my first rats and if I learned anything try as hard as you can to get babies to socialize them better earlier. Mine where already "teenagers" when I got them and it took a much longer get a routine with them. Read the immersion thread to learn how to keep either you males or females from fighting and to better socialize with you. I've seen many many posts about mammary tumors with girls, I'm most likely always going to get boys because of this. Getting a female spayed can be expensive but my help with tumors in the future. My boys have never bit me, even when grabbing them from under the fridge, the only aggression they showed was toward eachother for a time but Immersion training stopped that. 

Also my own personal opinion is I love big rats! My Loki is huge. I love it and he can't fit in smaller places. Boys tend to be bigger and the bigger the better for me.
Also male or female, just see how the rat reacts to you when choosing your rats. I got my boys because the rat that is now my Nimbus ran right up to me, climbed all over and was curious about people when I met him and Loki was his cage mate (he wasn't aggressive but not as social).

Also while my boys mark sometimes they don't smell. Male mice are said to be smelly but my boys smell not. Just use the right bedding and you'll be fine.


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## Batman (Sep 11, 2013)

Females for me are a lot more active then boys its hard for me to sleep when I did have females as they would always play when I clicked the lights out in my rat times males Have been more of a lap rat 

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## Charlottesmom (Nov 27, 2013)

We never had girls but I will say that our last rats- 2 boys (intact) were non smelly (to me anyways) until they got older, they did do a fair share of marking their turf and that did muck up the cage if it wasn't cleaned up every day (I used unscented baby wipes). We are getting two more rats in January and they will most likely be males, unless we find two super sweet females. The other thing about females is I would want to get them spayed as I've read spaying cuts the chance of tumors by 70%. Yes, I've heard spaying is risky but I think it would be worth it. One of my males had a tumor by his boy parts and we had to get it removed, it wound up costing $300.00..worth it but he did die a month later.


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## saratherussiandog (Aug 9, 2013)

I have to say female because of my girls, but I've heard boys are great too. When they're young, both genders will be super energetic and even the boys might not have the time to cuddle. They just slow down and mellow out faster than girls. I love energetic pets, and something that you can play with, instead of cuddle like a guinea pig. My girls still like to cuddle with me and occasionally fall asleep on me, and I love that. Girl rats are also smart and more trainable than males because they are not as lazy . But of course all of this is just stereotypes.Most girls are really active and most boys are lazy,but there are many that are opposite. You just have to go there and meet the babies(when they're a little older) and decide which rats you want. Try not to base your decision only on gender, and pick the sweetest babies!


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## Daniel (Jun 24, 2013)

I don't recommend females for beginners. As the other posters have said, females are more active and playful - but they are also more destructive (they are more likely to chew through the bottom of a cage) and they have more health problems - if they are intact, there is about an 8/10 chance they will get large tumors which will kill them eventually unless they are spayed.

I briefly had girls, but I decided that since I couldn't afford to spay every female I might get, that it would be best to have males only. I also prefer the calmness and easier bonding with my boys.


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## RattieLover1331 (May 21, 2013)

I have males for first rats.

Now it is a good experience, and I do say males..but there is like a couple cons.

I don't really mind this, but they do mark..everywhere. Like pee..everywhere. I mean it's not like they're constantly peeing, but they do mark things.

Another con is sometimes and this only happens with some rats. I'm not saying in every male. And I'd say this is kinda "rare" They reach a certain teenage stage where they are hormonal. My boy got really aggressive. But after a few months, he's back to a sweet heart.

So don't really worry about that.

Umm.. yeah I would say males.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Don't forget, females mark an go through puberty as well. 


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