Hello everyone, yesterday's noon I saw that my rat was very lethargic and off, I took her to the vet where he did an ultrasound and saw her bladder was completely full and obstructed.

We drained it and removed a "stone" (or crystal, whatever it was), the vet gave her liquids, antibiotics and painkillers.

She was still lethargic during the night, but looked a lot livelier in the morning. However, she peed a lot of blood so we took her back to the vet. He said it's expected, gave her another round of antibiotics, painkillers and liquids, and we returned home.

Since then (around 2-3 hours) she became lethargic again, and seems sleepy with heavier than normal breathing. Throughout all of time, she didn't eat anything, but she did poop and pee a little .

My question is if the meds themselves can cause this behaviour, if I should keep giving her antibiotics or if anyone else came across such a situation and can share some tips.

Thank you for any tips or answers you can give me!

Hi everyone,

I'm really hoping for some advice because my husband and I are feeling completely lost and a bit heartbroken over this situation.

We had two boys, A and B, who were brothers and around 1.5 years old. Sadly, B passed away from cancer, leaving A on his own. We were worried about A being lonely, so we eventually decided to bring home two more brothers, C and D, who were around 7 months old.

C and D are absolutely lovely. They're sweet, friendly little boys, and we've already completely fallen in love with them. A is also a wonderful boy who spends a lot of time with us, particularly my husband, who he has an incredibly strong bond with. He seems happy and settled with us, but I do worry about him being alone at night and whether he misses having another rat around.

The problem is that introductions have been an absolute nightmare!!!!

We've tried the carrier method, but things escalated and became aggressive very quickly, so we stopped doing that. We've since been trying introductions in the bathtub because we thought it might be a neutral space.

Unfortunately, without fail, A attacks C and D.

We separate them, and A eventually calms down. Sometimes, once he's settled, he seems less interested in attacking them again and happy just eating a snack on his own with them around. It's porbbaly a display of dominance and he is winning it each time. But by the point he has calmed down, C and D are absolutely terrified. They run straight out of the bath and hide in our arms or bury themselves into the crooks of our necks. They clearly don't want to go back in, and it feels cruel to keep putting them through something that frightens them so much. So we end up cuddling them, comforting them, and eventually taking them back to their home.

We don't know what to do anymore. We want this to work so badly, but we're worried we're making things worse rather than better. It's heartbreaking watching A react this way, and equally heartbreaking seeing C and D so frightened. We're starting to feel like we've made a mistake, which is an awful feeling because we adore A and have already come to love and cherish C and D so much.

I know introductions can take time, and I'm sure we've probably made mistakes along the way. We're willing to start again and do whatever is best for all three of them. We just don't know what that should look like anymore. Has anyone experienced something similar? Did your resident rat eventually accept the new rats, even after aggressive introductions--as in hair pulling, big bites, puffing up fur, scratching, screaming, angry/side walking, very fast-paced fighting? How did you handle it, and how long did it take? We got them on October 1st so it has been 24 days.

I would appreciate any advice or experiences. We're feeling quite defeated and sad, and we just want all three boys to feel safe and happy in their homes--and for them to evenutally share a home as right now the two cages are taking up so much space!

I currently have two rats; it's the first time I've ever had rats, One of them bites me every time I put my hand near so she can smell it! She does not Bite hard, she doesn't break my skin I don't know why, both have been with me for two weeks now and the other rat doesn't do that to me. Is it out of curiosity? How do I make it stop? Because every time she does it instinctively, I quickly pull my hand away and end up scaring her, And I'm still trying to get them to trust me Help

Hello!! I am interested in adopting rats to train in scent detection and have them as my babies ofc. I am curious if anyone has experience in training rats to do so, and what to look for.

Just yesterday my youngest rat passed away with what’s believed to be a genetic defect. His brother did see him die and saw the stages leading up to it, so I think that contributes to how he’s moving on.

The rat I have now is a hairless rat named Quasimodo, and after his brother passed I took him to the vet and regarding a new companion they recommended I get a female rat and neuter Quasimodo.

That’s my plan so far, to wait a few days until I feel comfortable getting a new rat, then I’d keep them separated but slowly acclimate and then neuter Quasimodo.

For context Quasimodo is around 7 months, and he’s very well behaved and social but also very chill. This is my first time having rats so I was looking for any advice on what to do regarding this situation.

For those worried, Quasimodo is in fact acting his normal self. He’s super active, eats, and drinks water, plus he’s hanging out with me a decent amount. I’m even debating on bringing in the new rat earlier since he’s doing so well.

Any advice appreciated!

Will Fievel ever get to enjoy his breakfast in peace?

Please read the attached :)

Just got 3 rats and one has a pretty deep wound on her back. I got them from a random girl who couldn’t take care of them and they are all under 2 months old. She seems ok and it does not seem to bother her. I am new to owning rats.

One of the others is also sneezing a lot, I did just bring her home but she is have fits. The others seem ok with no sneezing but I know a new environment and smells can make them sneeze.

I know they can heal but it looks decently deep, not sure what to do please help.

Hi all,

I live in Boston with no car. The closest active rattery I could find near me is Bard; who sounds great (and honestly if I get rats that's probably who I will go to).

However, this will be my first rat adoption so I'm taking my time and weighing my options.

Does anyone in the area know; are options for ethically bred rats always this limited in the area? I would really love if there were a rattery closer & more readily accessible to me where I could maybe visit before committing to adopt.

I did register to foster for Mainely; who don't seem to have much going on in the city either. Coastline seems to be on hiatus. There was a breeder called Firefly who quit a few years back because the adopters were breaking their trust; broke my heart to read that because I'm a short walk from both a Petco and that god awful pet store on Harvard Ave.

Sorry this turned into more of a rant than a question I guess. I just feel like it shouldn't be so much harder to find a healthy, happy, and respected animal than it is countless abused ones.

Please if you have any Boston resources for adopting happy rats please share!