Read it here -

https://online.fliphtml5.com/stormhavenrattery/Ratilicious-Magazine-July-2026-Issue-6/

I made them an extra hammock with a towel and now i want to level up. Lol. What kind of rat items are easy to DIY?

Feat. Barnaby

(Not my picture, taken from google)

Manx rats are a variety of fancy rat bred to have no tail. "Manx syndrome" is a term used to describe genetic deformities that cause animals to be born without or with reduced tails, including in cats and rats. This can be caused by several genetic factors and is often associated with health problems.

TAILESSNESS IS A MAJOR DISABILITY IN RATS. It effects their quality of life in multiple ways;

Rats use their tails for balance and stability.

Rats without tails need extra platforms and padding in their environments because they are prone to falls. They also can't use their tail to adjust themselves in the air when they do fall, leading to a higher likelihood of injury. Falls are especially dangerous for Manx rats because they are prone to spinal deformity. A fall could lead to paralysis or death much more easily than in a normal rat. This obviously limits their ability to play and socialise. As well as engage in natural behaviours like swimming and climbing.

Rats use their tails for thermoregulation.

Tailess rats require carefully managed temperatures in their environment because they can't manage their own body heat effectively. Rats can't pant or sweat, so they use their tails to control body temperature by increasing or restricting blood flow, losing or gaining heat as needed. Without tails, they are at greater risk of heatstroke or hypothermia.

They can have difficulty socialising.

Tailess rats may also face rejection or misplaced aggression from the colony because they can't communicate as effectively.

Any rat owner is familiar with how rats use their tails to communicate happiness, playfulness, fear, comfort, aggression, submission, etc. (Happy tail wags anyone?)

There are many health issues associated with the tailess gene.

Manx rats are predisposed to life-threatening blockages in the digestive and urinary systems due to difficulty excreting waste. They are prone to Megacolon, which is a disorder of the large intestine that causes painful gas buildup, faecal impaction, and abnormal extension of the abdomin. Bowel perforation and sepsis are major risks with this condition.

Congenital tailessness is a spinal deformity. Rats have up to 31 vertebrae in their tails. The Manx gene prevents most of these vertabrae from forming and leads to compression and fusing of the remaining caudal (tail) vertebrae. This puts pressure on the spinal cord and nerve endings, which can cause difficulty in locomotion, urination, defecation, partial or full paralysis, and chronic nerve pain.

Urethral malformation is also common in Manx rats. This can cause incontinence and difficulty urinating. The inability to effectively eliminate urine causes UTIs, which are life-threatening in rats.

I hope this information has been informative and that I have shown that the intentional breeding of animals with a deformity that affects their quality of life is unethical.

Yes, Manx rats are cute. And no, not every Manx rat will have these problems. In fact, most may lead completely normal lives with no issues. However, is it really worth risking the health and well-being of these animals for the sake of cuteness? Rats are animals, not accessories. If animal welfare is important to you, then Manx rats should not be bred, bought, or sold intentionally.

It's important to remember that rats can be born tailless without intentional breeding. Rats can also lose their tails due to other factors. Some people may have bought one without knowing about the issues with Manx rats or they recued one. So please be kind and don't assume someone knowingly purchased a Manx rat or supports unethical breeding. Education is better than aggression.

TLDR: Manx rats are intentionally bred with a life limiting disability and major health issues and are therefore unethical to breed, buy, or sell.

Hiya can someone please give me some links on rat cages uk preferably under 200 if not up to 300 is fine for 4 males if it has clear pay aswell that would be absolutely amazing if not don't worry

Idk if it should be under discussion or education bc I wanna learn how to make my rats happier. I have 2 cages, one for boys one for girls, the boys new eachother before we got them and the girls knew eachother the boys and girls dont know eachother, they see eachother but have never been within like a foot of eachother. The girls are albino (not important i dont thinm they are just adorable) like i said they are also family so peggy(the oldest/grandma) then there's her daughter maggy (middle/daughter/mum) then there ziggy (youngest/daughter/granddaughter) anywayyyyy. I got the boys a little while ago, Late last year/ early this year I can't remember but we (my family) were giving them attention, pets, treats all the time but ofc treats only when they can have them. Then it kinda just stopped, idk i guess life got busy i feel really bad about it my mum does a bit too (im only 15 so yeah I live with my parents) I think my dad does too but idk, they are technically his rats (the boys and the girls) but he just didn't seem interested in them anymore. Then it went back an forth between alot of attention and next to none for a while. Then we got the girls, they all started having attention, pets and treats alot again (ofc treats only when they can) but the girls getting a bit more attention because we thought one of them was pregnant (she wasnt/isnt) and because they were new to the house so we wanted to make sure they were okay especially because they aren't the only animals we have. Fast forward to the past month maybe a bit more, before the judging gets to harsh, I gave them attention as much as possible, yeah not as much as they should of had but as much as I could since my mental health started going down again. Now i feel really bad bc im the main one giving them attention even tho there are 2 other people in the house, they get taken care of, fed, treats, water, attention, they get cleaned out once a week so dont worry about that but I feel like their cages could use a little bit more idk what word to use but we will go with character im not really sure. Anything cheap idh would be great maybe some homemade stuff just anything that can make them seem less bored because all they do is sleep and eat, thats pretty much it

Anything is helpful so please say whatever u thing I can try to do

His name is Dinky 💖

I just love this little girls face.

r/StormHavenRattery

Five weeks ago, we adopted three pet rats: Macey, Milo and Riley. They came from a home where, in our opinion, they had not been well cared for. Their cage and relaxing areas were extremely dirty and we believe they received very little attention.

Before we got them, we could see on the photos the previous owners showed us, that Riley had a bump on his head that looked like a tumor, so I immediately called a vet and he believed he could operate it.

The day after we brought them home, we sadly had to have Riley euthanized. He had a massive tumor, so large it almost looked like he had a second head.

The vet told us there was nothing more that could be done for him. For it was really way to large right now. He asked why the previous owners had not been to a vet, as Riley must have suffered quite a long time. The vet got so mad, especially when we told him that they said they did not have the money for it, it would have been around 100 euros 😡.

The euthanasia was very distressing and did not go well. Riley squeaked and screamed loudly, while Macey and Milo were sitting nearby in their travel carrier. They almost certainly heard it and may have seen part of it as well.

Ever since, we've wondered whether this experience affected them. They now live in a larger, clean cage with multiple levels, plenty of hiding places, toys, and several food and water stations. They both eat well and are curious when we're nearby.

However, we're worried about a few things:

Macey always bites.

They spend much less time together than they did at first. Milo usually stays on a different level from Macey and they now started sleeping separately. They have the occasional fight. That does not look OK.

And Milo does not climb to the upper and lower levels of the cage.

They urinate and poop all over the cage and don't seem to use one place as a toilet.

They do not play with the things we bought and show no interest in toys.

Macey now spends almost all of her time inside a cardboard chew house (she seems to love that) we bought a couple of days ago.

Has anyone experienced similar behavior with rescued rats from a difficult background?

Is this normal after only 5 weeks?

Could losing Riley and everything they've been through be affecting them?

We'd really appreciate advice on helping them trust us, teaching Macey not to bite, encouraging them to be more active, and helping them feel comfortable together again. And even tips to help with peeing and pooping in a seperate toilet instead of all over all the levels and places in the cage.

Thank you so much for any advice.

PS so sorry 4 this LONG story.

My old rat butternut (tan and white rat) who's sister acorn died last month, is 3.5 years old and has uterine cancer. We are not sure how long she will be with us but we have made an end of life care plan with the vet and decided under which circumstances to euthanize. For now she has been introduced to Carrot and Sweetpea (both 8 months old).

They are now besties swapping mischief methods.

Someone in one of the rat groups I'm in online, suggested that I sit with my back to the cage and let the rats come to me. And Barnaby went onto mu shoulder for the first time!

The dark brown/ black rat was really nervous around me for a while now. But he's really starting to open up to me. My boyfriend started giving him belly rubs to get him used to being touched and he absolutely loves them. Also the white with dark markings, mochi loves being petted and getting belly rubs as well.

So, whoever suggested the open door cage thing, thank you!

I've also been able to start training Barnaby (the dark one) to not nip quite so much. I do still occasionally get a nip, but he's learning that it isn't okay. Gentle nipples are fine and that's mostly what he's been doing now.

I met up with [u/bougie-trashpanda](u/bougie-trashpanda) in Hoboken and took the poor baby to a VEG ER. They took him in under Good Sam to euthanize him. They, unfortunately but understandably, wouldn’t let me stay with him so this is the only picture I have. They said in the future, if he was in a condition where he could recover, animal control in the county the animal is found has to be called and be the one to bring him in. Which would have been very complicated since he’s a NYC Subway rat and I brought him to a NJ vet. The only reason they accepted him from me is because his only option was to be euthanized :/ May this baby rest in the greatest peace 😭

Edit: original post by u/bougie-trashpanda https://www.reddit.com/r/rat/s/jY8Ikwucw5

Since bubs tail wiggles was such a hit I thought I’d post a vidoe of him boggling after pets! And he’ll do this for a good 5 minutes and then fall asleep!