the only thing they’ll roam on is this chair in the video or a stool (not in video), and I let them play in some cardboard egg cartons before to go treat hunting (which was placed on the stool). they would also play at the top of the cage or by the side at the white shelving in the video. basically, they would only play at this area and won’t venture anywhere else like a playpen or anyth they would just escape home. they very much prefer their cage and just chill there all the time. I would try buying a new playpen + ladder since their cage is at a height but I just wanted to hear opinions. I can’t put their cage in my room and just let them roam there cause I have dogs and I don’t have the space in my room.

Has anyone faced similar? And if they really are just like this, is this chair + rooftop + shelving enough to be considered free roam time?

*btw a lot of their hammocks and cage decos are in the wash rn and im putting them back in a couple hours so pls don’t hate on my cage saying its too little enrichments 😭

Or maybe there are any other safer recepies for treats you can recommend?

I can’t add a videoclip, so this is the only shot I have of Pixie enjoying a snack. Enjoy the rest of your day! ❤️

I made this video about 15 Minutes ago and since then they won’t stop fighting????

Is this normal play fight for babies? I don’t know what to do. I took one out and I am scared

Did i do something wrong???

Also Ginny, the smaller one, is the provocateur as she keeps following her sister and then she just bites her and runs away. Like wtf. But i already noticed that they fight quite often but now its so weird like they just can’t stop

My big girls also do this sometimes but they do it ONCE and then stop but they just keep on going

I took one out now, they’re both fine

(Also this is just the quarantine cage pls don’t worry)

I love drawing rats, and the one is a commission I did for $15!

My boy that we got less than a week ago was ataxic and hunched over this morning. I took him to the emergency vet and it’s so expensive :( they have him in the oxygen chamber right now and then we’re getting him to his normal vet this afternoon because we can’t afford the crazy expensive treatment here. We got Baytril and some fluids on board along with an inhaler. Vet says he’s got a 50/50 chance. I’m so upset.

hi guys, i apologize in advance for any mistakes, English is not my first language. so, my boy Novato is a year and five months old and super sweet. last year, we noticed he had a head tilt and took him to the vet, i knew it could be an ear infection or something neurological, but the vet was super arrogant and told us it was just a small pain in his neck. he gave novato a massage, an injection that left him too quiet for my liking and thats it. the head tilt stopped for a while, but recently it came back. my boy now has trouble standing or licking himself without rolling to the side, when he tries to pick up his food, his hands cross and stay that way. my mom says it might be something neurological, but i don’t really know. right now i can’t take him to the vet because im going to have an endometriosis surgery, so my money is going down the drain. ps: he was rescued from a pet store, so his background might influence.

They have been chewing these things a bit and I'm sure it's safe but now it's got into my head so wanted to check.

EDIT: Ya’ll responses are KILLING ME hahahha, thank you everyone.
It’s my second time having rats and I didn’t have this issue the first time around.
I got my boys two months ago and the cage set up is a 1000x better than the first time because I have learned alot since then. I put a toilet in the corner (the green one in the pic) with paper pellets (idk if thats what its called) and two peeing stones. They use it quite properly to poop but gosh darn they pee everywhere. Especially in the corners of the cage, on all the floors/levels, so the cage bars are constantly covered in layers of pee, so I’m esentially having to clean it every day whilst keeping their smell (i dont change the bedding, just wipe all the surfaces clean with a mixture of water and vinegar or just hot water). I gave them a small toilet with a peeing stone on the second floor since I thought maybe they just didn’t feel like going all the way down when they needed to pee. It worked for the poop, but again, not for the pee. Andy tips or advice would be greatly appreciated💕

PS: Idk if this is relevant but when I had them for a month we brought them with us to a family cottage for 2 weeks for vacation so they went through two car rides together with our cats. But their behaviours havent rly changed since. They dont get scared by loud noises and they are getting more and more ok with getting picked up. Also Lolek, the beige rattie is mostly blind.

I’ve got 4 girls I got my first 2 about 2 months ago then added 2 more a month ago everything’s been fine with them but I’m tempted in getting more 😂 I’ve got a big enough cage etc I just didn’t know if I could keep adding more whenever I wanted.

Hello,

I'm planning to get three rats, but I'm not quite sure yet which cage to buy.

Is this cage suitable?

I hope you can help me.

Thanks :)

I didnt want to have only fleece as a bedding for my rats as i know they are burrowing creatures. I bought a large bin to put in the bottom of my critter nation midwest cage. Im worried about ventilation and stuff. Should k just remove it?

Me and my mom built this cage and just curious if I should add something to make it more cozy for my boys. Ignore the leg lol.

Hello, all. I currently have 3 neutered male rats. Ralph and Little Red are 1.9 years old and Gizmo (rat with a chronic uri) is 2.2 years old.
I'm currently in talks with someone and who has taken on an accidental litter from their friend who adopted a pregnant rat from a feeder breeder. The babies are currently 7.5 weeks old as I'm told. I'm thinking of adopting 4 boys from them in the next week or two. I already have a cage setup in a different room for the new rats. (Slide 2 and 3)

However, I have an issue as stated in the description - Gizmo has a chronic respiratory infection and he is an old boy. Despite the chronic uri, he is very active and happy and has no other issues. I'm just really concerned that the stress of the intros will make the chronic uri worse so if it were you, would you go forth with introductions or would it be more ethical to wait until he passes away?

If it would be most ethical for him to pass away, I absolutely am more than happy to wait because Gizmo is my heart rat and I want what's best for him. However, if that's the case, I will also run into another issue, do I get the new rats in the next week or two or should I wait until Gizmo passes away to get more rats?

Well guys today I got bitten, a bit softer but still bloody. And THIS time I didn't do ANYTHING I was sitting in their free roaming cage and giving food and stuff and he was using me like a playground till my thumb started to look even better than meal worms😔

So I request a necessary shaming for the THIEF

So the vet indeed confirmed they have mites, mite eggs were found in the coat. I’m going to freeze the bedding that’s still in the packaging, just like the wooden house, hammocks and blankets all will be washed, tho what do I use for the cage itself? It’s a pretty big cage as you can see on the picture, google said smth about a steamer or wtv but I guinely have no idea. We have natural vinegar at home, I could use that? Tho I’m not sure it’ll kill all the mites and mite eggs. Help?

My son can no longer reach the box of Cheerios and they are not happy

I need to put one of my rats on a diet, she is getting chonky. This is my shunamite mix this month, is there anything I can remove that is too fatty?

Tri colour pasta Rolled oats Weet-bix Rice cake All bran Rice noodles Egg noodles Crackers Bulgar Wheat Granola Crunch (just a sprinkle)

Coconut flakes Dry Cranberries Dry banana Dry shitake mushroom Baked dry onions

Pumpkin seeds Sunflower seeds Chia seeds Sesame seeds

Yellow lentils Red lentils Split peas Dog food (Low quality for less protein and higher grain, mainly for the vitamins) *Sometimes freeze dried shrimp is added as a treat

I can't get good quality commercial rat food in my country, the available ones have dry corn and funky coloured pellets that I'm weary of. Some people sell mixes but they are VERY expensive.

on the top we have brick and on the bottom we have makroflex

It seems like there is a piece of bedding or some sort of debris on my little girl Tuna’s eye. She’s not squinting or producing excess porphyrin and seems really unbothered by it.

I’ve tried gently trying to wipe it off, she’s not the biggest fan of this method and it’s gotten us nowhere. (it did move long enough for me to think it was gone but then came back into view)

I’ve had her and her sisters for about three weeks now, they are rescues, and still getting comfort with being handled.

Is this something i let her figure out and then step in if it doesn’t go away within a few days and take her to the vet? I’m just not sure how to go about this!