# Is having 3 rats a lot more work than 2 ?



## Nijidoragon (Sep 7, 2014)

I have two females right now but I really want another one. My mom thinks it will be a lot more work. I take care of them and clean the cage weekly ( would i have to clean it more often ? ) 
I don't think it would be too much for me to handle though. 
And I would buy it from someone I know who also would litter train her and that would reduce smell. I can seem to litter train mine though even though I move the poop to the litter boxes. The cage I have it the one level critter nation so its big enough for three.


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## abratforarat (Jan 12, 2014)

Its actually not very hard. It will be a little harder, but I think you could get another, no problem. Good luck!


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## Minky (Apr 4, 2013)

Yes, it will be more work and more cleaning. Think 33% more poop! Personally, I think 3 is a good dynamic, since one rat can get some sleep while the other's play. There's less pressure on the rats to be available for each other, and they seem to enjoy having a variety of personalities to interact with. Plus if one rat passes away, you won't be stuck with a single rat. Yes, it's more work but you should try it out and see how it works for you having 3 rats.


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## Nijidoragon (Sep 7, 2014)

Okay, I just have to persuade my mom now. She says she'll consider it if I get them litter trained but it seems impossible D:


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## theRatGirl (Feb 25, 2015)

I actually heard its better to have three, because if one crosses the rainbow bridge the one left behind won't get lonely.


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## Nijidoragon (Sep 7, 2014)

Yeah , but my mom says we could only get another if one of them dies


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## Jackie (Jan 31, 2013)

I love 3 together personally. <3 If you can change her mind at all I love having 3+ rats


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## Kuildeous (Dec 26, 2014)

Minky said:


> Yes, it will be more work and more cleaning. Think 33% more poop!


Technically, it's 50% more poop. But numbers won't help the OP's case, so let's not bring up that unpleasantness.

But even with that number looming, I didn't think it was that big of a deal We were caught by surprise when we went from two to three. I don’t know why; we knew what it means to increase something by a half. 

But you know, if you spend 4 minutes cleaning up poop, then what's another 2? And realistically, when you get into the swing of things, it wouldn't take you 2 minutes to clean up the additional poop. Those numbers are arbitrary, so please don't hold me to them. Having three rats is not overwhelming. Sure, all three will rush me when I open the door, but it's not so bad. They all can fit on me. 

Now for an anecdote that may provide hope and hopefully not disappointment if your scenario does not match mine. My first two were unruly with their pooping. Within a week of bringing home my new baby, they both started using the litter trays. Even the baby used the litter tray shortly after getting used to her new cage. Unfortunately, I'm not sure that it's related to me bringing a new rat in. At about that time I got my DCN assembled. I also upgraded my litter tray to one that was 8 inches on a side, which allowed them to fully sit in the litter to do their business. Those are probably bigger contributors to their litter training, but I like to think that they got their act together when a newbie showed up. And after having dealt with a month of unruly poop from the other two, it was a joy to see young Loki take to the litter almost immediately.


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## Nijidoragon (Sep 7, 2014)

I keep putting the poop back in the two litter boxes, they still aren't using it. How long will it take? I think I can do the extra %50 cleaning but it would certainly be easier to have my first two litter trained first.


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## Kuildeous (Dec 26, 2014)

Nijidoragon said:


> I keep putting the poop back in the two litter boxes, they still aren't using it. How long will it take? I think I can do the extra P cleaning but it would certainly be easier to have my first two litter trained first.


Hard to say how long it'll take. Just like human toddlers, each one can be different. My second rat would poop in her igloo where she slept and ate. I thought she'd never learn. It took a month for them to get it (ages 8 and 9 weeks). Like I said, my third one took less than a week, and she was aged 5 weeks. It's like they all had a confabulation and decided unanimously to start using the litter tray. It was kind of surreal, especially after a month of scooping. 

Is your litter tray large enough to fit a rat? I got the large triangle litter tray that was designed for ferrets. It measures 8 inches on the two sides, which would make the hypotenuse about 12 inches. I eventually replaced the fleece lines with Ikea's Borris mats, but I think that was after they became litter trained.

And even though my rats are litter trained, they still poop outside the tray sometimes. I can't always pinpoint what causes it. Sometimes an area just looks more appealing to them. I change the mats and wipe things down to lessen the scent, and they go back to the litter trays. Examples of places I've had them poop unwanted:

* In a corner of a shelf. No known reason for why.
* Under a ramp. No known reason for why, but the ramp may provide a feeling of shelter.
* Underneath a cardboard box I repurposed for shelter. I suspect the rats felt comfortable in there. This happens fairly often, and I change out boxes on a weekly basis.
* Underneath a Borris mat. They managed to somehow pull up one end of a mat and fold it over, getting the end stuck under a box. As a result, there was about 8 inches of mat folded over. When I pulled it back down, I found over a dozen poops. They made a toilet for themselves. Clever girls, but I had to put a stop to that.

One common theme I see with recalcitrant pooping is that the rats like areas of security and shelter. I've pondered on putting a little roof over the litter trays. Perhaps sometimes they just feel the tray is too exposed to the world and want to do their business away from the nonexistent hawks in my home. It might be something worth trying, but I'd be curious to see if anyone tried enclosing their litter trays a little bit.


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