Rats and mice are popular small pets with complex social and behavioral needs. Understanding these needs enables welfare-positive rodent keeping and prevents common welfare failures.
Rat and mouse welfare is frequently compromised by housing in small, barren cages with insufficient social contact and behavioral opportunity. These highly intelligent, social animals kept in minimal conditions develop stereotypic behaviors (repetitive bar chewing, circling) and chronic stress responses that shorten lifespan and reduce quality of life. The cancer burden in rats - nearly universal in females - creates end-of-life welfare challenges requiring access to exotic animal veterinary care that many owners do not seek. Welfare-positive rodent keeping treats these animals as the complex, socially sophisticated creatures they are, providing appropriate companionship, enriched environments, and veterinary care including tumor treatment.