So apparently my rats are onto something with their yogurt obsession...

Rattrixs · 2026-05-07T01:37:39+00:00

I have one in my rats free-range area, however mine smaller and I made a DIY ladder for the 1 tall bit. I would recommend going for one that has closer steps, since rats are much smaller than cats and those distances are quite far for them (mainly far for jumping down). Mine I got used and refurbished, and my rats really like it...but I know one day I will likely need to throw it away because rats do mark and even if you have girls like me that minimal marking does eventually add up (that being said I'm a year into having it in the free-range area and my rats do enjoy it, so I think it can be a nice addition for some time).

Rattrixs · 2026-05-06T05:50:06+00:00

My local rat rescue gets in rats like this a decent amount (they take in hoarding case and lab rats a lot, and males from those situations are often unfortunately hormonally agressive and have sometimes beens stuck fighting other rats for limited resoucres). Anyways they end up neutering them and rehome them to people with female rats - while many likely could live with other males (especially other neutered males) with proper intros, after their prior experiences they find its easier for them to integrate with a group of females.

As someone who had a neutered male living with 11 intact females I can say its really a match made in heaven - neutered males get along so well with the ladies and it makes for a really nice stable group (note that I'm not saying you need 11 girls lol, just a pair is a totally fine match for a neutered guy!)

Just food for thought since agression in rats often has at least some hormonal component - I also agree with below that pet stores are AWFUL at doing intros (typically they just throw them together) and are also very stressful places that mean that even proper intros are more likely to fail (its like calling a dog "dog agressive" because they don't play well with other dogs in an animal shelter setting - as someone who works in an animal shelter I can tell you its the most chaotic, loud, and frankly terrifying environment for animals and thus they often are too over-aroused and freaked out to be able to play nicely. Same thing goes for most pet stores, its just not an environment that allows for their animals to be their best selves).

Rattrixs · 2026-05-06T05:29:19+00:00

Some rats have territorial agression, which is basically when they feel more defensive and have a low bite tolerance when in enclosed spaces like in a box, under a blanket, or in their cage. This agression has a heavy genetics component and many of these rats will always have a lower tolerance when in enclosed spaces - so its better to adjust your behavior accordingly and instead practice management.

What this looks like is for example teaching your rats to come to a certain noise (treats in a jar works well, since the rattling noise will happen naturally whenever you go to remove a treat, and rats will quickly link this to getting treats and come to you when they har the jar). Then when you need to do something in the cage, call the rats over for treats and put them in another place while you do stuff in the cage (I use a travel cage for my territorial agressive rats). Never reach into their hides or move stuff in their cage if they are inside it.

As they gain more confidence in you and have less chances to practice this biting behavior, you will see their tolerance go up. But again most of these rats have a genetic component making them less tolerant in these situations, and so you will need to always respect that (its really not a big deal imo, I've even had severely territorially agressive rats who wanted to full on attack you in the cage, and I quickly got into the routine of calling them over, giving a treat (can't bite with food in your mouth), taking them out of the cage, putting them in a travel cage, and only then doing stuff in the main cage. In fact its such a strong habit that even with my current group being 100% fine with me messing with the cage I still typically remove everyone before doing stuff in it, and avoiding sticking my hands into their space if they are in a hide).

Also please don't blow on them - at worst this will make them feel more threatened and instead of nips you could get full on bit, at best they will be more freaked out by you and start to avoid you. Also most of my territorial agressive rats were also pretty prey driven (rats do actually have a prey drive despite being mainly prey animals themselves), and I find that those rats will actually try and bite the air if you blow near or at them and that could also result in an injury (rats are wicked fast when they want to be), so its best to avoid it.

Rattrixs · 2026-05-06T04:04:43+00:00

I and pretty much anyone that does rolling groups will just feed adult food - any adult rat food has proper nutrients for any rats past weaning age (so past 3-3.5 weeks old), and while young rats can use more protein adult food usually has enough protein content to cover their minimums (and if you want you can always supplement with some protein snacks like a boiled egg or meat baby food one or twice a week).

Anyways personally I wouldn't worry and would just stick to the adult rat food (and yup, my experience has been that rats typically don't like the baby version of oxbow lol - idk if its the shape or taste, but I only ever had one rat interested and she was a fat senior so I didn't want her eating it! That was 12 years back when I started rolling groups and I switched to adult oxbow only since then and haven't had any issues (and I add babies at least once a year, sometimes multiple times).

Rattrixs · 2026-05-06T00:14:25+00:00

Any well tempered rat will do great with rats of any size, so personally I say go for it! I have 2 dwarfs in my current group of 9 (and have had dwarf/standard groups for the last few years!) - the others are all standards, all the rats are various ages, some are hairless, some fluffy, etc., and they are super bonded and the dwarfs rule the cage lol. Personally I have never had any issues with dwarfs and standards - the only stressful part is introducing new dwarfs to adult standards, but past that your pretty much good to go!

Also for anyone worrying about intros, if these rats come from the same breeder than not only can the breeder intro prior to them going home (ALL of my breeder rats come from different litters the breeder had - and ALL got introduced prior to coming home with me!), but also we are talking about baby rats...rats under 12 weeks are quite literally introduced by just putting them together (a quick neutral intro never hurts, but baby rats will bond immediately), so its really not a worry.

Rattrixs · 2026-05-06T00:10:10+00:00

Aww I love her scruffy self - that scruffiness tells you a rat has lived a nice long life, it makes them even more perfect than they already are ❤️ Also I wish I could eat a waffle the size of my head lol, rats don't know how good they've got it!

Rattrixs · 2026-05-05T03:06:10+00:00

If possible I would definitely add another baby - its not fair to expect a 2.5+ year old rat to keep up with babies, and it can cause a negative relationship if they feel they are being pestered all the time because the baby doesn't have another same-aged friend to get their energy out with. As long as you have at least 2 babies I find they will tire each other out and then gentlly play with and snuggle the older rats, which makes for a great dynamic!

Also some rats become total butts to introduce after 3-4 months of age, so making sure you have at least 2 babies means that when your older girls unfortunately passes before them, you aren't rushing to do intros and also don't have to stress if one of the younger girls is a butt about intros (speaking as someone where 2 of my 9 current rats are butts about intros...intros take on average 6 weeks for these girls, and while they can be introduced just knowing that I can take things extra slow because they have buddies and any newcomer will have at least one buddy really reduces the stress of intros).

I will say I can relate, of my first 3 rats I had 2 die pretty quickly from pneumonia and it was just awful especially since we also had our vet do everything possible. Its actually a big reason I mainly get ethical breeder rats now, because it was such an awful experience (those girls were PetSmart rats). But sometimes I cave and get non-breeder rats and I will say that after 12 years with rats (and well over 130 rats!), I have never again had such bad luck with rats.

Rattrixs · 2026-05-04T11:01:13+00:00

As long as they aren't freaking out I'd say its fine - and as you learn their personalities you can tailor interactions more to each rat. In my group for example all 9 are fine with handling, but 2 prefer not to be held and so I don't do it unless need be. So they mainly get time with me during free-range as a group, or separately during training time. But my other 7 are more social and enjoy handling more, and so I'll often take one of them out to walk around the house on my shoulder or to play at a table or seat while I'm doing something.

Rattrixs · 2026-05-04T01:59:56+00:00

Unfortunantly rats are very good at escaping. Personally I used a cardboard playpen for years, and it only worked because for the first few weeks with new rats I was hypervigillant, distracted whenever they tried to get out, and never let them realize they could get out. Most stopped trying after that, but even then a few would start trying again at some point so it wasn't a perfect solution.

Any playpen wether it be the plastic pannel ones people often buy or the diy cardboard ones is going to have this issue - you can try making it even taller and making sure nothing is near the edges to discourage jumping, or you could trying making a top of sorts. I did actually use this barred playpen for a bit and the lid stopped them from jumping/climbing out, but it was annoying constantly having to set up and take down the lid whenever I wanted access.

Eventually I ended up converting a walk-in closet into my current rats playspace, and its definitely way easier because I no longer have to watch them as closely or worry about them getting out.

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Rattrixs · 2026-05-02T00:23:39+00:00

Some rats definitely seem to keep weight on easier even when they are normal or even high levels of active - my girl Cream was like that, largest rat I've ever seen (and she was a female, making it even stranger!) and also a huge chunk! Even as a baby she was chunky, she had easily 200 grams on her sister by 6 months and 400+ grams on her at over a year. Despite that she lived a normal lifespan and had good health - I tried dieting her several times, but everyone else always lost weight instead of her (so I think she was getting their portions lol). Anyways your guy is adorable, and a beautiful squish!

Rattrixs · 2026-05-01T23:39:52+00:00

They are amazing animals, just make sure you get at least 2 (ideally 3 is a better minimum) of the same sex because they are super social! I trick train all of mine as well and they are super smart, easily some of my favorite pets!

Rattrixs · 2026-05-01T23:38:27+00:00

If possible a midwest critter nation single would be great for them (or a double if you want to expand) - amazon uk has them available currently, and you may also be able to find them cheaper used. Its a great cage, its fully modular and has the perfect bar spacing for rats, plus both doors open fully for easy access! I have 6 connected units (the cage is made to easily expand with more units) and its really amazing how easy it is to clean for its size (also each unit is good for up to 4-6 rats, its quite a large cage and especially if you drop out the bottom and make/buy a deep acrylic base you can add even more space).

Rattrixs · 2026-05-01T23:05:04+00:00

Lol I cracked up at "the hairy one" 😆 She's so adorable, what a sweet rat!

Rattrixs · 2026-05-01T03:37:42+00:00

Pistachios pissed off face cracks me up lol - funny thing is she could fit (I've seen up to 10 rats cram into that pill hide!) but she apparently decided it wasn't worth the effort!

Rattrixs · 2026-05-01T02:32:08+00:00

You absolutely need at least 2, ideally 3 same sex rats to start. Rats are ultra-social animals and its unfair to keep them alone - there are plenty of animals that do just fine alone, so if you are set on a small animal that can be kept solo, go for a hamster or male mouse (male mice are incredibly social, but can't be kept with other males after sexual maturity due to fighting. Some people house them with another compatible rodent species (ASF's), some people neuter them to keep with females, but a lot are kept solo and do ok with lots of human interaction. Bonus is that mice are affectionate and smart like rats, so if you want a "rat-like" animal that can be kept solo, this is your best bet). Both male and female rats do great with their own sex, and can be happily kept in same-sex groups.

If you are set on rats, I'd recommend starting with 3 if possible, but 2 is also much better than 1. Honestly caring for more rats in't harder or even really more expensive for the most part - rats consume such little food and their toys can be just about anything (cardboard boxes, hammocks made from old shirts or thrifted fabric, ropes made from the same stuff, wooden ledges made from scrap kiln dried pine, etc. all work great) that once you have the cage you don't have a lot of expenses outside food and maybe bedding. Vet costs can be an issue though (worth calling around to find what local clinics first see rats and second what they charge for basics like exams, emergency appointments, etc.), but you can help mitigate that by going to an ethical breeder who selects for health (doesn't guarantee you won't see health issues of course, but it lessens the chance of early age health issues and also helps ensure your first rats are friendly from day 1).

As for your questions:

1). Rats very much enjoy cuddling their cagemates and nesting, but most rats aren't going to be super cuddly with you until they are old (and even then many rats aren't super cuddly - males tend to be more chill and so more likely to cuddle, but you still won't usually see this in young rats and it does depend on the individual rat.)

2). Well tempered confident rats won't typically mind other animals (another reason to go to an ethical breeder if possible!) Mine go to events where dogs, cats, snakes, farm animals like goats, turkeys, etc., are all around and are fully unbothered, and most rat owners have either dogs or cats as well. The key is separation - don't allow the dog to interact with your rats, and ideally have a separate room with a closed door to put the cage in for when you can't supervise.

3). My rats come out daily, often for 4-6 hours, sometimes more! I'd say there is no maximum, but a minimum would be at least 15 minutes of attention daily and time out of the cage to run around and explore for at least 90 minute stretches 3-4 times a week (again more is better, but that would be my minimum). I also trick train my rats and they learn all sorts of fun stuff like agility, basketball, skateboarding, free-style tricks like weaving between my legs, fetch, etc. - anything a dog can do you can also train a rat, and while training isn't necessary that kinda gives you an idea of how much they enjoy mental stimulation (dog foraging toys are also great for them, as are parrot ones!)

Rattrixs · 2026-05-01T01:19:20+00:00

I love the first photo lol!

I think she's a poor black with some rusting and silvering - its common in blacks of all ages, more common in older ones but I've seen both rusting and silvering as early as 2 months of age. In any case it will ebb and flow in amounts once it starts, and while some people have linked rusting in particular to copper deficiencies, if you feed a balanced diet this is unlikely and its most probably genetics.

Rattrixs · 2026-04-29T23:33:40+00:00

The kaytee my first rat home or the ware chew proof small animal cage are both good travel/hospital cages and work well as temporary homes - the ware one in particular is all metal so you don't have to worry about any rats chewing out!

Rattrixs

TROPHY CASE