08/08/2023
I wrote this a while ago. It's a bit of a read but I still stand by it.
🐀❗The importance of companionship❗ 🐀
"Rats need the company of other rats.
There are no two ways about this, and one should never buy a rat with the intention of keeping it alone.
Rats are very social animals, and must live in same s*x pairs or groups. In the wild, they live in large family groups. They sleep together, groom one another, play with each other and form strong bonds. Even many laboratories will now refuse to keep rats alone.
However, despite this, many people still go out and buy a single rat, and some websites, pet shops and books still perpetuate the myth that this is ok. The message just doesn't seem to be getting through to some people.
I've heard many reasons as to why people only want a single rat, even when they're well aware that rats do better with cage mates, and the most common is that people seem to think that by just having one rat, it will bond more closely to them. This is simply untrue, as anyone who has more than one rat will testify.
Besides, don't you want a rat to bond to you because it truly loves being with you, not just because it has no one else to be friends with?
Some people seem to think they can overcome the issue of loneliness by simply spending more time with the animal.
But even the most dedicated owner simply cannot spend all day every day with their rat. One of the most active times for a rat is at night, when his owner will be asleep.
What is he to do alone for 8 hours or more? How about when his owner is at work during the day? Even if a person were able to spend all day with their rat, the animal would still miss out on things that only another rat can provide and teach them.
Rats love their people, but at the same time, we are a different species. It would be like expecting a human to live with only chimpanzees for company! There would be a certain level of communication and bonding, but nothing would compare with having another human to interact with.
Rats kept alone can often develop problems such as depression, aggression, and even self mutilation like pulling out their own fur. There is evidence to suggest lone rats live shorter lives and have more health problems than rats housed with others.
Being alone is completely unnatural to a rat, so it is hardly surprising that such a lifestyle would cause problems.
When you are talking about a baby or young rat, being kept alone is even more damaging. Baby rats just don't tend to thrive when housed in solitary confinement. And can you blame them? How happy or well adjusted would a human toddler be if suddenly pulled away from all his friends and family and stuck alone in a room for the rest of his life, with occasional visits from a different species? Just as humans have evolved to be a social species that need interactions with their own kind, so too have rats. If you don't think that you would want to spend the rest of your life never seeing or interacting with another human again, then please don't put a rat through the same thing. There is a reason why solitary confinement is used as a punishment in humans: because we are social, just like rats, and being completely alone is unpleasant and damaging.
If you do nothing else for your rat, get it a companion.
Company is second only to food and water in the list of a rat's requirements.
This is not an opinion, it is simply a fact. No reputable breeder will adopt out a rat as a single.
If you are not prepared to get at least two rats, do not get rats at all and perhaps get an animal that likes being alone"
