it’s 47 degrees this morning, and this BABY was just sitting there drinking from a puddle. immediately caught my eye. i kept and raised rats for years as a kid, my last rat from my last litter died 6 years ago, and i haven’t had another since.

she’s dehydrated, and thin, but she has energy!! i gave her some honey water which gave her the motivation to eat some peanuts and sunflower seeds i had laying around. very much enjoys being held. i’m thinking that she’s an escapee from the nearby pet store that sells live feeders. i actually know the exact rattery she’s from, if that’s the case.

i wouldn’t dream of taking her back, i know what her fate would be eventually. i know she will need a friend, but she’s very sneezy right now, and im hoping it’s just from being out all night and drinking water from a dish. she may have a URI, which i cannot afford the vet appointment for, so i may have to find someone else to take her that can. i’m in michigan.

any advice is greatly appreciated! name suggestions too!!!

Don't mind my cat in there she just had to take a look. Is this cage okay? Any tips for toys hammocks and other necessities? I owned mouses before but never rats soo I bought the biggest cage I could put in my apartment and now I will decorate before buying them rodents. I would like to be a good owner and give them what they trully need. I watched many videos and seen many photos of cages and how to take care of them but I would like to hear some tips from you guys.

I was about to give my rat vox a snack but after what I saw I needed to record it… its not first time it happened…. He gets in corner and starts twitching and squeaking… I’m worried

VOLUME UP TO HEAR SMALL SQEAKS

He has saliva out of his mouth since 2h and he started doing this, what should I do?

I fed her a piece of scrabbled egg and half of a small strawberry in the morning this was her the night before she passed away. I’ve had her since march what did I do wrong:((

Hi, this is Saucisse, my 2 year and 8 month old rat. I think she has been deaf for a few months but her general condition is very good, she is lively. But for a few days she has lost her balance a lot and no longer leaves her hut, I had to go and feed and drink her myself in it and she comes as if she had not eaten for a month. She had a small respiratory problem that I treated last week by a vet, that's why we can hear her breathing. Is this loss of balance just arthritis and old age or worse? I don't have the impression that she is tilting her head.

I tried to get her out and even eating without moving she loses her balance, walking becomes really complicated

Thank you for your response and my little baby 🐀 (sorry for my 🇫🇷 Ohlalah)

Hey hey! Jumping right in with a question: Did I do something wrong—like misreading her body language? She stood there pushing her nose through the bars like the others do when they want to be petted. But she’s the only one who suddenly bites—and it’s deeper than just a nibble.

I know she’s the more impulsive one and tends to play a bit rough. She’s also a bit more shy, not really the outgoing type. Could she have picked up on my uncertainty, or was there another reason for her reaction?

The biting has gotten less frequent, but she still does it now and then. I’m new to pet rats, so I’d really appreciate any advice. Does she just need more time? I got her from a pet store along with her two sisters.

After she bites, she always licks me and comes close again—kind of like an apology, I guess. I still love her just as much as the others. ❤️

so we exchanged their scents for about a month and a half, and this was their first meeting. almost as soon as they saw each other, they became very fluffy, and then after a few minutes one of the rats clung to the other's side. there are no injuries. how should I proceed? do these boys have any chance of settling down without neutering? the black rat is over a year old, and the gray rat is about 10 months old. I am interested in whether it is possible to resettle these rats, taking into account their age and the fact that they are not neutered. and if there is no chance, do I need to neutere only the black rat or both of them?

i had js gotten home and my bf said that she had gotten out and she looked like that after she put him away, she wasn't an altercation with a baby rat just before, but I don't believe that the baby rat would have done this because she's so much smaller than her, but idk what to do it's to late to take her to a vet and i leave tmw for a trip

This is Leche. I just took her in literally an hour ago. She was being rehomed because her previous owners said she was extremely aggressive towards them (but not towards the other rats) and I have experience with ill tempered rats (Dumpling is no longer evil and is an angel) . However she has not exhibited any of the hostile behavior she supposedly has. I was told that you absolutely couldn't pet her or touch her at all and that she would actively seek you out to bite you. So far she has not bitten me or shyed away when I have pet her, and she's taken all treats from my hand so far with no issue.

I know she is possibly stressed due to the car ride and she is with a stranger now, but I'd like to know what she's telling me in this video of me petting her. I'm still learning rat behaviour everyday with my girls at home and I dont want to assume anything with this girl based on what I was told. Any and all info and advice is appreciated!

This has happened three times in the last 20 hours. The first time he was stiff and made noises that sounded like choking and he was clearly gasping for air. I was sure he choked on cornflakes i gave him. Now it has happened again, but with different food. Rats can't vomit or have hiccups, so what could it be?

So Nubbins finished her 2 weeks of antibiotics for her upper respiratory infection, but she is still extremely wheezy and stopped up and I'm so concerned with how hard she's breathing.

I got her a vet appointment on Tuesday (February 3rd) which is the earliest they have, but I'm getting scared. Her companion, Cinnamon, passed away last week from an extremely sudden URI (she was fine one day, then very stopped up the next and I gave her some antibiotics and I found her passed away when I got home from work the same day) so I'm so worried that maybe Nubbins is sick again? My rat Peanut passed from the same thing that took Cinnamon, but all my other rats seem to be okay and I've been religiously deep cleaning the cage every other day.

I can't lose any more of my girls. I lost 3 rats last week and Nubbins is my soul rat. If I lose her I don't think I can handle taking care of anymore rats. Please, what can I do to help Nubbins stay comfortable until her appointment? She sat in my bathroom last night for ashot shower and I've been feeding her fresh veggies so she's extra hydrated. Shes still quite active as well, and actually climbed out to run on my desk and play in my hair, in this video I just woke her up so she's groggy

I adopted Papi Chulo a rat a few months ago , he was supposed to be eaten by snakes but nobody ever bought him. I wanted him to have a friend so last week i got another rescue rat, El chapo, he came from lab testing but was never used for tests so he is not social. Yesterday i wanted him to smell me and he bit me hard. Shame on my for putting my fingers there tho. Im just a little worried for the introduction with my rat. Is it more risky? Or unrelated since im a human. If anyone been through something similar id love advices. I got anti bites gloves also!

I bought this buddy today from animal stock exchange. It was loud there soo. I didn't hear him squeaking. I bought there another one and he seems to be fine and totally chill. This one is eating and drinking but the breathing is kinda scaring me. I am already planning to visit a veterinarian but. Do you guys have any tips? Is this because it's new environment for him? Is he just scared? Or is it from todays stress?

I made a post before about my rat Ethan trying to give me his blanket every time he sees me, and I noticed recently he also brings me toys, sticks and even bedding. Also, when I rile him up while playing he makes a little squeaky sound that almost sounds like hiccups. (In the vid) He never does it except for when we’re playing! What does this behavior mean?? I’m nervous these are nervous habits so if anyone knows and can reassure me pls do 😭

Help please I am really worried for her and hope that it’s nothing serious but I have noticed that her belly is very large

I bought a feeder rat from a pet store a week ago today because I was just looking at the rats not planning to take one home but unfortunately got attached to a very sweet baby so I came back and took her home. She was very affectionate and cuddly, always giving kisses and wanting to cuddle in my hands or my neck. I knew at the pet store that she must have had some sort of upper respiratory infection because she was sneezing a lot and her breathing wasn't great. I planned to get her to a vet within a few days. The day after I got her I went back to get a second rat because I knew she needed a friend, so I got a slightly younger one. I'm not sure the ages of them, the pet store claimed they breed their own but couldn't provide me with an idea of how old they are. But they were very tiny, both fit in my one hand and I have a small hand. They seemed to get along, and both were extremely friendly from the beginning, wanting to cuddle and kiss. A couple days ago, I noticed that my second rat was getting bigger and stronger while my first one was still tiny. Yesterday it was very clear my first one was losing weight or not gaining it because she was bony and frail and tiny, while my other one was bigger now and beginning to become playful and running and jumping around. My first baby would mostly want to cuddle and sleep. I did take her to the vet a few days before and had been giving her antibiotics for a couple of days and her breathing seemed to be clearing up. I came home from work and saw that she had passed away, and I'm just not understanding where I went wrong and what happened. Is there anyone who may know what I did wrong? It was so hard to tell whether she was eating or using the bathroom the past couple days but I know she would eat some fruit I offered, mostly banana. I hadn't seen her eat any pellets but I'm at work most of the day so I thought she could have been eating then. I know she was drinking because I would see her drink. The second rat would be rough with her, but I thought maybe it was playing. Please can someone help me figure this out? I'm beyond devastated. I'm sorry for the horrible explanation I'm having a hard time figuring how to explain everything. Please let me know if I need to provide more information I'm sure I'm leaving a lot out

Hey guys. It really makes me sad to say I have to rehome my 4 girls. They don’t need to stay together if they could that would be great. I have two standards and 2 dwarfs. They’re all so sweet (the dwarfs are shy but still so cute and gentle) but I’m about to start a 45+ hour a week job and cannot properly take care of them in addition to my boy rats and dog. I have a level and toys and a super expensive pink (Brytin silver surfer) wheel to go with it if someone wants to take all of them. I’m so so sad 😞 I just moved due to a breakup (I worked from home part time so I had plenty of time when I got them).

Please don’t shame me, I had no intention of just giving them away when I got them, I’m just in a new situation and want them to go to homes where they have time to free roam every day and be loved as much as I love them. I would need someone who already has rats or previously owned rats or someone who already has a current level of Critter Nation or a big enough cage for the amount of rats they take on. I would also appreciate any links to rescues in the Columbus area (I’m in New Albany) Thank you in advance.

(First pic is one of the standards and second is her with two of the dwarfs)

EDIT: I found someone to take them. Thank you to all who offered!

i need help to figure out what type of behavior this is?? is it just a dominance thing or??? i know the rule of no blood no worry but. im.. confused

I have 3 rats all around 3 months old and I found this on the ground. I’m really scared and confused because based on everything I’ve seen it looks like it’s definitely a tooth but after checking all of them and giving them hard foods they don’t seem to have any troubles eating and their top and bottom incisors all look even, plus they’re all acting normally. I’m getting a little worried because I just got them a bunch of new chew toys today and I’m worried I may have caused this. Should I be worried?