Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Nestor (my dumbo rat) & Blue (my blue rat) live in seperate cages theyre a few months old..can they move in together???

If they are of the same sex, yes. Rats should always be housed in pairs or more, never alone.

Absolutely! As long as they are both the same sex! Never put a male and female together.

In fact it will be much better for them to have a buddy.

The first thing you need to do is make sure that you have a cage big enough for two rats. Rats need about 2 cubic feet of space each, which might be bigger than you think!

Check out this site. You can type in the measurements of your cage and it will tell you approximately how many rats will fit. If your rats are older or not as active, you can sometimes get by with something slightly smaller than the recommended size:
http://www.fancy-rats.co.uk/information/guides/cagecalculator/

You also want to make sure to take things slow. Try letting your two ratties play together outside of the cage to make sure they will get along. Take whichever cage you plan on keeping them in and clean it really well, so it doesn't smell too much like whoever was living in it before. Make sure that you put them together ONLY when you have a few hours to watch them for fighting. If they start fighting, separate them and try another day. Some chasing and squeaking is normal, but bleeding is not!

Sometimes it takes time, but ratties love company and shouldn't give you too much trouble! Good luck.