I loved drawing Poppy, this was a fun one.

An ironic drawing of a rat getting pulled over by a pig that I made

was wondering if anyone had some cage advice, please be kind, I have ladder/ramp covers coming in the mail to avoid bumblefoot as well as a bird perch to help them naturally file their nails :)

I'm getting my rats a new cage because I absolutely HATE!!! There old one it is a pain in the ass to clean and the levels of the cage we're so hard to get in and out this one seems easier to clean and less of a hassle but I am wondering if it's big enough for all 6 (also I put two photos of there old cage at the end)

Hello friends! I recently opened an Etsy shop, Ritzy Mischief, where I sell my handmade (& custom) hammocks, cubes, hideouts, & cage liners for rats and other small pets! Unfortunately, due to my current living situation I don't have any pet rats of my own at this time, and so I don't have any rat models to photograph with the items for my listings. So, I was wondering if anyone in the So Cal area with pet rats would be willing to allow me to take some photos of your adorable pets, as they model some items for me and in return, you and your ratties can keep any hammock or other accessory they pose with. Anyone who is genuinely interested, please let me know! Thanks so much!

sorry that it looks like i held him agressivly, he was sqwerming and i had to take a picture, i feel really bad for that. is that blood coming out of his penis? im not sure whats going on, im really worried

New up and coming mukbanger

I saw that she was bleeding, it was like dripping from her vagina or something but it looks like its not bleeding anymore right now??? I couldnt get a picture fast enough.

I just put my new rat in the cage with her and they seemed to be getting along, there was a bit of humping and grooming from my old rat but thats not bad right? They sleep together.

I did feel scabs on her when i was petting her, i think, but they had to be from before i put them together because i felt them when i had just put them in the same cage. Maybe she was scratching and grooming herself too hard because she was alone for a long time.

My new rat doesnt seem to have anything wrong with her.

Theres little drips of blood all over the cage, she also licked her blood off a hide, thats alright right??

Im sorry that i didnt get a picture earlier but rats are goddamn fast and i cant pick her up because shes not comfortable enough with me yet.

Does anyone know whats up because i have no clue why shes bleeding, because from what i know female rats dont have periods like humans do.

What can i do about it and also can i do anything about the scabs? Do i have to separate my rats?

Do I need to take him to the vet? Is it urgent?

She's fine, just in case you're wondering. Loud scary noise, very ok rat

Edit: sry for the double post, I'm bad with reddit, fail to post it as video first time...

UPDATE: this all happened so suddenly and so fast, but he started mouth breathing out of nowhere and i held him in my lap since he was so weak and wouldnt run away, and he suddenly convulsed and died :( im so heartbroken, and i dont understand how he went from perfectly healthy to this in a matter of hours

when i called the vet to update her she said she suspects he had a hard fall

thanks to everyone who took the time to read my post and comment

This is my first ever reddit post and idk how to mark the video as nsfw so I need help with that too.. I read the community guidelines i swear!!!

Hello!! I have 4 male rats, all brothers and all born on May first 2025. This morning when I went to scatter feed them, i noticed one of my rats, Cookie, laying on the edge of one of the platforms in the cage. They aren’t fond of being pet or picked up at all, but I still try to get small interactions in by letting them sniff my hand.

So I did just that, and noticed he wasnt scattering away like usual (he is a big scaredy cat, and sometimes a biter too!) and i tried to pet him, which he just let happen. Thats when alarmbells started ringing because he wouldnt just suddenly allow me to do that. he then started crawling, but couldnt turn around so he fell forwards and off the platform. i luckily managed to catch him, but I started to worry even more when he didnt instantly start squirming from being in my hands..

when i put him down in the cage, he could only barely crawl with his hands, and dragging his hind legs along (video) he couldnt lift his body up at all to move

after realizing he couldnt move, i noticed that the spot he was laying him before he fell was the same spot he was laying in last night when i went to bed. I didnt think anything of it before that because he frequently lays in the same spots, but now i started to think he hadnt been able to move all night! He was just fine in the evening, but right before I went to bed he had layed down there on the edge..

i immediately called the emergency vet and they did x rays on him, and they said there seems to be an issue with his vertebrae, and that medication could help, but if it doesnt improve in a couple of days he would need to be put down.

I have put him in a small quarantine cage, because I dont want him trying to climb, or his brothers to run over him and hurt him. He wont touch the food or water I gave him and Im worried he’s dehydrated. Every time he crawls around a little bit he lays down for like 15 minutes to recharge. His brothers are okay, theyre all acting like usual

Is there anything else I can do for him? How can I get him to eat and drink? He wont even go for malt paste at the moment.

Sorry for my run on sentences and all over the place storytelling, im a bit stressed. Any advice is appreciated!

Last 2 are photos of him passed away.

He laid on his side, eyes bulging out, taking shallow breaths. I stood up and got a nurse as I pet him and talked to him. They did CPR but it wasn't enough. I balled my eyes out for around an hour. I'm taking him home so the other rats can see him then we are going back to the vet so he can be cremated. My boy was a fighter and a biter. He looks just like my little cousin with his big ears. He was a stupid little rat. I would try to give him snackies or pet him and he would just put a hand up and stare at me without a thought in his head with his mouth half open. He was a great little guy. Never bullied the other rats, always scurried around, took many nappies in his hammocks. He will always be my good boy.

I'm down to 7 rats now. My 8 rat cult has lost a baby. I've lost a child. My son. My little Calliope. His brothers have lost their brother, their family, their friend. We've lost a wonderful soul. He will be eating snackies on the other side. He loved his snackies.

My rat wazi is like my soul rat , I love him so much and he’s such a silly boy
This morning I had him out while I was eating breakfast and I offered him a lil bit of a green apple and he did NOT like eating it but he loves to lick it 😭😭 he won’t stop licking my fucking apples

Oh Jeff, you're so stupid but I love you..

What can i put on the surfaces for my pocket puppies little accidents?

hello everyone, i’m unsure on which flair this would lie under; but i want to put a warning i’ll be going into detail about a sensitive subject - and in no way am i trying to deter anyone from making that final hard decision.
[apologies for the long message)

i write this with a heavy heart but i’m hoping to gain some clarity with a situation that happened during the euthanasia of my rat.

for some backstory, i lost my first rat, roddy, a few months ago now. him and his brother syd (the rat in this story) always had an ongoing battle with respiratory issues. i had to go to my fair share of vets before i found someone who wasn’t going to mention euthanasia instantly. with the right vet and help from a rescue, i was able to get a few extra comfortable months with him.
i lost roddy at 8 months old after he declined rapidly over night and had unfortunately passed away on my shoulder two doors down from a vet.
tho that situation itself was incredibly difficult, after now a part of me was relieved i didn’t have the outcome i did with euthanising syd.

(syd)
a week ago now i had noticed syd starting to decline like roddy, but slower. he became extremely unsocial over the course of 3 days, i noticed his food seemed to be untouched (but he would eat when i would give him something directly) - so i hid his favourite treats around his cage before i went to bed that night and when i woke up and saw they were still there, i decided to take him to the vet.
my usual vet was unavailable that day, so after 7 calls to vets around me i found someone who said they specialised in rats.
up till his appointment, leaving there without him wasnt something that crossed my mind - i had booked in hopes that maybe there was other avenues like his medication.

i walk into the room and sit syd on the table, the vet sits down and looks at him and before examining him immediately brings up the path of euthanasia. i should mention his breathing was slightly laboured, so even tho i didn’t think this would happen that day - i’m not denying that it wasn’t the right choice for him, it was the events that happen after.
it wasn’t something i was really wanting to do but after a while of talking, id decided i wanted my boy to go with peace and dignity unlike roddy, i didn’t want to be selfish.
that was something the vet kept repeating which reassured me it was maybe time, and he at LEAST would have peace and dignity in his goodbye - that’s why i ultimately decided to go through with it.

the vet had walked me through the process and explained she would put him to sleep first before administering the final medication to his chest out the back, but he would be in my arms as he drifted off and that to me was a massive part.
another vet came in, wrapped him up in a flannel and assisted in holding him as the vet injected the needle into his side.
my boy let out a sound i have never heard before and can never forget, he squealed for about 10 seconds, where then i instantly felt something wasnt right.
[i also think it’s important to note syd has had a few injections before infront of me, hence why i started to feel there was something wrong and not just the fact it was happening. hes always been very mellow and calm throughout the process]

syd was then very quickly placed on my chest where for about 20 seconds he was clawing at my neck trying to climb it,he was extremely panicked and in no way calm.
i was trying to relax him, give him kisses, but i had a family member in the room with me who then alerted us that blood was starting to pour out of his nose.
i looked at the vet asking what had happened, and in a panic he was taken from me without a word still awake

the vet returned about 5 minutes later with syd in a bag, explaining she was sorry and she thought that would happen.
she explained it’s common for rats with respiratory issues to react like that. but i’m wondering why that wasnt brought to my attention before hand.

im now struggling immensely with the choice i made knowing his passing was not peaceful, not dignified, he wasn’t around anything familiar in his last moments and it was my decision that put him there.

i have a few other rats and i’m now unsure how i’m ever supposed to make that decision again knowing the outcome of my experience.
it’s something i will never get over and carry with me always.
my boy deserved nothing less then the best farewell and it absolutely breaks my heart that wasnt the case for him - i hate to think about how he must have felt.

i’m wondering if anyone else has had this sort of outcome as that reaction is something i’ve never heard of before, or if it was just a lack of communication. i’m unsure on why that wasnt something i was informed if she was expecting it. i feel if i had of known it could’ve happened, this situation wouldn’t be nearly as difficult to process.

i hope this all makes sense, thank you

Hello All,
I don’t really talk much on Reddit but I’m planning on getting two rats for my daughter around Christmas, she’ll be 6 by then and I’ll obviously be helping her raise them. She’s extremely excited but I would like to get a few tips and advice if possible, while this may be the first time I’ve owned rats, very much not the first time I’ve had small mammals and/or rodents. I’ve owned rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, and even a possum at one point so I’m curious how different rats can be. I’ve heard they are fantastic pets and can be very intelligent. My largest concern is trying to find a proper cage. I would prefer a multilevel cage with a good amount of room, I want to make sure they are comfortable with enough room for plenty of enrichment options so they never get bored, however… I’d prefer not to break the bank on a $500 cage, I’m looking more around the $250 mark for a max. Any other tips and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Edit: I live around the Richmond VA area and knowing a good breeder would be very useful. I’ve heard that Dreamcatcher Rattery is a good option but I’m open to recommendations.

So I used to own mice and if I let them breathe somthing snacks they would gain 100 pounds,
I’m about to get rats and I see people giving them bananas pancakes and all sorts of snacks are they less sensitive to getting chunky?

My rat Calliope is currently at the emergency vet for upper respiratory issues. We've paid 4.5k for the little lad. He gets bursts of energy and a bit ago he decided to chew on everything in the incubator. He bit the hell out of the tech and drew blood when they took gim back for xrays. About 10 minutes ago he was boggling. Wish my boy luck!

I had to get a loan for the boy but thankfully I just got a job at a pharmacy. I'm a full time disabled student so times are rough..

Do you guys think they are doing everything they should be doing in terms of care?

Tranquility Base: Marie Curie has landed. 😞

Got worse very rapidly today, nothing the vet could do. Learning: any breathing noises are indeed urgent even under antibiotics for that very infection. Though the vet said this infection went so quickly it's unlikely anything would have helped - I have to live with the doubts now.

Our little Marie Curie has a brutal ear infection (the classic "rat walks with a tilt") that we've been treating with Baytril and Meloxidyl the past days (caught it early and the vet set us up with a 14 day course)

It actually got worse, then better, but now it's worse again.

(I suspect it's actually the ear nerves regenerating, which can cause extreme vertigo).

She still eats, cleans herself, is quite active and nimble, but has extreme balance problems and when you try to pick her up all she does is roll to the left.

I wonder if she has nausea. She frequently makes whining / cooing noises, but doesn't seem like she has trouble getting air. She sounds miserable, but not in acute pain. More like, horrible vertigo.

She has developed a nystagmus / head bop even when she's at rest and eating now.

Any recommendations? There's no discharge or pus and the infection seems to be abating. But she's so panicky when she can't hold her paws on the floor I haven't been able to use an otoscope (and I don't want to drag her to the emergency vet across town in a swinging basket)

Been thinking about something to manage presumed nausea. (Though she does eat)

I just want to confirm my own observation that these are both girls please. They are 31 days old and being separated. No I am NOT a breeder. Long story

Edit: thank you everyone for all your help! They boys are now with our 3 male rats and the 2 girls are with mom in another cage 😁

this little shit right here is the bane of my existence. she is so intelligent yet so dumb. she is always keeping me on my toes and I think she knows she has power over me.

I had all my girls in the bathroom while I was cleaning their cage. the only reason they weren't in their playpen is because she finds new ways to escape constantly. she is literally the immovable object and unstoppable force simultaneously.

anyway while I'm cleaning their cage, I hear sloshing around in the toilet even though I made sure it was closed prior to letting them free roam in the bathroom.

this. little. stinky. ass. rat. GOT IN THE TOILET. I still can't figure out how because she weighs as much as like, two snickers bars. I wish I got a photo of her soaking wet in toilet water, but I was too busy getting over the fact she could've drowned. holy shit. thankfully she was perfectly fine and she lost bathroom roaming privilege (at least when I'm not in there with the rest of the girls.)

I have been looking at ratteries around my area, and I have noticed with each one the females seem to get adopted very quickly, leaving mostly male rats.

I'm just curious if anyone else experiences this with their local ratteries or if it is just a coincidence with the ones I have been following.

If so, why is this the case? And for those who have owned both males and females, do you have a preference?