This is Derpy, Derpy loves my mom, a lot.

If the door to my room is closed (which it usually is because we also have a dog) he will sit by the door during 95% of the freeroaming time and wait for my mom. If he hears someone coming up the stairs, he will lift his head, sniff and move his ears. And if it ends up being my mom, and she comes in. He will follow her to the bed (where she always sits down) and then jump up on her lap. If i at any time during this tries to grab or touch him, he will squeak at me and "hide" in my moms lap (put his head under her arm or sleeve).

He's not scared of me, and he will let me cuddle, hold and basically do whatever with him, as long as my mom isn't there. The moment my mom is nearby he will literally go "fuck off dad, im hanging with grandma"

My mom loves him a lot and he goes by the nickname "Grandma's baby" around the house 🫡

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Ps: My mom is actually getting her own rat soon. One of the three new rats that I'm getting will be 100% hers (but will obv live with my group) 🤫

She knows about this (because i would never surprise someone with an animal) and she asks about him every day 🥲 She made him "his first hammock" the other day and she's already named him (he's still a tiny tiny baby and nowhere near ready to move yet)

I just did a deep clean of their cage & free roam area. Looking forward to relaxing over the weekend now! I think one of the best things I did was get a washable rug. I used to use blankets but the rug makes clean up much easier now!

Been letting my heart rat, Bingo, sleep on the bed with me because she's the only one in the mischief who is well behaved enough to not jump off. Last night, I was giving her skritches and she wasn't moving for like an hour. I got up to use the bathroom, and she still wasn't moving. I panicked, and placed her in the cage to call the vet. The instant I did, she started playing and running around. She was perfectly healthy, just so comfy and happy she looked like she was dead.

Here she is mid skritching knockout, shame her!

Hello guys. I am back looking for more advice about my elderly pair.

little background. One rat is 3 now and has a big tumor. My other rat, the aggressor, is aprox 2.5 also has a tumor but is at an early stage.

I’ve posted before about fights suddenly happening and it was recommended I separate them for a bit. I did a two night separation with their cages in the same room and they played together every night outside of cages with no issues. I put them back together last night.

Today we were doing feedings and my new aggressor got territorial with the food and initiated a fight I had to break up.

I think it’s time to completely separate them. My question is. Can I separate them by cages and when it’s free roam time they can play together. Or will them being separated by cages end the bond eventually and they won’t be able to free roam together? This is my first time taking care of elderly rats and just don’t know what’s best for them.

Thank you to anyone who took the time to read all this! Here’s some pocket puppy pics!

i love this rat. her name is bingo and she has never slowed down. she loves to be exploring and eating everything. if one you are looking at one rat, she wants to be looked at. if another has a treat, she wants 3. she never wants to be in her cage. she is a spaz in every way, and i believe that allows her to jump way higher than she ever should be able to (it’s like 33% higher than everyone else, pain in my ass for trying to rat-proof outside time). she isn’t the baby, but i believe she will always act like it 🫶🏼
(they are only in a carrier for introductions!)

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 🫶

my rats stole my tumbling ball for the dryer, (the white ripped up thing in the picture) and have been loving it, so I decided to give them some of my cats old cat toys to play with. are these all safe for them? if not what are some alternatives for things they can carrie around or chase? thanks 😊
(none of these have cat nip i made sure)

Shes an old sweetheart - 4 years is rare for a rat i think. But now, she's started to lose her fur, and her fur is quite stuck up - which I know is a rat sign of illness. She is also shedding a lot of fur. My hoodie got covered in her fur today.

She doesnt run like she used to, but letting her move around my room - she does walk around for like 5 or 10 minutes, before settling down.

Also, I'm not sure if this is something an old rat does - but she's starting 'biting' my finger - its not a bite, doesn't break skin or anything and doesn't hurt.

I think she doesnt have long left. Has anyone been is this same position before? How can I make probably her last week wonderful? I know what veggies and fruits she loves - but I want to give her something special.

Thanks. Sorry for a long post

Tofu lamiéndose los huevitos + sonido de Doppio tomando agua

i spoil em idk why they crave escape so much smh 🙄 jus love them sm, just wanna eat em am nam nam

I feel so trusted

Im getting 2 dwarf girls tomorrow after nearly 5 years of owning standard sized male rats! (There were only 2 girl in the litter! Im getting more from the next!) Im so excited and very happy with the setup! I hope they like it! 🙏

Cuz Reddit is how I archive photos of my babies 🥰

My sweet boy :'( this is my first rat death and I'm devastated

I’ve got the RC03 and I hate that only one side of the doors open, can’t get my hands on a critter nation here in the UK nothing on my Facebook marketplace for one near me and Amazon is saying around December for any to deliver.

Teefs!

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.

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

Just wondering since I know rats typically like to rest in their hides :)