Socialising new, store-bought rats

[insanity]

I bought my first two rats a few days ago: Warfarin (hooded brown/white) and Halo (grey). Both male. I've been thinking about getting a pet rat for years now and I'm really excited to finally have a pair!

They are store bought, which I now realise was a bad idea - oops. They seem alright, but Warfarin has some scabs on his ears that I've since identified as mites. It's unclear whether he is currently infected or if the scabs are residual from a previous infection. I will find out tomorrow.

The first day I got them, I made the mistake (perhaps?) of taking them out of the cage and holding them. Warfarin didn't mind it, he sat on my lap for some time but Halo only tried to escape (and succeeded a couple of times). I then left them both in the cage the next two days but kept putting my hands in there to feed them treats. Now they are happy to climb onto my hand provided there is yoghurt to be eaten. They don't mind to be touched but also clearly don't enjoy it. Maybe I should say they tolerate being patted, barely. And they are still somewhat skittish.

I've found conflicting opinions about what to do next: should I force socialisation on them (taking them out of their bed, keeping them on me even if they want to escape etc.) or try to cleverly coax them out with treats and wait for them to allow me to pick them up?

[Australian Rat Forum]

I think it depends on the rats really.

I've read a lot just here on the forum regarding different approaches of either force interaction on them or let them come to you in their own time and it seems both have a certain amount of success, depending on the rat its self.

I think that might be why Kim is always saying that rats are as individual as people and what works for one doesnt always work for another.

Congrats on your boys by the way.

With the ear mites, put a drop of revolution ( puppy and kitten one ) on the back of each boys neck and that will get rid of any mites if they still have them.

Most people use revolution on their rats every 3 to 6 months, just to keep lice and mites away.

[insanity]

I've decided to try the less stressful way first So not forced socialisation. At the moment (about 9 days since we got them), they are perfectly happy to clamber onto my lap but still don't like being touched - certainly not picked up though Halo is notably less stressed about your hand being anywhere behind him.

My girlfriend also coaxed them into her pocket with cornflakes, so now they explore any pockets you have for food - which is really cool. However, Halo bit her yesterday: it wasn't a deep bite but it did draw blood. She says he wasn't surprised or startled by her at the time - it seems a bit late for him to be stressed about being in a new home ... what else could it have been? Do rats not like it when you enter their sleeping space? (I don't think he was asleep at the time, but he was in his bedding - I believe).

So what is the next step for socialising them in this manner?

[Australian Rat Forum]

Most rats dont like it if you grab them out of their sleeping area's.

Its always better if you get them when they are awake and in the area not related to their bed.

Sometimes rats bite because they get a sudden fright, rats eyes sight isnt as good as people and there are 3 rat eye colours, pink eyed rats sway their heads because they have the worst eyes, ruby eyed rats have slightly better eyes because they are darker than pink and black eyeed rats have the best sight but its still not that great so they can get a fright even if it seems they know you are there.

Also even if you wash your hands after touching food, rats have such a great sense of smell, to make up for the bad eye sight that they sometimes still smell the food on your skin or under your nails and will bite thinking you have food.

Some rats can also be very dominating and agressive even with people. Some are just biters because its in their temperament and may have come from one of their parents.

Adult rat bites hurt so much more tha baby rat bites, but baby rat bites can still do damage.

I've been told that some rats can take up to 6 months to bond with people and feel completely comfortable around their owners.

Good luck with your boys.

[insanity]

Thanks for your insight Australian Rat Information Here's a pic of my two: 1.bp.blogspot.com/_bItViT_qqj8/TEDahqQcz3I/AAAAAAAABj0/scQ7xkU0xcg/s1600/IMG_2767.JPG (it's too big if I embed it)
(Halo is on the left, holding the broccoli)

He has spent a lot of time building his lair recently (at least that means he probably considers the cage his home which is good) so maybe that was it. In any case, he hasn't bit either of us again so I don't think it's a problem but yeah, obviously we don't want to stress him out too much (or be bitten ).

Ok. I think they've made pretty good progress already. But what's the next step in socialising them? And how do I do it?

[Kim]

There arent really any steps you just keep doing what you are doing.



The more time you spend with them, even if you are not handling them, you build trust.

But the more you handle them the more they will learn to enjoy it because they realise you are not going to hurt them.. By handling them I dont mean just picking them up and holding them.. I mean getting them out of their cage putting them in your shirt and just leaving them to explore..

You dont have to actually touch them to socialise them, letting them run around inside your shirt where its them touching you, gives them that little bit of safety and control.

It takes time to socialise rats to humans.. pet shop rats can take longer than rats from breeders because a lot of the time they come from people who bred rats for snake food, or to show their children the miracle of birth, or from accidental litters ... and so are not handled a lot from birth, and then when they get to the pet shop, most employee's dont handle them at all, except to pick them up for a sale... so pet shop rats dont get that trust of humans from birth, but they can learn it.

Sometimes if it seems that pet shop rats are not learning trust, it helps if you get a third rat, but from a breeder, as an out going rat who enjoys human company sometimes teaches nervous rats quicker to trust than what a human can do.

Of course all rats are individuals so you cant always be sure of how any rat will act or respond.



Sounds like your doing all the right things for your rats and they are little cuties ..