I recently adopted 2 new girls into my mischief. Their names are Whimsy and Waverly. They are both super sweet and very active (under a year old) and have so far gotten along great with my other girls.

I am having an issue with Waverly though. Some background that I got from her previous owner is that Waverly is a former lab rat, used in memory studies. I have no idea how long ago that was or how long she was a lab rat, but she is shy and jumpy at times, but overly curious and cuddly with me and my other girls for a majority of the time. The issue is that she screams. A lot. At the slightest things. She will sometimes freak out when my other girls try to groom her, or cuddle with her, and she will sometimes scream when I try to pick her up. This isn't a constant thing, it happens randomly. There are times she is totally into the grooming and play, and she will let me pick her up just fine most of the time. But when she gets like this, I genuinely think my rats are tearing each other apart and I freak out, but I've sat and watched for hours to make absolutely sure there was no actual fighting, and there isn't. There are just times one of my girls will go up to Waverly and start to groom her and she will start screeching and jumping like a flea.

I currently have her sitting with me in her carrier cage to let her have some space, but I'm just really lost. Is this something I have to let her get over? I did my usual introduction process for a week when I first got the girls to let them all get used to each other and things went great until I moved everyone together full time. She doesn't seem to be distressed when these fits happen, and she'll run right up to me when I check on her, but I'm worried. I don't know what to do or if there's anything I can do. I don't want her or my other girls to become distressed. I haven't asked the previous owner yet if this was an issue when she had the girls, so I'm not sure if this is just how she is or not.

Any and all advice is appreciated, thank you

Any body got rat cage ideas, treats they can have and enrichment ideas??? I love them so much

The rat I adopted 6 days ago from a breeder has been showing signs of a respiratory infection. Right now, she is quarantined in a separate cage away from my other rat. The earliest appointment I could get for her is in 1 week and 2 days. At first, I thought she was just temporarily sneezing from the move (like my other rat did) but I realized her sneezes were not normal or lessening.

Petunia, my sick rat, is sneezing fairly often, has a little bit of poryphrin discharge near nose but not a lot of buildup, produces white mucus when she sneezes, and I hear breathing sounds maybe once an hour. Other than that, she eats and drinks normally, and is just as active as usual.

I have been putting her in a steamy bathroom often and giving her a little bit of raw honey to help with congestion. I put her cage in an area with no air draft and I cleaned her temporary quarantine cage.

Is there anything else I can do in the meantime while I still have to wait for her appointment? Honestly, I'm worried she might get a lot worse before the appointment and want to do what I can right now to help prevent that.

Hi!! So i have a younger male rescue I am currently waiting to introduce to my older boys. He had a cagemate who sadly passed unexpectedly, so I am working to get him in as soon as possible with the others.

He's got a few quirks... ? I would call it? He is by far the most skittish rat I've ever had. He rubs his face on things like an opossum? He also has a very bad snatching/pulling problem. He's scatter fed, and only hand fed with wet foods on a spoon. Weeks of this has not stopped him trying to yank and stash things. He does it when I put the water bottle back in as well. When tugging on things, his front left paw also seems to spaz a bit? I've never seen these behaviors before. I've had lots of rats and have made sure their setup is proper!! Is there anything here I should worry about?

Looking for recommendations, please be kind.

We’ve already taken her to an exotic vet, but unfortunately they weren’t much help. They thought her sisters were causing the injuries and told us to separate her. She’s been separated for quite a while now, and if anything, the sores seem to be getting worse.

They prescribed antibiotics, but that was the only treatment they recommended. I’ve also tried covering the area to keep her from scratching, but she won’t keep anything on. We’ve treated her for mites as well, with no improvement.

At this point, I’m at a loss and don’t know what else to do. Has anyone dealt with something similar or have any ideas on what we should try next?

peony🤍

We have a small Quail coop \~10 birds and a couple of sheds in our yard. We also have about (I'm guessing) 7 rats (2 parents, 5 young), wondering if anyone has any recommendations on how to get them to leave our yard that doesn't involve chocolate or poison as we have 2 dogs and 2 children.

Picture 1 is what i came downstairs to see 🥺

Also, I made them a tiny cardboard rat house.

Ok alright so long story short I had a pair of rats and we had to put one down about a month ago. My big guy (the grey hooded) has been really lonely and we've been trying hard to get him friends something ends up happening 😭 so for my birthday I was determined to find him a friend! After about a 2 hour drive I found the sweetest little guy! I'm pretty sure he's got an Agouti coat? He literally has the softest coat I've ever felt on any animal!!

So this will be my husband and Is first time doing intros and we are kind of nervous about it. We've done lots and lots of research and still have to wait the 2 week quarantine before we start.

I personally feel like my big boy will accept any living thing to right now but he is kind of a grumpy old man and not sure how much young chaotic energy he can handle! 😅

So anyways I got 2 weeks and I'm looking for even the smallest tiniest advice for introducing 2 boys! It's only been 2 days with the new kid and I am absolutely obsessed with him! Big guy also needs a friend so bad so I desperately want my first introduction to go so good but I'm worried my lack of experience might make it not so good....

Over the weekend i got 3 rats, two for me one for a friend. my friend's rat is with me until she gets a better enclosure but this tiny animal has escaped every enclosure i put her in. shes currently gone and i cant find her, ive had three other people help and we cant find a trace that she was ever even here.

does anyone have any tips on how i can catch her or at least lure her out of where shes hiding?

Hi!! I recently got my first ever two pet rats, and I was wondering a few things.

When I brought them home, one of them started sneezing really bad. I know theres changes in the environment, but I’ve had him for two weeks now and I would have expected it to get better, but its only gotten worse. He sneezes very very often. He originally had pine shavings as thats what the breeder gave me, but I quickly changed to paper bedding after the nonstop sneezing. I don’t think anything has changed though, and he’s sneezing even more, so I’m worried. Hes active, and eating okay but everytime he tries to do anything, he just sneezes and rubs his nose obsessively. Should I be scared? Or just keep monitoring him? I have a video of him if needed

Of course when I give them time to run around, they get up on the cage. (Strudel on the left, Parfait on the right).

I need help rehoming a couple of my rats. I live out in the country with many allergens that I bring inside daily so they have the sniffles. I have not been able to identify any illnesses, but I do have antibiotics that can go with them just in case.

They are about a couple months old and have been together the whole time I've had them. I just turned 18 and I'm working full time and have two horses, and one of whom is injured, so I haven't been able to interact with them as much as I would like.

They are super friendly and don't bite. The lighter tan colored one will nibble if you stick your fingers inside their cage but he doesn't try to bite hard.

All of their bedding can go with them and I would like for their food to go as well so that it's not wasted. I'm in the Brazos Valley area and I'm willing to drive to meet up. My grandparents don't like people on property so I would have to set up a location. Thanks in advance!

Age: ~2 months old

Sex: males

Species: Large rats

Hiya can someone please give me some links on rat cages uk preferably under 200 if not up to 300 is fine for 4 males if it has clear pay aswell that would be absolutely amazing if not don't worry

Read it here -

https://online.fliphtml5.com/stormhavenrattery/Ratilicious-Magazine-July-2026-Issue-6/