The differences between male and female rats:

You all seem to appreciate Buu’s polite hands and general roundness too and I wanted to share one of her happy moments :)

She bit me!!! She stole a treat without doing her trick!!! Shame her!!!!

Our sweet old lady is at the vet today for a recheck. She has a pituitary tumor that is under control with treatment, and some mammary masses. She gets to enjoy all the treats she wants at this stage of life. This time it's some delicious apple crisp.

Thank you to everyone who helped us meet our donation match last week! We've been quiet on here, but we are so appreciative of your support. We are still operating in a deficit, but some of the immediate strain has been relieved.

✨We are always in need of funds✨

V3NMO: @ratwaysanctuary

P4yPal: RatWaySanctuary@gmail.com

More donation options and shop at www.ratwaysanctuary.org

He was very seeby

Last pic is how he looks now. Barely any hair and pretty skinny, but still a very happy mobile old man who LOVES giving kisses. He's still just a sweet baby boy 🥹

Mushroom is the white and tan one Truffle is the white and brown-grey one

They got many treats in their last few days, including chocolate, caramel, and butterscotch sauces, yogurt with honey, beef soup, chicken pot pie, rat treats mixed into a paste, bananas, and other food they wouldn’t usually get, and foods they would get in the daily.

They were both 2.5 yrs old. We had to put them down due to quality of life concerns and cancers.

Truffle had huge tumors on her that prevented her from walking well.
Mushroom had a few small tumors and had either a stroke or a brain tumor that caused her to not be able to walk or have any strength.
They have never been separated from each other for more than a few hours at a time.

I miss them. They were a part of my everything.
The other three rats will have a hard next few days/weeks. I will give them treats.

Hi all! Yesterday I adopted this gorgeous girl and her buddy from someone on a local rat FB group who couldn't keep them. Basil here is absolutely stunning. I'm curious what her color might be. Her buddy's a Russian blue and much darker. I asked the previous owner but she didn't know. I'm wondering if maybe she's a silvermane? I doubt Roan because she's a year and a half and I imagine she'd be lighter? Also I'm in Ohio and haven't heard of any roan rats around here.

It’s been almost 4 months since I lost Captain. He’s the only rat who hasn’t gotten a memorial post so here it is. He had “”behavioral issues”” and got returned to his Virginia rescue. A couple weeks after I brought him home he bit me and dug those teeth IN to my hand (I still have the scar). But he came so so far, becoming kissy and mellow and silly spunky post-neuter. He was fucking massive, but it was all muscle. He had a very wide and pronounced head and I loved giving him scritchies behind his ears. He was the peacemaker between his strange and off-putting brother Melon and his diva dominant buddy Papaya. Can you tell that he was just so unbelievably full of personality?

Our most special time together came during the last six months of his life, after Papaya and Melon passed. He lived an amazing 3 years and 1 month. Captain had full hind leg paralysis for the last 5-6 months of his life, but he was an unbelievable trooper and to this day I don’t understand how he was able to slither so fast across the carpet. Near the end of his life, I would “wheelbarrow” him by picking up his hind legs and he would Nyoom so fast I was tripping over myself on my knees following him. I cleaned him daily, gave him as much food as he wanted (he would eat in a really slow old man way for literally 45 mins at a time, laying on his side so he could hold the food), and he rewarded me with constant kisses and cuddles and gentle little boggles. The end of his life was hard, but I’m proud of the choices I made and listening when he told me it was time. He was so strong and fearless and resilient. I miss you, Captain.

Scroll to see captain go from Scrungly 3 year old to very handsome 1 year old

This is Chubs. He’s sleeping in his litterbox, covered in food dust.

hiya guys!

i just wanted to start this with the fact that i am devastated. i rehomed an old, lone boy a month-ish ago. he came with abscesses, but i was told they weren’t contagious and he came with antibiotics. i finished his treatment and 2 week quarantine, then introduced him to my mischief.

long story short: my whole mischief now has abscesses. when i discovered the lumps on my other boys, i separated the lone boy again in a panic until we figured out what it was. i have had them tested at the vets and the results have come back today. they have klebsiella.

i am absolutely devastated. all i wanted to do was give a lone boy a good home and to be with friends again. i now feel as though i’ve let down my original boys.

i am waiting to collect the antibiotics from my vets tomorrow (they were not available today) but i am so worried about going forward and have some questions:

1. do i re-introduce the lone boy to the rest of the mischief again during treatment? they all tested positive anyway, and i still don’t want the old boy to be alone.

2. do i take the boys down to a hospital cage? no bedding, no hammocks? only things that can be wiped and sterile for two weeks until the course of antibiotics is done and they can be tested again.

3. is there a way out of this? or is it true that it will be with them forever.

i would really just like to hear other people’s experiences with this and give me some hope. i feel devastated for my boys. they are my world and i lost my heart rat unexpectedly during this time - i really don’t want to lose any more.

also, i have been on a waiting list with a breeder for a long time for my dream rats. they have been born and i was supposed to be due to pick them up mid-late november. is this a definite no-no now? or is there a possibility that i can treat, clear the infection and introduce my boys to new friends.

thank you in advance. from a sad rat mum 🥺 this is just a random picture from early intro stages previously.

ugh ignore my baby talk but UGH he’s so adorable i’m gonna cry

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BABIES

Goose and Pidgey keeping me company on my day off.

my bf and i are going through our first rat death and its so heartbreaking, we have already cried so much. her name is shadow and she was only about 6 months old. we got her from a breeder in june with two of her sisters.

she came down with a uri and i should have taken her to the vet immediately. i cleaned the cage and ran a steamy shower for her to breathe in, hoping it would get better. we put these drops in their water that are supposed to help with sniffles. one night suddenly she just had no energy with squinty eyes and puffy fur. i think it turned into pneumonia? i did not realize how quickly they can go downhill. or how well they hide their pain. i feel like a terrible rat mommy, she was supposed to have much more time with us. i dont know why i didnt take her to the vet asap. we booked an appointment for her when we saw how bad she looked but it was too late. she passed away the next morning.

i know blaming myself does no good, but it's so difficult not to when she depended on me. boyfriend buried her with some of her favorite treats and toys and marked her resting place with some stones.

this will definitely be a learning experience for us. i'm taking our remaining 4 girls to the vet this week to be proactive. im so sorry shadow. mama loves you.

as you can see from the first photo, he is trying to deny it. but this seems to be clear evidence of his guilt 🐁🚨

Ralph’s highest weight was 627g but he has gone down to 578, which I’m super proud of him for! His most healthiest weight is around 550g which is the goal.

Being over 2 years old, lazy, neutered, the dominant rat out of the group who likes to steal his cage mate’s food, dieting has not been easy for this boy.

This first one is Nubby but we call him Nubbaz almost exclusively and he even has started responding to his name. He was born with a slightly docked tail and missing front right hand. Watching him romp through life and terrorize his brothers brings me so much joy. I will post some better pictures of him and will be making a post about his brothers. The trio were a gift from our niece. See Nubbaz above enjoying a nib of homemade shortbread and my unshaved second neck. His brothers will make an appearance soon. Hopefully with less neck and more rat.

Video for rat tax. No disturbing behavior or illness is depicted in the video.

My sweet baby Summer started circling and falling over last night. Got her to a vet this morning and they think it's an inner ear infection.

Poor baby has had a very stressful day and so have I. This is my third time bringing home rats and not once have I gotten away without a medical emergency. Summer at least gave me a couple of weeks to get my hopes up. 😅

Please wish her a speedy recovery so we can get on with intros and I can get her and her sister in with the big girls.