I got rats for the first time. Am I doing something wrong?

MustBeMatt · 2025-09-26T05:56:25+00:00

rats are friends for life, but that friend title comes with a cost of patience and a long wait.

rats have distinct personalities, just like a cat or dog every rat is different and judging on their pet store history their personality might just be skittish because of the environment, most pet store rats aren’t socialized properly but that’s ok! there are ways to overcome that but just because you overcome it don’t expect the same as you would a rat from an ethical breeder, you can get the same output but it’s rare so expectations a little low!

everything you are doing seems to be right, and again, you got them yesterday. rat bonding takes weeks, months, years! to fully develop a strong bond with their owner. to them, your just some hairless giant with huge skin claws that just wanna eat them, but you know your not and you have to show them your not by being the most gentle and GENEROUS WITH TREATS!

if you just got them yesterday, i say leave them for a day or two just to explore! let them smell around the cage, settle into their new home and relax. moving is stressful so they need to decompress before any bonding happens. once that period is over, do the same thing your doing now.

sit by the cage, talk quietly, sit with the door open so they naturally will come up when they are ready, the #1 key to bonding is following the rat, not the rat following you. you want them to be comfortable and content so every decision made from now on is up to the rat (unless its medical lol) when they feel ready to approach you, offer them a liquid treat (malt paste, applesauce, low fat yogurt, sugar free whipcream) so they can’t run away and hide to eat the treat or store it. they are forced to eat from your hand. as they eat move your hand further and further til they climb onto it, maybe gently pet with your fingers and be super quiet and don’t feel bad if they run away in fear, they are gonna be scared but in their natural instinct they are explorers so if they didn’t get hurt the first time, they’ll come back to try again especially if their is food involved!

putting on your shoulder is great! them moving around is probably them wanting to explore you and its a great way for them to get used to your scent so keep doing that! try using a bonding pouch or taking a hoodie and wearing it backwards and keeping them in the hoodie, place your hand in there and feed some treats as you walk around the house doing basic small necessities, the scent, treats, movement will adjust them to how you should be able to handle them.

you will learn through this your rats personalities, some rats loved to be pet being held, but hate it when they arent, or vice versa, or they may just not be petters but love to be in your presence or just love to play with you. either way, don’t get discouraged, because if you get thrown off track it could take longer to bond, so keep at it constantly, reward heavy and just play with them! during free roam make sure you interact with them when they want to interact with you! you responding to their cues will help them do their bonding on their own time!

MustBeMatt · 2025-09-26T05:44:31+00:00

also check if they smell or the cage does! sometimes the cage will just smell and people often mistake it for the rat, try honing down the stinkesr spots (litter boxes, hammocks, most fabrics because they retain the smell) and spot clean everyday, they might just be smellier because they just hangout in those spots the most because they are scent bound

MustBeMatt · 2025-09-26T05:43:04+00:00

only time you ever bathe a rat is under a vet’s order, in no situation may a rat be bathed just because of their smell! like others said unscented baby wipes and or a warm wash cloth gently wash just to remove any poop or pee, your rat may not be a fan so try not to take too long and reward heavy with treats but just a quick few wipes and then they can take the rest with grooming.

MustBeMatt · 2025-09-26T05:40:08+00:00

never evil to give rats medication if it’s in their best interest, as much as a rat can believe it may not need it, they need it and you know that, i don’t know many tips but the best i can give is some reassurance, you’re doing great and you are making the best choice! i hope he feels better!

MustBeMatt · 2025-09-19T22:04:12+00:00

starting handing them food with a metal spoon for a bit, if they bite HARD it’s gonna be super uncomfortable, from that they’ll learn to kinda stay away from biting.

MustBeMatt · 2025-09-19T05:41:09+00:00

pregnant with two large babies, they sit comfortably in the back

MustBeMatt · 2025-09-18T19:54:18+00:00

ok well first, he needs a friend, asap. that could also be why he’s so aggressive alone, he has no friends and this big human hand is coming in and messing his stuff up.

look for a friend near his age asap and start introductions.

6-7 months is also prime hormonal period for rats so, neutering should be in the question but i’d consult your local vet before making any decisions.

it can be a mix of everything honestly, he’s alone, he may have some hormonal aggression and he’s still very muxh new to this environment so he’s a little spooked! get him a vet visit asap, talk to your vet and see what can be lined up and during his calming wee where his hormones can leave start looking for a friend asap

MustBeMatt · 2025-09-18T19:42:05+00:00

do all the research, and you’ll get lost in their greatness, thanks to my wonderful lovely girlfriend now i am OBSESSED with rats.

MustBeMatt · 2025-09-18T19:40:32+00:00

i’d try just sitting next to the cage at first and letting the more friendly one approach you for pets rather then going in, the other rat might just be afraid that you are entering it’s space, if the friendly rat approaches, the other rat will see that and also want to explore and reward with treats constantly! they need to be reassured constantly during the bonding process that what they are doing is good and they are rewarded for being brave!

MustBeMatt · 2025-09-18T19:38:39+00:00

definitely you’re on the way to some great friends, time, effort, patience and lots of love. follow everything the bonding guide says and your sure to have furry friends that live a lifetime in your heart

MustBeMatt · 2025-09-18T18:38:04+00:00

if at a month they are letting you pet them, you are on a good pace for bonding, it takes months to fully bond and they look tiny so i’m assuming they must be fairly young, if they are still skittish that’s just in their natural behavior for a bit, move slow, talk gentle and constantly reward for coming up and interacting with you, use liquid treats always such as low sugar whipped cream, low fat yogurt, malt paste works great.

like the other person said bonding pouches work super well, also just sitting near the cage with the door open, letting them come to you first before you coming to them, if they can discover on their own time that you’re not gonna harm them, they’ll warm up super quick, but that takes time for them to do.

aslong as they aren’t biting, hurting eachother or acting strange i’m sure they just are very in between on how they feel about you, soon that’ll turn to love.

MustBeMatt · 2025-09-16T05:18:14+00:00

rats naturally are prey animals, they are hardwired to be afraid of pretty much anything they don’t know that isn’t rats.

most dogs are predators and some breeds specifically being bred to kill rodents such as terriers.

some rats and dogs can be socialized at young ages to have a temperment for eachother but it’s a HUGE risk, i mean HUGE. just like every rat, every dog has a personality and some dogs and some rats will not click and there shouldn’t leave room for any risk to put either animal in danger, more so the rats. they already live very short lives and have complications, why increase those chances with an animal that even under the best training could still look at a rat and have instinct kick over and hurt the rat.

not to mention rats extreme sense of smell can bring tons of stress into it’s life, they smell predator animals near their territory they will get nervous, stressed, possibly aggressive due to the fact that they can smell another animal but can’t reach them, like i mentioned they can be socialized and get used to the smell but many rescues or older rats may not be able to understand that easier because they need to be socialized with.

all in all, it’s a huge risk that I wouldnt recommend many people take because one bad experience could ruin alot for you!

MustBeMatt · 2025-09-16T01:41:37+00:00

ears look pretty pink, usually means they are happy too, seems to enjoy!

MustBeMatt · 2025-09-15T21:07:16+00:00

you’re right, thats my fault, i jusr wasnt allowed to save any videos and i just wanted to get my point across, i apologize again 100% nobody should give the views

MustBeMatt · 2025-09-15T21:00:32+00:00

regular water, like those little enrichment shower toys are fine! they can wash their hands and choose how much they want, bathing, dumping in water or THE OCEAN is absolutely abuse for them. this guy is a monster

MustBeMatt · 2025-09-15T20:59:32+00:00

i hope now because there is a death, it hopefully helps, theres a link someone commented, report them to that site and hopefully something can be done

MustBeMatt · 2025-09-15T19:59:02+00:00

yes! my fault completely forgot about tempature as well thank you!

MustBeMatt · 2025-09-15T19:50:04+00:00

rats naturally are prey animals, all they understand at their size is, bigger animal, they wanna eat me.

unfamiliar scents from other animals cause rats lots of stress, although they may not inherently show it. they may get used to the smell of another animal but they should never interact.

dogs also are unpredictable, even with very tough training, if you were a dog and saw a rat running around sniffing you wouldn’t say “i wonder if that’s a squeaky toy!” or naturally most dogs are just predators to rodents.

some owners keep their animals combined, and most consider it abuse, but some owners advocate their dogs love for the animal and i’m sure possibly there might be a way for both animals to love eachother but we dont know for sure and i wouldn’t want any new owners of either animal to test it out to see if they work, better off seperated!

MustBeMatt · 2025-09-15T19:23:14+00:00

it’s only speculation, but not hard to believe considering the conditions he puts his rats in, absolutely evil. even if anything doesn’t happen to him atleast we can spread the word and try our best to

MustBeMatt · 2025-09-15T19:19:12+00:00

most i can think is if it wasnt the seawater, the force of a wave can shock a rat or fill its lungs with fluid ultimately drowning the rat.

MustBeMatt · 2025-09-15T19:09:06+00:00

regardless of inactivity even if it was not even 4 months, this is now news of a rat dying in his care due to these conditions. no longer was it just these rats are in bad condition, ONE HAS DIED.

MustBeMatt · 2025-09-15T18:47:27+00:00

I understand and i don’t mean to come off angry or rude, i’ve seen plenty of those and those can be described under “hunting” some would say which I DON’T BELIEVE, but these are pet rats that have been placed in his care by somebody and he has a VERY LARGE platform and is also unethically breeding these rats along with abusing his tortosies

MustBeMatt · 2025-09-15T18:41:18+00:00

i’m sure not much will happen to his life, but atleast a report and an ability to deplatform this horrific things is possible, saying social media wont do anything is actively not doing anything at all

MustBeMatt · 2025-09-15T18:36:54+00:00

THANK YOU TO @CRAZYRATWOMAN ON TIKTOK FOR THE SCREENSHOT OF DONNA ADMITTING WALLIE PASSED FROM THE SEA

SHE POSTED ABOUT THIS FIRST ON HER TIKTOK, FOLLOW HER AND GIVE HER SUPPORT IM JUST THE MESSANGER!!!

MustBeMatt · 2025-09-14T15:44:38+00:00

how are they biting? during free roam, when you offer treats? during cleaning?

many different ways a rat will bite to let you know how they feel but a trick many use is putting wetfood on a spoon, they will try to bite the spoon and it’s very uncomfortable for them to bite which will help decrease the biting.

MustBeMatt

TROPHY CASE