Hides and houses
Shelves and ledges
Foraging and toys
Cage accessories
Kits and bundles
Fairy forest
Spooky mischief
Sweetie stash
Game mode
Forest floor
Castles and cathedrals
All prices are as of November 2026 and come from the named sources. Vet fees in particular vary a lot from practice to practice, so treat them as a guide and ring around.
How much is a pet rat to buy?
A single rat is cheap: £10 to £30 in the UK, according to Jollyes, and $15 to $20 for an unneutered rat from a US pet shop, according to PetMD. What you pay depends mostly on where the rat comes from.
| Where from | UK price | US price | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rescue or rehoming charity | Woodgreen: £17 for the first rat, £8 for each extra one, neutering included if needed | Adopt a Pet: $10 to $100 per rat | Known temperament, often already in a bonded pair or group, and support afterwards |
| Pet shop | £10 to £30 (Jollyes) | $15 to $20 unneutered (PetMD) | Unknown background; sexes are not always separated |
| Breeder | £15 and up (Jollyes) | $85 to $100 or more (PetMD) | Known parents, handled from birth, health history |
The purchase price is the smallest cost you will have. RSPCA, Woodgreen and Adopt a Pet all say rats must not live alone, and many rescues and breeders won't let a single rat go to a home with no other rats. So the real starting price is two rats, or three if you follow Woodgreen, who suggest three so nobody is left alone when one dies. Our guide on where to get pet rats covers rescues and breeders in detail.
How much do fancy rats cost?
One real exception: hairless rats lose heat quickly, so they can cost a little more in warmth, fleece and bedding through the winter.
How much does it cost to set up for rats?
Jollyes puts the first round of housing, equipment and food at around £250 in the UK. Adopt a Pet gives $200 or more in the US. The cage is the largest single cost by a long way.
| Item | What to get | Example cost |
|---|---|---|
| Cage | At least 80 × 50 × 80 cm (31 × 20 × 31 in) for up to four rats, 1 cm (0.4 in) bar spacing, solid shelves (Woodgreen) | The Savic Zeno 3 Empire, 100 × 50 × 116 cm, was £180.99 at zooplus.co.uk |
| Bedding | Paper-based or hemp bedding, plus tissue for nesting | Carefresh Natural 60 litres was £21.60 at Jollyes |
| Food | A complete rat nugget | Science Selective Rat 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) was £7.60 at Jollyes; Oxbow Essentials Adult Rat 3 lb (1.4 kg) was $12.74 at PetSmart |
| Water | Two bottles or secure bowls, one at each end (Woodgreen) | Included in the £250 estimate |
| Hides, shelves, hammocks | One more hide than you have rats (RSPCA), plus climbing | Included in the £250 estimate |
| Carrier | A hard plastic cat carrier; cardboard gets chewed through (Woodgreen) | Included in the £250 estimate |
Before you buy, read our guide to the best rat cages: a cage that is too small is the most common way to waste money, because you end up buying a second one. Our rat bedding guide compares the floor options.
How much do rats cost a month?
For a pair, food is about £6 to £8 a month in the UK and $11 to $14 in the US. Here is how we worked that out, so you can redo it for your own group:
- Woodgreen feeds about 15 g (0.5 oz) of dry food per rat per day; Science Selective's feeding guide says 20 to 25 g (0.7 to 0.9 oz) for an adult rat.
- Using the higher figure, two rats eat 40 to 50 g (1.4 to 1.8 oz) a day, or 1.2 to 1.5 kg (2.6 to 3.3 lb) a month.
- At £7.60 for 1.5 kg, that is £6 to £8 a month. At $12.74 for 3 lb, it is $11 to $14.
Add a little for vegetables and treats, which can mostly come out of your own kitchen. Adopt a Pet puts all ongoing supplies (food, bedding, litter and chews) at $10 to $30 a month in the US. Bedding is the cost that varies most, because it depends on your cage size, how deep you fill it and how often you change it, so we can't give one honest UK figure. Fabric hammocks and toys also wear out and need replacing every few months, as rats chew them.
| Monthly cost for two rats | UK | US |
|---|---|---|
| Rat nuggets | £6 to £8 | $11 to $14 |
| All supplies together | Not published for the UK | $10 to $30 (Adopt a Pet) |
| Ongoing care per rat per year, excluding vets | Not published for the UK | $300 to $500 (Adopt a Pet) |
How much do rat vet bills cost?
This is where rats stop being cheap. Jollyes estimates £100 to £200 in vet bills over a rat's life, but treat that as a floor: rats commonly get breathing infections and lumps, and one course of treatment or one operation can cost more than that.
| Vet cost | UK | US |
|---|---|---|
| Consultation | £53 for 30 minutes (University of Liverpool vet practice, exotic price list) | $50 to $100 for a yearly wellness exam (Adopt a Pet) |
| Check-ups | A vet who knows rats within 48 hours of getting them, then at least once a year, and twice a year as they age (VCA) | |
| Vaccines | None needed (VCA) | |
Woodgreen's advice is to find a rat-savvy vet before anything goes wrong, not on the night a rat is wheezing. Exotic vets don't always open late, so note your nearest out-of-hours practice that sees rats too. Our guide to signs your rat is sick explains when to go.
Keep a small rat fund. Putting the price of one consultation aside each month means a lump or a chest infection is a worry about your rat, not about money.
How much does it cost to neuter or spay a rat?
As of September 2026, the University of Liverpool's vet practice charged £120 to castrate a male rat and £160 to spay a female. In the US, Boulder Humane's price sheet lists a rat neuter at $250, and Adopt a Pet gives a range of $100 to $300. Prices vary widely from practice to practice.
| Procedure | UK example | US example |
|---|---|---|
| Castration (neuter) of a male | £120 (University of Liverpool) | $250 (Boulder Humane); $100 to $300 (Adopt a Pet) |
| Spay of a female | £160 (University of Liverpool) | $100 to $300 (Adopt a Pet) |
| Through a rescue | Included in Woodgreen's adoption fee if needed | Rescue clinics are often cheapest |
Do you need to? Not always. Same-sex pairs and groups don't need neutering to live together. The reasons people pay for it are:
- Keeping males and females together without litters (the RSPCA says neuter all the males in a mixed group).
- Calming hormonal aggression in some males, which can keep a bonded group together (Woodgreen).
- Lowering the chance of mammary tumours in females (RSPCA); VCA says females can be spayed at 4 to 6 months old.
Ask the vet what the price includes: a pre-op check, pain relief and a post-op check are sometimes charged separately. Our guide to choosing male or female rats helps you decide whether you'll need it at all.
How much does a rat cost over its whole life?
Rats live about two to three years (RSPCA, Jollyes). Adding up the figures above for a pair over that time, the costs you can predict are:
| Pair of rats over 2 to 3 years | UK | US |
|---|---|---|
| Two rats | £20 to £60 | $20 to $200 |
| Setup | Around £250 | $200 or more |
| Food (24 to 36 months) | £144 to £288 | $264 to $504 |
| Vets | From £100 to £200 per rat, often more | From $50 to $100 per rat each year |
Bedding, treats, replacement hammocks and any illness come on top. The honest answer is that the rats are the cheapest part; space and vet care are where the money goes.
How to keep the cost down without cutting corners
- Adopt from a rescue: fees are low, rats are often already bonded, and neutering may be included.
- Buy the right size cage once, rather than a small one first.
- Buy rat nuggets in the larger bag once you know your rats eat them.
- Use clean cardboard boxes, tubes and paper for chewing and shredding.
- Feed plain vegetables from your own kitchen as the fresh part of the diet.
- Register with a rat-savvy vet early and keep a monthly rat fund.
Never save money by keeping one rat on its own or by skipping the vet when a rat is breathing noisily. Rats hide illness well, and the RSPCA warns they can suffer a lot before signs are obvious.
If the numbers work for you, our guide to rats as pets covers what life with them is really like, and the pet rat care hub links every guide we have.
Questions owners ask
How much is a pet rat?
In the UK, a pet rat usually costs £10 to £30 from a shop or breeder, according to Jollyes, and Woodgreen's rescue fee is £17 for the first rat and £8 for each extra one. In the US, PetMD gives $15 to $20 for an unneutered shop rat and $85 to $100 or more from a breeder.
How much does it cost to neuter a rat?
The University of Liverpool's vet practice charged £120 to castrate a male rat and £160 to spay a female, as of September 2026. In the US, Boulder Humane lists a rat neuter at $250 and Adopt a Pet gives $100 to $300. Ask your own vet whether the pre-op check is included.
Are rats cheap pets?
Cheap to buy, not cheap to keep well. The rats themselves may cost less than £30 each, but a big enough cage is the largest single cost, and vet bills for breathing problems or lumps can easily cost more than the rats did. Budget for a pair, never just one.
Is it easy to take care of a rat?
Rats are fairly easy day to day: food twice a day, fresh water, a quick spot clean and at least an hour out of the cage. The harder parts are the space they need, keeping two or more together, and finding a vet who knows rats before you need one.
What is the best breed of pet rat?
All pet rats are the same species, so there is no breed that is cheaper or easier to keep. Dumbo ears, rex coats and colours are just looks. Pick friendly, healthy rats from a good rescue or breeder; temperament matters far more than variety. Hairless rats cost more to keep warm.
Do two rats cost twice as much as one?
Not quite. A pair shares one cage, one set of hides and one bag of food, so setup barely changes. Food, bedding and vet bills do roughly double, as Jollyes points out. Rats should never live alone, so the cost of one rat is not a real option anyway.
Sources
- Jollyes: The cost of buying a pet rat
- Jollyes: Caring for a rat, the complete guide
- PetMD: Caring for a pet rat, what to expect
- Adopt a Pet: What you need to know before adopting a pet rat
- Woodgreen Pets Charity: Adopt small pets
- Woodgreen Pets Charity: Caring for rats as pets
- University of Liverpool University Veterinary Practice: Price list
- Boulder Humane Society: Spay and neuter information
- RSPCA: Pet rats
- VCA Canada: Owning a pet rat
