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Are Pet Rats Quiet at Night

Are Pet Rats Quiet at Night

Are Rats Noisey At Night?

No, Rats are Nocturnal animals. They are busiest after dark. It is this time that they are eating, nesting, exploring, mating snd playing. Rats themselves are very quiet Pets, members of the Rodent family. Normally the only sound you will hear at night is minimal, chewing, scratching and if you have given them toys those.

If you’ve ever thought about getting a pet rat for yourself, then you must be wondering whether or not they’ll be quiet at night. And while the answer to this question varies depending on a plethora of factors, we’ll be making some detailed analysis to validate it or not pet rats are quiet at night.

Understanding Rat Language

The reason why this question has become a bone of contention in the pet world is that most people live in an apartment where loud noises might prove to be a problem. Other than that, others are just sensitive to noise and might prefer quieter pets. So, are pet rat’s noisy during the day? The answer to that is yes, and that’s because they are mostly nocturnal animals. How about during the night, are pet rats noisy during the night? The answer to that is partially; and there is a single reason why.

Given that rats are the type of animals that can be cautiously active for hours without having to attract the attention of the house owner, they’re most likely going to go about their business, while you sleep in a relatively quiet manner. To have a better understanding of pet rats, let’s have a look at how they operate during the day and night time.

Pet Rats Noise During the Day

Pet rats are usually nocturnal, which means that they are most likely going to sleep all through the day, and you can be rest assured no noise is going to be heard. And even if they choose to stay awake during the day time, pet rats often communicate in a volume that isn’t audible to humans. You’ll only hear them “squeak” when they want you to. Other than that, you can’t and won’t hear any noise from your pet rat during the day.

Also, pet rats are capable of modifying their schedule if they notice that the owner is at home, or often stays at home. This means they can choose to remain very active with the owner during the day time when they are around. However, if during the day, they start squeaking hardly when you touch them, it either means that they may be having some pains, or are not just in the mood to be handled. Naturally, pet rats are very quiet when being held.

So, that’s how they operate during the day. Now, let’s get to have a look at how they are during the night.

Pet Rats Noise During the Night

As stated earlier, pet rats are nocturnal animals, which means they become more active during the night time. And when they are busy, they might accidentally run into things like toys, their water bottles and so on, which may cause some level of noise. While this is often not intentional, nevertheless, pet rats are bound to create a little bit of noise while sleeping at night. That’s why, if you want to get rid of such obnoxious sounds while sleeping, you’ll need to implement the below strategies.

Things You Should Know about Pet Rats

How to Stop Your Pet Rats from Making Noise at Night

Bedroom

If you wish to have a sound sleeping pattern, then you’ll need to keep your pet rat’s cage outside your bedroom. This will work both ways by making sure you don’t hear any noise even if there are up to something, and also, it will cause the rats to be kind of scared when they are placed outside the reach of their owners at night in a locked cage; and speaking of cages.

Cage Lock

Another way to ensure that your pet rats don’t become super-active at night and thus make noise all over is by ensuring that you lock the cage. Closing the cage will confine them to a specific environment, thus making them stay still, until daybreak, or at least, navigate only in the cage. 

Take off the Noisy Elements

Another way to ensure a quiet night from your pet rats is by taking off the noisy elements like toys, or sometimes the water bottle from the cage at night. This will prevent any loud collision when they navigate around the locked cage at night.

Feeding

Again, you can alter your pet rat’s interactive schedule by modifying their feeding pattern. That is, feeding them late at night so they could sleep all through the night and won’t get the chance to cause any form of noise. They can’t be noisy if they’re sleeping. However, this will imply that you’ll have to starve them a bit during the day. Before you do this, it’d be ideal for you to consult with your vet if it’s a perfect thing to do. Nevertheless, it helps in keeping your pet rat quiet all through the night. 

Lights

Given that rats are nocturnal animals, you can also prolong their day by ensuring that you keep the lights on. The light will translate into a day for them, which will also cause them to remain still and less active. 

Lights shining into their eyes will make them partially blind, and when they can’t see well, they are going to stay put and quiet till you turn off the lights. However, you’re only going to do this at the expense of their health, as that will cause them to have an irregular sleeping pattern. So, if you wish to adopt this strategy, you should do so at your discretion, or better still consult your vet.

Earplugs / Headphones

The amount of npise that the Rats make at night is minimal. But if it is too much for you, you can also modify yourself to help

  • White Noise
  • Fan
  • Air Filter
  • Leave TV on
  • Earplugs/Youtube Jacks/Headphones
  • Soundproof Cage
  • Quiet Cage Bedding

In a nutshell, pet rats are noisy depending on what time of the day it is, or how modified their schedule is. During the day, pet rats are most likely going to be very quiet and inactive. At night, you shouldn’t expect them to be so quiet unless you’ve implemented one or two of the above strategies.

So that’s that for pet rat’s today. We hope you learned a few things or two from what you read. If this worked out for you

Type of FarmLifespanGestation Baby Rats per Litter/Yr
Rat Pups
Rats Per YearLow / High Cost Year Possibility
Winstar / Lab2 years21 - 24 days121,250$ 22 / $ 455$ 27,500
Feeder Rats2 years21 - 24 days121,250$ 4.25 / $ 6.50$ 5,312.50
Frozen Rats2 years21 - 24 days121,250$ 4.25 / $ 6.50$ 5,312.50
Pet Rats2 years21 - 24 days121,250$ 10 / $20$ 12, 500

Rat Breeder Associations

Rat AssociationLocationLink
American Fancy Rat $ Mouse AssociationUnited StatesAFRMA
Rat & Mouse Club of AmericaUntied StatesRMCA
National Fancy Rat SocietyUnited StatesNFRS
North of England Rat SocietyUKNERS
UK National Pouched Rat SocietyUKNPRS

FAQ Rats