Companionship
Rats are highly social animals, so we do not adopt out rats to live alone. We can assist with bonding for rats being adopted from us to join an existing rat(s), and support and advice after taking your rats home will always be available, with full rescue back-up provided should any bonds fail.

Rats adopted from us must always be housed with suitable same-species company. We adopt out rats to live in trios minimum to meet their social needs and reduce chances of one rat suddenly ending up alone.

Housing
Rats need plenty of space to explore, forage, dig and climb. They also need daily out-of-cage playtime, so please only take on rats if you can commit to meeting their needs. Below are a selection of cages suitable for various different group sizes. If you can go bigger, that is always better!

Our minimum housing size requirements are:
3-4 rats = 100cm w x 54cm depth (or 5400cm square footprint) x 64cm height (i.e. Coco Large, Mamble 100)
5 – 10 rats = 100cm w x 54cm depth (or 5400cm square footprint) x 120cm height (Liberta Explorer, Savic Royal Suite 95, Little Zoo Venturer etc)
10+ rats = Savic Royal Suite XL or something custom made bigger than a Liberta Explorer!

For more housing advice visit our rat care advice pages.

Diet
Rats do best on a good quality mix, rather than just pellets which don’t provide them with much enrichment. Selective feeding is not usually an issue when the food is scatter fed. Rats don’t need a food bowl – scatter the food in their bedding instead!

For food recommendations visit our rat care advice pages.

Health
Rats are considered ‘exotic’ animals in the veterinary world and therefore need to be treated by an exotic vet if unwell. Adopters must have access to an exotics-savvy vet and have considered the potential high cost of veterinary fees. Rats are unfortunately prone to many health issues including respiratory and heart problems, as well as tumours.

We monitor all animals in our care carefully for at least 2 weeks prior to adoption, and any concerns will have been checked out by an exotics vet prior to adoption. We can’t guarantee the future health of any animal (no one can!) but we will be open about any previous issues we’re aware of. 

We generally spay female rats who we are confident are under 6 months old as this significantly reduces the occurrence of mammary tumours (and removes risk of uterine/ovarian issues). While the adoption fee for spayed rats is higher, a spayed ratty will most likely save you funds in vet bills in the long run, where tumour removal usually costs hundreds of pounds.

Adoption Fees
Our adoption fees are minimum donations to help towards covering the cost of caring for our rescued animals.

Single rat, not neutered (to be bonded with adopter’s existing rats) – £30
Castrated male rat – £60 (castration costs us £130)
Spayed female rat – £80 (spays cost us £180)

Discounts are usually offered where a ready-bonded pair/group are being adopted.

Adopters must be age 18+.

Bonding
We can provide up to 7 days of initial bonding for adopters adopting a rat/rats to join their existing rat(s). We use the carrier method, which we find to be the safest and least stressful. We make no guarantees about any bond and are led by the individual rats’ behaviour indicating whether each pairing/grouping is a good match. Adopters will need to be prepared to continue the bonding process on return home after the 7 days, following our advice and guidance. 
Bonding is offered at a minimum donation of £5 per day per adopter’s rat to cover the costs of caring for your rat(s) during their stay. Bonding is incredibly time consuming and resource-heavy (tonnes of hay and forage used!).