01
What can you reliably do for your rat setup?
Probably Stolen rat ranching has published rules for animal cages, repairs, equipment and scanner feedback. UPDATE 049 explains how living animals affect cage wear, what upgrades add and which machines may sit inside a cage. Those details give you a useful maintenance routine without inventing a breeding formula. Exact food requirements, breeding outcomes and Prion treatment remain 待确认 / Pending confirmation in the evidence checked for this guide.
Start with the enclosure and its equipment before making a large investment in an unfamiliar animal-production plan. Read the values and instructions in your installed build, then compare them with the dated notes below. Keep enough money for rent while you learn how the equipment behaves. That is a cautious planning recommendation, rather than a verified maximum-profit rat route.
02
Check the version before choosing a scenario
The official Steam Demo lists three starting scenarios and a hardcore mode. It names the Water Merchant's starting equipment, but the published description does not provide the complete three-scenario selection list. This page therefore does not promise that a particular rat scenario appears in every current Demo menu. Check the available starts in your own installation, and use the Demo guide to distinguish that version from the upcoming full release.
UPDATE 049 accompanied the September 14, 2026 Demo release. Its animal-equipment changes are the specific published rules used here, with research reviewed on October 6, 2026. The full game is planned for October 28, so these notes should be checked again when that version becomes available. A previous Playtest experience is useful context, but it does not establish every current Demo condition.
03
Understand what wears down an Animal Cage
The update states that durability wear scales with the size of living animals inside an Animal Cage. It separately says dead animals, cage equipment and other stored items cause no wear. Those distinctions help you interpret the cage's displayed condition without assuming every occupied space contributes the same amount. The source does not publish a per-animal daily damage formula, so an exact wear calculator is 待确认 / Pending confirmation.
Check the enclosure's current condition before expanding your setup. If you change the living animals inside it, compare the displayed state over your next observation period. Keep the version, animal sizes and cage changes in your notes so you can tell what actually changed. This is a suggested observation method; it does not promise that one short comparison reveals the game's full calculation.
04
Separate an ingot upgrade from a scrap repair
Each ingot size upgrade adds 20 maximum durability and 20 current durability, according to UPDATE 049. The same update changes scrap repair to restore 50% of maximum durability instead of a flat 50 points. An upgrade and a repair therefore have different documented effects, even though both affect the condition shown on the cage. The complete material list, purchase cost and allowed sequence of upgrades remain 待确认 / Pending confirmation here.
Use the current cage interface to identify which action you are about to perform. Read the material requirement before spending stock that you may need elsewhere in the shop. Avoid assuming that an upgrade completely repairs an already worn cage, because the published increase is a specific amount. For wider cash planning, the beginner guide explains how to keep equipment purchases separate from your rent reserve.
05
Put compatible equipment inside the cage
UPDATE 049 says machines can no longer be placed inside an Animal Cage, apart from cage equipment such as the Vacuum Robot and feed dispenser. That confirms named exceptions rather than permission to insert every machine you own. Check the item's purpose and the current placement interface before buying a new device for the enclosure. An exhaustive compatibility list is 待确认 / Pending confirmation.
| Equipment or contents | Published cage rule |
|---|---|
| Living animals | Their size affects durability wear. |
| Dead animals | They cause no durability wear. |
| Cage equipment and other stored items | They cause no durability wear. |
| Vacuum Robot and feed dispenser | Named examples of allowed cage equipment. |
| Other machines | The update says machines cannot be placed inside, except cage equipment. |
06
Understand the Vacuum Robot upgrade
The Vacuum Robot can be upgraded with a Common Electronic to unlock a built-in incinerator. When that feature is turned on, the robot consumes double its normal power and destroys the feces in its storage after cleanup. Those are the documented material, power change and cleaning result. They do not establish that the upgrade cures disease, disinfects feed or makes every animal-related problem disappear.
Read the robot's present upgrade and operating options before committing the material. Account for the stated power increase when deciding whether to enable the feature. Keep the distinction between cleaning its stored waste and treating a living animal clear. Costs, base power draw and an optimal purchase day are 待确认 / Pending confirmation, so this guide does not present a guaranteed upgrade schedule.
07
Read Gene Scanner colors in context
The update corrects Gene Scanner allele colors in the animal tooltip to respect the direction of a stat. Its example is Hunger Rate: a low roll should show green and a high roll red. This explains a specific feedback correction rather than a complete ranking of every genetic trait. Inheritance formulas, ideal stat thresholds and the number of generations needed for a result remain 待确认 / Pending confirmation.
Look at the named stat as well as its color when comparing animals. Record what your build actually displays instead of reducing every trait to one universal color rule. If a tooltip differs from the dated patch description, keep a screenshot and check later official notes before drawing a conclusion. Avoid treating an unverified community spreadsheet as proof of a guaranteed breeding outcome.
08
Keep Prion questions separate from confirmed rules
A saved Steam Community question about Prion in rats shows that players have encountered and asked about this problem. The player describes affected rats and asks about recovery or medicine. That is evidence of a genuine player question, rather than a developer explanation of the disease system. The published official material used here does not establish a treatment, immunity threshold or complete transmission rule.
Prion causes, contaminated-feed behavior and whether an affected animal can recover are 待确认 / Pending confirmation. This page does not turn forum replies or a player's claimed data investigation into confirmed mechanics. Keep the animal's displayed condition, the relevant build and any observed result separate in your own notes. Avoid spending money on a supposed cure solely because an unverified answer promises that it works.
09
Build a maintenance routine you can verify
Begin a session by checking the cage's condition, the animals it contains and the equipment you intend to use. When considering a repair or upgrade, read the displayed requirement and compare it with the documented effects above. After changing equipment, observe its result before expanding the setup or repeating the purchase. These are practical checks you can adapt to your build, not a tested breeding or feeding sequence.
The items index keeps the confirmed equipment names and their source limits together. Use it when you need to separate a cage item from an ordinary shop machine. For an unfamiliar trade, item appraisal offers a wider inspection framework. Return to the official UPDATE 049 notes when you need the original maintenance and upgrade wording.