I need to get a second rat for my new one, I have a male...should I get another male or a female?

Question

This might sound silly, but I kind of want to buy a female, but i don't want them to mate...lol can rats get fixed? ah I feel silly asking this but I have never thought about it before!

Anyways, what do y'all think? another male or a female for my lil guy??

Answer 1

many male rats will fight. if you have lots of time, getting them to get along might be an option. rats can not be fixed, and any male/female pair will mate

Answer 2

Yes, rats can get fixed and it might be a good idea to get your male fixed even if you get another male.

The thing is, males rats can be very territorial and if you introduce another rat (especially another male) to your rat, it might fight with the new rat.

Here is my guide to introducing rats:

first u get a seperate cage 4 the lil new ratty and keep it away from the other cage (like at a friend's house or a different room). keep it there for a few weeks or so.

then u should place the two cages near each each other so that they can get used to eachother's scent. dont put them so close that they can touch eachother but make it so that they can see and smell eachother. leave it like that for about a week.

introduce the rats in a neutral place like a bathtub or some place where your original rats dont go (and leave their scent). If they show any signs of aggression (arching their backs and attacking eachother) then unfortunetly u cant really put them together for safety purpuses.

once the rats have been introduced, let them play in eachothers cages. ALWAYS watch them because u dont want any fights. once u think its ok then u can move them in together:)

*note: there is a difference between play-fighting and actual fighting. play-fighting is when the rats are nuzzling eachothers faces and jumping around and chasing eachother. this is normal in small rats. actual fighting involves biting, scratching and hissing

**sorry about my spelling

***good luck:D

IMPORTANT: It is incredibly risky to spay a rat under 3 months of age as there is a chance the rat can't fully handle the anesthetic

Answer 3

worried about taking care of your pets and pet care issues...

refer to this website

http://care4petz.blogspot.com/

it has got tips and information on every aspect of pet care

Answer 4

well if u get a female then they will breed so not a good idea unless u want them to id say get male

Answer 5

2 boys will fight so i say get a girlfriend for the lil boy u can sell the cute  babys or u could keap soom and and have mor mabyu but before u get a girl find out how to tel the diff between a boy and girl and DO NOT i repeat DO NOT touch the babys before they are 3 weeks old and never ever EVER take them away from the mummy

Answer 6

kudos 2 u 4 getting another rat because rats cal litterally die of lonelyness, 2 is better.

get a male because they tend to get along better and dont fight as much as females (rats bearly fight atall)

plus 2 males cant have thousands apon thousands of babys!

Answer 7

Hi. It is not anything to feel silly about. Its great that you are asking questions first.

You can actually get rats spayed or neutered. I have always been very scared to have the surgery because rats are too small to safely monitor their vital signs during the operation.  Now, this is what my vet has told me. This may or may not necessarily be true of all vets' equipment. (even though he is an 'exotics' vet, their practice only has equipment for dogs and cats.)

It would definitely not be a good idea to get a female if they will be in living together. You WILL have babies....and likely, a bunch at that.

Many people do have their rats fixed but from what I have gathered, mostly with females since it reduces the chances for developing cancer.  But you would want to research to find the right vet as well as learning about the different options for housing rats together. Info on pet rats care is super easy to find. You can pretty much type anything in a search engine and you will find some great info.

Here is a place to start though

Rat and Mouse Club of America

www.rmca.org

Rat Fanclub

www.ratfanclub.org

Rat Behavior

www.ratbehavior.org

Good Luck! :)

Answer 8

get a male- try to get it from the same litter as they may fight if you dont, they will already like eachother and will have a great time wrestling and playing together.

Answer 9

If you dont want them to breed, then you better get another male rat.  Although you'll have to get another cage at first and take your time introducing them.  

Rats can be "fixed" but you'll need to find a vet who has experience with rats.  Also, it doesnt take very long at all for a female rat to become pregnant so if you do get a female you'll want to keep them separate until you get one or both of them fixed.  

Answer 10

Unless you plan to adopt a spayed female from a local rescue.....stick with the males.

Even if you neutered your male, there would be a several week waiting period before he could be introduced to a female without risk of pregnancy (it takes a little while for the rat to become 100% infertile).

Yes, you can spay/neuter rats, assuming you have a quality small animal vet.