Pet rats, compared to wild rats, are calm and harmless. In general, rats are clever and dangerous. They are aggressive attackers, especially wild rats. Having sharp claws and teeth makes it easy for them to assault small domestic animals. Do you own a pet hamster and wonder, do rats attack hamsters?
Yes. Rats attack hamsters. In fact, they can strike the hamster through the cage wires. Unlike rats, hamsters are not intelligent and timid. Therefore, an easy target for wild rats. An attack on a hamster by a rat can cause serious injuries.
Continue reading the article to find more detail on the relationship between rats and hamsters.
Can Rats Harm Hamsters?
It will not be wrong to state that rats can cause serious harm to the hamster, especially wild rats.
They can attack the hamster through its cage. Even when the rat is not assaulting the hamster, it is still dangerous due to the diseases it carries.
Rats are greedy eaters and are attracted to the food you keep in the hamsters’ cages. There are many comments online from hamster owners about wild rats’ attacks at night that ended in the brutal killing of hamsters.
On occasion, a rat colony killed an entire hamster family.
Can Rats Live With Hamsters?
Absolutely no. Rats and hamsters cannot live together. Both are territorial and solitary animals and do not like sharing their food, especially males.
It is better not to adopt a pet rat when you have a pet hamster or vice versa. Rats are friendlier and can live with other rats but not with a hamster.
Hamsters are not intelligent and quick as rats, but they are hostile. There is a high possibility of a pet rat getting killed by a pet hamster over food.
The hamsters are sizable compared to rats and prefer living alone. If you adopt two hamsters at the same time, there are going to be frequent fights. The fights will be worst if you adopt another animal like a rat.
Are Rats Afraid Of Hamsters?
Rats and hamsters both belong to the rodent species, and rodents do not get along among themselves or like each other.
Rats are not afraid of hamsters. But, wild rats can seriously harm and kill hamsters.
Pet rats avoid conflicts. They are slow and calm. The chances of pet rats getting killed by hamsters are high.
Hamsters are aggressive and hostile. They can kill any animal over the food, and as you must know, rats are big eaters. They will grab anything they find edible.
What Happens If A Hamster Meets A Rat?
A fight! Probably a big one. Both hamsters and rats are solitary and territorial. They cannot get along.
In fact, no rodents get along together. It will cause you big trouble to keep both animals together. There will be never-ending conflicts until you manage to remove one of them.
The reason for these fights is that both are very territorial and hate sharing spaces. A rat can share food, but hamsters will probably kill a rat for even coming near its food.
Hamster Vs Rats, Who Will Win?
Hamsters and rats avoid each other. They do not share anything among themselves. Rats prefer living in colonies while hamsters are solitary.
The fight between a rat and a hamster is challenging for both animals.
A high chance that is hamster will be the winner because of its physical capabilities. Rats are small than hamsters, but they are clever and have strong teethes that can bite into anything as strong as concrete.
Therefore, if there is an opportunity, a rat can seriously injure the hamster. If you have two pet rats and one hamster, the winner will be the rats because they work in a team.
Will Hamsters Attract Rats?
No, a hamster does not attract any pest, whether rats, mice, snakes, bugs, worms, cockroaches, fleas, or other creatures.
If you have a pest problem, the hamster is not to be blamed because rats are attracted to the food and will find a way to enter any place with food.
Rats eat almost everything. They nibble on small and easily chewable food. Hamster or other pet food is the source of attraction for rats. Sometimes, wild rats can get inside hamster cages to eat their food.
A visitation of wild rats in hamster cages can cause problems. To avoid that, give the food to the hamster in a plastic container and clean the cage daily, preferably at night.
Can I Put A Hamster And A Mouse In The Same Cage?
Absolutely NO! Rats and hamsters cannot live together happily. It is a piece of powerful advice not to keep rats and hamsters together, not even in one room, let alone in a cage.
Hamsters are introverted and cannot live with any animal, not even with another hamster.
Clearly, rats and hamsters cannot co-exist together. They will fight until one of them gets killed.
If you have both a pet rat and a pet hamster, keep them in separate cages and different rooms.
Never make the mistake of giving them one bowl of food to share. If you do that, your rat will probably die because of hunger.
Can Rats Bite Pet Hamster?
Rats have sharp teeth and like to chew everything, but they will not bite. Initially, in a conflict, a rat will grind its teeth. But will only use claws to injure the other animal.
The only situation rat will use its teeth on another animal is when it feels threatened or when starving.
Typically, hamsters bite more than rats. It is common for the hamster to bite humans and other pet animals, including rats.
It is more dominant in physical features than rats. Therefore, pet rats can easily get injured by hamster attacks.
Can A Rat Kill A Hamster?
Yes, wild rats can kill pet hamsters. However, the chances of one rat killing a hamster alone are less because rats are small.
If you find your pet hamster dead, it was probably attacked by a colony of wild rats. Wild rats are clever and attack other animals when they are starving.
It is better to look around and find the entry point of rats inside your house and seal it immediately before there are any more issues.
Do Rats And Hamsters Get Along?
No rats and hamsters do not get along. No rodents are friendly toward each other. The majority of them are territorial and solitary.
That is why rats and hamsters do not get along. They both are possessive of their living areas and food sources.
In case when they are in one place, they will fight until one leaves or dies. However, rats are friendly towards one another and live in colonies.
Do Rats Attack Hamsters In The Wild
Yes, rats can attack and kill hamsters in the wild. Wild rats are shaper and more intelligent. Worst, they are omnivorous scavengers that can kill pretty much any animal it finds to eat.
However, rats attacking hamsters can turn into a fierce fight in which one ends up dead. Usually, hamsters are the winner, but when the wild rats attack in a group, they are the winners.
Conclusion
Rodents do not get along because most of them are territorial and solitary. Rats and hamsters can be kept as a pet but not together as they will fight a lot which can cause many injuries to the rat. However, rats attacking hamsters in a pair or groups can kill them.
Rats can attack hamsters. But hamsters will win the fight because they are physically stronger.
Both animals will stay out of each other’s way, or one can get killed in the conflict. Remember, hamsters do not attract rats. If you find a rat in your home, it is due to the food inside the hamster cage.
References
- Brandon A. Fricker, Ashley W. Seifert, Aubrey M. Kelly, Characterization of social behavior in the spiny mouse, Acomys cahirinus, Ethology, (26-40), (2021).
- Reznikova Z, Levenets J, Panteleeva S, Novikovskaya A, Ryabko B, Feoktistova N, Gureeva A, Surov A. Using the Data-Compression Method for Studying Hunting Behavior in Small Mammals. Entropy. 2019; 21(4):368
