I’m down to my last little girl. She’s nearly 2 years 10 months. Her last sister passed around a month and a half ago. She’s content being on her own these days and loves sleeping in my tshirt. She has epilepsy, mammary lumps, an ear infection and cataracts bless her. She’s my little miracle rat as I nearly lost her first. She had a mysterious illness, twice, and was at deaths door both times. Not sure how long she has left , I’m just cherishing all the extra time I have with her
This is an EXCELLENT post! Been keeping rats for years (I'm 70 today) and have had to face these very difficult issues, so support what you say. Very helpful and thoughtful indeed to newer rat keepers/lovers.
Nice to see someone with common sense when it comes to looking after a solo older rat. I had one person go on a crazy vendetta when they said the best thing to do was put the lone healthy rat down. I was like there are so many more options and even looking after them solo at that point is usually fine.
Shadow makes pretty questionable decisions though like buying pet store rats. Truth is rats aren't humans. People telling you to put lone rats down are closer to the science than shadow is. I think there are better options if the rat is healthy, but rats being alone will literally make them ill, so I can see where that person was coming from. Noone wants to put their pets down, but this is due to selfishness. In a lot of cases, its better for the animal because it prevents unnecessary suffering. A lot of what I see online is selfish people or ignorant people who think it's cruel to euthanize an animal who has a terrible quality of life.
@ryno4ever433 Shadow's rats are actually rescued! I think she's only owned a few pet store rats and she didn't buy them directly. Besides, I live in south florida and there are literally no breeders/rescues/rats for sale near me except at petsmart. I'm trying to find a rescue rat but it's hard.
I wish rodents lived longer. ): I like rats but keep hamsters; I have yet to get two years out of one. We had one with cardiomyopathy, losing her at just under a year. Our vet said she should only have had six months, but she was so happy in life she hung in there. I'm glad we were able to do that for her, at least.
i feel like the main obstacle is their size and the fact most rats seem to die eventually due to pituitary glands...who knows, maybe one day we'll have cybernetic rats that prevent the tumors somehow?
Oh my, yes. I will officially be getting rats next, and this is favorite channel to binge watch! I love TheRatGuru, but she just doesn’t upload much. This channel is the perfect preparation for me. I want to know as much as I can.
This is really solid advice. ❤️💗 I recently lost 2 of 3 of my girls within 6 weeks of each other. It was so hard on me but I was also very concerned for my last girl Clove. Because of my severe allergies, I cant have an more rats. I decided to see how Clove went before deciding if I'd try to find foster rats. She handled it really well and is still very happy so I think it'll be easier for us both if we just spend more time together while she lives out the rest of her life. It was so hard to come to that decision though because I care so much and always want to do what's best for rats. She's about to celebrate her 2nd birthday in a few days. Anyways this got to a very long comment haha. But again, really good video. 🐭
I have had 11 rats so far (though none currently) and every single introduction I've done was just them sniffing reach other and then going to sleep together in the same hammock 😂 I usually just bathed everyone beforehand too so they were all too preoccupied fixing their hair to fight 😂🐀🐀🐀🐀
When we got a third rat it got its nose bit off so Im worried if Pumpkin dies and Penny ( My more territorial rat ) Gets depressed because I cant get another one because of the rat who got badly injured ( The rat was rehomed by a friend but later died of breathing problems, vet was closed on the sundays which was dumb) Edit :: I followed rules on introducing rats, but it didn't work out because my rat was too aggressive and territorial.
Also the coconut oil trick helped when we got our first two rats, as they didn't really like eachother. They soon became best friends, but penny was still more territorial and always loved to play with humans.
I had a rat (Shelley) who I adopted in a pair in the eighth grade that survived nearly 5 years (she passed in the summer leading to my freshman year of college). Her original sister died after two years and had to be replaced by a rat I adopted from Petfinder that was already a year old, as I figured Shelley would end up passing at around the same time (3 years). But no, the new rat passed after a year and Shelley lived a whole other year with no cage mate. During this year she spent only night and when I was at school in the cage and she had a weird bond with my cat, which I think are the only reasons she wasn't super depressed. So yeah: 5 years! Miss my little boop 💓
Thanks for this video! I'm down to my last little guy after his other 3 brothers passed. I also don't want anymore rats because they have such a short life and its too difficult to say goodbye when they die. My last rattie is 2 years and 2 months old so he is getting up there and is definitely slowing down. Thankfully he doesn't seem too sad being on his own however I definitely notice him being more affectionate with me. I've been trying to give him way more attention and treats than usual and he seems to be happy dispite being on his own.
I lost my rat today, we suspected she was old and nearing the end of her life. Her cagemate (who we assume is her daughter) is grieving, but has seen the body and let's just say we were there to late.
That is such a good point about getting a pair or more of younger rats to introduce to an older one. Thanks for mentioning that. I've had older ones start to play again when youngsters come on the scene!
I feel like you are always putting out really good informative content. Every video you put out,I love watching! I have learned so much from you thankyou so much for all these fantastic videos.
Very helpful! I started off 20months ago with four rats, two died months ago due to old age, and the other two stayed together for many months alone. One died an hour or less ago of a tumor, and her sister is now alone. She's always been very active though, and most cuddly, but I was still worried that at her age if I shouldn't just give her away. This was helpful and gives me confidence that I can care for her alone!
Thanks for making this video. I have 2 rat girls and they're the first I've had and I don't plan on getting more. I always worried about them getting lonely when one passes but this video really helps me get a grasp on the situation.
I had to put my rat to sleep few days ago (long story short- he was in very bad shape, probably had cancer, didn't want to eat or move). Thanks for this video, I was so stressed, because people online were so angry at me for having only one rat, I almost started thinking about giving him a new home.
Is this still your current advice? I have a three year old dwarf rat who is about to become a solo rat this afternoon. I've been looking for a rat to foster or dwarf rats to adopt and then adopt those out as a pair/triplet, but I'm having no luck. I don't really want my guy to be alone, but I don't want any more rats. 17 heartbreaks has been too much
You are SUCH a good rat mama! Loving, nurturing, considerate, but also realistic. I love your channel and sense of humor. I don't even have a rat but I'd like to get one. When I do, I'll know all the best ways to play and train. Hugs from Georgia!
I noticed that older rats are definitely more accepting of newer rats. When Ghost was 1 year old I introduced him and his brother to a new boy I got (Moby) and I had to break up several fights between Ghost and Mo. Ghost would chase him around, puff up his fur and breath/huff so loudly I could hear him across the room, and would tear out chunks of Moby's fur while fighting. Luckily, they're much more used to each other now. After Ghost's brother died and Ghost was about 1 and a half year old, I introduced him and Moby to 3 new babies I got (since I didn't want Moby who was only 6 months to be alone when Ghost died and I also wanted Moby to have younger brothers to play with so he wouldn't harass Ghost as much). Ghost never shows any aggressive body language, puffs up, fights, or even boxes with them! And Ghost used to box A LOT when he was younger! Ghost has calmed down so much and the old man is so much more accepting. I think he even likes the babies (especially Charlie since they look similar ^.^) and he even comes up to the bars of the cage when my mom or brother come in my room! And Ghost used to be so anxious around anyone who isn't me. I'm so proud of my baby boy. He used to be so stand-offish to any living thing that wasn't me and now he's so calm and sweet and cuddly. I love my boy. 💙 (I'm sorry this is so long and I'm blabbering so much. Ghost is the only rat left from the very first pair I got and I'm just so attached to him. He really only likes me so I baby him and spoil him and agghhh I love him so much. He's such a mama's boy.)
You're rats are so adorable! Makes me excited to get more little dudes. These two were my first and I know how to help new rats be more social early on now. Love my guy that's still here and I'm gonna cherish him for as long as I can. Next baby rats will be amazing like them I hope.
Just today UA-cam started recommending me your videos, and coincidentally, today I also had to say goodbye to one of my two rats. So this video was very welcome. I was worried about adopting a new younger rat (my gal Optimus is around 22 months but still energetic despite her age), but hearing that at just 8 weeks they're old enough to hold their own is great, since the pet shops in my town get them quite young and always sell out fast. Awesome advice, thank you so much! And I'll be sure to try some trick training in the meantime :) even just being alone today she got bored enough to make a fanciful new nest out of her litter box!
this video made it to my recs at just the right time - my girls are about to turn 2 and I lost one of the four to a tumor this week, so this issue has been on my mind these days. I'm unable to continue the group right now and don't really have the means for introductions even when borrowing or fostering other rats, so the prospect of ending up with a lone rat that might become depressed was making me nervous; especially since in any other circumstance housing a single rat alone is the biggest no-no. I've been watching your channel for about 2 years now and trust your experience, so it was very reassuring to hear that, if necessary and the rat deals with it well, it's an option to have a solo rat at the end of a group. thank you!
Just lost my first rat On my birthday had him for 1 year exactly we were really close he loved to run cuddle and follow me but r.i.p Templeton me and Dylan miss you so much
My older rat passed not to long ago I only have one rat who is about 2 I do not plan on keeping more rats he doesn't seem depressed in the slightest so I'm going to keep him alone and give him more out of cage time ty very much for this advise its very helpful
Recently made a comment about a video like this on a different video I had seen, and now it popped up on my recommendations. Thanks for making this one! My little guy passed away about a week ago and it's been rough. I have another rat who's more shy and skittish so I'm getting him more puzzle toys. Hopefully I can break him out of his shell in his last stretch. He's about 2 years and 2 months but he's as healthy as can be. I think we're gonna keep him solo as he probably wouldn't take too well to new bunk mates. Thank you again!!
extremely helpful video! i rarely comment on youtube videos but i recently fell in love with having rats as a pet a few years ago and i was so thankful and grateful that i came across a youtube channel i can trust based off of all of my research! you are by far one of my favorite youtube channels. :)
I recently got two baby rats (Probably around 10 weeks old) from a breeder and one seemed sick, so I decided I'd take him to the vet the next day. In the morning when I went to check on them, the rat that had been sick was dead. I now only have the one rat and I haven't even had him for 2 days. Since I have to quarantine new rats I've already gotten in contact with another breeder and I'll be getting 2 more males soon. It almost feels way too soon but at the same time I barely knew the rat that died and I know that what I'm doing is in the best interest for my curent rat. RIP Neptune.
This video came recommended 2 days after my 3rd rat passed. I'm left with one who is 2 and a half years old. He is as agile as he was when he was a few months old and he is extremely curious and friendly with humans (he was a bully to other rats, I had to neuter him). I hope I will be enough for him as I won't be getting more rats since I want to go abroad. For now, he watches Netflix on my shoulder, I leave his cage open if he wants to come out, but he has been sleeping a lot. It's been hard for me to lose 2 rats in about 2 months, but I can only imagine how it is for him, especially 'cause the last one was his brother. Thank you for this video.
I needed this video so much today. I started with 3 beautiful girls. 2 are with us now. However, my girl who was given 6-8 months to live a year ago, is losing weight, her breathing is worsening and she’s slowing down. We are so lucky she has been with us for as long as she has, but the idea of losing her and then her sister being on her own is absolutely gutting me. I really appreciate your sound advice and positivity on such a difficult topic. It’s given me some hope. Thank you 🐭🌷
My ratties are 2 but show no signs of slowing down but this is something I want to be prepared for! seriously great rat videos very informative and super soothing voice lol
I used to have three male rats at once, then one of them passed from respiratory issues, the second also suddenly passed away at over 2 years old and my last rat was very sad and old at that time, we spent a lot of time with him considering adopting other rats but we didn't get to. He peacefully passed away on our hands
One of my rats is on deaths door tonight. But wanted to know what to do with the other left over. Its good to know that my older rat should be fine after her pal passes. Thank you for this reasuring information on a tough night♡
Re: introducing younger males to another male: The older rat will still be territorial. Also will the younger rats still get hormonal and try dominance fights between each other as well as with the older rat. Not all rats accept new rats. Introductions will have to go very slow. Expect to have two cages for a couple of months. I had one intro of a young male to an older male (16 months difference) that failed. The first intros seemed to go perfectly and I had put them together in the same cage after a week or so. They were very friendly to each other, no aggression, etc. Until the young rat got bigger and got stronger hormones and still stayed bouncy and pouncy with the older rat. The older rat got more and more annoyed with the young one's playfighting and started to get aggressive to him, resulting in frequent bitewounds and ending up with a slashwound in the young one's groin area (after 6 weeks) that needed stitches. After the initial fights in the first intros (before the separation) they still slept together in the same house. I then separated them again (splitting my Royal Suite into 2 cages) and had to start reintroducing them all over. Going very slowly, starting out with supervised playtime on the couch in an empty cage tray using the Glove Method, and by adding more cage furniture over time. The older rat slowly started to get more accustomed to the young one and all seemed to go well. But after another 6 weeks he started pulling tufts of hair from the young one though. Sadly the old rat completely unexpectedly died 6 weeks into the second intro period, so I would never know if they eventually could have been together in the same cage safely. Though I would have settled for an hour of supervised playtime on the couch every day. Another intro of 2 young male rats who differed 6 weeks (unexpected death of his brother due to a terrible pet shop selling me sick rats) went perfectly from day one. I am currently in the process of trying to introduce 2 young males to a 19 months older male. This is pretty difficult. I have so far tried 3 meetups in a neutral place. Two of them failed because the older rat tried to bite them (young ones not being a threat to an older rat is not always right. Not being a threat maybe, but still they are seen as intruders). Luckily I was there with the gloves to prevent any wounds. The young ones can sniff the old rat's butt, walk around him and over him, but when he tried to sniff them he sidled them, tried to push them over (almost like orcas tossing a seal in the air), and tried to lunge at them. So I quit trying intros for 2 weeks or so now. I have moved the cages closer together (from 5 foot to 2 inches), started swapping soiled cage bedding and paper towels that the rats peed on, sometimes put the young rats in the older rat's cage for an hour while I played with the older rat on the couch. The older rat is now showing more interest in what the young ones are doing, sniffs the air when they are close to him in their cage, sleeps in a basket in his cage that is closest to their cage (which he barely used before I moved the cages closer together). He does seem a bit friendlier now. Even started licking my fingers sometimes (which he also hasn't done for over a year). On his own he is one of the friendliest rats that I ever had. I am still very hesitant about new introductions. The young ones are much bigger now, they are both over 300 grams in weight, over 10 weeks old and a lot bigger in size than when I started test intros 3 weeks ago. I do hope that eventually they can all be in the same cage without fights and before the older rat is too old or poorly or dead. He is already 22 months old, above the average age of passing over for UK rats (I am not in the UK). I had plenty of rats that lived to be over 2 years, but also a few that lived for less than that. Snoopy (the older rat) is still healthy, has no old(er) age problems yet, but it still worries me that all my 3 rats may never be together in the same cage before he dies. Slow introductions can take months, sometimes over 3 months. So I wish anyone luck who tries to introduce young males to older ones. And don't be disappointed if intros don't work. Maybe they can still have supervised playtime together. And having neighbour rats closeby is still better than being solo. At least they can see each other, sniff each other, and maybe sleep close to each other, albeit separated by bars or mesh wire. I will keep trying intros though. But it will be stressful to all involved. I don't like seeing any of my rats hurt. Or having to shield my rats from interacting with each other by using gloves. And having to pull the older rat from the situation sometimes feels like punishing him. Even though he is only showing instinctual behaviour.
One of my male rats was killed through the cage bars so don't keep the cages too close together. I agree that introducing males can be dangerous. Never had a problem with females.
It's interesting to hear your stories. I keep reading all these intro stories as if they can predict the future (I wish!) if I decide to introduce my solo boy to someone new. I have had many rats over many years but only tried intros twice. First time 2 adult girls, love each other instantly. Second time 2 adult males and it went AWFUL. No aggressive sizing each other up but straight into locked combat both times I tried bathtub intros (after much cage swapping and cages side by side). I couldn't even prize them apart with my gloves as they were clamped onto each other and had to throw a towel over to separate them. After that they had to live separately so then I had TWO solo rats and my attention split between them :( I told myself I'd never do it again but now that my rat died and his brother is solo I'm tempted to try again but scared. I like to get rescues so I have my eye on an adult male again. I think the smartest thing is to let my rat live out his life in peace (we are together all day everyday) especially as he has started to lose strength in his back legs, I don't want to stress him or have him get hurt with intros. Also, he used to be "top rat" so I don't know how he'd take it to have a younger more fit rat come in and probably dominate him. So yeah, logic tells me getting another rat is a bad idea but I can't help thinking, what if they love each other just like with the two girls I introduced! It's possible! Hmm...
@@marygrace100 This is very true. Thankfully in my case the poor rat only had fingers on her one paw bitten off. I wish I knew that such thing could happen beforehand
If one rat is really aggressive (with bucks) he may need castrating. Otherwise maybe try the carrier method but take a spare carrier with you in case. X
Ive had many many male rats over my years and I’ve NEVER had an issue introducing ANY age rats…honestly my experience has been that they really don’t care that much about one another and just act like they’ve known each other the whole time…
When one of my rats die I always make sure to give the others time to grieve and sometimes it’s really hard watching fuss over the body but in time they stop and I know they’ve said there goodbyes but I think it’s good to do sometimes and not just “hey what happened to Jerry?!“
So appreciate this video! 😀 Having adopted 4 rats all about the same age two years ago, (soon afterward discovering I’m allergic to them but determined to love and care for them anyway), I’ve sadly lost 2 this year and never know when I’ll lose another and be left with my last rattie. I’m likely opting for fostering some rats to keep my last one company. I will miss rats immensely but have senior chinchillas and cats to still devote myself to. Maybe one day when I don’t have as many furkids to care for I’ll adopt more ratties. They are truly amazing and unlike any other furkids I’ve ever known. ❤️🐁🐀
I started with two rats, then my ex accidentally killed her rats babies by suffocating. I was so upset at her and only one baby survived. I kept that little babe and she outlived her two sisters. Her two sisters died this summer, one from a mass on her leg, the other from some kind of brain tumor that made her stop eating and drinking and moving. Now I have this rat that's outlived so much, I hope I can keep her happy in her final days as long as they may be.
Omg yes. I first started with three rats then two of them died at about a year and a half bc of tumour. I got a new rat for the only one left and then the older rat got older after a year and died. now I just got another new rat for the older one.
I am sadly down to my last rat she is 3 and a half years old and is doing surprisingly well we won't be getting any more rats so sadly she is by herself but she is doing pretty damn well she is happy and is only just now starting to slow down but I wouldn't be surprised if she lived to 4
I just have 2 boys right now (they're my first and I didn't want to overwhelm myself) but hopefully I'm gonna get more soon. So this actually helped even though I'm not really down to my last rat. Thanks :) ❤
I lost my rat Gerald he died randomly he was big at 6 months and then went supper small was all cuddle complete personality change and died over night no blood Idk if my rat basly is lonely but he has nothing to do and it hurt so bad when Gerald died I was thinking about getting a bunny
Our oldest rat is about 2.5 years old. Her sister died almost a year ago. They were pretty close even though they did have some dominance issues. We got 2 more young rats so that she wouldn't be lonely. She wanted no part of it. She was too aggressive especially for their size. We tried letting them stay in the same cage on different levels to get aquatinted, but she would bite them through the grate if they got close and she'd pee on them if she was above them. She now stays in a separate cage by herself and still doesn't like them 8 mos later. She's a sweetheart to us but a grumpy old lady to them.
Going through this now. We are down to two and I don't want to keep rats past them. I don't like the idea of just having one be alone but I don't want to give her away. But I need to do what's best for them
You published this the day my rat passed away. I had to take her to the vet to put her down actually, my kids and I are devastated. She was so sweet. She lost weight, was lethargic, not really eating and her sister kept biting her ear until it bled. The vet thinks is was cancer and that the sister was bullying her because she saw the sickness as a threat. They would still snuggle and clean each other, she was only 27 months old. Well, now there is just one. The vet suggested not to get another one due to her age and already having shown aggression and I can’t right now anyway, so we spend more time with her. It’s only been a few days, so we will see how it goes. I would be nervous about introducing her to other rats, I don’t have the time either and would hate to adopt out but would if she became depressed. I would want what’s best for her. I miss our Susie so much. It was so hard to say good bye but it would have been cruel to make her go through a slow and painful death. We will never forget you Susie!
Thank you so much for this video. It breaks my heart to say this. We had to euthanize one of my rats due to several tumors which developed too quickly to take care of. Her sister is now alone and it feels terrible knowing she's on her on now. We're trying to adopt a same-age rat or at least finding a new home for her
I've decided to try and keep a rolling group if possible. It's when you get new rats either every half year or every year. This way you have a mixed age group and when one passes you won't suddenly have to look for more. It only works if you'd see yourself keeping rats for a while though.
I did this, and it was aweful. It was fun at first, but then after about two years I was having a rat die every month. It really impacted my ability to connect the newer additions. I stopped adding rats two years ago and am down to my last girl. She's over two and I feel like I'm just getting to know her. For anyone reading this, I would highly recommend spacing out your rat generations as much as possible. It should give you more time between the waves of death.
In my case, while I was fostering my nephew's girlfriend's rats, phone every pet shop within a 40 mile radius to find that they only have male rats and the remaining rat is female before eventually finding a 2nd hand pair of females 30 miles away on gumtree which turn out to be more of a rescue due to them being neglected. That was a frantic fortnight, watching the remaining rat's condition go downhill and being unable to get juvenile ones from nearby breeders because the cage bar spacing was too large.
My sister has had two pairs of rats. when one sister of the first pair died, she bought two new baby sisters. We didn't know how to properly introduce them at the time, however, so the older rat was very aggressive and so we separated them until she died. Now one of the new pair of rats has died, and suprisingly the last rat seems happier without her sister. We won't get new rats until she dies, partly for fear of aggression, partly because she doesn't seem lonely. Also, she is over 2 years old.
I didn't have much of an option when Glados the rat passed. Glados was put down when she got terribly ill with something or other and then Oracle my other rat caught whatever Glados had. Oracle hopped up onto the cage bars to say goodbye and a picked her up and stroked her and told her to rest and keep her strength up so she'd get better. But an hour later she was dead in her cage. I found a nice nearby stream with wild roses growing nearby and lay her under a rose bush the way I didn't get to do with Glados. By the way, they both loved eating mini roses and raspberries (the two plants are related and they figured that out before someone told me). Mini roses from the florist were such a grand snack you see! and raspberries made great training treats to teach them their names and to come when I called. I also saved a male rat Petey from the local pet shop (yes I had to buy him but the poor fellow was skin and bone!) and he had a cage next to Glados and Oracle's while I found a new home for him. Petey was quite young and eager and soon came to his name. He was named for Peter Parker, spiderman, because of the extreme measures he took to get away from his siblings in the petstore, literally hanging upside down from the wire cage lid! Petey was skin and bone, and when I took him home and bathed him he was so thirsty he started drinking the bath water! He didn't even wait for me to get him settled! But Petey found a new home, and doubled in size in the meantime! Once I even carried a sandwich board to the farmer's market advertising him as free to a good home, no snakes, and walked around wearing it!
Two months ago my little girl passed away. She had a tumor for a year ( we had it removed, but 6 months later it came back) She was such a fighter. When I found the tumor she was only 11 months old and died a little before her 2nd birthday. Yesterday I lost another rat. He had cancer and it had spread through his whole body. Last 3days were a nightmare so we put him down. He was 2 years and 8 months. Now I have 3 rats left (had 5) two of them have tumors and one has respiratory disease. I love them so much and I know that they all have/had an amazing life, but I will never get another rat. It is so painful to loose them, it is not fair to them to live such a short life💔
Thank you. I am down to two girls after losing two in one month. One was older, but one was only 1 year. Now I have the remaining sisters, a 1-year-old and a 2 1/2 year old. I'm on a wait list for my breeder. I'm so scared I'll lose my old girl, leaving the young one alone. My old girl is very bonded to me, and she would do ok alone but Poppy is one of the harder-to-tame rats I've owned. She needs rat friends! Praying hard that my breeder has good luck and that we'll have a new pair before either girl is alone. ❤️🐁🐀❤️
Thank you for this. One of my rats passed yesterday and now I’m down to only one, and since my life situation is rather uncertain right now I’d rather not commit to more rats, especially as my remaining one is over two years old currently. Luckily she likes being handled, so I’m going to se if she’ll be okay as a solo rat but if she seems too depressed after a couple of weeks I’ll probably look into fostering
I had a gerbil who lived to 3 and a half years. Her sister died when she was 2. What I done was moved her cage next to my male gerbils so she could at least be near her own kind. She actually even outlived the males by 6 weeks xD
i have a pair of sisters and i also had a bit older one from the same breeder and she died pretty suddenly and we aren’t sure why. (she was originally bought from a pet store by that breeder so we just think it’s because of bad breeding from the stores breeders) my mom says no more rats til i move out. my girls are doing great but mazie is still stuck in my head and i’m scared they might die like she did. this is really helpful and just brings me more peace knowing that i won’t have to put one up for adoption if one dies
I'm so sorry for your loss - unfortunately sometimes rats have illnesses or genetic deformities that we can't see and they can go downhill incredibly quickly. i've had a lot of pet store and feeder bin rats and some have passed that way, and since I often have necropsies done I usually find its due to some organ failure (for example on of my former feeder girls passed out of nowhere as a young adult rat - turns out shhe had acute kidney failure, but weirdly enough shhe never showed any symptoms and it was acute instead of chronic like usually seen in rats. But the place I got hehr is known for rats with health issues which sucks since their rats also have incredible temperaments and are so very friendly). Anyways studies show that rats over 2 years old secrete less stress hormones when kept alone compared to younger rats, so typically if an older rat is left solo when a cagemate passess its not as important to get them a buddy. If you can then i always say its best to do so since they do still enjoy that interaction, but its less stressful and impactful on them overall so its also okay to let them live out their golden months with just extra human attention.
Due to my rats past, I’ve only been able to keep one. She wouldn’t get along with ANY rat at all and she seemed very scared, what do I do? She seems happy alone but I’ve been told to have at least two
I got my rats from babies and raised them. They’re brothers and best friends. Albert passed away yesterday 😔. Chester has been sad laying in the hammock they used to cuddle in together. Now he’s pulled everything into his house(even tried pulling the hammock in). He’s almost 3 and even him and his brother would box it out sometimes so I really don’t think bringing more in is an option. It’s just so hard going through it and your little one going through so much pain I wish I could take the pain from him 😔
My last two rats died within 24 hours of each other, Bayleigh had surgery to remove her tumour but was put down two weeks later because it had already spread to her brain. Quinn died in my arms the next day she just went limp and her heart just stopped
Please help. We just lost our beautiful girl completely unexpectedly, she would have been 2 almost exactly one month away. Now her sister is alone but they are more free range, they hadn't spent much of their life in a cage, there is a cage, but door always open as we built a large area for them to free-range up high around their cage that i could set up dig box and mix up boxes and hides and things to be in and hammocks and litter tray in cage with door always open, plus we were able to give daily floor, desk, bed time and walk them around times, thry also liked occasional car rides and time exploring the car, they would come to our feet and put their front legs up to signal wanting to go back. At times we had one with us and the other was happy to stay in another room doing own thing so we always thought either of them would be OK solo with us. But now that we are sadly here we feel extremely stressed because in theory she does seem fine, we let her see her sister passed in hopes she would understand she died not just was doing something in another room. We continue normal routines today but did get her and be with her everytime she was awake more. We just wonder now thinking about things in the reality of the loss (trust me what you think when you still have your rats is different to the reality and permanency of your rattie being truly gone).... like her sister always groomed her daily, they still had occasional play fights even, and Niya was the more alpha role and her sister was good with that, thry often slept apart having such big area but ofcourse thry also did sleep together too their whole life...... even though Niya was smaller then her sister Akira they had a real set dynamic totally specific to them and their personslities. Now we feel guilty to a depressive level as we had decided they were our last rats, they have exceptional care with an exotic vet and we always paid whatever needed for their care, we spent thousands, unfortunately it was just Niyas time earlier then thought she was literally active and normal the days before. We are devastated and looking into "loaner" rates or play date ones we find not much option and we arent sure whether to just keep waiting and seeing when this video is the first that suggests a solo rat may work, everyone else stresses thry have to have a rat mate and ASAP!. We won't get another rat and especially not two. I wonder if their lifestyle with us being self employed and home all time all their lives means she would be a successful solo rat? I'm riddled with guilt because I know we have to sleep and she will be alone atleast some of the times she otherwise had company. We considered her sleeping in bed with us but that may not be safe, she is fine to be on bed and floor and all but when we are awake, we all sleep in same room and most days one person was always in the room on computer all day too and they would come and go at their please to the desk thry saw us almost always when awake but thry werent dependant on our attention even though they got it from us... but now she has no one of her species. We feel daunted thinking its akin to us never seeing another human for last x amount of months of our life but only living with another species. Gosh sorry to waffle, my grief has been surprisingly consuming even despite always knowing I dreaded the day and understanding short lifespans and susceptibility to sidden death or sudden declines. I don't want to believe she is gone and I don't want to fail her sister, we love them both dearly, we stopped even seeing them as rats, they were cute animals with distinctive individual personalities who are our family, thry are amazing pets/family. We feel like they are a package deal. People say they can bond with any new rat...but really? After being each others everything and having such a consistent lifestyle their whole life with each others distinct personality. They were opposites in many ways and figured out how it all worked griwing up together. Thry are very bonded to us, handling them very easy even their vets say they are truly lovely rats and easy for them, thry were so sad at her death. I don't know what to do and would love feedback on how people went with solo outcomes please.
I just need some help Now my two boys have been doing the rough wrestling(with the squeaks) that you mentioned a while back however I’ve noticed that Marshmallow had a cut on his back Now I don’t know 100% sure if it’s my rat’s, Rata, fault. Marsh doesn’t seem so scared of Rata but I’ve noticed that they are gradually doing it more (more so when they are out on free roam) Should I be worried??? Idk I’m sooo nervous about this Rata isn’t an aggressive rat at all Tbh Marsh is timid but I got him out of his shell so I’m so confused. Help please and thank you
Wounds are never okay. Here are some helpful links: www.joinrats.com/Intros/Ratbehaviors/ www.joinrats.com/Intros/Techniques/ Is your cage big enough? Have you tried giving them separate foodbowls and waterbottles? You should separate them when they fight too roughly during free roam time. Or even try introducing them again all over. Have they been together since you got them? Playfighting is normal, but drawing blood is not a good thing. Maybe go here: facebook.com/groups/351955091585361 , explain your situation and let the behaviour specialists there help you. I had very good assistance there from them with my previous introductions.
uitjebolsmurf they have been together since I got them (pet shop to get supplies and I saw them and fell in love) I’m already in the process of upgrading their cage and since their cage isn’t the biggest I bring them out to play for four-six hours thank you so much for the help I’ve been so worried! I haven’t thought about the foodbowls being a problem i have one that I have in the cage next to their hide and the other (slightly smaller) is what I use for fresh fruits or veggies/ food when they are out so I will look into if they need that thank you for the help
SilverNight14 hey there, obviously channel creator has a huge wealth of info, but as long as they aren’t consistently hurting eachother -- let them hash it out. Rats are extremely social and have a hierarchy internally that can be likened to dogs. They don’t care so much where they hit on totem pole (alpha, beta, etc), but it’s extremely important to know where they are. The reason I bring this up is because I originally had a brother and sister rat, and at about 10 months we introduced another female. (Yes we had a girl and boy to start..... that was fun, boy got neutered). Our first girl, Digger, was one of the kindest animals I’ve ever had. She was amazing with new people and never showed even the smallest hint of aggression. We introduced Digger to our new girl (Pepper) and she IMMEDIATELY charged Pepper and attacked her. It became clear that she was not intending to kill her, but to clearly distinguish her dominance. Rats are remarkably strong and fast for their size, if one of your boys was intending to hurt or kill another -- they just would. Our girls quickly started getting along. I wonder if your guys are just figuring out dominance?
Stephen Kaestle Thank you so much this helped calm my nerves a lot! I’ve noticed that Rata does charge at Marshmallow too. So yeah I think you’re right! I’ve also noticed that Rata (or Marsh) will instantly let go or get off of the other squeaks a bit so I think that supports what you just said even more. Thank you so much again
Jade Huckle yea my two still make squeaks and stuff when they wrestle lmao but thankfully it’s all better I’ve upgraded their space, added two more food bowls, more toys as well, and I’m actually going to pick up two more boys as well! Lol! A Siamese dumbo and blue Russian dumbo! How are yours?
My rats were almost two when one of them died. I now just have Darcy. I'm probably going to try and be there for her in her last days because she's showing signs of being rather old. They were littermates, so they're the same age. It's especially hard because Cookie, the one who died, was the alpha rat. Darcy's probably a bit lost...
ive had two rats for the past year & one of them just passed away about a week ago. it was really devastating to me because she was the sweetest little angel. but now my other rat is alone & i cant get more rats because a lot is going on in my personal life :-( ive been spending a ton of time with her and she doesnt seem too upset but im so worried shes gonna become depressed being on her own.
I have two rats curretly. I had three rats total. Reagan died last year and Riley was alone for a while. All I did was cuddle with hr consantly and then that same day we called the pet store to get Heather. THey said that she was only 2 weeks old so we could not get her. I spent as much time with Riley intill we were reday to get Heather. Note to rt owners also. Reagan was alone as a solo for a year and barley came out of her cage. WHen she met Riley she has been away from rats so long that she thought that Riley was another animal and almost killed three week old Riley.
Yeah...... tried to introduce a solo rat with the omega from his litter (not having seen eachother for a year and a half). They ended up getting along in the end but the solo rat got sick from the omega and died two days after they were in the same cage. Yeah..... not a good time for me. Should have looked into this sooner.
Thank you so much this was very helpful. I had 2 rats but sadly one of them passed just yesterday, and I could already tell my other rat felt lonely and she was less energetic. I'm definitely subscribing, thank you.
I have always had a single rat then get another when they pass. I wonder if its any easier if you have a few rats when one passes. it was way to hard to deal with when they passed. last time I had a rat I was 15. I'm 35 now and decided to do it again but I'm having second thoughts. I wonder will it easier since I'm older now to and will have at least 4.
I have a 1 year old rat and his brother died a bit ago and 3 days ago I got two babies and they’re having issues with my 1 year old so we are trying slowly introduce
I just received 1male rat, he is sneezing,and not sure of his age maybe 1 or 2 years old. I have him in his cage cleanned it and getting him used to rat food@water
How long does it take an adult (~ 6 months) rat to get familiar with the new environment? Mine comes 10 days ago. He likes to look at me from inside the cage but just would turn around and flee back to the hide as soon as he heard my footsteps. He refuses any touches. I introduced a friend to him. The new boy is younger and smaller. But I have to say Petco isn't doing a great job. The new boy came with wound, probably bit by other rats in the store. It's a red spot on his body. He's super shy and keeps sneezing. I kinda consider that as a stress behavior because I observed porphyrin as well. But maybe respiratory disease. Poor boy. Any idea should I take it to a vet?
If it's a wound then you should get him to vet.👍 First thing u should not get a pet from pet store as they keep them for just public appealing.😐 And second from my experience you should take some time to bond with your rats and I guess it would take some time to them for settling in😘. Like I have a pair of rats and one of my rat was also very shy at first but the second one was playing and cuddling with me from the very first day (such a weirdo 😂😂)
My sister got 2 six/seven week Old rats October 2020, then in June 2021 me and my other siser got a rat each (6 months) that lived in a separate cage to the other pair due to cage sizes, the two pairs of rats were introduced to eachother maybe after a week of the new Rats arriving, they got along quite well. in November 2021 my rat died due to being squished(ik its sad/ I find it kinda funny), so my younger sisters rat lived alone, but the three remaining rats all played together, got snuggle time and running around time outside. Then two months ago 29th March, one of my sisters rats died from a tumor we couldn't afford to remove. We then went through the process of putting the younger (-3months) rat in the older rates cage for a few minutes everyday, until they stated living together. Both rats live happily in one cage now and they will hopefully live 1-2 more years (they are 18 and 21 months)
I love my special girls Coco, Biscuit and Oreo. Two have gone back Home to God in a span of three months, but one is left with me and I spend lots of time with her. My cats are very gentle and keep her company, often sleeping next to her cage. Rest in peace my two darling girls ... Oreo Cookie and I will love you both forever
Anyone know what to do? The 11 week old rat i got as a friend turned out to be a dwarf, cant defend herself, and one or my girls litetally tries to kill her
Dwarfs can live with standard rats just fine. My main question would be how did you try intros? Generally you want to introduce young rats in pairs or groups to give them confidence when interacting with the older rat. And introduction wise if you are doing it in the cage that will make your older rat territorial and aggressive (imagine walking into your house and finding a stranger in your bedroom - most people wouldn’t take this well and it’s the same for rats). You want to do intros in a neutral territory and at a slow pace - intros rarely just take one go and it’s better to do multiple small sessions that end positively than one long session. What behaviors did she show during the intro? Puffed fur, pulling fur, rat ball, drawing blood?
Shadow The Rat thanks for your reply. The intros were all normal standard stuff, neutral zone etc.I know not to introduce a new rat into another rat's cage haha it would be a bloodbath with my girls. She was the only girl in litter so I had to adopt her solo (and very sick) cannot introduce her in a pair+. They always meet 1 on 1 When shes introduced outside a cage they jump her and become a ball of squeaking rat fight with dwarf on the bottom. Their attacks have drawn blood and fur. When they meet, with her safely in a cage, they huff, puff up, lunge, and put their arms through bars grabbing at her. It's quite frightening. I put her blanket in their cage to see if it's help them get use to her smell. Alas they're attacking her as much as ever. Does this help give an idea of where things are going wrong? Edited to clarify she's been meeting them a few times a week for months and lots of treats are given
I commented on one of your videos from a year ago in training also I am getting a cage for my two rats it’s 18x30x29 is that big enough for my two rats we travel so I’m in a camper I’d like to be able to get something huge but just don’t have the room.
You can use this rat cage calculator to find out how many rats can comfortably fit in any cage dimensions: www.rattycorner.com/odds/calc.shtml Anyways if I’m plugging the dimensions in right your cage can hold 3-4 rats comfortably, although to be sure I always like to subtract one rat from the cage calculator results to ensure enough space per rat.
My rat just passed less than an hour ago.. I never was able to introduce the buddy I got for him. I’ve already tried to introduce them but my older rat (one that died) was attacking and biting the younger rat, Rex. I know how lonely Rex is but my mom said no more rats.. I don’t know what to do at this point but just try to either put him up for adoption then buy two rats together so I don’t have to worry about introducing them or just have my younger rat live solo.
i had 2 girls, but one recently passed away. i'm afraid my other rat is going to be really lonely, but i'm not able to get any more. do you have any suggestions on how i can keep her company?
How did you go? We just lost our beautiful girl completely unexpectedly, she would have been 2 almost exactly one month away. Ow her sister is alone but they are more free range, thry hadn't spent much of their life in a cage, there is a cage but door always open as we built a large area for them to free-range up high around their cage, plus we were able to give daily floor, desk, bed time and walk them around, they would come to our feet and put their front legs up to signal wanting to go back. At times we had one with us and the other was happy to stay so we always thought either of them would be OK solo with us. But now that we are sadly here we feel extremely stressed because in theory she does seem fine, we let her see her sister passed in hopes she would understand she died not just was doing something in another room. We continue normal routines today but did get her and be with her everytime she was awake. We just wonder now thinking about things like her sister always groomed her daily, thry still had occasional play fights even and Niya was the more alpha role and her sister was good with that their whole life even though Niya was smaller then her sister Akira. Now we feel guilty to a depressive level as we had decided they were our last rats, thry have exceptional care unfortunately it was just Niyas time earlier then thought she was literally super active and normal the days before. We are devastated and looking into loan rates or play date ones we find not much option and we arent sure whether to just keep waiting. We won't get another rat and especially not two. I wonder if their lifestyle with us being self employed and home all time all their lives means she would be a successful solo rat? I'm riddled with guilt because I know we have to sleep and she will be alone atleast some of the times she had company. Were considered her sleeping in bed with us but that may not be safe, she is fine to be on bed and floor we all sleep in same room and most days one person was always in the room on computer and they would come and go at their please to the desk... but now she has no one of her species. Gosh sorry to waffle, my grief has been surprisingly consuming even despite always knowing I dreaded the day. I don't want to believe she is gone and I don't want to fail her sister, we love them both dearly, we stopped even seeing them as rats, they were cute animals with distinctive individual personalities, we feel like they are a package deal. People say they can bond with any new rat...but really? After being each others everything and having such a consistent lifestyle their whole life. I don't know what to do and would love feedback on how you went if you read this.
@@lisalock742 Unfortunately where I live, almost nobody own pet rats, and you have to go on a wait list to adopt one! I figured that there wasn't much to do in my control, so I try and spend as much time with her as I can, although I know it's not the same as it used to be when she had a sister. I too feel guilty, but she is the last rat I will be having which means I cannot get anymore, and there is nobody where I live that are willing to take in another rat. I also tried introducing my friendly small dog to my rat (my dog LOVES her), and she is slowly starting to warm up to her. I know that getting another companion rat for her is the best choice, but in some cases, there is only so much you can do. My girl doesn't seem too lonely or sad, and I make sure to give her fun activities and new areas to explore to keep her busy and occupied. I agree, the worst part about owning rats is that at the end of the line, you will end up with one lonely rat, and there's nothing you can do once that eventually happens. It's inevitable, and every owner will have to go through it eventually, u less they are lucky enough to find their pet a new home or a temporary friend. I wish you luck, and I hope you're able to figure out the best possible solution! Just remember it's different for every rat, and some may cope better than others! I feel that getting another rat is ideal, but if you aren't able to get another (like in my case), just do your best and i'm sure you'll keep your baby happy!!
I’m down to my last little girl. She’s nearly 2 years 10 months. Her last sister passed around a month and a half ago. She’s content being on her own these days and loves sleeping in my tshirt. She has epilepsy, mammary lumps, an ear infection and cataracts bless her. She’s my little miracle rat as I nearly lost her first. She had a mysterious illness, twice, and was at deaths door both times. Not sure how long she has left , I’m just cherishing all the extra time I have with her
What a trooper. I’m sure you’ll give her all the treats and snuggles she could ever hope for.
Ruth Gray so sorry
Ruth Gray how’s she doing is she still alive 😢
How is she?
how is she?
newly down to my last rat for awhile and this video made me feel better. i think it’s best for my old boy to live the rest of his life alone
This is an EXCELLENT post! Been keeping rats for years (I'm 70 today) and have had to face these very difficult issues, so support what you say. Very helpful and thoughtful indeed to newer rat keepers/lovers.
Excellent
Happy late birthday!!
Wow! Happy very very very late birthday
Happy 3 year late birthday!
You sound cool lol
I love how kind the rat community is
I have entered the chat 😈
Nice to see someone with common sense when it comes to looking after a solo older rat. I had one person go on a crazy vendetta when they said the best thing to do was put the lone healthy rat down. I was like there are so many more options and even looking after them solo at that point is usually fine.
That was a disgusting suggestion. They don't put humans down cos they're alone! I knew Shadow would never suggest that. X
Shadow makes pretty questionable decisions though like buying pet store rats.
Truth is rats aren't humans. People telling you to put lone rats down are closer to the science than shadow is. I think there are better options if the rat is healthy, but rats being alone will literally make them ill, so I can see where that person was coming from.
Noone wants to put their pets down, but this is due to selfishness. In a lot of cases, its better for the animal because it prevents unnecessary suffering. A lot of what I see online is selfish people or ignorant people who think it's cruel to euthanize an animal who has a terrible quality of life.
@ryno4ever433 Shadow's rats are actually rescued! I think she's only owned a few pet store rats and she didn't buy them directly. Besides, I live in south florida and there are literally no breeders/rescues/rats for sale near me except at petsmart. I'm trying to find a rescue rat but it's hard.
I wish rodents lived longer. ): I like rats but keep hamsters; I have yet to get two years out of one. We had one with cardiomyopathy, losing her at just under a year. Our vet said she should only have had six months, but she was so happy in life she hung in there. I'm glad we were able to do that for her, at least.
i feel like the main obstacle is their size and the fact most rats seem to die eventually due to pituitary glands...who knows, maybe one day we'll have cybernetic rats that prevent the tumors somehow?
Get guinea pigs. I think their average life span is 5 to 7 years. Which is longer than it is for rats and hamsters
It's so adorable seeing several rats curl up together!
You upload so frequently, you’re my #1 stop for rat care and advice!
me too
Oh my, yes. I will officially be getting rats next, and this is favorite channel to binge watch! I love TheRatGuru, but she just doesn’t upload much. This channel is the perfect preparation for me. I want to know as much as I can.
yes me too im gonna get rats in the next month or too and this channel dos have good info!
serendipity ♡ same...lol
I love Shadow's videos too. I have kept rats since 1993 but she knows loads more than me. X
This is really solid advice. ❤️💗 I recently lost 2 of 3 of my girls within 6 weeks of each other. It was so hard on me but I was also very concerned for my last girl Clove. Because of my severe allergies, I cant have an more rats. I decided to see how Clove went before deciding if I'd try to find foster rats. She handled it really well and is still very happy so I think it'll be easier for us both if we just spend more time together while she lives out the rest of her life. It was so hard to come to that decision though because I care so much and always want to do what's best for rats. She's about to celebrate her 2nd birthday in a few days. Anyways this got to a very long comment haha. But again, really good video. 🐭
Lauren Elloise :( hope clove is doing good
Love your vids😍
Hazel ASMR aw thanks!! 😱
Fuckit Tripolitis she's doing well 💝
Lauren Elloise Awh ❤️
I have had 11 rats so far (though none currently) and every single introduction I've done was just them sniffing reach other and then going to sleep together in the same hammock 😂
I usually just bathed everyone beforehand too so they were all too preoccupied fixing their hair to fight 😂🐀🐀🐀🐀
When we got a third rat it got its nose bit off so Im worried if Pumpkin dies and Penny ( My more territorial rat ) Gets depressed because I cant get another one because of the rat who got badly injured ( The rat was rehomed by a friend but later died of breathing problems, vet was closed on the sundays which was dumb)
Edit :: I followed rules on introducing rats, but it didn't work out because my rat was too aggressive and territorial.
Ohh great tip!! Wash your rat before any introduction! Thank you
Ambria Daniels Band yes! They will all smell the same if you shampoo them too. Then they are SO preoccupied and don't fight really. 😂😂😂😂
Also the coconut oil trick helped when we got our first two rats, as they didn't really like eachother. They soon became best friends, but penny was still more territorial and always loved to play with humans.
Do you just put the new ones in the cage with the old ones?
I had a rat (Shelley) who I adopted in a pair in the eighth grade that survived nearly 5 years (she passed in the summer leading to my freshman year of college). Her original sister died after two years and had to be replaced by a rat I adopted from Petfinder that was already a year old, as I figured Shelley would end up passing at around the same time (3 years). But no, the new rat passed after a year and Shelley lived a whole other year with no cage mate. During this year she spent only night and when I was at school in the cage and she had a weird bond with my cat, which I think are the only reasons she wasn't super depressed. So yeah: 5 years! Miss my little boop 💓
Wow Shelley must have ace genes to have lived 5 years. x
That's brilliant good for Shelley. X
Thanks for this video! I'm down to my last little guy after his other 3 brothers passed. I also don't want anymore rats because they have such a short life and its too difficult to say goodbye when they die. My last rattie is 2 years and 2 months old so he is getting up there and is definitely slowing down. Thankfully he doesn't seem too sad being on his own however I definitely notice him being more affectionate with me. I've been trying to give him way more attention and treats than usual and he seems to be happy dispite being on his own.
I lost my rat today, we suspected she was old and nearing the end of her life. Her cagemate (who we assume is her daughter) is grieving, but has seen the body and let's just say we were there to late.
My sweet baby girl passed away today after surgery. I’m devastated.
I have no idea why this was in my suggested videos, but this was interesting and informative.
If you've watched some animal videos recently, high chance animal related videos will appear as a recommendation
My last rat lived nearly 4 years. Even while on his death bed he still managed the energy to give me some kisses. Now excuse me while I go cry 😭
That is such a good point about getting a pair or more of younger rats to introduce to an older one. Thanks for mentioning that. I've had older ones start to play again when youngsters come on the scene!
This was very informative! I’m down to one rat, and she’s pretty content with just having me to socialize with.
I feel like you are always putting out really good informative content. Every video you put out,I love watching! I have learned so much from you thankyou so much for all these fantastic videos.
Very helpful! I started off 20months ago with four rats, two died months ago due to old age, and the other two stayed together for many months alone. One died an hour or less ago of a tumor, and her sister is now alone. She's always been very active though, and most cuddly, but I was still worried that at her age if I shouldn't just give her away. This was helpful and gives me confidence that I can care for her alone!
X sorry, hope she's doing well
PERFECT TIMING! One of my sisters died very recently and the one left is sad 😔
Thanks for making this video. I have 2 rat girls and they're the first I've had and I don't plan on getting more. I always worried about them getting lonely when one passes but this video really helps me get a grasp on the situation.
I had to put my rat to sleep few days ago (long story short- he was in very bad shape, probably had cancer, didn't want to eat or move). Thanks for this video, I was so stressed, because people online were so angry at me for having only one rat, I almost started thinking about giving him a new home.
Not their business at all what do in own home x
I'm in the same situation :-(((( literally the same death cause...... Bless our little tails in heaven 🕊️🕊️
Me: * reads title *
Um. I need this so bad
Is this still your current advice? I have a three year old dwarf rat who is about to become a solo rat this afternoon. I've been looking for a rat to foster or dwarf rats to adopt and then adopt those out as a pair/triplet, but I'm having no luck. I don't really want my guy to be alone, but I don't want any more rats. 17 heartbreaks has been too much
You are SUCH a good rat mama! Loving, nurturing, considerate, but also realistic. I love your channel and sense of humor. I don't even have a rat but I'd like to get one. When I do, I'll know all the best ways to play and train. Hugs from Georgia!
I noticed that older rats are definitely more accepting of newer rats. When Ghost was 1 year old I introduced him and his brother to a new boy I got (Moby) and I had to break up several fights between Ghost and Mo. Ghost would chase him around, puff up his fur and breath/huff so loudly I could hear him across the room, and would tear out chunks of Moby's fur while fighting. Luckily, they're much more used to each other now. After Ghost's brother died and Ghost was about 1 and a half year old, I introduced him and Moby to 3 new babies I got (since I didn't want Moby who was only 6 months to be alone when Ghost died and I also wanted Moby to have younger brothers to play with so he wouldn't harass Ghost as much). Ghost never shows any aggressive body language, puffs up, fights, or even boxes with them! And Ghost used to box A LOT when he was younger! Ghost has calmed down so much and the old man is so much more accepting. I think he even likes the babies (especially Charlie since they look similar ^.^) and he even comes up to the bars of the cage when my mom or brother come in my room! And Ghost used to be so anxious around anyone who isn't me. I'm so proud of my baby boy. He used to be so stand-offish to any living thing that wasn't me and now he's so calm and sweet and cuddly. I love my boy. 💙 (I'm sorry this is so long and I'm blabbering so much. Ghost is the only rat left from the very first pair I got and I'm just so attached to him. He really only likes me so I baby him and spoil him and agghhh I love him so much. He's such a mama's boy.)
You're rats are so adorable! Makes me excited to get more little dudes. These two were my first and I know how to help new rats be more social early on now. Love my guy that's still here and I'm gonna cherish him for as long as I can. Next baby rats will be amazing like them I hope.
Just today UA-cam started recommending me your videos, and coincidentally, today I also had to say goodbye to one of my two rats. So this video was very welcome. I was worried about adopting a new younger rat (my gal Optimus is around 22 months but still energetic despite her age), but hearing that at just 8 weeks they're old enough to hold their own is great, since the pet shops in my town get them quite young and always sell out fast. Awesome advice, thank you so much! And I'll be sure to try some trick training in the meantime :) even just being alone today she got bored enough to make a fanciful new nest out of her litter box!
this video made it to my recs at just the right time - my girls are about to turn 2 and I lost one of the four to a tumor this week, so this issue has been on my mind these days. I'm unable to continue the group right now and don't really have the means for introductions even when borrowing or fostering other rats, so the prospect of ending up with a lone rat that might become depressed was making me nervous; especially since in any other circumstance housing a single rat alone is the biggest no-no. I've been watching your channel for about 2 years now and trust your experience, so it was very reassuring to hear that, if necessary and the rat deals with it well, it's an option to have a solo rat at the end of a group. thank you!
Just lost my first rat On my birthday had him for 1 year exactly we were really close he loved to run cuddle and follow me but r.i.p Templeton me and Dylan miss you so much
This is the earliest I've been. Once again a very informative video!
My older rat passed not to long ago I only have one rat who is about 2 I do not plan on keeping more rats he doesn't seem depressed in the slightest so I'm going to keep him alone and give him more out of cage time ty very much for this advise its very helpful
Recently made a comment about a video like this on a different video I had seen, and now it popped up on my recommendations. Thanks for making this one! My little guy passed away about a week ago and it's been rough. I have another rat who's more shy and skittish so I'm getting him more puzzle toys. Hopefully I can break him out of his shell in his last stretch. He's about 2 years and 2 months but he's as healthy as can be. I think we're gonna keep him solo as he probably wouldn't take too well to new bunk mates. Thank you again!!
extremely helpful video! i rarely comment on youtube videos but i recently fell in love with having rats as a pet a few years ago and i was so thankful and grateful that i came across a youtube channel i can trust based off of all of my research! you are by far one of my favorite youtube channels. :)
I recently got two baby rats (Probably around 10 weeks old) from a breeder and one seemed sick, so I decided I'd take him to the vet the next day. In the morning when I went to check on them, the rat that had been sick was dead. I now only have the one rat and I haven't even had him for 2 days. Since I have to quarantine new rats I've already gotten in contact with another breeder and I'll be getting 2 more males soon. It almost feels way too soon but at the same time I barely knew the rat that died and I know that what I'm doing is in the best interest for my curent rat.
RIP Neptune.
Did the breeder of the rat who died give you your money back? A good breeder would. Sorry about Neptune. X
My rat cookie just lost his brother and this video helped me decide on what to do!! Thank you!!
This video came recommended 2 days after my 3rd rat passed. I'm left with one who is 2 and a half years old. He is as agile as he was when he was a few months old and he is extremely curious and friendly with humans (he was a bully to other rats, I had to neuter him). I hope I will be enough for him as I won't be getting more rats since I want to go abroad.
For now, he watches Netflix on my shoulder, I leave his cage open if he wants to come out, but he has been sleeping a lot. It's been hard for me to lose 2 rats in about 2 months, but I can only imagine how it is for him, especially 'cause the last one was his brother.
Thank you for this video.
I needed this video so much today. I started with 3 beautiful girls. 2 are with us now. However, my girl who was given 6-8 months to live a year ago, is losing weight, her breathing is worsening and she’s slowing down. We are so lucky she has been with us for as long as she has, but the idea of losing her and then her sister being on her own is absolutely gutting me. I really appreciate your sound advice and positivity on such a difficult topic. It’s given me some hope. Thank you 🐭🌷
Thank you for your helpful videos.
Just lost my dumbo Wednesday.
My ratties are 2 but show no signs of slowing down but this is something I want to be prepared for! seriously great rat videos very informative and super soothing voice lol
Thank you for this video. It was something I hadn't even thought of.
4:10 the way they took the food and just ran 😂
I used to have three male rats at once, then one of them passed from respiratory issues, the second also suddenly passed away at over 2 years old and my last rat was very sad and old at that time, we spent a lot of time with him considering adopting other rats but we didn't get to. He peacefully passed away on our hands
❤🐀❤
One of my rats is on deaths door tonight. But wanted to know what to do with the other left over. Its good to know that my older rat should be fine after her pal passes. Thank you for this reasuring information on a tough night♡
Re: introducing younger males to another male: The older rat will still be territorial. Also will the younger rats still get hormonal and try dominance fights between each other as well as with the older rat. Not all rats accept new rats. Introductions will have to go very slow. Expect to have two cages for a couple of months. I had one intro of a young male to an older male (16 months difference) that failed. The first intros seemed to go perfectly and I had put them together in the same cage after a week or so. They were very friendly to each other, no aggression, etc. Until the young rat got bigger and got stronger hormones and still stayed bouncy and pouncy with the older rat. The older rat got more and more annoyed with the young one's playfighting and started to get aggressive to him, resulting in frequent bitewounds and ending up with a slashwound in the young one's groin area (after 6 weeks) that needed stitches. After the initial fights in the first intros (before the separation) they still slept together in the same house. I then separated them again (splitting my Royal Suite into 2 cages) and had to start reintroducing them all over. Going very slowly, starting out with supervised playtime on the couch in an empty cage tray using the Glove Method, and by adding more cage furniture over time. The older rat slowly started to get more accustomed to the young one and all seemed to go well. But after another 6 weeks he started pulling tufts of hair from the young one though.
Sadly the old rat completely unexpectedly died 6 weeks into the second intro period, so I would never know if they eventually could have been together in the same cage safely. Though I would have settled for an hour of supervised playtime on the couch every day.
Another intro of 2 young male rats who differed 6 weeks (unexpected death of his brother due to a terrible pet shop selling me sick rats) went perfectly from day one.
I am currently in the process of trying to introduce 2 young males to a 19 months older male. This is pretty difficult. I have so far tried 3 meetups in a neutral place. Two of them failed because the older rat tried to bite them (young ones not being a threat to an older rat is not always right. Not being a threat maybe, but still they are seen as intruders). Luckily I was there with the gloves to prevent any wounds. The young ones can sniff the old rat's butt, walk around him and over him, but when he tried to sniff them he sidled them, tried to push them over (almost like orcas tossing a seal in the air), and tried to lunge at them.
So I quit trying intros for 2 weeks or so now. I have moved the cages closer together (from 5 foot to 2 inches), started swapping soiled cage bedding and paper towels that the rats peed on, sometimes put the young rats in the older rat's cage for an hour while I played with the older rat on the couch. The older rat is now showing more interest in what the young ones are doing, sniffs the air when they are close to him in their cage, sleeps in a basket in his cage that is closest to their cage (which he barely used before I moved the cages closer together).
He does seem a bit friendlier now. Even started licking my fingers sometimes (which he also hasn't done for over a year). On his own he is one of the friendliest rats that I ever had. I am still very hesitant about new introductions. The young ones are much bigger now, they are both over 300 grams in weight, over 10 weeks old and a lot bigger in size than when I started test intros 3 weeks ago. I do hope that eventually they can all be in the same cage without fights and before the older rat is too old or poorly or dead. He is already 22 months old, above the average age of passing over for UK rats (I am not in the UK). I had plenty of rats that lived to be over 2 years, but also a few that lived for less than that. Snoopy (the older rat) is still healthy, has no old(er) age problems yet, but it still worries me that all my 3 rats may never be together in the same cage before he dies.
Slow introductions can take months, sometimes over 3 months.
So I wish anyone luck who tries to introduce young males to older ones.
And don't be disappointed if intros don't work. Maybe they can still have supervised playtime together. And having neighbour rats closeby is still better than being solo. At least they can see each other, sniff each other, and maybe sleep close to each other, albeit separated by bars or mesh wire. I will keep trying intros though. But it will be stressful to all involved. I don't like seeing any of my rats hurt. Or having to shield my rats from interacting with each other by using gloves. And having to pull the older rat from the situation sometimes feels like punishing him. Even though he is only showing instinctual behaviour.
One of my male rats was killed through the cage bars so don't keep the cages too close together. I agree that introducing males can be dangerous. Never had a problem with females.
It's interesting to hear your stories. I keep reading all these intro stories as if they can predict the future (I wish!) if I decide to introduce my solo boy to someone new. I have had many rats over many years but only tried intros twice. First time 2 adult girls, love each other instantly.
Second time 2 adult males and it went AWFUL. No aggressive sizing each other up but straight into locked combat both times I tried bathtub intros (after much cage swapping and cages side by side). I couldn't even prize them apart with my gloves as they were clamped onto each other and had to throw a towel over to separate them. After that they had to live separately so then I had TWO solo rats and my attention split between them :(
I told myself I'd never do it again but now that my rat died and his brother is solo I'm tempted to try again but scared. I like to get rescues so I have my eye on an adult male again. I think the smartest thing is to let my rat live out his life in peace (we are together all day everyday) especially as he has started to lose strength in his back legs, I don't want to stress him or have him get hurt with intros. Also, he used to be "top rat" so I don't know how he'd take it to have a younger more fit rat come in and probably dominate him. So yeah, logic tells me getting another rat is a bad idea but I can't help thinking, what if they love each other just like with the two girls I introduced! It's possible! Hmm...
@@marygrace100 This is very true. Thankfully in my case the poor rat only had fingers on her one paw bitten off. I wish I knew that such thing could happen beforehand
If one rat is really aggressive (with bucks) he may need castrating. Otherwise maybe try the carrier method but take a spare carrier with you in case. X
Ive had many many male rats over my years and I’ve NEVER had an issue introducing ANY age rats…honestly my experience has been that they really don’t care that much about one another and just act like they’ve known each other the whole time…
When one of my rats die I always make sure to give the others time to grieve and sometimes it’s really hard watching fuss over the body but in time they stop and I know they’ve said there goodbyes but I think it’s good to do sometimes and not just “hey what happened to Jerry?!“
My rat is at the vet overnight tonight on oxygen. He has a lower respiratory infection and is critical:/ i hope he pulls through.
So appreciate this video! 😀 Having adopted 4 rats all about the same age two years ago, (soon afterward discovering I’m allergic to them but determined to love and care for them anyway), I’ve sadly lost 2 this year and never know when I’ll lose another and be left with my last rattie. I’m likely opting for fostering some rats to keep my last one company. I will miss rats immensely but have senior chinchillas and cats to still devote myself to.
Maybe one day when I don’t have as many furkids to care for I’ll adopt more ratties. They are truly amazing and unlike any other furkids I’ve ever known. ❤️🐁🐀
Try hairless rats for the allergies. X
Soooo helpful. Thank you, Esther. ❤️
Your rats are soooo cute ❤️
I started with two rats, then my ex accidentally killed her rats babies by suffocating. I was so upset at her and only one baby survived. I kept that little babe and she outlived her two sisters. Her two sisters died this summer, one from a mass on her leg, the other from some kind of brain tumor that made her stop eating and drinking and moving. Now I have this rat that's outlived so much, I hope I can keep her happy in her final days as long as they may be.
It’s an infinite loop of rats
Omg yes. I first started with three rats then two of them died at about a year and a half bc of tumour. I got a new rat for the only one left and then the older rat got older after a year and died. now I just got another new rat for the older one.
THATS WHAT I WAS THINKING, IT NEVER ENDS YOU JUST GOTTA OWN THEM FOREVER LMAO
thank u for the info!
this information is super helpful, thank you so much for providing this info to newcomers!
I am sadly down to my last rat she is 3 and a half years old and is doing surprisingly well we won't be getting any more rats so sadly she is by herself but she is doing pretty damn well she is happy and is only just now starting to slow down but I wouldn't be surprised if she lived to 4
I just have 2 boys right now (they're my first and I didn't want to overwhelm myself) but hopefully I'm gonna get more soon. So this actually helped even though I'm not really down to my last rat. Thanks :) ❤
I lost my rat Gerald he died randomly he was big at 6 months and then went supper small was all cuddle complete personality change and died over night no blood Idk if my rat basly is lonely but he has nothing to do and it hurt so bad when Gerald died I was thinking about getting a bunny
Our oldest rat is about 2.5 years old. Her sister died almost a year ago. They were pretty close even though they did have some dominance issues. We got 2 more young rats so that she wouldn't be lonely. She wanted no part of it. She was too aggressive especially for their size. We tried letting them stay in the same cage on different levels to get aquatinted, but she would bite them through the grate if they got close and she'd pee on them if she was above them. She now stays in a separate cage by herself and still doesn't like them 8 mos later. She's a sweetheart to us but a grumpy old lady to them.
Going through this now. We are down to two and I don't want to keep rats past them. I don't like the idea of just having one be alone but I don't want to give her away. But I need to do what's best for them
I'd love to see your gerbils more tbh!
You published this the day my rat passed away. I had to take her to the vet to put her down actually, my kids and I are devastated. She was so sweet. She lost weight, was lethargic, not really eating and her sister kept biting her ear until it bled. The vet thinks is was cancer and that the sister was bullying her because she saw the sickness as a threat. They would still snuggle and clean each other, she was only 27 months old. Well, now there is just one. The vet suggested not to get another one due to her age and already having shown aggression and I can’t right now anyway, so we spend more time with her. It’s only been a few days, so we will see how it goes. I would be nervous about introducing her to other rats, I don’t have the time either and would hate to adopt out but would if she became depressed. I would want what’s best for her. I miss our Susie so much. It was so hard to say good bye but it would have been cruel to make her go through a slow and painful death. We will never forget you Susie!
Thank you so much for this video. It breaks my heart to say this. We had to euthanize one of my rats due to several tumors which developed too quickly to take care of. Her sister is now alone and it feels terrible knowing she's on her on now. We're trying to adopt a same-age rat or at least finding a new home for her
Excellent tips here.......thanks so much Shadow :)
I've decided to try and keep a rolling group if possible. It's when you get new rats either every half year or every year. This way you have a mixed age group and when one passes you won't suddenly have to look for more. It only works if you'd see yourself keeping rats for a while though.
I did this, and it was aweful. It was fun at first, but then after about two years I was having a rat die every month. It really impacted my ability to connect the newer additions. I stopped adding rats two years ago and am down to my last girl. She's over two and I feel like I'm just getting to know her.
For anyone reading this, I would highly recommend spacing out your rat generations as much as possible. It should give you more time between the waves of death.
In my case, while I was fostering my nephew's girlfriend's rats, phone every pet shop within a 40 mile radius to find that they only have male rats and the remaining rat is female before eventually finding a 2nd hand pair of females 30 miles away on gumtree which turn out to be more of a rescue due to them being neglected. That was a frantic fortnight, watching the remaining rat's condition go downhill and being unable to get juvenile ones from nearby breeders because the cage bar spacing was too large.
My sister has had two pairs of rats. when one sister of the first pair died, she bought two new baby sisters. We didn't know how to properly introduce them at the time, however, so the older rat was very aggressive and so we separated them until she died. Now one of the new pair of rats has died, and suprisingly the last rat seems happier without her sister. We won't get new rats until she dies, partly for fear of aggression, partly because she doesn't seem lonely. Also, she is over 2 years old.
I didn't have much of an option when Glados the rat passed. Glados was put down when she got terribly ill with something or other and then Oracle my other rat caught whatever Glados had. Oracle hopped up onto the cage bars to say goodbye and a picked her up and stroked her and told her to rest and keep her strength up so she'd get better. But an hour later she was dead in her cage. I found a nice nearby stream with wild roses growing nearby and lay her under a rose bush the way I didn't get to do with Glados. By the way, they both loved eating mini roses and raspberries (the two plants are related and they figured that out before someone told me). Mini roses from the florist were such a grand snack you see! and raspberries made great training treats to teach them their names and to come when I called.
I also saved a male rat Petey from the local pet shop (yes I had to buy him but the poor fellow was skin and bone!) and he had a cage next to Glados and Oracle's while I found a new home for him. Petey was quite young and eager and soon came to his name. He was named for Peter Parker, spiderman, because of the extreme measures he took to get away from his siblings in the petstore, literally hanging upside down from the wire cage lid! Petey was skin and bone, and when I took him home and bathed him he was so thirsty he started drinking the bath water! He didn't even wait for me to get him settled! But Petey found a new home, and doubled in size in the meantime! Once I even carried a sandwich board to the farmer's market advertising him as free to a good home, no snakes, and walked around wearing it!
You’re just amazing
Two months ago my little girl passed away. She had a tumor for a year ( we had it removed, but 6 months later it came back) She was such a fighter. When I found the tumor she was only 11 months old and died a little before her 2nd birthday. Yesterday I lost another rat. He had cancer and it had spread through his whole body. Last 3days were a nightmare so we put him down. He was 2 years and 8 months. Now I have 3 rats left (had 5) two of them have tumors and one has respiratory disease. I love them so much and I know that they all have/had an amazing life, but I will never get another rat. It is so painful to loose them, it is not fair to them to live such a short life💔
Thank you. I am down to two girls after losing two in one month. One was older, but one was only 1 year. Now I have the remaining sisters, a 1-year-old and a 2 1/2 year old. I'm on a wait list for my breeder. I'm so scared I'll lose my old girl, leaving the young one alone. My old girl is very bonded to me, and she would do ok alone but Poppy is one of the harder-to-tame rats I've owned. She needs rat friends! Praying hard that my breeder has good luck and that we'll have a new pair before either girl is alone. ❤️🐁🐀❤️
Thank you for this. One of my rats passed yesterday and now I’m down to only one, and since my life situation is rather uncertain right now I’d rather not commit to more rats, especially as my remaining one is over two years old currently. Luckily she likes being handled, so I’m going to se if she’ll be okay as a solo rat but if she seems too depressed after a couple of weeks I’ll probably look into fostering
I'm in the same situation today, about to put down one of my last two. I hope it went well for you
I had a gerbil who lived to 3 and a half years. Her sister died when she was 2. What I done was moved her cage next to my male gerbils so she could at least be near her own kind. She actually even outlived the males by 6 weeks xD
i have a pair of sisters and i also had a bit older one from the same breeder and she died pretty suddenly and we aren’t sure why. (she was originally bought from a pet store by that breeder so we just think it’s because of bad breeding from the stores breeders) my mom says no more rats til i move out. my girls are doing great but mazie is still stuck in my head and i’m scared they might die like she did. this is really helpful and just brings me more peace knowing that i won’t have to put one up for adoption if one dies
I'm so sorry for your loss - unfortunately sometimes rats have illnesses or genetic deformities that we can't see and they can go downhill incredibly quickly. i've had a lot of pet store and feeder bin rats and some have passed that way, and since I often have necropsies done I usually find its due to some organ failure (for example on of my former feeder girls passed out of nowhere as a young adult rat - turns out shhe had acute kidney failure, but weirdly enough shhe never showed any symptoms and it was acute instead of chronic like usually seen in rats. But the place I got hehr is known for rats with health issues which sucks since their rats also have incredible temperaments and are so very friendly).
Anyways studies show that rats over 2 years old secrete less stress hormones when kept alone compared to younger rats, so typically if an older rat is left solo when a cagemate passess its not as important to get them a buddy. If you can then i always say its best to do so since they do still enjoy that interaction, but its less stressful and impactful on them overall so its also okay to let them live out their golden months with just extra human attention.
Due to my rats past, I’ve only been able to keep one. She wouldn’t get along with ANY rat at all and she seemed very scared, what do I do? She seems happy alone but I’ve been told to have at least two
I got my rats from babies and raised them. They’re brothers and best friends. Albert passed away yesterday 😔. Chester has been sad laying in the hammock they used to cuddle in together. Now he’s pulled everything into his house(even tried pulling the hammock in). He’s almost 3 and even him and his brother would box it out sometimes so I really don’t think bringing more in is an option. It’s just so hard going through it and your little one going through so much pain I wish I could take the pain from him 😔
My last two rats died within 24 hours of each other, Bayleigh had surgery to remove her tumour but was put down two weeks later because it had already spread to her brain. Quinn died in my arms the next day she just went limp and her heart just stopped
Please help. We just lost our beautiful girl completely unexpectedly, she would have been 2 almost exactly one month away. Now her sister is alone but they are more free range, they hadn't spent much of their life in a cage, there is a cage, but door always open as we built a large area for them to free-range up high around their cage that i could set up dig box and mix up boxes and hides and things to be in and hammocks and litter tray in cage with door always open, plus we were able to give daily floor, desk, bed time and walk them around times, thry also liked occasional car rides and time exploring the car, they would come to our feet and put their front legs up to signal wanting to go back. At times we had one with us and the other was happy to stay in another room doing own thing so we always thought either of them would be OK solo with us. But now that we are sadly here we feel extremely stressed because in theory she does seem fine, we let her see her sister passed in hopes she would understand she died not just was doing something in another room. We continue normal routines today but did get her and be with her everytime she was awake more. We just wonder now thinking about things in the reality of the loss (trust me what you think when you still have your rats is different to the reality and permanency of your rattie being truly gone).... like her sister always groomed her daily, they still had occasional play fights even, and Niya was the more alpha role and her sister was good with that, thry often slept apart having such big area but ofcourse thry also did sleep together too their whole life...... even though Niya was smaller then her sister Akira they had a real set dynamic totally specific to them and their personslities. Now we feel guilty to a depressive level as we had decided they were our last rats, they have exceptional care with an exotic vet and we always paid whatever needed for their care, we spent thousands, unfortunately it was just Niyas time earlier then thought she was literally active and normal the days before. We are devastated and looking into "loaner" rates or play date ones we find not much option and we arent sure whether to just keep waiting and seeing when this video is the first that suggests a solo rat may work, everyone else stresses thry have to have a rat mate and ASAP!. We won't get another rat and especially not two. I wonder if their lifestyle with us being self employed and home all time all their lives means she would be a successful solo rat? I'm riddled with guilt because I know we have to sleep and she will be alone atleast some of the times she otherwise had company. We considered her sleeping in bed with us but that may not be safe, she is fine to be on bed and floor and all but when we are awake, we all sleep in same room and most days one person was always in the room on computer all day too and they would come and go at their please to the desk thry saw us almost always when awake but thry werent dependant on our attention even though they got it from us... but now she has no one of her species. We feel daunted thinking its akin to us never seeing another human for last x amount of months of our life but only living with another species. Gosh sorry to waffle, my grief has been surprisingly consuming even despite always knowing I dreaded the day and understanding short lifespans and susceptibility to sidden death or sudden declines. I don't want to believe she is gone and I don't want to fail her sister, we love them both dearly, we stopped even seeing them as rats, they were cute animals with distinctive individual personalities who are our family, thry are amazing pets/family. We feel like they are a package deal. People say they can bond with any new rat...but really? After being each others everything and having such a consistent lifestyle their whole life with each others distinct personality. They were opposites in many ways and figured out how it all worked griwing up together. Thry are very bonded to us, handling them very easy even their vets say they are truly lovely rats and easy for them, thry were so sad at her death. I don't know what to do and would love feedback on how people went with solo outcomes please.
I just need some help
Now my two boys have been doing the rough wrestling(with the squeaks) that you mentioned a while back however I’ve noticed that Marshmallow had a cut on his back
Now I don’t know 100% sure if it’s my rat’s, Rata, fault. Marsh doesn’t seem so scared of Rata but I’ve noticed that they are gradually doing it more (more so when they are out on free roam)
Should I be worried??? Idk I’m sooo nervous about this
Rata isn’t an aggressive rat at all
Tbh Marsh is timid but I got him out of his shell so I’m so confused. Help please and thank you
Wounds are never okay. Here are some helpful links:
www.joinrats.com/Intros/Ratbehaviors/
www.joinrats.com/Intros/Techniques/
Is your cage big enough? Have you tried giving them separate foodbowls and waterbottles? You should separate them when they fight too roughly during free roam time. Or even try introducing them again all over. Have they been together since you got them? Playfighting is normal, but drawing blood is not a good thing. Maybe go here: facebook.com/groups/351955091585361 , explain your situation and let the behaviour specialists there help you. I had very good assistance there from them with my previous introductions.
uitjebolsmurf they have been together since I got them (pet shop to get supplies and I saw them and fell in love) I’m already in the process of upgrading their cage and since their cage isn’t the biggest I bring them out to play for four-six hours thank you so much for the help I’ve been so worried! I haven’t thought about the foodbowls being a problem i have one that I have in the cage next to their hide and the other (slightly smaller) is what I use for fresh fruits or veggies/ food when they are out so I will look into if they need that thank you for the help
SilverNight14 hey there, obviously channel creator has a huge wealth of info, but as long as they aren’t consistently hurting eachother -- let them hash it out. Rats are extremely social and have a hierarchy internally that can be likened to dogs. They don’t care so much where they hit on totem pole (alpha, beta, etc), but it’s extremely important to know where they are.
The reason I bring this up is because I originally had a brother and sister rat, and at about 10 months we introduced another female.
(Yes we had a girl and boy to start..... that was fun, boy got neutered).
Our first girl, Digger, was one of the kindest animals I’ve ever had. She was amazing with new people and never showed even the smallest hint of aggression. We introduced Digger to our new girl (Pepper) and she IMMEDIATELY charged Pepper and attacked her. It became clear that she was not intending to kill her, but to clearly distinguish her dominance.
Rats are remarkably strong and fast for their size, if one of your boys was intending to hurt or kill another -- they just would. Our girls quickly started getting along. I wonder if your guys are just figuring out dominance?
Stephen Kaestle Thank you so much this helped calm my nerves a lot! I’ve noticed that Rata does charge at Marshmallow too. So yeah I think you’re right! I’ve also noticed that Rata (or Marsh) will instantly let go or get off of the other squeaks a bit so I think that supports what you just said even more. Thank you so much again
Jade Huckle yea my two still make squeaks and stuff when they wrestle lmao but thankfully it’s all better I’ve upgraded their space, added two more food bowls, more toys as well, and I’m actually going to pick up two more boys as well! Lol! A Siamese dumbo and blue Russian dumbo! How are yours?
My rats were almost two when one of them died. I now just have Darcy. I'm probably going to try and be there for her in her last days because she's showing signs of being rather old. They were littermates, so they're the same age. It's especially hard because Cookie, the one who died, was the alpha rat. Darcy's probably a bit lost...
ive had two rats for the past year & one of them just passed away about a week ago. it was really devastating to me because she was the sweetest little angel. but now my other rat is alone & i cant get more rats because a lot is going on in my personal life :-( ive been spending a ton of time with her and she doesnt seem too upset but im so worried shes gonna become depressed being on her own.
I have two rats curretly. I had three rats total. Reagan died last year and Riley was alone for a while. All I did was cuddle with hr consantly and then that same day we called the pet store to get Heather. THey said that she was only 2 weeks old so we could not get her. I spent as much time with Riley intill we were reday to get Heather. Note to rt owners also. Reagan was alone as a solo for a year and barley came out of her cage. WHen she met Riley she has been away from rats so long that she thought that Riley was another animal and almost killed three week old Riley.
My rat, princess, died this morning. Rest in peace princess 2020-2022
Yeah...... tried to introduce a solo rat with the omega from his litter (not having seen eachother for a year and a half). They ended up getting along in the end but the solo rat got sick from the omega and died two days after they were in the same cage. Yeah..... not a good time for me. Should have looked into this sooner.
My rat has been alone for a year and he's seems to be doing better, kinda sounds sad tho , but he's been more active with my family
Thank you so much this was very helpful. I had 2 rats but sadly one of them passed just yesterday, and I could already tell my other rat felt lonely and she was less energetic. I'm definitely subscribing, thank you.
My heart bleeds as I lost keddy yesterday it's very hurting. Am down to one now OMG
I have always had a single rat then get another when they pass. I wonder if its any easier if you have a few rats when one passes. it was way to hard to deal with when they passed. last time I had a rat I was 15. I'm 35 now and decided to do it again but I'm having second thoughts. I wonder will it easier since I'm older now to and will have at least 4.
I have a 1 year old rat and his brother died a bit ago and 3 days ago I got two babies and they’re having issues with my 1 year old so we are trying slowly introduce
I just received 1male rat, he is sneezing,and not sure of his age maybe 1 or 2 years old. I have him in his cage cleanned it and getting him used to rat food@water
How long does it take an adult (~ 6 months) rat to get familiar with the new environment? Mine comes 10 days ago. He likes to look at me from inside the cage but just would turn around and flee back to the hide as soon as he heard my footsteps. He refuses any touches. I introduced a friend to him. The new boy is younger and smaller. But I have to say Petco isn't doing a great job. The new boy came with wound, probably bit by other rats in the store. It's a red spot on his body. He's super shy and keeps sneezing. I kinda consider that as a stress behavior because I observed porphyrin as well. But maybe respiratory disease. Poor boy. Any idea should I take it to a vet?
If it's a wound then you should get him to vet.👍
First thing u should not get a pet from pet store as they keep them for just public appealing.😐
And second from my experience you should take some time to bond with your rats and I guess it would take some time to them for settling in😘.
Like I have a pair of rats and one of my rat was also very shy at first but the second one was playing and cuddling with me from the very first day (such a weirdo 😂😂)
Also you should consult vet👍
Best wishes for you and your rat💝😘
My sister got 2 six/seven week Old rats October 2020, then in June 2021 me and my other siser got a rat each (6 months) that lived in a separate cage to the other pair due to cage sizes, the two pairs of rats were introduced to eachother maybe after a week of the new Rats arriving, they got along quite well. in November 2021 my rat died due to being squished(ik its sad/ I find it kinda funny), so my younger sisters rat lived alone, but the three remaining rats all played together, got snuggle time and running around time outside. Then two months ago 29th March, one of my sisters rats died from a tumor we couldn't afford to remove. We then went through the process of putting the younger (-3months) rat in the older rates cage for a few minutes everyday, until they stated living together. Both rats live happily in one cage now and they will hopefully live 1-2 more years (they are 18 and 21 months)
I love my special girls Coco, Biscuit and Oreo. Two have gone back Home to God in a span of three months, but one is left with me and I spend lots of time with her. My cats are very gentle and keep her company, often sleeping next to her cage. Rest in peace my two darling girls ... Oreo Cookie and I will love you both forever
Thankyou!!
Anyone know what to do? The 11 week old rat i got as a friend turned out to be a dwarf, cant defend herself, and one or my girls litetally tries to kill her
Dwarfs can live with standard rats just fine. My main question would be how did you try intros? Generally you want to introduce young rats in pairs or groups to give them confidence when interacting with the older rat. And introduction wise if you are doing it in the cage that will make your older rat territorial and aggressive (imagine walking into your house and finding a stranger in your bedroom - most people wouldn’t take this well and it’s the same for rats). You want to do intros in a neutral territory and at a slow pace - intros rarely just take one go and it’s better to do multiple small sessions that end positively than one long session.
What behaviors did she show during the intro? Puffed fur, pulling fur, rat ball, drawing blood?
Shadow The Rat thanks for your reply.
The intros were all normal standard stuff, neutral zone etc.I know not to introduce a new rat into another rat's cage haha it would be a bloodbath with my girls. She was the only girl in litter so I had to adopt her solo (and very sick) cannot introduce her in a pair+.
They always meet 1 on 1
When shes introduced outside a cage they jump her and become a ball of squeaking rat fight with dwarf on the bottom. Their attacks have drawn blood and fur.
When they meet, with her safely in a cage, they huff, puff up, lunge, and put their arms through bars grabbing at her. It's quite frightening.
I put her blanket in their cage to see if it's help them get use to her smell. Alas they're attacking her as much as ever.
Does this help give an idea of where things are going wrong?
Edited to clarify she's been meeting them a few times a week for months and lots of treats are given
I commented on one of your videos from a year ago in training also I am getting a cage for my two rats it’s 18x30x29 is that big enough for my two rats we travel so I’m in a camper I’d like to be able to get something huge but just don’t have the room.
You can use this rat cage calculator to find out how many rats can comfortably fit in any cage dimensions: www.rattycorner.com/odds/calc.shtml
Anyways if I’m plugging the dimensions in right your cage can hold 3-4 rats comfortably, although to be sure I always like to subtract one rat from the cage calculator results to ensure enough space per rat.
My rat just passed less than an hour ago.. I never was able to introduce the buddy I got for him. I’ve already tried to introduce them but my older rat (one that died) was attacking and biting the younger rat, Rex. I know how lonely Rex is but my mom said no more rats.. I don’t know what to do at this point but just try to either put him up for adoption then buy two rats together so I don’t have to worry about introducing them or just have my younger rat live solo.
i had 2 girls, but one recently passed away. i'm afraid my other rat is going to be really lonely, but i'm not able to get any more. do you have any suggestions on how i can keep her company?
How did you go? We just lost our beautiful girl completely unexpectedly, she would have been 2 almost exactly one month away. Ow her sister is alone but they are more free range, thry hadn't spent much of their life in a cage, there is a cage but door always open as we built a large area for them to free-range up high around their cage, plus we were able to give daily floor, desk, bed time and walk them around, they would come to our feet and put their front legs up to signal wanting to go back. At times we had one with us and the other was happy to stay so we always thought either of them would be OK solo with us. But now that we are sadly here we feel extremely stressed because in theory she does seem fine, we let her see her sister passed in hopes she would understand she died not just was doing something in another room. We continue normal routines today but did get her and be with her everytime she was awake. We just wonder now thinking about things like her sister always groomed her daily, thry still had occasional play fights even and Niya was the more alpha role and her sister was good with that their whole life even though Niya was smaller then her sister Akira. Now we feel guilty to a depressive level as we had decided they were our last rats, thry have exceptional care unfortunately it was just Niyas time earlier then thought she was literally super active and normal the days before. We are devastated and looking into loan rates or play date ones we find not much option and we arent sure whether to just keep waiting. We won't get another rat and especially not two. I wonder if their lifestyle with us being self employed and home all time all their lives means she would be a successful solo rat? I'm riddled with guilt because I know we have to sleep and she will be alone atleast some of the times she had company. Were considered her sleeping in bed with us but that may not be safe, she is fine to be on bed and floor we all sleep in same room and most days one person was always in the room on computer and they would come and go at their please to the desk... but now she has no one of her species. Gosh sorry to waffle, my grief has been surprisingly consuming even despite always knowing I dreaded the day. I don't want to believe she is gone and I don't want to fail her sister, we love them both dearly, we stopped even seeing them as rats, they were cute animals with distinctive individual personalities, we feel like they are a package deal. People say they can bond with any new rat...but really? After being each others everything and having such a consistent lifestyle their whole life. I don't know what to do and would love feedback on how you went if you read this.
@@lisalock742 Unfortunately where I live, almost nobody own pet rats, and you have to go on a wait list to adopt one! I figured that there wasn't much to do in my control, so I try and spend as much time with her as I can, although I know it's not the same as it used to be when she had a sister. I too feel guilty, but she is the last rat I will be having which means I cannot get anymore, and there is nobody where I live that are willing to take in another rat. I also tried introducing my friendly small dog to my rat (my dog LOVES her), and she is slowly starting to warm up to her. I know that getting another companion rat for her is the best choice, but in some cases, there is only so much you can do. My girl doesn't seem too lonely or sad, and I make sure to give her fun activities and new areas to explore to keep her busy and occupied. I agree, the worst part about owning rats is that at the end of the line, you will end up with one lonely rat, and there's nothing you can do once that eventually happens. It's inevitable, and every owner will have to go through it eventually, u less they are lucky enough to find their pet a new home or a temporary friend. I wish you luck, and I hope you're able to figure out the best possible solution! Just remember it's different for every rat, and some may cope better than others! I feel that getting another rat is ideal, but if you aren't able to get another (like in my case), just do your best and i'm sure you'll keep your baby happy!!
That rat in the beginning looks just like my two babies that I have now...