Reply
Mon 24 Sep, 2007 01:07 pm
I'm moving in with my boyfriend at the end of this week, and his brother's girlfriend has got two house rabbits.
My two rats will be coming with me and we were planning on keeping all four critters in the spare room.
I've just been told by someone that they think Rabbits might get freaked out by rats because they are natural foes in the wild.
Is this true? Is it possible to keep both types of animal in the same room?
The rats and rabbits would also be allowed to free roam, most probably not together though, but they'd obviously be able to reach eachother's cages when they're let out. Could this cause problems aswell?
Thanks in advance.
Let's ask Dlowan and CoastalRat...
If you have rats and rabbits in the same room and the rats are hungry enough or just get the urge, you will no longer need to worry about having rats and rabbits in the same room.
Can I have some straight answers please? They're not wild, they get fed, are they just going to suddenly go mental when they smell the rabbits or what?
Plus they're not going to magically morph through their cages.
I haven't heard anything about this. We had rabbits in the garden when next doors trash attracted some enormous WILD rats, nothing happened. The rabbits weren't stressed and didn't get consumed...
Sorry, but that was a straight answer. If the rats want to eat the rabbits they will, if they don't they won't. I would not trust a cage to keep a determined rat out. But hey give it a try. I did volunteer animal handling at a zoo for years we stopped feeding live rats to the snakes. If the snakes weren't hungry they ignored the rats. The rats would nibble on the snakes. They often peeled off a few scales which led to the snakes getting infections. Of course the rats couldn't eat the snakes, if the snakes got mad at the nibbling they just killed the rats.
Caged rabbits and caged rats coexist at pet stores.
I'd cage the rabbits up wind from the rats and keep an eye on the situation.
Thanks, but a straight answer would be "Rats and Rabbits are natural foes and the rats could upset the rabbits, and even try to injure/kill the rabbits." Too tired to remember earlier phrasing of that..
Thanks Noddy, I suppose we could always try and if it doesn't work out, keep them in our room. I was just wondering if there would be serious stress/unrest if we even tried. Or if people had experience of keeping rats and rabbits together..
OK:
Rats and Rabbits are natural foes and the rats could upset the rabbits, and even try to injure/kill the rabbits."
My rabbits get along with my cats, and vice versa, but the rabbits hate our guinea pig with a passion. The dominant rabbit will just about kill the other rabbit if he sees the guinea pig even across the room.
I'd be very careful with having them around each other. Make sure you're around all the time at first, even when they're in cages, just to be sure the bunbuns aren't getting freaked out. Also better look into whether rats carry anything that rabbits can catch (or the other way 'round). I know guinea pigs carry something that isn't harmful for them but can kill rabbits, for example.
Get a tomcat and voila. Problem solved.
My Lou's favorite snack: Bunny heads in blood sauce, preferred two to one over mice/rat forequarters in blood sauce.
@cyphercat,
my rabbit and cat also are the best of friends and when my sister inlaw comes over she brings her guinea pig and we put the the guinea pig with my rabbit and its all fine. also the pet shop we got the rabbit from sells them with guinea pigs in the same encloser
@honey rose cr,
Q:Rabbits and rats in the same cage?
A: Imposible.
Rats and rabbits are very different animals and it is a posibility that the rats will eat the rabbits. Sorry but thats not the best idea.
Have a look at this video, I have a Rat and i will be getting a bunny in the next few weeks, i hope they get on as well as these two
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vW10SMedZKE
@honey rose cr,
If I were you I'd just play it by ear. Many of the people responding here have been giving you definite yes or no answers, when in reality every animal is different and every animal responds differently to different situations. Some animals do well together and others don't, regardless of history or species. I personally have two pet rats, and I think the notion of them ever attacking a rabbit in another cage is laughable, but then again, those are my rats, and they're very very mellow and lazy. If nothing else you can invest in a more secure cage if things don't look promising.
Good luck!
@honey rose cr,
Yes they can:
Don't they look cute together?
@honey rose cr,
I have two rats in a huge 5 story cage and one piggy and bunny in a huge two story cage. My piggy died and my bunny is so lonely. My other rat just died so I put the rat and piggy together. I am watching them and they seem to get along. the rat smelled and touched noses with the bunny. She became arfraid and so I put her on the second floor of the cage. She is a timid rat and has gotten out of her cage before but just sits by the door trying to get in. I think they will be ok and hope they can keep eachother company.
@honey rose cr,
Hi, I have a rat and rabbit in my room, the rat is on a raised area so all the bunny knows of it is it's movement and it's smell on me. They seem quite happy living their lives serperately.
@honey rose cr,
no i don't think so it's possible.You should take cage for both otherwise it's not possible.
I have my giant Flemish in a dogshed with hay outside...just looked in an saw two rats curled up with her...they are wild rats.. And they have become her friends...my question is , do rats **** where they nest?
Stumble It!
Tweet This
Bookmark on Delicious
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace