If one of my rats dies should i buy another one?

Question

i have 2 male rats, both 5 months old and very healthy. when they get really old and say one dies at the ripe old age of 3 and the other one is still going strong, would it be fair of me to get another rat to keep him company, like a younger one. or would i just let him live out the rest of his days in peace

Answer 1

I have had the same situation, and I often find that rats prefer to be together than alone.  I purchased a baby rat when one of my rats died, and the other rat was really happy to have company.  She would spend a lot of time grooming and fussing over the new rat, but I would be careful and make sure they get along.

Answer 2

I've been faced with this situation plenty of times and what I've discovered is that rats, like humans, also go through a grieving period. This can last a few days to months, but once that grieving period is over, it is usually a good idea to introduce a new rat. Rats are highly social and always need interaction so depriving him of interaction just because his cagemate died wouldn't really be fair. Some people choose not to wait a while before intorducing a new rat and that's ok too as long as the old rat does not have issues with the new rat. Basically, it would be best to eventually get a new cagemate. Hope I helped and goodluck!

Answer 3

No, don't, two male rats will kill each other. (unless they are brothers, but even then it still is risky) ( I'm assuming you had brothers)

Answer 4

Hiya Sarah B

Don't worry or think about it...they could both go together, Our two cats died last year..within two months, sisters aged 23 years old.

Answer 5

well males are VERY territorial so if he does lets say      welcomes him in sure but if he doesn't    dont leave him there all alone let him know your there for him

Answer 6

Hi it's me again, from Pets at Home. We always recommend that if one rat dies, you leave the other one to live the rest of his life with a lot more attention! They are naturally social animals and therefore would need more stimulation when on their own.

When one dies, you may see the other pine for a few days, go off his food etc, but if you persevere with lots of attention, he will quickly get over it and just enjoy the extra time with you.

Answer 7

if you do that, the process would be sort of hard.  To avoid doing the process for the younger one wheen the 3 yr old dies you would get 2 younger male rats, and introduice themk to your older one.  you can look more into it by searching at google...

edit:  He's old, and if you want to avopid that hard process you could just spend alot of time with him and sooner or later hed die...