#tho fair warning im not like. a rat scientist or anything so always fact check me if ur a rat owner im not qualified to give like

[lycankeyy]

Please infodump about rats🥺🥺🥺

I just got home from Walmart RAAAAAHHHH okay hi. I struggle with infodumping if someone doesn't like ask me a Question first for some reason BUT I will try to think of smth to talk abt a little

So uhhhh baby rats! Actually because of a mistake back when I owned rats I had the pleasure of helping raise some baby rats!! It was Nerve-wracking as you might expect but I wouldn't trade the experience for anything I'd love to run like a rattery or something some day I love. Baby rats ANYWAY

A lot of people know that newborn rats look like this

But did you know that it only takes them THREE WEEKS to go from that to THIS?

Like dogs and cats, rats are born blind and deaf. The main difference is that the "toddler stage" for rats lasts, like. A week. And then they're pretty much good to go. Pups (that's what baby rats are called) should stay with their mother for as long as possible to build up social behaviors, ideally around 5/6 weeks for the males and until they get sold (or never) for the females; however, in theory, they can be taken away from their mother at 3/4 weeks old and function fine, provided they're weaned. Males need to be separated at around a month and a half because some rats are capable of starting their own families at only five weeks old.

It makes sense rats develop this quickly due to their incredibly short lifespans, but it still blows me away how fast they grow. It's insane to watch it happen in real time. They're so fascinating to me