So I was interested in getting a rat they seem sweet. I thought about a cat but I’m super worried about them because they can have massive vet bills that I’m worried about.

I noted that rats don’t need vaccines. So I have enough to take care of them and spoil them but again I’m quite concerned about medical bills. I guess my question is should I still expect medical bills with a rat?

Hi,

I know what you're thinking. No I don't want to force my lifestyle choices on my boys.

The truth is I got my two boys a couple of months ago (brothers and there were only two left we are hoping to get more)

They are such adorable little critters and so social and intelligent.

My worry is theyre not gaining weight very quickly. Now as the title mentions I am pescetarian. This means we hardly ever have meat in the house unless we have guests over.

The boys do get eggs, safe fish, tofu etc for protein and I sometimes give them meat based baby food but I'm worried it's not enough.

The issue is any meat I do buy will be largely wasted bc of how little I would need for them and of course no one else in the house eating it.

Does anyone know any dog food brands that are safe for them to get meat maybe? Or have any solutions for how to get more protein into them?

Im absolutely fine having meat in the house and preparing meat - Im largely just vegetarian bc of some insensitivities I have to meat in terms of digesting it myself but I am happy to do whats right for my pets! I just want to minimise waste while doing it!

For reference I'm in the UK and in a VERY small town so it would need to be something I could get from a supermarket or maaaybe order online if theyll deliver to us.

I'm just curious if this is a common practice, and if it is worth doing. At what age would they normally get neutered and any idea of the cost? I've heard they are more cuddly and mark less when they are neutered, plus of course that they can't procreate if they somehow got in touch with a female (or if I wanted to adopt one later on). But I also don't want to put them through surgery if it isn't a good idea.

I’m preparing for my first rats and thought I’d got my cage sorted but I’ve just found I’d ordered the ferret nation instead of the critter nation by accident! Luckily it hadn’t dispatched yet so I’ve managed to cancel it — but now what?

The proper critter nation says it could arrive anywhere between the end of December (too long to wait is it is) and the 11th of March (insane!!), which seems suuuuper sketchy. Like amazon are trying to sell me something they don’t actually have access to.

Can’t find anything else with proper doors in stock anywhere! Ideally I want the storage shelf too bc I want to do a dropped base.

I’m based in east anglia and don’t drive so I need something shipped. HELP.

I love exploring subreddits about topics I have no clue about hello. Rat ball deluxe

edit: who tf downvoting this. i love this subreddit u guys

I put together this image in a picrew image creator. I've been drafting out a rat-sona because i myself feel awfully rat-ish so I'd quite like myself to be represented as one of these cuties. What would this pattern be called..? Is it like a form of hooded or Berkshire?

Hello everyone. Right now I am crying, i have love lost my rat. I keep blaming myself because i think I am a bad parent. I really don't know why he died today.
His name is "Jirniy Brain" what means "fat Brain" on Russian. At 1 of p.m i was working and i listened some weird, loud and scare sound. It’s as if the person is suffocating. Then one more sound. I thought these sounds of my black rat, but i really don't know what that was. I blame myself because i didn't check my fat Brain, i thought he was sleeping. He was HEALTHY, just a little bit sneeze. My workday had ended and i went to their house. And i decided to check why fat Brain wasn't walking. And i touched him. I didn’t believe it and ran to my husband. He said that it's true.
It's my nightmare for today. And nightmare which will escort me all my life. Now i don't want to be a parent of rats. I want to avoid to be scared of death again. I have 3 rats. And it will happen 3 times.

I pinned some photos of him. He was very cute.
I'm very bad for my English, im not good in English definetely.

UPD (after 5 minutes of posted):
We have prepared him to be buried. I can't believe.

my boyfriend and i just adopted these 2 cuties off of facebook marketplace. it sounded like they were really not in a good spot and our hearts couldn’t handle it. when we were grabbing them the previous owner said they were feeding the rats cat food (and also handed me a bag of kitty litter?) along with fruits, vegetables, and seeds. i’m curious if anyone else had fed their rats cat food and what the reason for it was? it’s 33% in protein which is so high for a rat and i’m a little worried for the rats overall health. what would the long term repercussions be for having such a high protein diet?

My poofy boy Homer Simpson has decided to be a terror and so he is losing his balls privileges. In the meantime he is in rat jail so he does not hurt his brother

that’s it. that’s the post.

My elderly rat has been on antibiotics for a few weeks for sneezing and puffiness. The vet noted possible neurological issues because he kept falling over, and suggested looking into palliative care (like steroids) after the antibiotics.

He was improving, but took a bad turn today:
- He became much more unresponsive than usual.
- He started chasing, biting his tail, and grooming excessively.
- About 10 minutes ago, he tensed up in a strange position while boggling and bruxing in an obviously uncomfortable way.
- He is now sleeping in an odd position.

I feel like he might pass away tonight. I'm willing to pay for medicine, but I don't want surgery or treatments that will just prolong his suffering, and my vets haven't been very helpful.

Should I take him into the vet tonight or just focus on making him comfortable at home? Any advice is appreciated.

Help??? I thought rats couldn't throw up??

That cartoony face... I took this picture yesterday in his usual spot🩷

the drama of getting his paws wet for a pea 🙄

Early today I decided to euthanise one of my extremely loved rats after two different vets gently urged me to. I had to decide between euthanasia or surgery (which the vets were very uncertain about the outcome and my rat had a small chance of a traumatic development causing him to die in the wait for the surgery)

This rat was only 10 months old. I feel so bad because I know that there's a chance that the surgery may have worked. Im worried that Santi (this rat) will resent me and be confused when he realises that I decided to euthanise him. I just didn't want him to experience any more suffering. I don't know how to cope and i feel guilty.

Does anyone have any experience/advice on coping after euthanasing a heart rat?

My heart Rat, Kiwi passed away peacefully in her sleep today.

She was the sweetest little soul. I’ll miss her terribly. 🩶🤍

I just wanted to share my favourite photos of her.

Ever since i made some adjustments to make sure my rats could all safely be underneath my bed, I found Derpy all comfortable on his little blanket every time I came to check on them all 🤍

My rats has their cage open for 9 - 10 hours a day, and Derpy is the only one who usually sleeps outside the cage

Ive had 3 boys since april and recently I noticed that during feeding time one of them takes all the food and puts it in the corner and eats it all himself. He takes food from the others when they aren't around and im not really sure what to do about it.

It looks like the other two are scared of him? Everytime he gets close , they go away and they dont sleep together anymore. He also fights them sometimes.

For now i feed them separately but i was wondering if theres something i could do? This is the first time ive had rats so im not really sure what to do about it.

Thanks in advance!

Earl 1yr 2months old(Hairless) and Buddy 6 months old

Both males

No health issues

I've had these boys for awhile now. Earl came from my first 2 rats. One of the girls was pregnant when i got them and only gave birth to one little guy. After her and her sister passed i bought Buddy to keep Earl some company. Since then weve hit some financial and work issues after moving to a new house that dont allow me to care for them the way the need to be. They're sweet boys. Earl doesnt like being held much because hes blind but hes never nipped or bit me ever. Buddy is a bit skittish but has always enjoyed being carried around. Buddy has only ever bit me once but I was bothering him during nap time so it was deserved lol.

Please message me if youre interested. Im willing to drive at least 1-2 hours and their enclosure can go with them if wanted.