If you keep rats as pets but you have to leave the house for reasons like school or work then most of the time you’ll be leaving them in the darkness.
It’s normal to wonder if they’ll be fine in the dark or if any lights need to be left on for them, so should you leave a light on for your pet rats?
You won’t need to leave a light on for your rats and they’ll be totally fine in the darkness because that’s what they’re used to and they actually feel more secure when the light level is low.
So if you were thinking about keeping lights on for them at night or when you’re not home, you can rest assured that you won’t have to.
Plus they’re more likely to enjoy their normal activities during the times when the lights are off.
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Should You Leave A Light On For Your Pet Rats?
If your pet rats’ cage is in a very dark room you wouldn’t need to do something like leave the light on for them.
You also don’t need to leave the light on for your rats when you’re not at home either.
For example, let’s say you’re out of the house because you have to go to school or work, they wouldn’t really need for you to keep a light on for them.
Even when it’s nighttime and the room that they’re in is dark you still shouldn’t leave a light on for your little pets as well.
They’re used to being in the dark and keeping a light on for them won’t make them any happier or have any extra benefits than when they’re playing and sleeping in the darkness.
Plus rats really thrive when they have a schedule where they can spend some time in total darkness that’s separate from the lighter parts of the day.
So leaving a light on for your rats when you’re not home and especially when it’s supposed to be dark won’t be that good for them.
You basically have to think about it from your pet rats’ perspective and not your own.
That means that while we might like having the lights on at certain times, that doesn’t mean that they’ll want the same thing.
So you don’t have to worry about if staying in the dark for too long is bad for your rats because they’ll be perfectly fine without a light on.
Why You Wouldn’t Need To Leave The Light On For Your Pet Rats
There are some good reasons why you wouldn’t need to leave a light on for your rats that you should be aware of.
One of the reasons why you won’t need to leave it on for them is that they feel very secure in the dark because that’s what they’re naturally used to.
So even if the room that you keep them in is really dark most of the time, they won’t need a light on for them to be able to feel comfortable.
Rats that are in the wild are known to like burrowing and that means that they spend a decent amount of time in the darkness and they’re perfectly fine with that.
So the rats that we keep as pets are the same way and you wouldn’t need to leave lights on for them to feel safe or happy.
Plus their eyesight is usually better in the dark rather than in the light, which is one of the reasons why they feel a lot more comfortable with the lights off.
Leaving A Light On For Your Pet Rats Is Unnecessary
So leaving some lights on for your rats if you’re not home or if it’s very dark isn’t something that you really need to do for them.
Rats are really sensitive to bright lights and having the lights on all the time when they don’t need to be on won’t be too good for them.
So having lights on, especially bright ones, for long periods of time can sometimes harm their eyes because that’s not something that they’re fully used to.
Rats are also active during the day and at night, but they’re usually more active when the light level is low around them.
So what that means is that leaving a light on when it’s supposed to be dark or when it’s dark outside can actually disrupt the normal times that they like to be more active.
That being said though, that doesn’t mean that you can’t have lights on in your house at night, you just shouldn’t specifically keep lights on for them when you don’t have to.
So when it comes down to it, there aren’t really that many situations where you should leave a light on for your rats.
Rats Do Better In The Dark Rather Than In The Light
When it comes to most pet rats, they do better with being in the dark rather than being in an environment where the lights are on most of the time.
Rats would rather play around and generally interact with each other in the dark rather than in the light, so because of that, you don’t need to leave a light on for them.
In most cases, it’s actually better for them if they are able to spend a decent amount of time in total darkness.
The reason why is that being in total darkness can be good for pet rats because it’ll help make them feel a little more secure.
So you can have lights on for them throughout the day as you normally would, and that’s perfectly fine.
But you wouldn’t need to leave a light on for your rats at night or when you have to do something like if you need to leave the house.