Rats are a lot like Pringles. Betcha can’t get just one! But what’s the optimal group size for pet rats?
Rats should never live alone, so if you want a pet rat, plan to get at least two! Bigger group sizes can be even more entertaining, because more complex social dynamics start to emerge.
If your group gets along, having a bigger one can be a lot of fun and very rewarding. It can present its challenges too, though, if your rats don’t easily get along with each other. And of course, it’s more expensive – requiring a larger cage (or multiple cages), and more room in the budget for vet care.
Rats are highly social animals that are used to living in colonies in the wild. They have hierarchical structures – a bit like with wolves, humans or chimpanzees! Certain rats enjoy being the “alpha” while others prefer to let someone else lead. This is true for both male and female groups.
The alpha rat is often the largest one, but not always. An alpha just has to have the right “rattitude” to assert themselves. Being the alpha rat usually means having the best access to food, the water bottle, favorite hammocks, and grooming.
But it also comes with responsibility. A good alpha rat will keep the peace amongst the rest of the group, while an aggressive alpha rat can cause chaos, bullying and in-fighting.
In rats, the group dynamics aren’t set in stone. They can change as rats age and new ones are introduced to the group.
Because rats don’t live very long (only 2-3 years on average), many rat owners have something like a succession plan if they want to keep rats for a long time. This ensures that no one rat is ever left alone for too long.
One rat
As you’re reading up on rats, you’ll probably see this advice a lot that you should never keep a single rat alone. Even if you’re able to spend all day, every day with your rat, they still need a buddy of their own species to groom, snuggle, wrestle and communicate with.
Rats kept alone show signs of depression, anxiety and stress like overgrooming themselves, becoming more vulnerable to infection and losing weight.
Even for rats who suffer from hormonal aggression towards other rats, it’s better to get them spayed or neutered so that they can live with other rats than to keep them alone. The lonely life is not a good life for a rattie!
What should you do with your last rat standing? It’s not uncommon when keeping pet rats for one to outlive the others by quite a long time. In this case, many rat fanciers will either adopt a new rat (or two!) to keep the older one company, or try to rehome their last remaining rat to someone else’s mischief.
Even just a few months is a long time to be alone, from the perspective of a rat.
Two rats
A pair of rats is much, much happier than a lone rat! Two rats can groom each other, snuggle together in hammocks, play, communicate, and wrestle.
For brand new rat owners, it’s usually best to adopt two rats together, such as a pair of brothers or sisters from a breeder. That way, you don’t have to worry about introducing two unfamiliar rats before you understand and become a good judge of rat behaviour.
Rats don’t necessarily need to be related to each other to get along well though. Especially if you adopt them when young, it makes introductions easy.
Even with just two rats, you’ll probably notice that one rat is more outgoing and the other more skittish. It doesn’t take very many rats to start noticing their social dynamics!
The big downside with only having two rats is that when one passes, the other will be left alone. Many rat fanciers plan to adopt another pair when their first two are 1 – 1.5 years old to prevent this.
Three rats
With three rats, you avoid much of the problem of ending up with a lone rat. Plus, you’ll start to see some real group dynamics emerge! You’ll probably notice that one rat is sort of “the boss” who keeps the other two in line. Of course, this dynamic can change over time, and depending on the situation.
Three rats require a little bit more space, but are generally not too much more effort or expense to maintain than two!
If you plan to adopt three rats, I highly recommend getting them from a knowledgeable breeder. Your rats will be a lot more likely to be healthy and have nice temperaments that way.
If you have to get them from a pet store, brush up on how to tell the genders apart. It’s super common for pet stores to not separate young rats by gender, and take home two males and a female, or vice versa, by accident.
Four to five rats
Most rat fanciers can comfortably handle four to five rats. Just keep vet costs in mind, because they can add up suddenly! Especially if your rats are all around the same age.
This is where group dynamics really become apparent, and it’s fun to watch them emerge and evolve. In the wild, rats naturally live in larger groups like this.
If you’ve never owned rats before, I would recommend building up to a bigger group slowly over time. Because of the different personalities involved, introductions can be a little more complicated to manage, and you may end up needing to keep multiple cages.
One way to do this is to simply keep adding a couple more rats as your existing rats age, until you find your ideal number of ratties! Having rats in different age groups also helps to spread their vet care costs out over time, and ensures that everybody always has a buddy.
More rats?!
I’d definitely recommend having some experience with pet rats before you consider a larger mischief! With 6+ rats, you run the risk of certain rats not getting along with others, and potentially having to keep multiple cages.
A more experienced rat owner can confidently tell whether rats are getting along or bullying each other. You’re also more aware of how much time and effort it takes to care for smaller groups of rats, so you’ll know whether you’re prepared to handle more.
Always introduce new rats carefully
While rats do tend to get along with each other, their first introductions can sometimes be challenging. It’s not really a matter of tossing the new rat in the main cage and hoping everything goes well! Rats can be territorial and need time to get used to the new addition before they can safely and happily live together.
There’s a process that, when followed, ensures that everything goes smoothly. As you get used to the way rats behave, you’ll be able to recognize what is curious and cautious behaviour, and what is genuinely harmful.
Conclusion
Two to three rats is a great starting place for beginner rat fanciers. Rats can be perfectly happy with this group size, and don’t need a lot more space, food or bedding than a single rat.
Bigger groups are definitely more entertaining in terms of their social structure, but can be a handful at times! Consider how much space you have, as well as how much time you’d like to spend with each individual rat.
Regardless of how many rats you get, you’re in for an entertaining and rewarding time. Enjoy rat fancying!
