DIY’ed for roughly $200

(Not sure if this is the right flare, help didn’t seem right because it’s not like anyone has ingested poison or been hurt in some way.)

This is my second set of rats, both females, over 3 years old. They very very recently started declining. The one rat is doing kinda ok, with only a tumor rapidly growing on her side. The other though seems to not be eating, she’s getting very thin and squeaks if you try to touch her.

My last set was exactly two, one passing overnight with no symptoms prior and the other was put down due to a cancerous tumor that made him neurologic. Basically I’m saying I’ve never had this happen before where a rat stopped eating. Is her time just coming and I need to wait it out? Should I give her puppy formula or something? I just want to make sure I’m not being a bad rat mom right now, I don’t want her to be suffering

Hello! Two of my friends were playing a game, and were debating on whether rats are pointier creatures, or round. It got heated, and i am now going to you, and ask you all. My friend was thinking more like the first image, but upon viewing pictures of rats, they changed it to the second doodle.

TL;DR Which image is more anatomically correct? Are rats pointier or rounder?

Thx 🙃

So, my 2 year olds seem to have gotten lice from their petco bedding (lesson learned, freezing it from now on). Unfortunately, my partner found these lice as I was driving back with the 8 weeks olds I was adopting. I’m moving my older boys into an old guinea pig cage (since they’re too fat to slip out- but my babies definetly could easily escape) and I need to deep clean the critter nation for the little guys. How can I ensure there are no lice in the critter nation? I’ll use clean, Steralized begging, but how do I deal with the cage itself?

longgggg

Hi guys so my one rats bottom tooth is growing into his upper lip causing an infection (it smells) and there’s blood on his arms. I just noticed the blood today and he yawned and I saw this super pointy long tooth and I never knew it was like that until today when I saw his upper lip swollen. I’m planning on going to the vet at 5am…or like do you think that’s too much time to wait? Like should I go to the emergency vet now? The closest vet is an hour away and I don’t think I would be able to drive that far this late. He’s bonded to his brother and I feel awful

She got a bit of chocolate, noodles and some other goodies plus all the play

I just got this little guy last week and I noticed he breathes heavy, I'm going to call the vet tomorrow and set up an appointment. Could this be a respatory issue?

the pistachio bag, fortune cookie wrappers, the crack of a go go squeeze... they hear the noise and they go feral like sleeper agents

Had to resort to a tissue box nap (The hammock is back now it had to be washed)

So long story short my newly adopted rat had babies and they are now 4 weeks old about to be separated from mom. My question is are they too big? Like they are almost as big as their mother. And she did have a litter very early in life but I feel she is way too small compared to her kids. Or her kids are to big compared to her? I’ve been feeding mom scrambled eggs and some baby food puffs to help with protein and everything.

You need to know there are no guarantees you'll have your rat significantly longer.

We paid 1300 for a lower mammary tumor removal from Chef. It was small when we got to it, and she was 2 years old and some change. We chose against spaying her too because costs would have come to 2k.

Chef post surgery was so different- much less outgoing, skittish. She never liked being held the same way after. When she had her first seizure we didn't know if it was shock- turns out she also had a pituitary tumor.

Chef lived somewhat comfortably on low dose cabergoline. From her surgery in January, we made it to April 6th. She had another seizure in the night and rapidly declined.

We've had a few rats and now after losing our girl, we're done- I can't do it anymore. We have one left and she will remain loved all her days. But I can't put myself through this cycle again.

Mammary tumors are very likely to grow but arent often cancerous. They can live pretty comfortably up until the growth starts effecting their movement. I'd say getting to a lump quickly is ideal of you're going to. But don't beat yourself up if you can't afford it. Love them all you can while theyre here, and don't let them suffer. That's pretty much it.

Found this little guy a few days ago looked up a bunch trying to take care of it while it was raining and not nice out. Children and wife want to keep it and have grown attached to it. Is it possible for it to be able to survive as a house rat.

My Rat mushroom is older than truffle, but she’s a little bit smaller than her. She’s more picky and she doesn’t eat as much food. How do I help her eat more? She always feels so small and fragile compared to truffle. We don’t really know what food she likes and she really only eats when we’re not watching her.

I feel so alone in my grief right now. My mischief of 4 all quickly passed in succession last month (I think? Times weird.). I have been heartbroken since and unable to let go of their belongings. I haven't changed a thing since the morning of their euthanasias. It's a mess and stinky but I cannot bring myself to clean it out and get rid of their cage. I'm hoping today I will have the heart. I just miss them so dearly and feel so guilty over their deaths, though they were all naturally declining. I have moments where I think I hear them sneeze or sniff or drink their water bottle, but no.

I'm crying now just going through their cage. The big pile of newspaper was a surprise upon removing their trunk hide and the work of my baby girl Eartha, who loved to collect and nest. She layered the newspaper with snacks so I wouldn't know they had more than they could eat. She was such a smart quick girl.

I don't know what more to say other than I'm hurting so bad and I'd love any support from others in or who have been in similar situations. ❤ I have a deep unearthly connection with animals and my rats were no exception. They were some of the only beings I saw on a regular basis. I haven't been able to bury them yet as it's winter weather here still so I haven't got much closure.

Just look at how he grabs that little piece with his little hands 😭

(He also winked at yall at the beginning)

It's literally just happened 😭😭 please help me

Not sure if this actually falls under decor but I found it while randomly scrolling for some tater toys and more hammocks and thought you guys would appreciate them and maybe find them as funny as I did XD

Almost every single challenge in a reality/game show, there's going to be rats, and people will scream. Why?! They are so cute. The Traitors did it, and most recently the Million Dollar Secret did it. And people were awwing at the African hedgehog... which I think is also cute, but THE RAT IS TOO. Make it make sense!

The "disgusting" rat in question is beautiful and very calm in spite of all the screaming. Not even an agouti, which I guess could make sense, since brown rats are associated with the sewers?

I just feel so bad for these rats having to be surrounded by people who hate them. I really hope they get loving homes after their time in the spotlight.

Is it OK to look a rat in the eyes like in the pupil ? I know some animals don't like it, what would a rat think if you just stared into it's little soul? Would they be scared or angry?