# Lone rat



## Beth78 (Jul 4, 2019)

We said goodbye to little Birch this morning, he leaves behind his brother Alder.
Has anyone got experience of having 1 lone rat ?
They were very close, I've left the cage as it is for now so it's not too much of a shock for Alder.


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## simplysardonic (Sep 1, 2009)

I'm so sorry for your loss.

First off, are you planning more rats of your own?

They benefit greatly from company of their own kind, we as humans can't replace that.

If you plan for more rats then a rescue or good breeder is the way forward, but breeders may have waiting lists.

There are a couple of options you could pursue if you've decided to take a break from rats:

You could contact local breeders or rescues to see if they have any rats you could foster from them to keep Alder company, & then return them once he has passed.

Or you can rehome him via https://www.facebook.com/groups/RRNUK

It's a very good group run by a lot of people involved in rescue, but obviously you will need to do your own assessment of whether a new home is the right one for him.

It's also a good place to look to find him some company of a similar age.


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## Beth78 (Jul 4, 2019)

simplysardonic said:


> I'm so sorry for your loss.
> 
> First off, are you planning more rats of your own?
> 
> ...


I wasn't planning on getting more rats, Alder is at least 3 
(He was a rescue so not sure of age) and his hind legs don't work so he wouldn't cope with young, bouncy friends.

I will have a look at rescues though to enquire about more elderly/gentler rats.

I hadn't thought of the fostering option, will look into that.


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## simplysardonic (Sep 1, 2009)

Beth78 said:


> I wasn't planning on getting more rats, Alder is at least 3
> (He was a rescue so not sure of age) and his hind legs don't work so he wouldn't cope with young, bouncy friends.
> 
> I will have a look at rescues though to enquire about more elderly/gentler rats.
> ...


Best of luck, I think that might be the best thing if he's elderly & infirm.

I will have to make this decision myself, probably later this year, as I've decided just to have does & all 4 of my bucks have now entered old age.


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## Lurcherlad (Jan 5, 2013)

Beth78 said:


> I wasn't planning on getting more rats, Alder is at least 3
> (He was a rescue so not sure of age) and his hind legs don't work so he wouldn't cope with young, bouncy friends.
> 
> I will have a look at rescues though to enquire about more elderly/gentler rats.
> ...


We lost one of ours around 2 1/2 leaving a lone rat but, like you, I didn't want to have more rats and decided trying to introduce any new rats could upset her tbh.

She carried on happily for another 6 months approximately and seemed happy enough and we made sure she had plenty of handling and free roaming time.


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## Thea_SRA27 (Jul 19, 2020)

So sorry for your loss  
I've never had rats but would absolutely love to in future. Alder is a great age, I would be very proud to have a three year old rat! I think as the others say it would be best to have him alone, even though in most other cases it is pretty much essential to get another rat. 

Best of luck


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## teddylion (Oct 16, 2019)

A new rat may want to fight to establish who's boss, and Alder wouldn't be able to do anything with hind leg paralysis. I think he'd be stressed.

I would suggest he's kept alone but with plenty of company and time out of the cage to keep him happy. My rat had hind leg paralysis too but would happily drag himself around on the floor during playtime.


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## Engel98 (Oct 7, 2018)

Aw I'm so sorry.

I agree with @simplysardonic if you're not going to be getting more rats of your own, maybe look into fostering one or two older rats to keep Alder company.

As they're group animals company from their own kind is really important it's something we cant replace.

When I had two bucks they used to fight so when one died I didn't get anymore because I was too scared. Looking back, I regret that decision. I should of at least tried. Now I have 2 does which are 6 months. I'm planning ahead. Admittedly I will be getting more rats though...


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