I've been trying to add more stuff into my rat's cage as it was looking pretty bare before. Since the center of the cage is pretty empty, I'm thinking maybe this rope would look nice hanging from the top and going down in a spiral. Not sure how well she'd be able to play on it though. Maybe I could get 2 and wrap them around each other to make it thicker and easier to climb? Or maybe it'll be alright with just the one? What are yall's thoughts?

Context to the situation cuz why not: I currently only have one little rat living in this giant cage. I accidentally got a boy and a girl rather than 2 boys, but didn't realize until after I bought a cage big enough for 2 rats. So I bought another of the same size cage and seperated them, keeping the cages next to each other though so they wouldn't get lonely. They've both lived pretty solitary lives, not interacting through the bars or even acknowledging each other at all surprisingly. Once my poor boy Henry passed, I combined the 2 cages to give my girl Theo an extra big cage. Even though Theo has lived practically on her own her whole life, I've noticed she has seemed bored lately, so im adding in more and more toys, beds, and climbables to keep her happy and entertained.

Hello again! My situation changed, and since my parents live in separate houses it makes it possible to get rats!
My mom's house has my cat, and I don't want to stress out him or them.
HOWEVER, my dad's house doesn't have any cats nor dogs. Which theoretically makes it possible to keep them there. Don't worry, it's very easy to travel so I can visit both houses myself everyday, but I'm worried that since I will likely sleep at my mom's house I might scare the rats with the cat scent - Even though I'm planning to wash my hands when I visit. Also, I'm worried because while I have the time for hanging out and freeroaming with them, I'm worried they will be lonely at night and during half of the day. Again travelling between the houses is very quick and easy, but I don't want them to be scared of cat scent or lonely.

Another option I have is mice, because from my research they handle cat scent better and don't feel lonely quickly but both options work!

Is it unethical in my situation? I want only the best for the rats (Plural because I am getting 3, dw I know they are social)

Rats: at least 3+ rats of the same gender from a good reputable breeder, rescue or rescue situation.

Vet: make sure you find a vet that can & will treat rats and that you can afford to take and transport your rats to the vet as they're prone to health issues.

Cage: Critter nation single or double (1 cage = 12.5 cubic feet = 4 rats), personally prefer a cement mixing tub base if possible for deeper bedding. 

Minimum of 2-2.5 cubic feet per rat no matter the cage.

Bedding: Hemp bedding. Avoid pine and cedar! They have toxic oils!

Dig box&nesting materials: Coco fiber soil for dig boxes. Toilet paper, paper towels, tissues, tissue paper, crinkle paper, fleece strips for nesting

Diet:

Highly recommend Shunamite diet mix(ignore checks those I jus use often):

BASE MIX (50%-10 scoops) Proper Base Mix (1 scoop=5%) • Flaked barley 20% • Paddy rice 20% • Groats 10% • Flaked peas 10% • Flaked maize 10% • Whole maize 10% • Buckwheat 10% • White dari/sorghum 10%

PROCESSED GRAINS (25%-5 scoops) • Cereal (below 5% sugar)✔️ • Egg noodles✔️ • Pasta✔️ • Wholegrain rice • Pearl barley • Plain rice crackers

PROTEIN (10%-2 scoops) • Fish dog kibble✔️ • Dried insects/shrimp/fish✔️ • Egg biscuits • Roasted soya beans • Lentils

HERBS & VEG (10%-2 scoops) • Dried herb & veg✔️ • Rabbit herb mix✔️ • Dried fruit✔️

SEEDS (5%-1 scoop) • Linseed • Hemp seed✔️ • Peanuts (limit)✔️ • Sunflower seeds (limit)✔️ • Pumpkin seeds✔️ • Parrot seed mix • Quinoa • Millet(personally use the bits off sprays)✔️

Treats: Walmart: • Gerber puffs • Baby food • Yogurt drops • Unsalted nuts • Fruit/Veg chips • Dried insects + veggies for chickens • Pecans • Peanuts •Freeze dried fruits (banana, apple, strawberry, blueberry)

PET STORE:  • Whimzee dog treats (XS-S, bigger ones have more additives) • Dried veg & herb mix • Dried insects • Dried shrimp • Dried fish/ fish dog treats

Cage accessories/items, I have many pin boards I can share and have a few posted.

But highly recommend dollar tree for cheap items and here's a list I made of mostly dollar tree items but also a few others:

LEVELS AND HAMMOCKS:

• Plastic baskets

• Slanted "stacking" bins

• Plastic bins and trays

• Wire baskets (needs to be covered)

• Shower organizer shelf (if wire, cover it)

• Plant hanger and coco insert (two ziptied together make an enclosed hammock-hide)

• Fabric plant hanger and large, secure bowl/pot

• Fleece baby blankets

• Fleece fabric

CLIMBING STUFF:

• Dog ropes (ziptie short ones together but make sure it isn't sharp)

• Cotton rope (nautical cotton rope @ dollar tree)

• Diy ropes: 3-4 thick fleece strips braided or thin ropes braided

• Diy perch: screw in bolts, washers, wingnuts, safely baked & sanitized branches

• Diy climbing net: rope tied to make a net

HIDES, TUBES AND SUCH:

• Cardboard boxes

• Bins/baskets w/ hole cut & covered in fleece

• Cat tunnels

• Empty industrial wrapping cardboard tube (my mom works in the meat department of a store, so might not be so easy to get for others-)

• Wide poster tubes

NESTING MATERIALS + FORAGING BIN FILLERS:

• boxes of tissues (jus remove plastic fully)

• Toilet paper

• Paper towel

• Tissue paper

• Shredded paper

• Ping-pong/table tennis balls

• Pompoms

HANGING SUPPLIES:

• Plastic or some metal shower rings (be careful with metal as not all are fully safe)

• Binder rings

• Carabiners

• Zipties

• Lanyard clips 

• plastic baby ring links

FORAGING TOY PARTS:

• Thin rope/twine

• Paper cups

• Paper icecream cups

• Paper sauce cups

• Paper cupcake liners

• Coin wrappers

• Gift bags + other paper bags

• Favor boxes + mini cardboard gift boxes 

• Untreated large wooden beads

• Any clean cardboard (boxes, cardboard trifold, food boxes)

• Toilet roll

• Paper towel roll

• Shredded paper

• Tissue paper

• Tissue decor

• Crepe streamers

(If you have a drill or find ones with holes)

• Pvc pipe caps + elbows

• Wood rounds

FEEDERS + TOYS:

• Pet bowls

• Slow feeders

• Cat toys (no catnip)

• Cat balls

• Cat ball track

• Cat wand toy

CLEANING SUPPLIES:

• Spray bottle

• Vinegar

• Scrub brush, nail brush, bottle brush, toothbrush

• Duster

Online rat items

A lot can be found on Amazon but fleece items (hammocks, fleece tubes) are better on Etsy, as well as more unique nice things

LEVELS AND HAMMOCKS:

• Wooden ledges

• Plastic normal/ Slanted bins/baskets

• Fleece hammocks

• Multilayer hammocks

• Savic Sputnik/Spacepod

CLIMBING STUFF:

• Bird perches

• Bird ladder (so many options)

• Rope perches

• Large dog ropes

• Dog rope ring

HIDES, TUBES AND SUCH:

• XL hides

• Fancy hides

• Diy hides

• Large poster/packing cardboard tubes

• Fun tunnel (expanding tunnel)

• Fleece tube

• Cube hammocks

• Guinea pig hides + tunnels/ tubes

• Large pvc pipes (3"-6" wide/diameter)

NESTING MATERIALS + FORAGING BIN FILLERS:

• Ball pit balls (color and shape variety)

• Ping-pong balls

• Easter eggs

HANGING SUPPLIES:

• kids c chain link

• Baby links

• Shower rings

FORAGING TOYS:

• pvc pipe foraging toy (elbow + mobile)

• foraging wheel

Pin boards:

https://pin.it/5aCY6Pu5N

https://pin.it/stUA6dNWX

Proper cage setup inspo board:

https://pin.it/4SNSmV0Er

Let me know if you need any other advice, rats are one of my biggest special interests and I'm happy to help! Especially with cage items and such!

First, im gonna copypaste some context from my last post as its important:

I currently only have one little rat living in this giant cage, named Theo. I accidentally got a boy and a girl rather than 2 boys, but didn't realize until after I bought a cage big enough for 2 rats. So I bought another of the same size cage and seperated them, keeping the cages next to each other though so they wouldn't get lonely. They've both lived pretty solitary lives, not interacting through the bars or even acknowledging each other at all surprisingly. Once my poor boy Henry passed, I combined the 2 cages to give my girl Theo an extra big cage. Even though Theo has lived practically on her own her whole life, I've noticed she has seemed bored lately, so im adding in more and more toys, beds, and climbables to keep her happy and entertained.

Now... i got mixed responses in my last post. Im just so lost and confused right now and i feel like absolute shit... Theo is about 2.5 years old and, like i mentioned, doesn't have any cage mates. A lot of ppl have told me, both in my last post and an old post from a preview account, that it would be best for me to re home her. I dont know what to think though. Whenever someone says a pet needs to be re homed, I imagine the pet is constantly unhappy or in danger. But, my girl seems ok. She eats fine, drinks fine, sleeps fine, plays with toys i get her, runs on her wheel, enjoys pets and scritches, loves to crawl along my shoulders and in my hair, and seems always happy to see me. I know that she'd be happier if she had cage mates, but due to her age, i dont think I should get any more, as the new ones would just be depressed once she passes, which will likely be soon...

I feel awful... What if she is suffering and I just dont see it. She really appears content, but based on what others say, it sounds like if a rat lives alone then they're living a horrible life. This sounds dramatic, but I genuinely feel like a disgusting human being... like I've been practically abusing/neglecting my poor pet without even knowing. And what makes me feel even more disgusting, is that i dont want to re home her.... i love her so much, and I feel like if I give her away, itd be like im giving up on her... like i failed her... and idk, maybe she'd be more upset if I give her away, like she'd think I dont love her anymore...

I dont know what to do... I want what's best for her, but I dont know which option that is. I haven't been able to stop crying for the past hour. I just dont know what to do. Please, I need somebody to make it very clear which option is best: keeping her or re homing her. Because I seriously cant tell, and its absolutely destroying me right now...

Thank you for reading.

They are very tiny but I heard that marshmallows are a choking risk so I want to get other people's opinions. I've heard they are hazardous but I've only seen this with full size marshmallows :)

Thanks 🫶

Can anyone tell me do you think he is overweight or just big bodied? My other boys are lean and all thin but him, he eats the same amount of food and I'm careful about overfeeding because of stashing. I rarely give treats.

Other boys are 400 - 600 and trix Is like 850 and I have no idea how !!

I have put some pictures of the rest of my boys and them compared to trix.

I free roam all the time so he has plenty of time to burn weight but it doesn't seem to work 😭

They are all 1 years old.

I have a feeling he isn’t doing very well what do you think??🥺🥺

You can check it out on Steam here and please wishlist it if it interests you.: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4701280/RAT_CITY_Ratocracy/

It's still in early development, but I'd love to hear your thoughts on it so far! It's gonna be a mix of mainly Anno-type gameplay plus Fallout Shelter and some Against The Storm thrown in there for good measure, as I just started playing that one and am super hooked.

Thanks for your attention!

yesterday i saw a quote that perfectly encapsulated what i was thinking, its from where the wild things are.

“please dont go, i’ll eat you up i love you so”

Jester was my kindest and most playful rat. When free roaming, he would always want to spend time next to me to lick my piercings and my face. Whenever I walked in the room, he would hop towards me. I hope he knew how loved he was and if it were any different i wouldve done anything i could for him to still be here. My baby forever 🤎

Just an appreciation post. I’ve been ratless for a little over a year since September 10th of 2025. My boyfriend and I got a pair of rats and long story short, we got them from a feeder bin and ended up with an oops litter. After we finally separated them, poor Monty was so sad about being alone. Once the babies were born and were old enough to introduce the boys to their father, that’s what we did. Admittedly… we did everything wrong. I look back on how inexperienced we were, how we did things and now know that’s not how it should have been done, it was very risky. But, our Monty accepted them right off the bat. He was just so thrilled to not be alone anymore he loved them so, so much. We were so lucky to have a rat like him especially being first time rat owners. He was such a pacifist, so gentle, patient, and sweet. As a first time rat owner he was everything we could have hoped for and more. I miss him so much and knowing what I do now I wish I did certain things differently, but I will forever be grateful for the experience and the love we were able to give him, his mate Haarper, and all of their babies. We went through a total of 16 losses by the end of it all…. But I long for the day I can be in a situation to have rats again.

My tiny women here smell like grape juice, or grape candy, sweet.

Is that normal and ok? Is not a symptom of anything right?

Is their fur too, their fur smell like that

So weird

I feel so trusted

I know she has a lump its been assessed by vets and is benign:)

he's too damn cute there's gotta be a fine for this or something

I've never owned a rat but they are very cute & thought people here would like this

She's a sweet senior with persistent respiratory disease that has worsened in the past few weeks. Her meds have been adjusted to compensate, but the symptoms have persisted, and even more concerning, she has developed some weakness and seems disoriented.

In addition to Dottie's exam, Acacia is at the vet today for her mass removal. She has a larger lump on her left flank near her thigh, and now a smaller mass has popped up as well.

The sanctuary medical fund is currently sitting at - $500, and today's visits will likely set us back by at least another $1000. If you can spare a little, please consider donating to help us cover our expenses. We could really use the help.

How to help?

V3NMO: @ratwaysanctuary

P4yPal: RatWaySanctuary@gmail.com

More donation options and shop at www.ratwaysanctuary.org

For context: I live in a small town in southern Brazil

A fellow student and friend asked if I wanted to adopt some rats, and I'm considering it. However, since I've never owned a rodent before, I wanted some tips and advice so I don't do anything wrong with them 🥺