@TwinkiBH
I am actually super proud of how I am doing with my first rats, I watched a lot of your videos and other rat care videos, and any amount of money I got I spent on them, I made sure they have a critter nation, and its full, I make sure to free roam them, and even train them, I am so glad my first rats get the life they deserve!
@Creatureexotics
After several years keeping rats, I ended up rehoming my final two girls to an NFRS breeder who is keeping them as pet only with her group. I couldn’t cope with the persistent illness and short life span any more after losing 9 over the years. They will ALWAYS have a special place in my heart and I miss them so much but I know for me, such short lifespans often with a number of illnesses (not to mention thousands over the years in vet bills!) just isn’t for me and I’ll do better mentally with longer-lived pets ❤
@Rekuzan
Never leave anything hanging within reach of the cage cuz they'll pull it through the bars and chew it up! Brand new pair of jeans, too...
@louisefox5666
i think i did the exact same as you, i bought a ferplast cage had two rats and then freaked out trying to find more when one died i'd never even heard of rolling groups, i then upgraded to two ferplasts stacked with very little in it, i then got a petplanet which i love btw and have managed to fit a deep perspex base into it. The things i wish i knew: i fell dow the fleece as bedding trap, i did lots of research and concluded that it was economical, sustainable and safe, let me tell you, ammonia control is non - existant and allows for no digging, 3, i had no idea hormonal aggression was a thing 3, i didn't realise the importance of finding a rat savvy vet, 4, i didn't realise the heart break it would cause, i obviously knew about the short lifespan but my first pair of rats i had one turned out to be my heart rat, when Bear died, i was absolutely heart broken, i cried myself to sleep for days afterwards, i just was not prepared for it
@Sproutsexotics
Even though you’ve stopped owning rats now your videos are still a godsend, I don’t have rats yet but I was this close to using fleece bedding and just having a dig box. Now I’m using Perspex trays and coco fiber throughout it so they can dig and the ammonia smell is controllable :3
@ewwwe
i was so lucky to happen to go to an absolutely lovely breeder with the sweetest lil ratties, they were cared for very lovingly and u could tell she wanted the best for every lil baba rat. i miss them so much :c
@rowdyrats7035
My cage at first was a bit bare, mostly because the local pet stores don't offer much for rats. I now order a lot of my stuff from stores outside of my country, along with food, because there are no good quality mixes here and making my own was too difficult because I couldn't find all the right ingredients. I wish someone had told me how in love I will fall with these animals and just how much it will hurt to lose them. Losing a heart rat is like losing a piece of myself. I lost my heart rat last night. My Olly boy had pituitary tumor and even though I noticed the signs basically right away and we went to the vet yesterday to get the meds for it to possibly have more time together, he ended up suddenly going downhill at night. Saturday morning he was still walking, could eat solid foods, had a good appetite and he was like that the whole day. I went to sleep, woke up around 2am and went to check the rats and found him in the middle of passing away. I picked him up and held him on my chest and in 10 or so minutes he was gone. He would have been 19 months this month and I feel like I failed him. Seeing the cage with just my 3 boys hurts so much right now.
@Rekuzan
I had a hyper-active chaos tato once and that little guy just would NOT stop moving most of the time and there's a reason I called him Spaz... Once you got him settled down though, he was very cuddley!
@antsy._.artist778
I don't think rats are necessarily a long term commitment, as long as you have a plan for how things will end. Personally, I have wanted rats for a long time, but this is my final 3-4 year gap where I don't have plans that will prevent getting pets. I'm picking up 3 baby girls in a few weeks, and my plan for when they get older is to re-home them once one dies and the other two are getting older (not too old though). I'm planning on giving them to a friend of mine who has rats herself and is keeping a rolling group for the foreseeable future. If something changes between now and then, the place I adopted them from would also be willing to put them back into their group of rats. Even if you keep a group rolling, it's going to end one way or another. The key thing is making sure it ends in a way that keeps the rat's happy and healthy ❤
@kennie1814
thanks for all the helpful advice! currently watching this while cuddled up with my baby ratties Lilly, Sunny and Prim :3
@roxannalancaster9866
I had no idea that rat climb all over the wire cage. Then I decided to move the cage and the whole wall was full of urine.
@ご飯を盛る人
I agree with you 100% on the things you wish you’d known before getting rats. Three more things that I’d add to this list would be… (1) their 💩 smells quite bad. I do spot cleaning twice daily, complete aspen bedding change weekly and deep cleaning monthly. Yet the room still smells to some degree. 😢 (2) you can’t (shouldn’t) wear anything nice around them because they chew on your clothes and make holes everywhere. 😂 (3) some rats try to (and do) escape no matter how well your playpen enclosure is built. 🐀💨💨 So I pretty much gave up and gave my entire room as their free roam area. 🙄 I have to watch them closely when they are free roaming. I hope they are not peeing/pooping somewhere I don’t know (a toilet with litters provided in the room). I have three boys and they are more work than having a dog… just in my opinion. 😂 ❤🐀❤
@HissNHer
I wanted rats for many years however never followed through with actually getting some. As much as I love them, because of my current animals I do not have the time or space. My focus is now mainly on my reptiles. I think the main thing that put me off was having to source new rats constantly as you said. All of my reptiles are solitary so this suits me better! For this reason I subscribe to a few channels including yours for a rat fix instead!
@Aimee0206
I don't own rats, but one thing I wish I knew before owning my guinea pigs is that there is no perfect way to care for them (or any animal, really) Food - There is no perfect way to feed them. There's a set diet guide for guinea pigs of course - 80% hay, 15% vegetables, 5% pellets or something similar (since some people choose to go for 90% hay, or choose not to feed pellets). But my mum prepares my guinea pig's vegetables a week in advance and sorts them into little lunch boxes so that I can easily give them out each day, I can't think of anyone else that does that. The brand and type of hay I feed is probably different to what others feed, same with the pellets. I give my guinea pigs their pellets via enrichment whereas someone else might give them via a bowl or scatter feeding. I give my pigs their hay in huge piles in a lessmess haykeeper, whereas someone else might give them a pile in the centre of their cage, a hay bag, or a hay rack. Enclosure - There is no perfect enclosure for guinea pigs. There's size guides and guides on where to house them, but what I do might be different to someone else. Hell, I might even see the size guides differently to someone else - someone might think it's okay to house 2 guinea pigs in a 2 x 4, whereas I see 2 guinea pigs in a 2 x 5 as 'my' minimum. Bedding - There is no perfect bedding for guinea pigs. There's guides on what's safe and what's not, but again, what I do might be different to someone else. I choose to keep mine on fleece for 2x4 of their enclosure and teabag bedding on the other 2x2, someone else might choose 100% fleece, 100% woodshavings, 100% paper or mixes of different types. Water - There is no perfect way to provide water to guinea pigs. I choose to give mine a water dish as I just feel it works better for us. Someone else might find that a water bottle works better for them. There's SO many different ways to care for animals, and so long as you're at least providing everything the animal needs to be happy and healthy, whichever way you choose to care for them is completely okay! I'm sick of people expecting pet owners to fit into boxes and have everyone follow very strict guidelines when it's just not feasible for everyone. I used to cry because I couldn't find a good seed-based for my hamsters when I had them because I just couldn't afford them (the prices were absolutely ridiculous - something like £60 for 2kg of food), but if I were to have them again, I'd be more than happy with feeding them something like Science Selective pellets with things like seed sprays or forage mixes on top of that.
@134Cam-w4l
Today we just sent out our paperwork and info to an amazing breeder we are so happy and can’t wait! Hoping the momma gives birth tonight. She’s 21 days pregnant ❤️
@reevaknight7994
I’m still a new rat owner. Only had my 4 boys for a few months. I have done the cardinal sin and bought them from pets at home ☹️. However I would not trade them for the world. I will def be looking into a breeder next time 100%. I’ve learned a lot from your channel and a lot of others. They are on a mix I make myself, they have a huge critter nation double cage, I have them with hemp bedding and a dig box. I have some Perspex too (which I need to recut myself as I can’t measure apparently lol). I also made a playpen for them, which I sit in with them. I’m trying to think of more enrichment for them. Down side of getting them from a pet shop, they really don’t like to be touched… like at all. I’ve been working on them daily and they are getting there. They are still my sweethearts and like to be around me even if they are ‘no touchie’. I feel this all would have taken me years to learn without videos like this out there.
@jabooschannel4882
They are so cute! I LOVE YOU SM
@Dressagio
Unexpectedly lost one of my boys a couple weeks ago and was left with a lone rat, similar to your situation (they were my first). Went ahead and rescued two more that I thought were boys, turns out they’re tiny malnourished females… got my boy neutered as it was the quickest way for him to have friends. He’s recovering great & will be starting intros with them all next week. They are in the same room and have met through the bars & seem very eager to know each other so I’m sure it will go well. Mine is a large potato and the girls are incredibly active so I’m not seeing a clash of dominant personalities which is great. If I do decide to have a rolling group I’ll likely continue with females or neutered males, was dreading doing intros with intact boys but now I might not have to!🤣
@EKaye-ht6hx
Could you do a storytime sortbof video comparing your experience getting rats from the first breeder vs you choosing a more ethical breeder and the red flags you'd walk away from now?
@Eternatease