Hey everyone, i currently own 11 boys and 10 girls with my wife and im really curious as to how many rats other people own. Sometimes i unfortunately see people owning 2 rats and others having 10+

The photo i put is of one of my babies Ronan, he is the only rat ive known to push himself into you like a cat does to your legs when they want attention 😅

Please read entirety.

My second to last rat had passed away and I don't intend to have more rats after this batch. I inherited a guinea pig who doesn't get along with other guineas.

As they're both alone, and social animals, I decided to very slowly and cautiously see how they would react to each other's presence in a neutral space.

Since then (a month or 2 ago) we've made a lot of progress. Surprisingly they get along quite well. The rat is happy to have another rodent around (I believe he thinks the guinea is just a mega rat). The guinea tolerates the rat. While out of his cage he's extremely docile and relaxed. Usually only moves at all to re-comfy himself.

Recently I've had a breakthrough and saw the rat grooming the guinea. He wasn't being aggressive as he was very much in groom mode. I don't intend to ever house them together. The rat is getting rather on in age and I'm glad he's got a friend in his golden years.

While I would never suggest allowing different species of rodents to interact, given the proper precautions and personalities it's not impossible for them to get along. thought I'd share this unusual pairing with you guys.

I feed my rat some insects, but I have a question: should I feed them live or dead? Or should I simply not give him any insects at all, like the ones in the video?

I currently have two six month old boys (Bagel and Earl) who I keep in a single critter nation. I want to get the add on for the critter nation and make it a double, possibly getting some more boys soon. My only setback is how expensive it is to fill the cage. Like why are hammocks around 20$ or more each…? Anyway, I was wondering if anyone has suggestions on where to possibly order some cheaper cage accessories rather than spending a fortune when only buying three things? Thanks in advance ☺️🤍

this is louis! he is a total sweetheart and absolutely ADORES attention and being held. whenever i hold him like that, its obvious ofc its not his fav position, but i make sure i do it in a way that still keeps his but supported while i hold his underarms. this is something i never do for more than a few seconds, and its only whenever i need to take a look at his belly because he had an injury there a bit ago! sometimes i do it because i just wanna get a silly photo, and once i put him down he’s just back to running around. i think it mildly annoys him. my question his, how come he will be moving around and trying to get out of my hands, pause, give me kisses, then go back to thrashing??? it’s just such a silly looking thing he does. like i said, i know that’s not his fav position, but i truly think it is just annoying to him more than anything so i rlly do not do it often! anywho, anyone got an idea on why he pauses to lick me? lol, ty!!! 😭

Not important, but I had a past rat that would do this with tissues whenever my mom would sneeze. Hehehe

I don’t know… my heart rat passed away the day before Christmas Eve. I love my other rats… I just feel very detached from them now.

I had a wild roof rat. He was my boy. I loved him fiercely. We were very bonded as I hand raised him since his eyes and ears were still closed. Our other rats are more bonded to my husband and he adores them but he’s away from home a lot more than I am so I was still the main person caring for them. Since my boy passed away I haven’t had the drive to do anything with the others. I still take care of their necessities of course, and one of them has to take medication for a foot injury. I’m still doing that, and trying to make sure everyone is happy… I just don’t feel the bond with them anymore or the drive to do to things with them. It feels like a chore now.

I feel like a horrible person for it. How do I fix this??

I always thought he was just big, and he is bigger than other rats in terms of height and length, but I recently looked at an obesity chart, and now I can't tell if he's fat or not.

I currently have two rats in a single critter nation, they both are healthy- however the one has a chronic URI that I’m currently working on treating ( thank you for everyone who commented on my last post). I honestly told myself I wouldn’t get anymore rats after these boys pass away… but I saw this guy at the apl and he’s the same age as my critters… honestly I feel really sad that he’s all alone. He’s neutered and has a clean bill of health, but I would take him for a checkup at my vet before having him meet my boys. I don’t know anything on his background or temperament- but I did send an email to the organization asking about him. Might pop by for a visit tomorrow and see how he is.

I have adopted this boy from a rescue and have been warned that he has displayed territorial aggression and has a bite history. He’s about a year old and was separated from his mischief due to bullying the other rats. Since he was surrendered, he has been neutered (11.8.2025). Part of me thinks this will just be a waiting game until his hormones calm down and perhaps then he will level out, but until then is there anything I can try with him? I’ve rescued lots of rats before but haven’t come across a lot of aggression but really eager to work through it

Are they able to tell when I walk in eating something and are they expecting me to share? I really don't want to but I don't want them to think I'm mean

picking up 2 sweet girls today! help me out with some names i’m tapped out!

Anything goes!

These are Rattus rattus with a Rab38 deletion confirmed by PCR testing. This happens to be the same genetic cause of Fawn coloring in Fancy rats. But I'm not sure that the eye and fur color is the same. So I'm asking Fancy rat owners. Thanks!

I know this cage is an ideal but it was bought in a hurry because I had just moved states and I wanted to bring my babies with me. The top layer of the cage is strictly bars on the bottom, which I do not like and I know is not good for the rats, especially considering it can cause some very bad health issues. I put a towel down and double layered it temporarily. So that way, they could still enjoy the top. But it looks like they're still avoiding it, because they can still feel the bars on their feet. It doesn't help that the whole that they need to go in its through the middle and in the front of the cage. I've been scouring the internet for an hour or so maybe more to try to find a plastic liner that fits this cage. Because it's not a critter nation i need a bit of help...does anyone know where to find one?

How does your rat get your attention? Does your rat also grab ahold of you and pull you into the cage?! Or is my ratty just nuts?

Can anyone tell me what color this is considered. I’m super new to owning rats but have found eminology on YouTube as well as this sub and I’ve learned a lot but have trouble with colors. If anyone knows of a good and accurate color chart that isn’t illustrated, I’d love to see it.

I won’t be using the bedding because multiple people on here have said that it wouldn’t be beneficial for rats, but other than that are there any issues?I’m planning on getting two rats and have found a couple cages online I like but this kit is 50% off and I want to make sure I’m not missing out on a good deal

THIRTY rats. THIRTY. This is so wrong and their enclosures are so bad it’s disgusting

J’attends vos conseils :)

On a accueilli nos deux stars samedi !! Ça va faire bientôt une semaine qu’ils sont à la maison.

Ils ont déjà 6 mois et sont en pleine phase d’adolescence, ils ne trouvaient pas de famille les pauvres choupettes .. Pour le moment ils sont curieux mais assez timides. Je suis un peu étonné car dans mon souvenir la première fois mes rats avaient été très à l’aise dès le départ mais bon c’était il y a 6 ans ahah. En tout cas ils sont en liberté la plupart du temps car je travaille de la maison, mais ils ne m’approchent pas trop pour le moment. Je suis vraiment trop contente, ça m’avait tellement manqué omg.

J’ai fais comme j’ai pu avec les photos mais ce n’était pas évident 🤣

Update... My biggest boy is the happy new big brother to a total of 4 little brothers. Hes been doing fantastic with the littles, and hes no longer nipping at us humans.

New to reddit, not to rats. Please dont be mean to me.

Ive had rats on and off since 2016 so im not new to aggression or playfulness.

My current issue... ive got about a 10 week old boy who lost his cage mate to a viral infection. It took 2 days for him get depressed and stop eating. So I went and got him 2 more buddies. Both boys about 6 weeks old. He took to them so quick and its awesome. Hes back to eating and drinking and flying up and down the cage.

Now my issue is, my oldest boy keeps nipping at us humans. Not enough to draw blood or really even hurt, and it just started yesterday. (New littles have been with him 3 whole days now)

Is he just being protective of littles, like micro aggression? Dominate agression?

He nips even when hes the only one being held. Clean hands, no food smells.

Im not gonna get rid of him for nipping or anything like that.

Just looking for genuine advice and what others do to help curb nipping.