Chin and rat?

[Rainierainbow]

Hello! I really need some advice

I share a room with my little sister and my male chinchilla. My sister had a lizard that recently died (she was devastated), she decided that now she wants to get a rat. So I started doing some research and found that it is possible for rats to transmit diseases to chins and some websites said if the rats droppings fall into the chins cage he will eat it. (Which I imagine isn't good)
Also there is a lot of people who said the rat will try to kill the chinchilla! Obviously that's not too good.

So long story short is there any way to safely keep a chin and rat in the same room? The original plan was to keep the cages next to each other on our dressers. I was thinking of putting a piece of cardboard between the cages so the won't be able to interact but is there anything that can still go wrong?

Thanks bunches for the help!

 

[tunes]

I kept my rats and chins in the same room for years. Jut keep them in separate cages and out of each others supplies and they will be fine.

 

[3CsMommy]

Our rats and chins are in the bedroom. Separate cages on different walls. The supplies and droppings never touch. We wash hands between cages. All the same protocalls you should follow when you keep more than one animal anyway. Never a problem except the noise at night, which I've since gotten used to and sleep through.

 

[Sovay]

I also had rats and chinchillas in the same room, many years ago. I don't know of a disease that would be transmitted, but I kept them separate at all times. Rats are GREAT pets, but I would not trust one to not bite a chin or vice versa. This includes letting one species run around while the other is left in the cage. I can envision an inquisitive chinchilla investigating the rat cage and getting his nose nipped. So I would keep playtime in another room.

 

[Rainierainbow]

Thanks for all the replies! My sister will be happy that she can get her little rat

 

[VillageVoice]

Encourage her to get a pair. Rats are very social creatures and truly need a companion. I've kept rats for years. Single ats are lonely and can be more shy and less friendly, even aggressive. Imagine if you were only allowed contact with your rat ever. You would miss your own species as well. Many animals can do well as single pets, but rats are not one of them

 

[Sovay]

Encourage her to get a pair. Rats are very social creatures and truly need a companion. I've kept rats for years. Single ats are lonely and can be more shy and less friendly, even aggressive. Imagine if you were only allowed contact with your rat ever. You would miss your own species as well. Many animals can do well as single pets, but rats are not one of them

That's interesting. I've had several rats over the years, and I've had the exact opposite experience. Well, not exactly opposite, none of my rats were aggressive, but my paired rats were more standoffish, less cuddly. I thought my single rats were very friendly and attributed that to them considering me as part of their family group. I used to go everywhere with my little rats. I would also suggest getting a pair mostly because I agree with you that enrichment from the same species is best, but I wouldn't say keeping a single rat would result in an aggressive, shy or lonely companion. Different experiences I guess

 

[VillageVoice]

Here are just a few articles about why rats need to be kept in at least pairs.

http://www.nfrs.org/company.html
http://http://ratfanclub.org/single.html
http://http://www.rmca.org/Resources/apair.txt

If you get a rat through a rescue or a breeder they will not let you just get one unless it is a rat that had shown to be too aggressive with other rats.