Quote Originally Posted by Muddy4paws
I'm really not too keen on getting 2 rats. I know it sounds selfish of me but I dont want to put the pressure of having 2 pets that I havent had before, Im just scared incase I cant treat them both equally.. But then again if I had 2 they could occupy each other right? obviously they would both have time out of the cage. This is going to sound so shallow but Im being honest here, I tend to get attached to one animal and I dont want another rat to get left out because of the way I am with pets. I also need to discuss this with my mum as she has agreed to one female.
That's exactly why you want two, so when you cannot have the one out of the cage it's not bored sitting there alone. Perhaps rats are not the pets for you. They demand a LOT of time. Have you also thought about medical bills? Rats get sick very easily and tend to have a lot of trips to the vet. Have you talked to breeders (I am one) and asked questions regarding health etc.? Petstore rats generally are not healthy and have been exposed to a number of viruses before going home to a family, not to mention the risk of a female being pregnant. Most petstore rats are bred only for food and money, and no care is taken to create healthy litters. Most are inbred and genetically prone to tumors and myco flareups more than a rat from a breeder would be.