21 things you should know before owning rats!

hate from australia

I will say, when I rescued a potential feeder rat from foster, I didn’t want him to live alone. I did everything within my power to house him with another rat, however after too many fights including blood, and realizing I couldn’t afford getting either of them neutered, i HAD to house him alone. I didn’t have anyone else to rehome him to either. I hated it and felt insanely bad for him, but I had no other choice. He had a bunch of behavioral issues (that I suspect from being a feeder). If i had the money to neuter him and get him into a group I would have. But I couldn’t. He’s long since passed away, and while knowing there are things I could’ve done better for him (that where out of my control), i also know I gave him the best life he could’ve had given his circumstance, rather than him going to some bloke with no experience and/or getting live fed to someone’s snake.
I do agree that there’s rarely any excuse for housing a rat alone. But I also believe there are very, very few rare cases where it’s not only necessary, but better off. Again, it’s a very very rare situation, but once in a blue moon it’ll happen. I did my best with Updike. And that’s all that matters to me.
love the video, very informative ❤

Rats live a short life, but they love you harder than anything if you treat them right. I've had dogs that were nothing but sugar, and my rats loved me more fiercely than the dog. Rats are the greatest gift the Gods ever allowed us the privilege of being with. Ever since a wild rat saved my life, they have become absolutely sacred to me.

I’m watching this as there’s 2 baby rats in my hood 💀

Excellent information. Kudos for exposing the cruelty that goes behind the doors of pet stores. Animals, I mean all animals, are not things, play toys, food, or shoes. Please respect your fellow earthlings.

The urine marking… is just too much for me, sadly. 😢 I can handle cleaning up after my pets (that’s just life with pets of ANY species), but the thought that there would be little, invisible pee spots all over me/furniture/floor… not so much. That’s a bummer… 😔 What would be a better alternative pet for someone who finds rats adorable and charming… but can’t deal with the “dripping” issues?

I am getting pet rats from pets at home due to not being able to find any good breeders if there any objections please tell me if there is a breeder near me (Warwickshire)

Question about rule21: would they like their cage being near a fish tank? Like next to it so they can see the fish?

I bought both of mine from a petstore because they were using them as feeder rats I thought I got to males but I got male and female now I have babies that are two days old and mama is stressed and I don't know how to calm her down

Thank you for all the videos you make about rats specifically! There aren't that many creators who make rat-centric content so your channel is just amazing to learn exactly how to care for them. I just visited my soon-to-be rat babies yesterday! :) I'm adopting them from a petting zoo/farm, their set up was amazing- the cage for all the rats was absolutely massive and so well put together. I'll be picking them up in 4 weeks! Thanks again for everything, all your vids are so helpful.

I own one rat and I've done a lot of research that they should be with other rats, but my guardian won't let me get another one. What do I do?

No15: If you do need to bath your rats though, like if they peed on each other or if they are very smelly. Or sometimes after cleaning up the whole cage you would like to clean them up also, or if there is a wound that needs to be regularly cleaned. Always fill a sink with some ( light ) warm water, and dont place the rat directly into it. Set it close by and see how it reacts, if a good reaction you can set them into the water. Often ( in my case ) the rat actually will start to enjoy it and they start to clean themselves while bathing. Rats are natural swimmers, washing them is not a huge problem, its the way people do it that puts the stress on them.
Dont have a running water tab, this will make a lot of noise very close to their ears and its too loud for them, it makes controlling the right temperature difficult. If its the first time it could be your rats wants to get out of the water, if that happens you could start with a very shallow layer of water and let them get used to it first. To prevent fear of the water its recommended to start doing this when they are young, and a pee fishing game will help also as they will be jumping in the water them selves already. The water level should lever go higher then slightly touching their bellies, your rat will not enjoy it if the water level is to high.
Dont use soaps at all, no matter if its pet soap or not. If you want a great smelling pet get a cat or a dog, rats simply have a distinctive smell. If you tried to soap their smell away, you simply going to trigger their immune system as it tried to compensate for the lack of oils, your rat will smell much worse the day after a good bath.
But again, rats are natural swimmers and they are not afraid for the water or for a bath, my rat actually loved it and could be in bath for a good 30 minutes before she gave the sign to get out. Just make sure the bath is prepared ( no running water ), the environment is calm, do not force them and make sure to start doing this when they are young. If you wait to long and they are like a year old, they never experienced it and it could be more stressing for them. But in the end its often people forcing rats to take a bath just as you could see in the little clip Emi showed, that is not a good approach at all and it will make your rat scared. Best is just to teach them to enjoy the water, and let them do the work themselves, the rats themselves knows what is best for his body and fur ^^
When done bathing, please dry off the majority of water gently with a soft towel. Keep the rats in a warm environment as long as their fur is still wet / damp, you do not want to bring them to a colder area as they can get very sick cause of that. Keep them warm until they dried up, no need to completely dry them off with a towel, they will not like it and its not good for the fur.

Genuine question! I just adopted a rat from my college. He was born at the school and has lived with his 3 brothers and dad for the last 2.5 years. Recently, he started attacking the others and after several months of trying to get them to get along, the school finally had to separate him. I just retired from my externship and was told they put him up for adoption so I brought him home. I really don’t want him alone but he and the other rats have seriously injured each other despite them being put in smaller groups and attempting to match him with different brothers or just his dad. Has anyone else experienced this? Unfortunately it was an emergent adoption so I wasn’t as prepared as I wished I could be. Any advise is appreciated!

Is it better to get only female/male rats or can I get both genders?

Would you suggest the same gender in one cage? (Not for breeding I’ll get them neutered)

Do the rats pee or poo on you when you cuddle with them? Or when they run around? What if i want to put them on my bed? Are the poos dangerous to touch?

I am bleeding them to feed to my snakes 😂😂

I've already got my rats but I learned a lot from this. I'm getting my rats some more foraging/digging toys and getting a playpen for some out of cage time as we speak.

I had rat which lived 5.5 years. I got it from people in such age that she even didnt learn to eat well by herself, I had to feed her by small syringe. Used to be with me all the time, sometimes even going out with her in the pocket. Gave her same food what ate by myself. Loved fried Meat and Boiled Eggs!!!! Loved to steal all from home and drag at hers cage, cage almost never was closed, each time while cleaning were finding good stuff. Died because of the tumor. :( After some years I have got two rats from the store and it was... nothing to compare. Lived just 1.5 year, never were really happy be on hands and from young age you could tell were weak on health.

I got my rats at the pet store bcs I saw this video to late and they are 4 or 5 the vet said

I have gotten all of my rats at a pet store. I have had good luck in that department.

i might get a pet rat for my birthday. the thing is, my mom doesn’t even want to even get ONE rat. so i’m even lucky to be getting at least one. i can’t get two.

Guys do you have any breeders -or rat mills- in Moorhead I literally cannot find any and i really want -a rat- rats, me and my family talked it out and -both of my parents- my mom said its ok

I'm actually going to get 2 rats near the end of summer break but I don't think the noise will really annoy me because I have to have rain sounds, the sound of my fan, and yt on JUST to sleep. (No startling noises ofc just music) But if anyone wants to tell me anything more abt getting rats i'd rlly love 2 know

I have 25 rats who live with me and share my meals each day. They are friendly and entertaining . They used to keep me up late, but have adapted to my sleeping habits very well. Sometimes at night, young ones crawl onto my chest and sleep. When I wake up in the morning, they run away into their home. They eat mostly vegetarian food and fruit and salads. They drink water from the dog's bowl and don't like beer .

hi i adopted rats as adults (they are both males) how can i bond with them as adults?

I am new to you

I wish I would have know some of this before, I had a rat (he lived for 6 years) he was a very happy and playful but now I know you should have more then one, now I know

damn I didn’t come to the video get attacked

I had two older girls one of my older girls recently passed and I just got a new rat to keep the other company any videos to help?

I had a situation abt 2 weeks ago where I was getting two more rats for my current mischief they scammed me and only gave me one,, he’s the sweetest thing ever and I’m working on introducing him to my current rats and your intro video helped me ^^

what about raising rats w kittens?

First time owning rats I was given them by my sister. Their cage was poorly decorated and their diet was a pre-made seed mix with some other things. They where pet store rats and had so many diseases. The one never let me pet her and always bit.eventually she did let me pet her but shortly after like maybe a month she sadly passed.

That comment about their age being set in stone says some thing(s) about human lifespans. Research and funding notwithstanding.

In the animal store there was 1 single male rat, but I have female rats. I really want to buy him and get some more male rats. What do you think I should do?

I have a question: if I'm getting a feeder rats from my cousin, are they the same as "normal rats?

Me after the Intro: OMG She's Shaming Her old video and HER HAIR😱

I have three rats one older two younger they interact with my dog and my cats and neither party care

When she brought up rat life spans and said so-n-sos rat lived 4-5 years. "That's not possible." I do want to make a correction there. Yes it is possible, but it's very unlikely. In my personal experience with owning rats yes is extremely unlikely for them to live past 1 or 2 years of age. However it IS possible for them to live longer. In perfect conditions no heath issues no anything wrong with the diat or living arrangement, my oldest boy lived to be 4. Yes it's possible. Just unlikely. (I just 3 little girls yesterday after my oldest boy passed away about 3-4 years ago. I wasn't ready to get more after he went😢 Rest In Peace Max...)

The pet store i got mine from gets all of their rats from a good breeder, is this okay?

do rats always get sick?

Stop demonizing avery pet store please... I don´t see anyone arguing the fact that rescued pets are often mistreated cause of negligent "rescuers"... Yes, the polace where we adopt them often i worse than the breeeder´s...

Thanks! I’m getting 2 rats in a couple weeks😁

Pls put warnings in the future if the video shows footage of animal cruelty it can be quite upsetting and aggravating to people like me who want to hurt people who hurt animals plus Im also one of those people who hates seeing animals suffering

i have rats but I don't want to kill them. i actually want to capture them and give them a home. how do i do that? i dont want to hurt them. they're innocents. they didn't do anything wring except exist.

Please as Emiology warned do not buy from a Pet Store. Our second set were from a breeder they were so much more friendlier and easier to handle. Also the Pet Store rats died after only 1 year :-(. Our rats from the breeder are thriving still at 1 and a half.

What Kind of dirt/soil can you use for them to dig in? Please answer <3

I did not realize the short lifespans! I am potentially thinking about adopting rats. But i am doing my research first.

Luckily I was able to avoid common mistakes with rat owning, of course it’s not perfected but things like this helped me avoid mistakes and know what to expect. I’m continually trying to improve, but I’m glad to say I never owned a single rat, always had a good sized cage, and didn’t go to pet stores.