# Leaving rats home alone for a few days



## jessyyyissiqqq

On friday I'm leaving to go on vacation and I'll be back sunday. I'm not too worried about the girls because they store all of their food I know they won't run out and the boys I'm just going to fill a large bowl with food and I'm going to buy a second water bottle for both cages. I don't have anyone to come check on them while I'm gone. Will they be okay? Basically I'll be gone half of friday all saturday and most of sunday. I'm really really worrried though I'll NEVER forgive myself if I come back and someones dead.


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## ratjes

I am sure they'll be fine. You cold give them some nuts still in the shell to help them deal with cabin fever.
I regularly give mine several days in a row of NOT free range to keep them used to situations like these.


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## smesyna

The food isn't my worry, my worry is that someone will get sick and you know how quickly they can go downhill :-\ Have you tried advertising looking for a pet sitter?


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## Annahra

I left mine for a long weekend (Thursday through Monday). I set up two water bottles and a big hopper of food and gave them a big handful of carrots before I left. I got home and they had trashed their cage and were definitely grouchy about missing out on their fresh foods, but otherwise perfectly fine!


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## jessyyyissiqqq

Thank goodness.  I'd like to get a pet sitter but I just really don't trust people with my animals/in my home. Especially with the rats because not a lot of people around here have rats/ like the idea of them, they don't know what to do/how to handle them and stuff I just feel like they'd probably be better off alone because if I have a new person they might really think I just left them forever! I realized it's really not that long that they'll be alone, I'm just scared they'll think I abandoned them  Should I make sure to play with them more/ give them more free range time within the next two days before I leave or do you think that'd be bad because then they might think I was giving them extra time and then be gone for a bit and then think I was like, preparing to abandon them ?


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## smesyna

Rats don't think like that, they don't think oh someone else is here she abandoned me, or anything like that.

Your vet might board them for a small fee, you know you can trust them to feed them and make sure they aren't ill.


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## Qku.

As a student I used to leave my rat(s) alone for a weekend rather often to go home. Nothing ever happened. And even if they somehow did get sick and their health declines rapidly.. There's nothing you can do about it, so don't fret. It's understandable you're worried, but you can only do so much. I've never had it happen, and the worst was that they'd gotten out of the cage and roamed around a little. Their cage stood on a shelf in a closet though back then, so they had nowhere to go.

Just give them extra toys to keep busy with while you're gone, and give them extra attention when you're back. They won't think you've left them  And you can of course give them more free time, I doubt rats have such an understanding of complicated thought that they'd believe it's preparation for you to abandon them..


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## smesyna

If they get sick and have a rapid decline there is stuff you can do about it, often, treating it before they die. I'm glad when others have done this it turned out fine, but it doesn't mean it always will or will for other people.


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## halfmoon

smesyna said:


> If they get sick and have a rapid decline there is stuff you can do about it, often, treating it before they die. I'm glad when others have done this it turned out fine, but it doesn't mean it always will or will for other people.


Exactly. Just because three other people got away with it doesn't mean that your rats will be fine. What if they fight and someone gets a wound, or someone gets caught in a hammock the wrong way and breaks a leg or twists a paw. I'd at least find someone to go in and check on them once a day. You don't have neighbors? What about someone who has to drive near your house to go to work or school or something? I go camping a lot, and sometimes I'm only gone for a day and a half, but I always have someone check once a day just to make sure everything's in order. I don't know what I'd do if I left them alone for so long and something horrible happened...


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## ratjes

I wouldn't be too worried about leaving them alone for a few days, that is, when they are healthy. Never leave sick rat though.
Most pet sitters aren't as good as they portray themselves to be. My neighbor hired a sitter for her dog so he wouldn't be alone for 5 weeks and payed her to stay at the house.
She only came once a day for 15 minutes......
Too bad animals cannot talk.


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## Terpsichore

I had been talking about how I missed visiting my hometown in the summer for years. So, last year my parents said that this year, they would fly us to there instead of them coming here for my birthday. When it actually came around to nailing down dates, I started to give it some serious thought. I realized it was not responsible to leave my pets for 10-14 days, or even a weekend, during the summer. I have no air conditioning in my apartment, and with the windows closed in the summer the air quality becomes very poor. So my boyfriend said, "The caretaker can open the windows when she comes or we can put up screens." Our screens are homemade, and I had visions of my cats running at them at full speed and crashing to the ground. Also, popping the windows open for 1 hour, is just not enough fresh air. What if my rats got hot? With someone only visiting once a day, how will they be kept cool? My cat is prone to running around to fast and too long in the heat and can start to over heat. What if he got heat stroke?

I do not want to get up on a soapbox or anything here, but I feel strongly that pet owners need to take into account their pets well being at all times. You brought an animal into your home, and it is completely dependent on you. If you cannot guarantee that your pet can receive the same quality or near the same quality of care while you are away, then you should not be going away. If you do not like the idea of someone that you just met going into your home, then you need to take your pets somewhere else for care.

I understand that you have already made plans, but is there really no one at all to check up on them? You could try seeing if anyone at your vet would be willing to stop by. Or if your vet is far away, try contacting a clinic closer by. I go to a very small vet, and, although, I am probably the only one who goes there with rats, everyone loves them. They always comment on how sweet and cute they are. I know there is not a lot of time to set up someone to stop by, so you could take your rats to someone else that you know (depending on the cage size and weight). Or at least for the future track down a pet sitter that has experience with rats, and ask for references from other customers.

It is the summer, and if you have air conditioning, what if it fails while you are gone? If your air conditioning were to fail, you might come back to severely dehydrated rats. In a worse case, you could come home to everyone one having a URI. Air quality directly affects susceptibility to respiratory infections. My mind is always racing a million miles an hour with possibilities, usually all negative. I can honestly barely manage to sleep when I am away with someone coming twice a day.



> I'm really really worried though I'll NEVER forgive myself if I come back and someones dead.


I would follow what your gut is telling you, because that could very well happen. It sounds harsh, but it is true. They will probably be okay, yes. But as someone who decided to bring an animal into your home and make it completely dependent on YOU. You need to consider every possibility, not just the probables.

I apologize if I seem to have ranted or attacked anyone. :-[


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## jessyyyissiqqq

I had the PERFECT neighbor that would have checked on them but she literally JUST moved, and no one else in my neighborhood is trustworthy of having a key to my home while I'll be gone, they'll throw a party and probably kill my animals. I don't even trust my boyfriend to check on them, he'd do the same thing and not take care of them at all. He's actually the reason why I got one of my rats in the first place, it was his and he didn't take care of it right. :/ 
But I have a cat too, so I asked my mom if one of her friends that works right by our house will come and make sure they're okay on her way to work. I know she won't play with them or anything and I'm still worried but at least I'll have someone to confirm like yeah they're alive and have food and water. I'm going to leave them a butt-load of new toys to play with and none of them are sick or have ever been sick so that's very good too.
I'm going to leave the tv on while I'm gone & the AC and play with them constantly before I leave. I'm starting to think they'll be fine.. I mean it's not like they'll literally be lonely they have each other right? I've never left them even overnight before. My dad lives a few states away and always asked me to come and see him for a week and I say yeah but then when it comes down to actually booking flights I'm like I can't leave them, even though my mom would be here the whole time to make sure they're okay. But this was a complete surprise trip to Universal Studios and I seriously didn't find out until it was already booked... so I really have no choice. But I feel a lot better about it as long as my mom's friend will check on them, she's even held them before when I first got my first rat she thought it was cute & sweet  So as long as she agrees I'll be a bit less worried. Any other suggestions on what to do before I leave or anything? Thanks for the help as well!


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## Terpsichore

I would make sure that you describe your rats normal rat behavior to her and what to look for if they might come down with a common rat sickness like a URI (sneezing, porphyrin etc.) When I went away, I left the number of my vet and an emergency vet on my fridge. Also, maybe leave some treats she can give them, so she can see if they want to actively come to the door to get something.

When I left my cats for the first time, I wanted to install a web cam that I could watch while I went away lol. My boyfriend said I am crazy and that it is rude to do so when there are people there. The worry just never goes away.


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## jessyyyissiqqq

HAHA seriously I was thinking the same thing! But thank goodness she agreed to check on them. I'm gonna leave her a long detailed note about everything. It definitely makes me feel a bit better. Thanks for all the help guys!


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