I was only worried when they hoarded veggies, especially sweet corn and peas.....and those to rot and cause diarrhea- I had long shifts , 12 to 13 hours.... So I had to ransack their nest more than i wanted to, sadly....^^ they paid back ripping 4 complete thick newspapers and throw them all over a 1.5 meter cage ( height) 50×90 in floor space with 3 levels and some half levels, when newspaper hanging half in the air so I was worried they'd trip thinking they'd step on reliable things and fall ......Those dummies. Ugh. Ever tried to sleep the 6 hours between two 13 hour shifts while they rip through 4 newspapers? The not so funny side .....^^
Oh and I not only once found a stack behind my shoe box, hidden in my huge kitchen cupboard where I kept jackets and backpacks and winter / or summer shoes in storage bins they ALWAYS climbed and treird to climb into a jackets sleeve, despite tunnels and treats etc being spread out for them to explore while I was able to watch them while cleaning. ...Suddenky they were gone and the cupboard with these bins was where they always sneaked in, when they ran free in my kitchen when I filled their food and water bowls and cleaned the cage.... Such loonies ! I even found a pile of dry food a month after the last one passed.....made me cry. As if they were starving.....I bought them melon every second day in winter because they loved it so much..... ( I know they hoard, out of instinct, no matter how well fed, but one could think they were only fed twice a week.....^^)
My vet explained the biting bandaids/socks/etc, as the rat's way of grooming you. They see the random object as something that doesn't belong on your person naturally, so they think you're stuck and want to help remove it. My rats also used to chew through my hair ties and unbraid my hair, because they saw the braids as "knots" that needed to be detangled! Lol
When I got my first rat, Caramel, I didn't know that they hoarded food, so I assumed he just ate a lot because i'd go to the cage after feeding him like, 30 - 60 minutes ago, and his food bowl would be empty, so I'd fill it up again, and the same thing would happen. Eventually I got annoyed and went to his cage and picked him up, and he looked at me like he wanted more food. I put him back in the cage and he immediately ran to the food bowl, which was almost empty, grabbed some food and ran under his hidey, turtle shell looking thing. I reached in and grabbed it, then lifted it up to see him, and a pile of food poured out of the sides and he just looked at me with the freaking cutest face, life a child that was caught but still looks innocent. God bless that little monster, he always comes up to the edge of the cage when im there and looks at me, then where I keep his food, implying that he wants more. I always check his hiding thing before I feed him now xD
Caught child, still looking innocent...:) I had an ongoing "fight" with my rat about digging up my plants.. Whenever I cought her, she had that look like "ok, I was caught, scold me, I know you feel like you have to, I lost this one, but we both know I will try again"... It always made laugh.. It was a great look.. all of it at once..
One of my rats used to wag her tail when she was hunting. Or "hunting". Se would stalk under a table and then go for my feet (it was not really aggressive behavior, I do guess more of the "what the heck are those things, better make sure they are nothing dangerous, oh, it was just my human"). And she would abort her attack hastily if I just put my fingers in front of my feet :D
Peeing on is a marker of relationships. Young rats will even run under the bellies of older rats to get pee on their coats as this scent marks them as part of the family. Everyone wants the pee of the dominant rat on them because it means they belong to the family of the dominant one and won't get bullied as an outsider. This trick can be exploited when doing intros, just rub the bellies of the older rats on the newcomer so that he gets a little bit of everyone's pee on him. That makes him smell like family and reduces aggression from the group members. I know it's a bit gross to us humans but it's the ratty way lol.
Yeah, peeing isn't just a ritual to rats, it has concrete meaning. Each rat can be identified by the smell of their pee! It also contains other relevant information like sex, age, reproductive status, health etc. Rats don't need Facebook or Tinder, they have pee.
I was concerned about the scanning but that clears it up ; Sandy does it exactly like in your video. You are absolutely great; I’m late in years to have rats as pets, but they are absolutely wonderful in every way.
my boy rich is an extreme potato sleeper. you can actually see his little nose poking out from under his balls. and he oftentimes ends up knocked over by his cagemate and does a forward roll. timmy, on the other hand, sleeps motionless on his back and scares me every time.
Omg ma girl is old and suffering from cancer and sleeps on her back motionless and it terrifies me Edit- we had to take her to the vet to be put down about 1 week after this comment was originally written.... 😭😭
Rats, in my opinion, are the best animal to get, if you don’t like to take care of larger animals. We have 4 dogs and a cat, and so far my two rats are the funniest things alive. My family is going through a tough time and they just do the craziest things and make us laugh.
Like the time my girl Superman decided it was a great idea to hide some ice I had given to them in a glass of water in my shorts, my whole family was laugh-crying. Even me, the one with a rat stashing ice In her shorts.
Lol. Thats so great! My rats help e thru tough times too. Its great just to sit and watch them. Takes your mind off the crap. What a great memory. Icy shorts.
Thousands thanks! Youre videos touch my heart. I had rats for 14 years. But one day i decided to stop, because i couldnt bear their death anymore. Your vids are a great chance to enjoy the life and behaviours of those cuties.
I stg, its like every rat behavior is like "oh this means they love you or want attention but it can also could mean that they want to kill you and are plotting your death this very moment" 😂😂😂
im so glad you mentioned head swaying, i got two new boys last week and noticed my white haired pink eyed boy was swaying his head and like you said, i worried that it was something neurological. happy to know its totally normal :)
The first time I saw the tail wagging was with my first rat it was the most hilarious thing I'd ever seen. 1 of my girls also used to sleep in the small food bowl on her face under her it was so damn cute
My mom goes in my room sometimes and she'll notice that their food dish has been empty for days and she'll freak out. Then I show her the hoarded pile and laugh lol💖
Thank God I was so worried when my new rat started sneezing. He also sneezes when I show him new things but he doesn't sneeze in his cage any longer so that's a relief
the new home sneezes thing was so so so relieving me, i was thinking it might’ve just been environmentally stress and this confirmation was great lol!! i was gonna take him to the vet soon, but i think i’ll wait a bit longer since i got him less than a week ago!
I've been so worried because my new babies have all been sneezing and have had some mucus around their eyes. This is such a lifesaver, I've been freaking out.
I helped with the class rats and they moved between two homes so they would sneeze when they came back. It was cute and they were ok. They also knew words. They were equal and potty trained. I remember we would play "I'm gonna getchu" and they would run from me, hide and then get really excited when I found them. They loved playing hide and seek too.
Being familiar with each of these behaviors, I have to say, you are good at giving rat information (especially as young as you sound). My issue is one of my girls pees on ALL HUMANS lol.
My boy Mushroom was potatoing yesterday ❤️ So my two new rats have gotten old enough to begin introducing to my three old ones. The old boys don’t seem to be bothered much by Hazel but Mushroom constantly puffs up and singles out Willow. It’s really frustrating because I feel like Hazel is ready to move onto the next step but at the same time it seems like Mushroom and Willow will never be able to be in the same space together
Sans the Skeleton there isn’t a hard fast rule for age. I chose around 5 months because my older rats have a history of aggression so I didn’t want to risk them just pouncing and killing a little one. Also I choose to use young rat food so I want to be able to feed them separately until they’re old enough to eat adult food Mushroom is in my pic :)
Lily A. .. we have been wanting to get a couple of females and keep them separate from our boys.. when our boys get older we want to let them mate once so we can have babies from them.. plus our Rattie Boys deserve to get to have a girlfriend once.. I just wonder how they would act after mateing then getting separated from their female.. I wonder if the boys will smell the girls when they go into heat and cause the boys to act crazy and fight each other.. I don't want my boys to get upset so I want to be careful about any situation that could be introduced.. I hafta do some homework on this before making a decision
It makes me so happy to hear you sound happy and excited! The new babies are so hecking cute!! ❤️ When my rats sleep alone they sleep puffed up in the potato position. Nacho, who is light gray/brown, looks like a hedgehog when she does that! :D Also, when I sit on the couch next to their cage she begs for food holding onto a bar with one hand and waving the other through the bars as if she was trying to grab me. It's absolutely hilarious and (spoilers from Jurassic World 2) reminds me of the hybrid dinosaur trying to grab the target through the cage bars! 😂
I'm glad I found this video! I was so concerned when I took in two rats a week ago, they're now 6 weeks old, and since its winter and its cold and I know how easy a rodent can get the flu, I was worried that when I came home the other one started sneezing (and is still sneezing to this day even if it has been exactly 7 days now) But I think it's just new home sneezing, the brother of that rat doesn't do it at all but the Rex one does. This video gave me more knowledge and am now less scared but still cautious and looking if it'll go away or if I'd have to go to the vet. Thank you for this video and the other one! They're very informative and just makes me want to learn more and more about these critters along the way!
hello , I just wanted to say thank you for all the information. I just got my first pet rat and I named him Puddles. I love him so much. I was surprised at how cuddly he is. And knowing all this stuff has really made me understand them more thank you
When my newer rat wagged her tail it was her first time in her new cage and she was super excited and had the zoomies and had just found a fruit snack 😅
I had a rat named Ralph who was the ONLY victim of being serial peed on out of my 12 rats I’ve ever had. He was... a special lad to say the least and definitely the bottom of the mischief kingdom I had!
We brought a little brown Rex home and she had new home sneezes but also a mild URI from previous bad housing. But on the bright side she LOVES baytril lol
I remember our lovable buddy bean used to do just that and run away with food I thought it was so cute thanks for sharing such a wonderful memory of our beloved buddy bean✝️🐁🕊✝️🌈🎆💔
I like to hold my rat, Snow, when I'm listening to music. He's a bit of a butt though and always ends up going crazy whenever he sees my ear buds. He'll stop at nothing to get a hold of them, lol
I just got my two rats but I thought it was kinda funny that when I was finally able to hand feed the shy-ish one (Sully) my other one (Boo) would always come up and steal the food. He is such a rascal but I love him. 😊
Thanks so much for explaining the scanning head movement!! We have new babies and one of them did it and I was a little worried. Also thanks so much for all of your videos I love them so much and you do such a great job explaining things. I can and do watch for hours :)
I just got my first pet rat and I was so worried that him spazzing out was him being sick but Nah he just has the zoomies and is popcorning around my bed.
I had pet rats for maybe 15 years- I have a snake right now because I wanted to try something new, but I love watching this channel to get my "ratty fix!" My favorite rat I ever had was a big albino male I named Voltaire. He was such a sweetheart!
My black eyed rat also sways but not very often! I wondered what swaying was when he did that but I remembered from research that it wasn’t bad but I couldn’t remember what it was for! So thanks for reminding me! I love these videos btw they’re great
Glad I watched this! My boy Zero sways a lot and he has pink eyes. I thought it was normal, but good to be assured it's normal! Also, Zero had new home sneezes when I brought him home! Also, my Jack likes to pee on poor Zero! Poor thing! Thanks for the video! Enjoyed it!
I love rats because they so clearly love you and your company. Had a few aloof rats that didn't like pets and cuddles, but even they seemed just enjoy having you about. Gosh bless rats. Also thank you for the heads up on the new place sneezes, I am forever paranoid about respratory infections, so it's good to know that sometimes they just get snuffles. That said, just want to add to anyone reading that if your rat has prolonged wheezing/lots of chest noise to check that out.
I've started doubling up on cage base litter, and that has led to all kinds of 'earth moving' projects! Including, I've started to see, the food stores opened up, which leads to a perfect little round 'hole' in the strata... and the bowl-nest underneath the water-bottle has become another piece of real-estate to fight over... it's so cool watching my boys
I love the food hoarding, it makes me realise that they have foresight into the future, they def ponder and have a huge sense of self awareness, they are Angels to me .
Hey. I got 4 2 month old sister rats a few days ago and the three bigger ones keep "fighting" with each other. I'm a little concerned because they squeak/squeal when they and having a squable. Can you please explain the differences between play fights and proper fights or explain why it's happening?
Marnie Coutts a real fight usually draws blood. If they aren't drawing blood it's likely just a play fight! It sounds freaky sometimes when they squeal like that, but it's all part of the playing.
I have a rat that screams like a cat fight. It sounds like he is dieing but when i check him there are no owwys. I always tell him he is over-reacting. Lol. I have had to learn that he is ok and they are having fun. Over time he doesnt scream as much anymore. Just a lot of squeaks now.
Sometimes at night my girls play fight and the noises make me worry sometimes.I usually realize it’s just a play fight but I understand.Most likely you’re dealing with play fighting.If you’re seriously concerned you can just yell at them😂.It usually works for me!
Your absolutely amazing I've never in my life seen rats so happy How beautiful the love they have for Thankyou for making the world feel that bit softer. Love Australia
Every rat I've owned has always gone after my false nails and socks, not bandaids haha Is it more common for pink or ruby eyed rats to be more frightful or easily startled? I have two boys about 3 months old, both ruby eyes and they're just petrified by the slightest movements and sounds and it's concerning to me. My late rat, allistor was just the complete opposite of these two and I'm trying to figure out if it's just their personality or if it's anything I can help
Thanks for this video. About the head weaving... we do that as humans when we want to hear where a sound is coming from. We get a message from each ear & "triangulate" the source. My little one has bad eyesight & does it all the time. Maybe she's doing the Sonic thing that Bats do? Who knows? They talk in a frequency that is way above our hearing (but they always let you know what's going on). Thanks again for your video.
Yes mice are great I’ve got seven females they are full of character for such little things and you can get a few as they are smaller than rats they are very entertaining to watch very smart too they get bored with the same thing
Oh geez, thank you 🙏🏻! I just got baby rats about a week and a half ago- Two Albino sweethearts, as those are the only rats allowed in Alaska. On boy was doing the swaying thing and I was freaking out in my head….what you said makes sense! He is the shyer of the two so it makes sense! I finally got him eating baby food off of my had today! His brother has been much more adventurous and we’re working on him getting used to me picking him up from overhead. I’m super excited about my babies. Your videos have helped me so much already! Thank you 😊
Could you make a video about rescuing feeder rats? I’ll be a first time rat owner soon, but none of the pet stores in my area carry rats. The only store the carries rats carries them as feeders, and I don’t know how to pick them out/ if theres a different way to care for them. Thank you!
I know craigslist is commonly discouraged for buying pets, but I don't think you can get any worse than feeders from a pet store. You can be 100% certain that your money will go towards supporting rodent mills. On craigslist, this risk exists as well, but it is a lot smaller. Petfinder often has rescue rats available too. They also commonly have babies from accidental litters, or from people who accidentally bought a pregnant rat out of a feeder bin (since those stores often don't separate males and females). If you haven't already, you can also search for breeders (often called "rattery") in your area. Especially since you'll be a first time owner, it would be preferable for you to get well bred rats from a breeder that selects for the tamest temperament. You may have noticed that Shadow has a lot about "taming" rats on her channel, but this is a step that you can almost completely skip if you get them from a good breeder, who will have already done this for you.
All my rats have been feeders because there’s no one who breed them (that I know of) and you just need to be more patient with them and train them to like people. You need to take a few minutes to view the stores feeders and decide if they aren’t Sick but sometimes you can’t tell till you take them home. Make sure they don’t have bugs as well and yeah, just be patient.
this is such a cute video!! i got my first rats, my boys mochi and queso, a few weeks ago and ive seen a few of these behaviors, but i cant wait until i am acquainted enough with them to play like you showed. so adorable!!
My boy Dobby is such a lil weirdo and I love it. He also sleeps in potato position and he's the most playful rat I've ever had. He zooms and twitches and popcorns every time I play with him and he loves chewing my nails and pulling my hair. He also sways with his whole body instead of his head which is kind of adorable. His appearance doesn't help his case either. He's a nakey with huge dumbo ears that are more curved than circular, with curly white peach fuzz covering his body and curled whiskers. He looks and acts like such a dork. I adore him. 💕
*10 More Weird Yet Totally Normal Behaviors From Pet Rats:*
01. @0:26 - Tail Wagging;
02. @1:12 - Head Swaying ("Scanning");
03. @2:19 - Food Hoarding;
04. @3:02 - Food Stealing;
05. @3:38 - New Home Sneezes;
06. @4:28 - Sleeping Puffed Up;
07. @5:00 - "Potato Rat";
08. @5:50 - Biting Socks/Bandaids;
09. @6:42 - Peeing On Other Rats;
10. @7:26 - Playing/"Zoomies".
Rhaenyra Reigns my last male rattie used to "hammock sleep" sometimes- on his back with all four feet in the air. Weirdest thing I'd ever seen.
@@Moonbeamchild8 means she is totally comfortable and feels safe in her environment. That's sort of the first medals of honor as an owner.....^^
AFAIK. Not trying to spread false knowledge.
I was only worried when they hoarded veggies, especially sweet corn and peas.....and those to rot and cause diarrhea- I had long shifts , 12 to 13 hours.... So I had to ransack their nest more than i wanted to, sadly....^^ they paid back ripping 4 complete thick newspapers and throw them all over a 1.5 meter cage ( height) 50×90 in floor space with 3 levels and some half levels, when newspaper hanging half in the air so I was worried they'd trip thinking they'd step on reliable things and fall ......Those dummies. Ugh.
Ever tried to sleep the 6 hours between two 13 hour shifts while they rip through 4 newspapers? The not so funny side .....^^
Oh and I not only once found a stack behind my shoe box, hidden in my huge kitchen cupboard where I kept jackets and backpacks and winter / or summer shoes in storage bins they ALWAYS climbed and treird to climb into a jackets sleeve, despite tunnels and treats etc being spread out for them to explore while I was able to watch them while cleaning. ...Suddenky they were gone and the cupboard with these bins was where they always sneaked in, when they ran free in my kitchen when I filled their food and water bowls and cleaned the cage....
Such loonies !
I even found a pile of dry food a month after the last one passed.....made me cry.
As if they were starving.....I bought them melon every second day in winter because they loved it so much.....
( I know they hoard, out of instinct, no matter how well fed, but one could think they were only fed twice a week.....^^)
My vet explained the biting bandaids/socks/etc, as the rat's way of grooming you. They see the random object as something that doesn't belong on your person naturally, so they think you're stuck and want to help remove it. My rats also used to chew through my hair ties and unbraid my hair, because they saw the braids as "knots" that needed to be detangled! Lol
Sssooooo cuuute hahahahah
Bullshit 😆 🤣 😂
Aww, so cute that they care so much!
When I got my first rat, Caramel, I didn't know that they hoarded food, so I assumed he just ate a lot because i'd go to the cage after feeding him like, 30 - 60 minutes ago, and his food bowl would be empty, so I'd fill it up again, and the same thing would happen. Eventually I got annoyed and went to his cage and picked him up, and he looked at me like he wanted more food. I put him back in the cage and he immediately ran to the food bowl, which was almost empty, grabbed some food and ran under his hidey, turtle shell looking thing. I reached in and grabbed it, then lifted it up to see him, and a pile of food poured out of the sides and he just looked at me with the freaking cutest face, life a child that was caught but still looks innocent. God bless that little monster, he always comes up to the edge of the cage when im there and looks at me, then where I keep his food, implying that he wants more. I always check his hiding thing before I feed him now xD
Awe cute!
Yeah I thought that too but whenever I saw them hiding food I gust starter laughing
Lol adorable
Caught child, still looking innocent...:) I had an ongoing "fight" with my rat about digging up my plants.. Whenever I cought her, she had that look like "ok, I was caught, scold me, I know you feel like you have to, I lost this one, but we both know I will try again"... It always made laugh.. It was a great look.. all of it at once..
Cute!
The tail waggling makes their tails look more wormy than they already do!
It's just too cute soo soo cute
One of my rats used to wag her tail when she was hunting. Or "hunting". Se would stalk under a table and then go for my feet (it was not really aggressive behavior, I do guess more of the "what the heck are those things, better make sure they are nothing dangerous, oh, it was just my human"). And she would abort her attack hastily if I just put my fingers in front of my feet :D
@@ulla7378 😂😂😂😂😂
Nah...it’s-it’s..:it’s not cute. Their tails look weird
Wi l it is very cute..... it may look weird to you though
OMG!!! THEY WAG THEIR TAILS!!! That's adorable!!!!!! I had no idea that was a thing!!!
You must be miserable, and bored, to get on here and be shitty to someone like that 😕
Kelsey Johnston what did they do ?
My rat wags his tail when I stroke him 🐀🐀🐀🐭🐭🐭🐁🐁🐁
same, i had rats for 10 years and none of them did that...
@@kayjay7659 what happened???????? did someone say something???
To be honest the scanning just looks like they’re vibing to something 😂
I used to think he was smelling things.. like my food
Peeing on is a marker of relationships. Young rats will even run under the bellies of older rats to get pee on their coats as this scent marks them as part of the family. Everyone wants the pee of the dominant rat on them because it means they belong to the family of the dominant one and won't get bullied as an outsider. This trick can be exploited when doing intros, just rub the bellies of the older rats on the newcomer so that he gets a little bit of everyone's pee on him. That makes him smell like family and reduces aggression from the group members.
I know it's a bit gross to us humans but it's the ratty way lol.
its rather like when grown ups teach religion of some other cultural bs to children
Rat pee has a different meaning to rats and very likely smells different to them too - more complex.
Yeah, peeing isn't just a ritual to rats, it has concrete meaning. Each rat can be identified by the smell of their pee! It also contains other relevant information like sex, age, reproductive status, health etc. Rats don't need Facebook or Tinder, they have pee.
Sounds like me and my family
@@wwondertwin hell a good number of critters have all thoes details in their pee marks as they use it to advertise them selves in many ways.
I woke up my little girl oreo and she yawned and stretched her little arms and it was ADORABLE for some reason😂😔
Mine tend to yawn in the middle of the night and it sounds like an old man is smacking his lips in the corner of my room
@@vincento_squish lololol same!
I don’t know why but it’s so cute when any animal yawns
I KNOW ITS SO ADORABLE!!
rat's wakin up and yawning is the best
My rat Vinnie will wrap his tail around my arm whenever I’m holding him and it’s so cute!!! 😍😍😍
Sherri does that too🥰🥰🥰
I love that name 🐀!
@@darlastrange3647 what name Vinnie or Sherri??
I was concerned about the scanning but that clears it up ; Sandy does it exactly like in your video. You are absolutely great; I’m late in years to have rats as pets, but they are absolutely wonderful in every way.
It's never"late"!
My baby rat Maurice will hide food then he will put his stuffed animal rat in front of to guard his food😂
Julie Bitton that sounds so cute!
Smart guy! 🐭
That stuffed animal rat would get destroyed so i cant really belive that.
Shalinado :D the stuffed animal is missing an ear and his tail is falling off but it ain't destroyed
Maurice is actually really smart... it probably thinks the stuffed animal is another rat and is making it guard the place :p
I find the sock/plaster biting very sweet. It's like 'Oh no mum, you have stuff all over your paws! Let me help you get it off!'
my boy rich is an extreme potato sleeper. you can actually see his little nose poking out from under his balls. and he oftentimes ends up knocked over by his cagemate and does a forward roll. timmy, on the other hand, sleeps motionless on his back and scares me every time.
Chris Relhard lol
Omg XD
Omg ma girl is old and suffering from cancer and sleeps on her back motionless and it terrifies me
Edit- we had to take her to the vet to be put down about 1 week after this comment was originally written.... 😭😭
Aww you did the right thing Srainbow! I'm so sorry! Read the poem Rainbow Bridge for pet owners that is on here ok? Hugs!
Omg lmao
I LOVE THEIR SCANNING MOVE!!! Its so funny, I love it when my rats do that
Same, I call it their "dancing" hehe!
These videos make me miss having rats. But the short life span was too painful. I will live vicariously through your videos.
Their short lifespan is easily the worst part about having rats :(
Rats, in my opinion, are the best animal to get, if you don’t like to take care of larger animals. We have 4 dogs and a cat, and so far my two rats are the funniest things alive. My family is going through a tough time and they just do the craziest things and make us laugh.
Like the time my girl Superman decided it was a great idea to hide some ice I had given to them in a glass of water in my shorts, my whole family was laugh-crying. Even me, the one with a rat stashing ice In her shorts.
Lol. Thats so great! My rats help e thru tough times too. Its great just to sit and watch them. Takes your mind off the crap.
What a great memory. Icy shorts.
Well I will prey for your family
I have two dogs and I want a rat soooooo bad!!!
They are THE BEST COMEDIANS EVER !
Thank you, Shadow The Rat, for making this video. You're the perfect rat teacher! Teaching humans one rat at a time--LOL!
Aw the new home sneezes! Those are always precious
My Double Rex named Remy. He was a happy boy and loved waging his tail. I miss him.
Thousands thanks! Youre videos touch my heart. I had rats for 14 years. But one day i decided to stop, because i couldnt bear their death anymore.
Your vids are a great chance to enjoy the life and behaviours of those cuties.
I stg, its like every rat behavior is like "oh this means they love you or want attention but it can also could mean that they want to kill you and are plotting your death this very moment" 😂😂😂
The tail wagging is adorable. One of my babies, chonk/hazel will wag her lil tail when she's being pet and she's very happy, it makes my day.
Some of my rats "potato sleep" in their food bowl when it's empty and it's so cute! My shy girl Gears dose it a lot.
I call it a ‘ half roll-over’ . It’s very cute!
im so glad you mentioned head swaying, i got two new boys last week and noticed my white haired pink eyed boy was swaying his head and like you said, i worried that it was something neurological. happy to know its totally normal :)
My dad: * hates rats *
Me: DAD CAN WE GET A RAT??
Dad: no.
Me: *Goes to ShadowTheRat.*
Ratty Raterson rats*
My dad did the same thing, but my mom got me one. He ended up being the one to bring home my second one a few days later
If you ever get a rat remember to get two or more
Same thing but with my mom.
The first time I saw the tail wagging was with my first rat it was the most hilarious thing I'd ever seen. 1 of my girls also used to sleep in the small food bowl on her face under her it was so damn cute
Natalie Scadden one of my rats, Bobby, will wag his tell when you pet him...and he sleeps in a ball and holds his tail in his little paws😂
Julie Bitton that sounds so adorable 🤣
Natalie Scadden it is the cutest thing you will ever see
Julie Bitton Omg my albino mice do the same thing and it’s so cute
I saw mine doing it and I thought she was trying to de-glove and I freaked out🤣
I’m so glad you mentioned about the swaying. I used to think it meant my rat had a brain tumor and was having balance problems!
My mom goes in my room sometimes and she'll notice that their food dish has been empty for days and she'll freak out. Then I show her the hoarded pile and laugh lol💖
Thank God I was so worried when my new rat started sneezing. He also sneezes when I show him new things but he doesn't sneeze in his cage any longer so that's a relief
Soo cute!! My rats (Cap, Bucky and Tony) always sleep in this potato position and it's so cute! I just love them
I had no idea rats had zoomies too, that's too cute.
Rattie vs Sock. The battle of the century
The rats are so cute
i have two rats and they’re sisters so i was giving food to one of them today and she brought it to her sis and came back! it was so cute❤️
I'd love to see the the process of introducing the little babies to the old ratties 💕 Your girls are so cute!
I had a swaying rat once! It was cute when I had music on and the rhythm was just right for him to (inadvertently) sway to.
the new home sneezes thing was so so so relieving me, i was thinking it might’ve just been environmentally stress and this confirmation was great lol!! i was gonna take him to the vet soon, but i think i’ll wait a bit longer since i got him less than a week ago!
One of my favourite things is when they sleep with their face flat on the floor. It's so derpy and adorable
I've been so worried because my new babies have all been sneezing and have had some mucus around their eyes. This is such a lifesaver, I've been freaking out.
The head swaying is so cute it looks like they're dancing
Thanks so much on the sneezing info! My brand new rats have been sneezing but they act totally active and normal! Glad to know that they’re okay
Have you changed the bedding?
I helped with the class rats and they moved between two homes so they would sneeze when they came back. It was cute and they were ok.
They also knew words. They were equal and potty trained.
I remember we would play "I'm gonna getchu" and they would run from me, hide and then get really excited when I found them. They loved playing hide and seek too.
I mostly only just watched this for the FREAKING CUTE RATS.
They are also called ‘fancy rats’ lol!
My Jasper wags his tail too when I rub his nose and head. Its soo cool.
i got two new girlies today. one of them started sneezing once i put her in that cage. i was so worried. thank you for the information!!
Being familiar with each of these behaviors, I have to say, you are good at giving rat information (especially as young as you sound). My issue is one of my girls pees on ALL HUMANS lol.
It's great for the skin lol,
My boy Mushroom was potatoing yesterday ❤️
So my two new rats have gotten old enough to begin introducing to my three old ones. The old boys don’t seem to be bothered much by Hazel but Mushroom constantly puffs up and singles out Willow. It’s really frustrating because I feel like Hazel is ready to move onto the next step but at the same time it seems like Mushroom and Willow will never be able to be in the same space together
How old do the rats need to be before you introduce them to the three old ones? Just curious
Which one is in your PFP btw? They're a cutie!
Sans the Skeleton there isn’t a hard fast rule for age. I chose around 5 months because my older rats have a history of aggression so I didn’t want to risk them just pouncing and killing a little one. Also I choose to use young rat food so I want to be able to feed them separately until they’re old enough to eat adult food
Mushroom is in my pic :)
Lily A. U have a rat named hazel??? That’s my name 😂
Nerd Nerd noice lol😅😂
Lily A. .. we have been wanting to get a couple of females and keep them separate from our boys.. when our boys get older we want to let them mate once so we can have babies from them.. plus our Rattie Boys deserve to get to have a girlfriend once.. I just wonder how they would act after mateing then getting separated from their female.. I wonder if the boys will smell the girls when they go into heat and cause the boys to act crazy and fight each other.. I don't want my boys to get upset so I want to be careful about any situation that could be introduced.. I hafta do some homework on this before making a decision
I loved when my rats were babies cuz they'd popcorn, & it was adorable! And the boggling, omgosh!
It makes me so happy to hear you sound happy and excited! The new babies are so hecking cute!! ❤️
When my rats sleep alone they sleep puffed up in the potato position. Nacho, who is light gray/brown, looks like a hedgehog when she does that! :D Also, when I sit on the couch next to their cage she begs for food holding onto a bar with one hand and waving the other through the bars as if she was trying to grab me. It's absolutely hilarious and (spoilers from Jurassic World 2) reminds me of the hybrid dinosaur trying to grab the target through the cage bars! 😂
My ladies do that! We call it “grabby hands”
Thank you!
The example clips for "zoomies" were so stinking CUTE 😭
I'm glad I found this video!
I was so concerned when I took in two rats a week ago, they're now 6 weeks old, and since its winter and its cold and I know how easy a rodent can get the flu, I was worried that when I came home the other one started sneezing (and is still sneezing to this day even if it has been exactly 7 days now)
But I think it's just new home sneezing, the brother of that rat doesn't do it at all but the Rex one does.
This video gave me more knowledge and am now less scared but still cautious and looking if it'll go away or if I'd have to go to the vet.
Thank you for this video and the other one! They're very informative and just makes me want to learn more and more about these critters along the way!
hello , I just wanted to say thank you for all the information. I just got my first pet rat and I named him Puddles. I love him so much. I was surprised at how cuddly he is. And knowing all this stuff has really made me understand them more thank you
When my newer rat wagged her tail it was her first time in her new cage and she was super excited and had the zoomies and had just found a fruit snack 😅
I had a rat named Ralph who was the ONLY victim of being serial peed on out of my 12 rats I’ve ever had. He was... a special lad to say the least and definitely the bottom of the mischief kingdom I had!
We brought a little brown Rex home and she had new home sneezes but also a mild URI from previous bad housing. But on the bright side she LOVES baytril lol
My boys take the food out of their bowl, lift it up and stick it under it.
Sherri wags her tail a bit sometimes. She also sleeps in the most adorable little furball potato known to man 😍😍😍😍
I remember our lovable buddy bean used to do just that and run away with food I thought it was so cute thanks for sharing such a wonderful memory of our beloved buddy bean✝️🐁🕊✝️🌈🎆💔
Hand wrestling 15 baby rats at one time was one of the best experiences I ever had lol
This channel teaches me so much!
I had a rat named Rocky, and he had these weird light brown eyes. He swayed all the time!
My ratties sleep a lot like a potato😂❤ and it's so extremely cute!!😍
My rat food stole from me once 😂🤦🏻♀️ he legit opened my mouth to steal my sweet potato chip 😂
I like to hold my rat, Snow, when I'm listening to music. He's a bit of a butt though and always ends up going crazy whenever he sees my ear buds. He'll stop at nothing to get a hold of them, lol
My rats sometimes sleep playing dead, but the rest of their behavior is normal, i just think its really funny^^
2:20 Its hilarious to watch one of the rats hoard and the other just eat one by one
I just got my two rats but I thought it was kinda funny that when I was finally able to hand feed the shy-ish one (Sully) my other one (Boo) would always come up and steal the food. He is such a rascal but I love him. 😊
Thanks so much for explaining the scanning head movement!! We have new babies and one of them did it and I was a little worried. Also thanks so much for all of your videos I love them so much and you do such a great job explaining things. I can and do watch for hours :)
I just got my first pet rat and I was so worried that him spazzing out was him being sick but Nah he just has the zoomies and is popcorning around my bed.
Thank you i found exactly what i was looking for. I'm a new rat dad and my ruby eye baby head sway when im close. Was just curious as to why.
I had pet rats for maybe 15 years- I have a snake right now because I wanted to try something new, but I love watching this channel to get my "ratty fix!" My favorite rat I ever had was a big albino male I named Voltaire. He was such a sweetheart!
My black eyed rat also sways but not very often! I wondered what swaying was when he did that but I remembered from research that it wasn’t bad but I couldn’t remember what it was for! So thanks for reminding me! I love these videos btw they’re great
Omg the bandage thing, my boys go crazy when I have a bandaid on and won’t let my hand go until they rip it off lmao
Glad I watched this! My boy Zero sways a lot and he has pink eyes. I thought it was normal, but good to be assured it's normal! Also, Zero had new home sneezes when I brought him home! Also, my Jack likes to pee on poor Zero! Poor thing! Thanks for the video! Enjoyed it!
I love rats because they so clearly love you and your company. Had a few aloof rats that didn't like pets and cuddles, but even they seemed just enjoy having you about. Gosh bless rats. Also thank you for the heads up on the new place sneezes, I am forever paranoid about respratory infections, so it's good to know that sometimes they just get snuffles. That said, just want to add to anyone reading that if your rat has prolonged wheezing/lots of chest noise to check that out.
Ratties aren't for everyone.. they require so much time and attention.. we love our boys so so much.. such good, sweet natured boys
This made me miss my first pet rat Harry, he was the best and most loveable pet ever
One of my guinea pigs was sneezing nonstop when we first got him and now he’s stopped. I wonder if the new home sneezes happen to all rodents!
The sounds they make is so cute
aww potato rat that's so cute :D one of my does that too I call her the floofballl :D
I've started doubling up on cage base litter, and that has led to all kinds of 'earth moving' projects!
Including, I've started to see, the food stores opened up, which leads to a perfect little round 'hole' in the strata... and the bowl-nest underneath the water-bottle has become another piece of real-estate to fight over... it's so cool watching my boys
AWWWWW UR NEW RATTIE!!!!!!!
I love the food hoarding, it makes me realise that they have foresight into the future, they def ponder and have a huge sense of self awareness, they are Angels to me .
7:57 Why did I think of a safe with a rats head on it...
Rats are just so darn gone adorable and cute just want to cuddle with them.
haha i love shadow the rat
I have 3 Dumbo rats, they are adorable😍
Hey. I got 4 2 month old sister rats a few days ago and the three bigger ones keep "fighting" with each other. I'm a little concerned because they squeak/squeal when they and having a squable. Can you please explain the differences between play fights and proper fights or explain why it's happening?
Marnie Coutts a real fight usually draws blood. If they aren't drawing blood it's likely just a play fight! It sounds freaky sometimes when they squeal like that, but it's all part of the playing.
Jess Paige Thank You.
I have a rat that screams like a cat fight. It sounds like he is dieing but when i check him there are no owwys. I always tell him he is over-reacting. Lol. I have had to learn that he is ok and they are having fun.
Over time he doesnt scream as much anymore. Just a lot of squeaks now.
My littlest rat pancake will yell if anyone touches him while he's eating 😂 and I freak out everytime he does it😂
Sometimes at night my girls play fight and the noises make me worry sometimes.I usually realize it’s just a play fight but I understand.Most likely you’re dealing with play fighting.If you’re seriously concerned you can just yell at them😂.It usually works for me!
All of these are me.
I shake my foot when I’m happy, I steal food from others, I hoard food from others so they don’t find it, and yeah XDD
Just came here from s'mores first training session *oreo got so big in that vid*
Your absolutely amazing I've never in my life seen rats so happy
How beautiful the love they have for
Thankyou for making the world feel that bit softer.
Love Australia
Every rat I've owned has always gone after my false nails and socks, not bandaids haha
Is it more common for pink or ruby eyed rats to be more frightful or easily startled? I have two boys about 3 months old, both ruby eyes and they're just petrified by the slightest movements and sounds and it's concerning to me. My late rat, allistor was just the complete opposite of these two and I'm trying to figure out if it's just their personality or if it's anything I can help
Thanks for this video. About the head weaving... we do that as humans when we want to hear where a sound is coming from. We get a message from each ear & "triangulate" the source. My little one has bad eyesight & does it all the time. Maybe she's doing the Sonic thing that Bats do? Who knows? They talk in a frequency that is way above our hearing (but they always let you know what's going on). Thanks again for your video.
Uneven/dry skin? Welp....Looks like im not owing rats anytime soon...(has psoriasis)
Aww how about trying mice? Check out CreekValleyCritters for cute mouse care
Yes mice are great I’ve got seven females they are full of character for such little things and you can get a few as they are smaller than rats they are very entertaining to watch very smart too they get bored with the same thing
Oh geez, thank you 🙏🏻! I just got baby rats about a week and a half ago- Two Albino sweethearts, as those are the only rats allowed in Alaska. On boy was doing the swaying thing and I was freaking out in my head….what you said makes sense! He is the shyer of the two so it makes sense! I finally got him eating baby food off of my had today! His brother has been much more adventurous and we’re working on him getting used to me picking him up from overhead. I’m super excited about my babies. Your videos have helped me so much already! Thank you 😊
Could you make a video about rescuing feeder rats? I’ll be a first time rat owner soon, but none of the pet stores in my area carry rats. The only store the carries rats carries them as feeders, and I don’t know how to pick them out/ if theres a different way to care for them. Thank you!
I know craigslist is commonly discouraged for buying pets, but I don't think you can get any worse than feeders from a pet store. You can be 100% certain that your money will go towards supporting rodent mills. On craigslist, this risk exists as well, but it is a lot smaller.
Petfinder often has rescue rats available too. They also commonly have babies from accidental litters, or from people who accidentally bought a pregnant rat out of a feeder bin (since those stores often don't separate males and females).
If you haven't already, you can also search for breeders (often called "rattery") in your area. Especially since you'll be a first time owner, it would be preferable for you to get well bred rats from a breeder that selects for the tamest temperament. You may have noticed that Shadow has a lot about "taming" rats on her channel, but this is a step that you can almost completely skip if you get them from a good breeder, who will have already done this for you.
All my rats have been feeders because there’s no one who breed them (that I know of) and you just need to be more patient with them and train them to like people. You need to take a few minutes to view the stores feeders and decide if they aren’t Sick but sometimes you can’t tell till you take them home. Make sure they don’t have bugs as well and yeah, just be patient.
Like dogs, don't get a 'pure bred', bush rats are survivors, very hardy, the more 'mongerel' they are the better.
this is such a cute video!! i got my first rats, my boys mochi and queso, a few weeks ago and ive seen a few of these behaviors, but i cant wait until i am acquainted enough with them to play like you showed. so adorable!!
I have a rat that has one black eye and one red eye also she scans a lot
Macy Mann my boo boo Maurice has black eyes but in the dark his eyes look red
Julie Bitton that’s cool my friends rat have eyes like that
My boy Dobby is such a lil weirdo and I love it. He also sleeps in potato position and he's the most playful rat I've ever had. He zooms and twitches and popcorns every time I play with him and he loves chewing my nails and pulling my hair. He also sways with his whole body instead of his head which is kind of adorable. His appearance doesn't help his case either. He's a nakey with huge dumbo ears that are more curved than circular, with curly white peach fuzz covering his body and curled whiskers. He looks and acts like such a dork. I adore him. 💕