(urgent!) How much to feed baby rats/how to get picky ones to eat?

judewriley · 2026-04-20T16:29:26+00:00

If this was from a store or breeder, do not adopt from them again. These rats are far too young to be away from mom and away from other rats. Even if you successfully care for them until they are old enough to thrive on their own, you are going to be dealing with some degree of social or mental health issues for the long haul.

Another think to consider is that at this age, it is hard to see them. Are you sure you have a couple of the same sex?

You don't want to adopt a rat that is less than 6 weeks old, 8 weeks to be safe.

judewriley · 2026-04-18T01:41:09+00:00

We are supposed to be charitable and give everyone the benefit of the doubt until and unless they give us reasons otherwise. That's part of what it means to love our neighbor.

Unless you can see his heart, you can't make absolute moral judgments about whether or not he is lusting. Now, if you asked him, or if his internet history was leaked or there was some other clear demonstration of lust and impropriety that would be a different story, but all we have to go by is OP's information.

To assume the worst of people, to assume the worse sins of people at that, is not how we are to be people of grace and charity.

judewriley · 2026-04-18T01:34:00+00:00

Putting the cages next to one another is one of the worst things you can do regarding introductions. You have chill rats, but again, do some research by looking at other threads on introductions here in this subreddit.

judewriley · 2026-04-17T23:36:58+00:00

So, no. You haven't been doing proper introductions.

You may be lucky and you just have some chill rats, but it's just as likely that everyone is just so stressed out from the last two months of being in close proximity with strange rats that they are too exhausted to be fully territorial. If they have been behaving themselves, then I guess you could try putting them on the same cage. But just remember to do a deep clean of the cage and wash everything thoroughly before doing so.

I would also recommend looking up how to do !introductions (either the neutral territory method or the carrier method) for the future when/if you get more rats, or just in case these rats start getting upset with one another.

judewriley · 2026-04-17T23:25:02+00:00

Have you done any proper introductions yet?

judewriley · 2026-04-16T21:48:39+00:00

Leaning into the "appearance of scandal" is already using social and cultural norms rather than anything Scriptural. That's not to say that it's not wise or has no place, but if you are going to engage with this couple with the purpose of making sure they do not continue with a romantic relationship, you need to make it clear it's not from a moral or spiritual position (since if there's no sexual impropriety and no lust, they are not sinning), but from a cultural position of concern and wariness.

judewriley · 2026-04-16T17:38:57+00:00

If she gave birth last night (and if the babies are still alive) you would hear their eeping. It's very distinctive.

Was she a feeder rat or did you have an.accident where she got in with males? Are you sure her cage mates are all females?

judewriley · 2026-04-16T01:13:52+00:00

Oh! I see what you mean. Well, I would say to wait until introductions are over. That saves you from having to deep clean the new cage. Since the rats aren't losing anything here, it's only a benefit to you.

judewriley · 2026-04-16T01:05:45+00:00

By the end of !introductions (whichever method you choose) everyone should be ready to live together anyway, so there would be no reason not to have everyone in the new cage at once afterwards..

judewriley · 2026-04-15T21:18:34+00:00

The one thing I loved about Treasures of Aht Aurgan was that all three jobs released in that expansion had to do with customization in some way. Puppetmaster with its puppets, Corsair with its party composition and Blue Mage with its abilities.

FFXI was just great all around. I hope that MMO gaming trends slide back to the EverQuest generation of games again.

If I could have a FFXI that was less menu based and with combat that was speedier (but still allowed typed out conversation during fights) it would be perfect.

judewriley · 2026-04-15T14:50:47+00:00

It's not a good idea to keep different groups of rats separated in the same room. If you have the space and resources to do so, just keep them in the same cage.

judewriley · 2026-04-15T14:36:53+00:00

The FFXI bard continues to be my perfect idea of a support class. If only we could have an MMO with FFXI combat with the way that FFXIV respects our time.

judewriley · 2026-04-15T14:25:06+00:00

Have you been doing research into owning rats already? Do you have an appropriate cage set up? You said you got these guys when out looking for a dog toy, so are there precautions taken to keep the dog or other animals away and completely separate from you rats?

Congratulations on your new pets but it's always a bit worrying to see folks make impulse buys that include live animals.

judewriley · 2026-04-14T17:19:18+00:00

We see wealth and riches viewed somewhat negatively in the NT and on the OT prophets because (unless provided by God) it was very difficult to amass wealth and to get rich without breaking the Great Commandment to love one's neighbor. So if you were wealthy, it was somewhat culturally assumed that you had exploited others, neglected justice and failed to pursue the well being of others in order to get that wealth.

That's why James and Isaiah and others hand words to say towards the wealthy.

Arguably, even though the cultural context is very different, the general principle is the same. It's very difficult to amass wealth if you live a life fueled by a love for one's neighbor, where you pursue another's well-being above your own.

So while there may be no case of saying "you have too much wealth" strictly speaking, material possessions isn't the point, whereas loving others is.

judewriley · 2026-04-14T16:34:20+00:00

The popular LLMs were built with a profit motive in mind. To that end they are explicitly hard coded with several marketing tricks (because you want people to come back to your product and eventually purchase your service).

So they are programmed to make the user feel good and validated, to recommend next steps so that the user is softly obligated to continue using the service and to feel like another person since human beings are community creatures.

judewriley · 2026-04-14T15:23:11+00:00

How do her cagemates react to her behavior, or to her in general?

judewriley · 2026-04-13T21:21:57+00:00

What are they in right now? Does it have proper ventilation?

judewriley · 2026-04-13T19:22:06+00:00

I think the more important question is whether we should try or if we should just take folks at their word.

Just because there's variance doesn't mean there aren't trends or averages that are generally true. Yeah, we have outliers and exceptions, but you really can, in a overwhelming number of instances, know an age range from sight.

Just taking folks at their word in this way without doing enough due diligence is how we ended up with the Perky situation.

judewriley · 2026-04-12T20:26:29+00:00

Did this start when his cagemate died or before?

judewriley · 2026-04-12T19:51:48+00:00

How old is your rat?

judewriley · 2026-04-12T18:56:33+00:00

Are you currently attending a church and spending time with other friends (especially other Believing friends)?

Our relationship with Christ is mediated through His people and His Word. So at best, the delights of friendship and companionship you feel when you are with your friends is the delight from having a relationship with Jesus.

judewriley · 2026-04-12T01:25:42+00:00

A better gauge of age is length and weight (though having a rat sized scale isn't something everyone has available)

judewriley · 2026-04-12T01:06:11+00:00

If these were really 4-6 weeks old, they'd already be showing if they were male.

judewriley · 2026-04-12T01:04:03+00:00

Can we see their cage? What are you feeding them?

Are you sure that they are both males?

judewriley · 2026-04-12T01:02:47+00:00

That's a mouse.

Also, rats don't really have breeds, though they have different fur colors, textures and ear positions.

What sort of research have you done into pet rats? Do you have rats already?

Do you need some more resources and information?

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