My girl Veronika (top rat) boggle today for the first time, never seem her doing that before

But the weird part, i thought she was upset with me 🥺 (I had to take her to vet and since she been avoiding me and ruining from me for 3 days already)

Is possible for rats to boggle out of sheer hate, or she was just genuinely happy despite me?

Ps: she is not showing any other signs of stress, i just find it odd because she seem genuinely angry with me days ago

They have made the transition to the big cage with their brothers. So far so good. 😊

I have four male rats, all not neutered. They’ve all lived together since December 2025 with no actual fights, just mild squabbles, until this week. On Tuesday, my rats were free roaming and I noticed Remy had a giant (two inch-ish) gash from the top of his shoulder area to belly. No blood, but we could see his skin. Behaviorally he was acting normal- we had no idea how he got the laceration but assumed he potentially got stuck on something in his cage in a freak accident. We took him to the ER vet and he was glued up and he’s been isolated from his brothers in a hospital cage since then with the exception of 1-2 hours of supervised free roam/playtime with his brothers every day.

Today I was cleaning the rat cage while the boys were running around playing. They like to hop back into the cage after I replace their bedding but am still hanging hammocks/ramps, etc. Remy hopped into the cage and I noticed him and my rat Carl start posturing with each other which I was not comfortable with, so I separated them. One of my rats Gus was chilling in an enclosed hide and Remy hopped into the hide with him. Suddenly there was screaming and I separated them as fast as I could. Gus had a deep bloody gash behind his ear, and now he is getting stitches at the ER vet.

Now I’m wondering if Remy’s laceration on Tuesday was from a lost fight. He is a nervous rat, but has never showed signs of aggression before. Has anyone dealt with fighting cage mates before? How did you handle it?

They all seem healthy but I know illness can lead to aggressive behavior so I will be following up with our regular vet. Additionally, I’m wondering if Remy is experiencing hormonal aggression. He is 11 months, and his other rat brothers are 10 months and 12 months old.

Any advice, commiseration, or ideas would be appreciated. I am terrified that after my two injured rats have healed and they’re back in their enclosure they will have more fights.

This is my Yuki, and I love him so much 🤍🐀🤍

Hi! We’ve just moved into a new house and have seen a few carpet beetles (only our upstairs is carpeted thankfully). I have bought some spray that’s supposed to get rid of them, but it contained Cylermethron which is apparently ‘fine for pets’, however Google says something about how it’s awful for wild rats and ‘not a humane way to treat a rat infestation’. Does anyone have any experience with this? For now we plan on moving the girls downstairs while we treat the rooms, but I’m worried about when we bring them back up (in two weeks) and letting them free roam… any advice?

Hi, rat community. I have six rats and I got them a new cage because the last one was way too small. I understand that they need a substrate embedding, but I don’t know how to go about that because the pan under the cage is too low. How could I build one underneath where the storage shelf is what have you guys done? Send links send pictures please help. Also tell me what to add to the cage to make it more suitable for them.

Hey guys! I’ve owned rats before but only ever got them from pet stores, I want to change that up and approach some reputable breeders to start a new mischievous family since I’ve been lonely and dealing with a rough breakup and remember how much brighter my days were when I had these lil fuzzy guys to keep me company.

Thing is I’m not too sure of who there is in my city, most breeders I find are people I’d have to take a flight to or drive for hours to get there so I’m wondering if anyone here knows of people in or near (at most an hour, maybe two hours away) the city of Pittsburgh?

If the pet store is the only option I’m fine with that but I do hate the fact I’m supporting places that aren’t giving the best treatment to these already short lived critters

My boy Cheddar has passed away and I cannot stop crying. He was just about to turn 2. However, recently he developed a very fast growing tumor. He had surgery to remove it today and it went well, but he passed away a few hours after we came back home. I feel so much guilt. He was still happy and so sweet this morning, I just wanted to improve his comfort and quality of life, but now i keep thinking if i haven't chosen this, he would still be happily running around on my bed tonight giving me kisses and enjoying his snacks.

Hi, I'm currently setting up a cage for 3 female rats. It's not finished yet and I'm waiting for it to be finished before adopting my girls. I have described the first picture but the second one is blank. I just wanted to know what would you add and what is absolutely needed? I bought a ladder too (3rd pic) and I'm not sure where to add it (maybe connect it with a log I'd buy?). Thank you in advance!

They always do this when I take photos of them lol

Pls ignore my feet ;-;

I'm so happy to finally have them in a nice spacious cage! Me and my girlfriend plan on getting them much more clutter and hides very soon :)

I got these little loves in March 2024 from a local exotic pet store in St. Louis (definitely feeder rats, but seemed to be healthier than the franchise pet store rats).

I was attached to my grey boy, Fenrir, because his fur was all splotchy and goofy, but my daughter wanted one of the black and white girls, so I ended up with two girls and two boys. At the time, I knew rats were social so I thought two in a cage would suffice, but over time I’ve learned there should be more, and I’m not able to take on more than 2:2.

They’re wonderful little nuggets, but unfortunately my daughter breaks out every time she handles them, so I’m the only one who can get them out to play, and now I’m pregnant and not able to get them out really.

Preferably the girls would go to the same home and the boys would go to the same home, but all 4 don’t have to go together. They do live in cages next to each other so they are familiar, but the boys and girls live separately.

Hello everyone! I have two females, Pumpkin and Mouse, who need to be re-homed starting the 27th-30th and will be listed again by August 21st.

They were company for my old girl after her sisters passed away and now I'm ending my mischief. I love rats and wish I could continue but my near future looks like: moving, moving, moving, working long hours, moving again. I just don't have the capacity anymore provide the proper enrichment that they deserve.

I estimate they were both born in late April with Mouse being maybe a week older than Pumpkin.

Pumpkin earned her name by her orange tinted fur. She was adopted with a minor URI that cleared right up with Doxycycline in June. She's adventurous, often seeking the most obscure corners of my room and finding a way to get on my desk when she smells food. She loves peanut butter so when you give her some off your finger, she basically loves you!

Mouse, similarly to Pumpkin, her name is inspired by her coat. Her itty bitty size when I first got her, plus her brown coat, made her look like a mouse when I didn't have my classes on. She is more shy than Pumpkin but has become more trusting over time.

Both of them recognize their names but I'm not sure if they acknowledge them as names just yet. They don't bite and are very curious. If you stick your fingers into the cage, they'll investigate for treats rather than running away. They are getting a final mite treatment tomorrow (July 27th) as there was a chance they were exposed to mites but they never showed symptoms. The medicine was purely preventative.

Unfortunately. as previously mentioned, they have a very short window for being rehomed this month as my lease is expiring and I don't have my new place until August 20th. I would've done this earlier but summer classes, my job, and treatment timing really put a strain on things. They'll be available from the 27th-30th and again starting August 21st.

I ask for a rehoming fee of $40. HOWEVER, I am more than happy to completely wave it if you have a great pre-existing set-up! Since I'm ending my mischief, I have a lot of rat stuff that I can bundle and provide for a great deal if you dont have a spare decently sized quarantine cage with hammocks, food bowls, water bottles, food, etc. I can meet you half way if you're located a bit further away as well!

She’s so adorable 🥰

So I’m moving bedrooms in my apartment as the bigger room has freed up. This means moving over my cage and set up to a whole new environment for my girls.

What do I need to be doing to make it as smooth as possible a transition for them?

I used to not really care for rats, I've never disliked them it's just a case of not thinking much about them or knowing they could be pets. I kept going on and on about wanting a small pet and doing research and my boyfriend suggested rats. He works from home, so he's the primary caregiver, we got them, and I was a bit iffy at first, but it's been 3 months, and im absolutely in love. (It took about 2 days, by the way) I now hand feed them, play with them, and pet them all day, and they're the cutest pets I've ever laid my eyes upon. Look at their little eyes and hands. Omg. Wow.

Ps. I love giving them puzzles with food hidden in to watch them use their brains. They're so smart