The BRODENTS! Rodent Enthusiast Thread! V2

[Angelus Gaston]

Hello!

Im getting rats! ! I'm so excited! My plan is to get at least a male and a female but I might do one extra any males are getting neutered of course. I have done a lot of research and I have a nice cage picked out (and many many toys and hides), its called the Midwest Deluxe Critter Nation single level.

How may rats can that comfortably accommodate? And will my female rat be ok when I take the male to get neutered or should they both visit the vet together?

I have that exact cage for my two girls and can safely say that it's more than enough room for 2 rats. Looking at it now, it's probably large enough to house up to 5 rats??
There's enough open space to add another DYI deck (from cardboard perhaps) and some hammocks which should keep your ratties entertained.

As for keeping a female and neutered male together, just make sure you keep them separated for over a month after the male has been neutered. They would still try to mate during that time, and pregnancy is a possibility for several weeks after neutering.

Sure! Thank you so much my plan is to try and neuter him before he's sexually matured so maybe I won't need to worry so much about keeping them apart, but I'll for sure talk to my vet too to make sure. Thanks for your response! I really appreciate it

Rats can be sexually mature as young as 5 weeks in males so by the time you get them he would be able to breed. I got a pair of female rats from rescue and about a week later we had a litter of babies (I wasn't happy about that) turns out the rescue thought they had all females and left a male in with his sisters before they realised it was a male (when he matured).
We always separated the males from the females at 5 weeks so we are sure we had no unwanted litters.
So just to be safe I would keep them separate to make sure they don't breed.

[Romba]

Rats can be sexually mature as young as 5 weeks in males so by the time you get them he would be able to breed. I got a pair of female rats from rescue and about a week later we had a litter of babies (I wasn't happy about that) turns out the rescue thought they had all females and left a male in with his sisters before they realised it was a male (when he matured).
We always separated the males from the females at 5 weeks so we are sure we had no unwanted litters.
So just to be safe I would keep them separate to make sure they don't breed.

Ohh sure that makes sense! Thank you, I understand that. If my female is pregnant on accident from where I get her (which is a breeder, Im assuming he keeps males and females separated) would she need to be separated from any other females if I decide to get multiple?

[CharlotteHumphrey]

Username: CharlotteHumphrey
Favorite type of rodent: I’ve never had any, but I’m going to say rats
Tell us about your pets: I have a Syrian hamster called Flynn, and a mouse called Jasper
Other:

[Lord Apollo]

I got a hamster recently and I just HAD to share her!
Her name is Pea and she's a Syrian.

This is my first hammy and I'm so excited to share my home with her! I think she's adorable and I hope she's happy with me.

[vein]

It has been a while since I've posted here!!

An update, I suppose:
-My partner and I have 3 rats; Jackson, Worm, and Monty.
-All 3 boys know 'spin' as a trick! They're very talented.
-No girls as of now, but that will change eventually.

Sooo... there's an issue that I'd like advice on.
Jackson lost his cagemate a few months ago, so we're working on introductions with the babies. They're all doing amazing and are about ready to be combined, but Jackson has a fungal infection and we can't house them together until it clears up, so the babies stay in a temporary cage for now. Herein lies the issue.
Jackson's cage has 1/2" bars and theirs has 1" bars. Worm is a very small man and can squeeze through them easily. There have been quite a few moments coming back into the room where he's jumped onto some furniture or was on the floor. Whenever we leave the room he goes into his travel cage, but it's not exactly ideal to be seperating him and Monty for hours at a time. Monty gets stressed when Worm is out of the cage and chews on the bars (he does this when it gets quiet as well). We tried throwing a blanket on top of the cage, which worked for a while, but Worm figured out he can pull it in and then climb out anyway.
So I guess I'm looking for advice for both of them.

What can we do to keep Worm in the cage, and what can we try to keep Monty from chewing on the cage bars?

[Foxes81_of_Anime]

Username: Foxes81
Favorite type of rodent: Rats
Tell us about your pets: Well, I have two rats, Squirmy and Banana, both boys. Squirmy seems to be more dominant however.
Other:

[ariaz]

Username: aephon
Favorite type of rodent: hamster, gerbil, guinea pig
Tell us about your pets: i currently do not have any rodents but i am getting gerbils next week, i have booked a pair of brothers at a breeder. they are argente cream and agouti!
Other:

[{smug lemon}]

Username: {smug lemon}
Favorite type of rodent: HAMSTERS <3, rats <3, mice, guinea pigs
Tell us about your pets: Last month I got Pancake, the sweetest, cutest, fluffiest hamster and loudest runner in the world! He loves pumpkin seeds (as treats), he's very food oriented to be honest. He's very skittish when I'm not holding food, but I'm working on the hard job to tame him and I know it'll all be worth it!

Other:

[iHolli]

Username: iHolli
Favorite type of rodent: Rats <33333
Tell us about your pets: I currently don't have any, but I'm making preparations for a new mischief now that warm weather is returning!
Other: Rats have been my heart and soul for almost exactly a decade. My first boys, Remy and Bowser, were bought suddenly on a whim but I was fortunate to have rat people around me. Ten years later I'm a little wiser and a lot more experienced 😂 I've owned thirty rats total [22 at once when I took in an entire family a couple years ago. I don't recommend that LMAO] and my last little one, Apollo, passed in October. I can't wait to have rats again-- every account I follow on Instagram is rats so I've had the worst rat fever lmao.
Here's some of my babies-- my favorite picture of young Remy and Bowser, and some of my other boys, Billie Joe and my heart rat Bad Cop <3

{This is also why I'm posting here for the first time. I've sort of fumbled my way around various foods and cage setups for years but now that I'm living in my own home and have the money for it I'm digging hardcore into a full cage remodel and way better food. What do all the fellow rat owners recommend? I've been researching homemade food recipes, the best material for litter, and general accessories for the cage. I'd love to know what you all use and what works best!}
{I'm especially concerned about the litter since rats are so sensitive to dust. So far the best recommendation I've found is for Yesterday's News non clumping paper litter.}
{and one more. I'm trying to find new shelves for my cage [it's a Ferret Nation, I got it from the person who owned the rat family so it's just what I have sdhdjkv] and I cannot find the shelves ANYWHERE. Even Amazon doesn't have them... and much as I hate Amazon they're the only seller of any CN parts at all.}

.Holli.

[orpheus.]

Username: orpheus.
Favorite type of rodent: rats, mice and hamsters.
Tell us about your pets: i currently have 6 female rats, they're all sisters and i got them in june last year. their names are; ada, cleo, kiwi, cinders, mabel and suki. it's my first time ever owning them but i did my research beforehand (they're kitted out in a massive cage and are quite happy) and i'm loving it so far!
Other: the gang
mabel cleo suki cinders ada kiwi