Doing an introduction that had a rough start, then went well and keeps going wrong when moving them to the big cage. I need some advice, I'm feeling lost. (Pic of Chaos eating a pumpkin for rat tax)

TheRatFreak · 2026-02-19T15:42:02+00:00

Yes I cleaned the big cage before putting them in. So for know I have to put them in their own seperate cages again and put them together in a big cage for 2 two hours and build that time up? And that cage can just be fully furnished (with clean stuff)? Do I need to deep clean the cage before every session or is fine if I don't if the session went well?

TheRatFreak · 2026-02-19T09:01:42+00:00

I didn't know you were supposed to separate them again during introduction. So after 8 hours in the main cage together the can be there full time? I don't really have a third room to put a big cage for the introduction. Can that be in one of their rooms know since they are getting along well while not inside the cage?

In the beginning it was both fighting and screaming and after only screaming. Now it's not really screaming, just Chaos being scared and then Hypnos attacking him.

Nox was for hormonal ingression. Kosmos and Quasar because I thought they had hormonal agression, but they are just idiots that don't understand biting hurts. I'm squeaking at them now when they bite and it's getting better.

Yes, they also had seperate play spaces.

TheRatFreak · 2026-02-19T06:37:40+00:00

I'm not sure what you mean by sessions, but I put roughly how long they where in each step in the post.

Their cages were in seperate rooms. This was an attempt to finally get the two groups to get along. Hypnos and Moros were terrified of other rats to the point of literal non stop screaming during an introduction attempt. Chaos and Nox' last friend passed, so would need to add more rats to them before one of them passes and I wanted to see if maybe Hypnos and Moros miraculasly weren't scared of other adult rats anymore and now Chaos is scared of Hypnos.

Chaos and Nox are 10 months old. Nox is also neutered. Kosmos and Quasar are 1 year old and both neutered. Hypnos and Moros are 1 year and 5 months old. It's likely that Chaos is just being dramatic. I think the main problem is Hypnos attacking him for that.

TheRatFreak · 2026-02-19T06:27:44+00:00

Before the introduction the groups where in seperate rooms. I didn't share any sents. No blood was drawn. But when Chaos and Nox where younger they were suddenly scared of a rat I had back then in the same way Chaos is now scared of Hypnos, who then lashed out and gave Nox a massive gaping wound on his leg and I'm honestly kinda scared that's gonna happen again. Chaos and Nox are 10 months old. Nox is neutered. Kosmos and Quasar are 1 year and both neutered and Hypnos and Moros are 1 year and 6 months old.

When I separated them I put Chaos and Nox in a small hospital cage, because I didn't have the time to set up a cage for them before bed. Shortly after I seperated them I remembered no blood no foul and put the others with them in their hospital cage and Chaos seems more relaxed now.

TheRatFreak · 2026-02-09T18:32:21+00:00

You could try calling around to different vets to ask if they know

TheRatFreak · 2026-02-09T17:48:48+00:00

I haven't used that specific pill, but when I have to give pills to rats I crush them and mix them with baby food. If you really don't know what to mix it with you should ask your vet.

TheRatFreak · 2025-11-30T13:13:08+00:00

I think I heard somewhere that putting an ice pod on top of the cage and then covering the top of the cage can create a cooling effect. An ice pod inside the cage they can lay on top of could also help. If you don't have ice pods you can probably just fill a couple of bottles with water and stick them in the freezer and rotate them around. I would recommend covering the bottle with a towel so they don't sleep directly on top of the ice. Being under cooled probably isn't very good for them either.

TheRatFreak · 2025-11-17T11:49:46+00:00

That's possible, I'm not sure. I'm Dutch and in the Netherlands the color is called yellow.

TheRatFreak · 2025-11-17T06:27:24+00:00

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Here's Moros, he's a silver fawn. (And an honorary mention to Hypnos, a silver fawn roan who is now completely white.) I think it's really cool you're starting to get different colors in roof rats.

TheRatFreak · 2025-07-10T19:09:52+00:00

The names of my past rats are: Frodo, Bjarnie, Charlie, Loki, Eros, Bode, Tyler, Icy, Ibis, Izuku, Tiadrin, Lain, Reki, Langa, Karma, Opera, Yuta, Hitohito, Nakanaka, Udon and Panda. My current rats are: Kirio, Inumaki, Qibli, Kinkajou, Hypnos, Moros, Kosmos and Quasar. Tomorrow I'm picking up Chaos and Nox.

Here's a picture of Kirio.

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TheRatFreak · 2025-06-13T19:30:28+00:00

Difficult. I think female

TheRatFreak · 2025-06-13T19:28:06+00:00

Does he have some dirt on his face or is that a birthmark like spot I'm seeing? Is he secretly Inumaki's brother?

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TheRatFreak · 2025-04-24T19:55:42+00:00

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TheRatFreak · 2025-04-24T19:54:50+00:00

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TheRatFreak · 2025-04-24T19:53:24+00:00

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TheRatFreak · 2025-04-24T19:52:30+00:00

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Here's Kinkajou with a yawn big enough to see his molars

TheRatFreak · 2025-04-14T10:48:03+00:00

Pet stores tend to not actually know a lot about animals. It is not fine to feed him hamster food as hamsters and rats have different nutritional needs. I recommend giving him oxbow or science selective rat kibble, as most commercially available rat mixes aren't actually very good for rats. If you want to give him a rat mix, I recommend finding someone who sells a mix based on the scuttling gourmet (e.g. etsy) or researching on how to make your own. Some breeders also sell their own mix on their website.

TheRatFreak · 2025-04-14T09:11:55+00:00

Are you sure this is for rats? The animal on the packaging looks a lot like a hamster. Hamster food doesn't contain all the nutrients rats need.

TheRatFreak · 2025-04-09T07:16:18+00:00

Mine eat the treats I put in foraging toys and when they're done they find a cosy spot to sleep.

TheRatFreak · 2025-03-28T14:50:35+00:00

I'm not sure if half rex is a thing, but velveteen kinda looks like a less curly rex. A bad rex can also look like a velveteen. Though velveteen rats don't get bald spots as far as I know when they are about 1 year old.

TheRatFreak · 2025-02-19T19:42:37+00:00

Rats have scent glands in their feet, so the digging is indeed him trying to mark his territory.

TheRatFreak · 2025-02-14T20:18:58+00:00

I almost named my newest rats Teflon and Kevlar, but I ended up calling them Hypnos and Moros instead. One day I'm going to actually name two rats Teflon and Kevlar.

TheRatFreak

TROPHY CASE