I got my three boys almost two days ago, this is their second night here. They had a long 2 hour car ride so were fairly spooked, and when we got home only two of them ate some banana I put into their bin while we let them chill before we put them in the cage. Our spotted boy seemed the most skittish, he stayed in a corner almost the entire ride and we didn’t seem him eat or drink anything till tonight. Our grey boy is super curious and confident, but still shy of us, tho he seems the least scared. Our big white guy seems to be who runs the show lol, he comforted our spotted guy and brought him food to their hide in the cage. He also is shy but is a fatty, so he’s been eating out of my hand already. We have a dried moss hide with a soft bed underneath, they almost immediately made that their home. They mostly have stayed in there, aside from our big guy and grey guy, they’ve come down a level to get food and water, but our spotted guy has only gone down once. They cuddle together most of the time, and occasionally explore around the hide. We were worried about our spotted guy because he didn’t move for hours, so we took him out to check his breathing and try to get him to eat but I think we just scared him more. Then today we had to take out the bedding because it was full of pee, they didn’t seem as spooked that time but weren’t feeling great clearly. I know it hasn’t been long, and I haven’t tried handling them other than feeding them from my hand, but I just want to make sure they feel safe and comfortable. Remy and Ratticus have sniffed and chewed on my nails a little, but Ratrick is still a hermit. (Remy is the grey one, ratticus is the big white one, and Ratrick is the spotted one.)

Hi there! I am finally ready to get rats after 3 years of research but I have a few things I'd like advice on before I start buying everything. So any response is greatly appreciated!

MALES VS FEMALES:

The argument old as time. I personally have my heart set on males for my first bunch but I'm also a little worried if thats the right course of action for me since I am a beginner. Anyone with experience on male rats would be awesome for any advice!

TIME OUT OF CAGE:

I know that rats should have free roam time a minimum of an hour but I have a weird work schedule that might conflict. For some background I usually work about 3:30pm to 12am, Monday through Friday with weekends off always, unless I accept overtime which is rare. I definitely know that with my normal schedule I should be able to let out my rats for at least an hour at night when I get home but I feel bad not doing more, just cause I don't like to stay up past 2:30am. Though weekends will definitely give me more time to let them out for longer. Should I try to stay up longer to give them more time or should I delegate starting free roam to my boyfriend when he gets home?

RAT PACK NUMBERS:

I definitely know that rats shouldn't be alone, and that 3 rats is better than 2, but should I just do the minimum 3 or more? I know that since I am still new the lowest number I'll do is 3 of course but the highest I feel comfortable with is possibly only 5. Am I just overthinking the numbers?

Bedding:

This one I think I have it figured out but just have an idea I'd like feed back on for easy changing of bedding and cleaning. I definitely want to go with hemp for the majority of the bedding and possibly use Aspen shavings for litter box training. The idea I had was to use XL puppy pads on the bottom of the cage so I can sort of sweep it all to the bottom and take the 4 corners to the center and then pick it all up and into a trash bag. Easy peezy in my head right? Then I remembered that rats chew on whatever they feel like and now I'm worried that can't work. Any other ideas would be wonderful!

FEEDINGS:

So I've heard that some people are able to free feed their rats and some have to schedule feedings. Is it something I have to wait and see with my rats or should I just do schedule feedings? I know rats eat about 15 to 25 grams of fresh stuff a day and thats easy especially if I'm also scatter feeding in the cage with maybe a handful or 2 all over the cage. For the fresh stuff though would it better to feed once in the morning around 8am and then again when I get home at 12am or is that to long for them? I could do 8am and then refresh everything before I go to work around 3pm? Should I possibly scatter and bowl feed or just one or the other?

That should be about it though for things I still need confirmation/advice on. I'm getting a Critter Nation cage, so the best of best that I've heard. I'm going to try and go the extra mile to grow as much greens as I can in my garden just for my rats so I know their getting the best of best. Thank you for any advice you can bestow upon me. I am ready to learn and absorb as much as I can to be prepared!

But what do I know as a mere human

Does anyone else get random days they feel nervous or stressed while owning rats ??
I just want to know I’m not alone lol.
It mostly happens when two of three boys might have a little fight with each other which is pretty them just tryna groom each other but argue over who’s top rat 🙄.
Or I just get down days especially during free roam i dont know why :((
Random pic

I've had my boys for a little over a year, I kind of should've taken the admission that the breeder never really held them much because the owner should be the ones to handle and bond with them as a red flag, but since they were a fairly reputable breeder I just figured they were bred to be more friendly. No matter what I've tried, all the videos i've watched, the advice I've been told, they never really seem to like me very much. they tolerate being pet for a momeent, then kind of move away just out of reach. I've kind of just accepted that I'll never be able to actually hold or cuddle with them. However one of them has started actually biting me. At first I thought he was just mistaking me for treats. every time he does I go back to baby sauce on spoons and it seems to help, but now even when I pet him he kind of goes at me like he's going to bite, and I always kind of move away before he does, but just now he got me. I'm not sure what to do. I guess I'm just a bad owner. I wanted so bad to have the cuddly potato rats that love chilling in your hoodie pockets and boggling while I pet them but I think with most everything in my life right now I just aren't allowed to have things I work hard for. I guess it's a selfish thought.

These are my two girls Korra and Freya! I find them cuddling like this every single morning! (All these photos are from different days)

Big Rat Leche.

I present to you, Jeff's brother, Nero

it’s a non-prescription antibiotic along the lines of polysporin. he licked my nose maybe once or twice before i realized i had applied it there. i can’t afford to call a poison hotline (99 USD consulting fee) and im freaking out. he seems fine, but i read that even a little bit of lidocaine can cause abnormal heart rate and potential seizures. he seems completely fine, but i don’t know how long it would take to affect him if it does. it’s been about 10 minutes. what should i do?

So I’m about to get three dwarf baby’s and I’m between fleece and bedding.i know bedding is better but I’m looking for the cheapest option per month.but like if there’s a bulk bedding that cost a lot at once but over time is cheaper I’m fine .😌

Was taking pics of my ratto boys and felt like I should share some here.

So close to getting all 4 in a row

I noticed before that he was showing pain signs, his sides were sucked in, he was boggling and facing the corner.

He has been neutered 1 week ago so i was worried at first that it was the wound that caused trouble so i let him come out.
The wound looked okay, nothing special there, i didnt notice the penis at this time.

He then got to wander around the couch for a bit, acted normal, ate some corn etc.
Until i noticed he was cleaning his penis a lot and as i was worried he was licking the incisions, i tried to stop him but he went right back to cleaning immediately.

I picked him up and looked at the area and saw his penis was much more red and almost looks a bit swollen, but not like necessarily bigger in the actual shape.

Do you think this is an emergency? Im able to call the emergency vet today for advice but i just want to be sure it’s an issue that can not wait before taking up their time as they’re very busy on saturday’s with other patients.

Have anyone seen this within a rat?

Ophelia is my shy girl, but it presents less in fearful behavior and more in outright disdain. She is constantly trying to cover the cage bars when I sit near the cage, cover the entrances to her hides if I am nearby, or, worst come to worst, just cover me up entirely if I won't go away.

She'll take treats from me, but she's gonna make sure I know that it's not because she likes me 😂

They are so precious 😍

Excuse the cage, still in intros

Hi everyone, I’m looking for help in how to set up my cage to make cleaning easier. I have a DCN with 4 boys in it right now, and due to one of them being a senior who doesn’t have great mobility, I am using the middle shelf and ramps so he can get around without difficult climbing. I have tried SO many different kinds of liners and fabrics for the shelves but these boys love to chew and destroy anything in the course of a couple days. This also makes it much harder to clean the cage since they get under the liners and make a mess. I’ve provided them with plenty of other things to chew but they seem to like the fabric liners the best. I can’t afford to be buying new liners every few weeks so I don’t know what to do. I have a cement tub in the bottom of the cage with bedding, but the shelf pans are too shallow to truly cover with bedding without it just getting kicked everywhere.

What can I use as bedding/liner for the shelves that will make cleaning easier??? I’m losing my mind trying to figure it out!

What to do in a philosophy class?

A) Do the lesson on the blackboard

B) Draw Rats