Brand-new rat mom with questions...

[Willk24]

Not sure if this is right forum, but it seems to be. I'd understand if an admin saw fit to move it, though.

Anyway, I just became a rat mom today to two beautiful fancy girls -- Yuna and Lulu. (Cheers to those who recognize the names!) These are my first rats, and while I've read a lot about them before today, there's no accounting for experience, I suppose. Let me describe the first day so far...which entails the last seven hours or so.

I got them home and immediately put them in their nice, new cage. They ran about the base at first as I watched from a distance. Soon, Lulu crawled into the hay hut in the bottom and Yuna was exploring EVERYWHERE. She went back down occasionally to the hut (I'm presuming to check on her cagemate?) but otherwise continued exploring. Both girls have taken bits of fresh fruit from my fingers once each. However, otherwise they seem completely uninterested in me. Not only this, but they also are quite afraid of me. Understandable, seeing as they're from a store, but not really what I was expecting. Lulu freezes on sight of me, or dives back into the hut. Yuna raises up a bit on her hind legs and sways a little from side to side. I've also seen her sort of guarding Lulu in a back corner (maybe comforting?) Yuna is definitely the more inquisitive one, while Lulu has barely come out of her hut. If she does, it is never solo and only in the company of Yuna. They've been sleeping together in the hut most of the day and evening, though Yuna has come out once or twice to drink.

My questions...

1) Is this normal first-night-home behavior?

2) What kind of timeline can I expect until they're more comfortable with me?

3) How can I start to teach my girls that I'm not a big, scary monster?

4) Should I be worrying about Lulu's introversion and/or attachment to Yuna?

Thanks for any and all insight!

 

[Chevalrose]

1) yeah it sounds pretty standard. Especially the first night, after some time Lula will start to get more comfortable. Some rats are like Lula, quite shy at first...and some are like Yuna, inquisitive but tentative.

2) Done right they can get comfortable with you in a week or so, again, it also depends on the rats.

3) The best way to get them used to you is to be there. Put your hand in the cage and just sit there with it for a while. Let them come sniff and check you out. Another good trick is to sleep with a piece of fabric (or a shirt you don't want anymore) and then put it in their cage so they get used to your scent. It just takes a little time.

4) I wouldn't worry too much about Lula's introversion. Some rats are just more shy than others and might take some more time to come out of their shell.

Congrats on your little ones! Sounds like you'll be a good rattie mom!

 

[lilspaz68]

1) very normal first-night behaviour

2) Each rat is different but they sound like typical babies, not long I would imagine

3) You have already started especially since they both accepted food from your hands. Just move slowly and deliberately, a soft calm loving voice, and think about how big you seem to them. They are in a new place, new sounds/smells, etc. and they are away from all the other rats they know...

4) Not a bit, usually even in a twosome there is still group hierarchy...the subordinate and the dominant. Miss Stand-and-Sway is the dom, and the timid girl is the subbie. Dom's take care of subs and also lead the way on exciting new adventures, tell the sub when its safe to come out, and also teaches the sub manners when they get uppity.

 

[jorats]

My approach to new rats is quite different. I don't allow them time to settle down. I grab them out right away and play with them. I sit at their cages and put my hand in to get them to become excitable by rubbing their heads. I also put them down my shirt for at least 30 minutes at a time. In my shirt the rats learn to bond with my scent. They will be scared in the shirt but eventually they will settle and bond with you. They will soon relate your smell to a comfy cozy place.

 

[hopefloats]

I do the same as jo with the girls but not the boys if they are to scared. I have been bitten out of fear from boys lol it does not feel nice! I shower them with treats those first few days. Girls are all about food. After a week, you probably wont see these actions, rats usually adapt really fast, you do have some rats who take longer than the others.

Is Yuna eyes pink? The swaying just makes me wonder if they are since pink eyed rats tend to sway to focus.

I have even lets rats sleep with a shirt that I wore, one i was willing to lose to them to help them get the smell. once you get them crawling on you, they wont stop.

rats are social, and bond fast. Our babies rats seek out our 5 month old boys all the time. They like each other which is good.

 

[Willk24]

Thanks to all for your input! I really do appreciate it. I feel much better knowing that I am probably not doing something wrong.

A bit of an update -- earlier tonight, I took the hut away from the girls. I felt terrible as they cowered in the corner, but I also felt it had to be done. I kept my (gloved) hand in the cage until they both came up to sniff it a few times. At that point, I put them both in between an old tee shirt and a sweatshirt. I kept them there for about fifteen or twenty minutes, until they'd settled some. At that point, I let them roam about my upright body outside the sweatshirt. Yuna immediately climbed up to my shoulder and started snuffling about in my ear, then went into the hood pouch of my sweatshirt. Lulu buried her head in the crook of my elbow, but she wasn't shaking anymore. She also pooped on me A LOT...not sure if that's good, bad, or neutral. Thoughts?

While they seem much more receptive to handling, they're still quite averse to my hand. Yuna has test-nibbled it as well as my chin a couple of times, but each time I say a sharp, "Ah!" and tell her, "No bites." That seems to do the trick. She's definitely a mouthy one. Hopefully she'll focus her attention on the toys in the cage and not my body parts in time! Helpful suggestions in this area would also be welcome.

I put them back in their cages and returned their hut to them, which they appreciated. Lulu has not come back out yet, though Yuna has a few times to explore and even play with her chewing sticks a little! I was even able to get a few snapshots of her, and in so doing, I learned that she does indeed have ruby eyes. They look black in normal light, but the flash of the camera tells a far different story...

I will try to get some pictures of Lulu also as she becomes more and more comfortable around me.

PS: Any guesses as to how old Yuna is?

 

[hopefloats]

She looks like she is about the same age as my pika, she is about 4 months old, give or take. She looks kinda little and baby like still. But it is hard to tell with pictures. I use the the poop as a sign. They will poop on you non stop when they are scared, When they stop doing it lol they are warming up to you LOL. they will do that in new places or new people. If they get frightened at all.

another good trick for trust training, is putting yogurt on a spoon, they have to stay by you to eat it. Peas work wonders too with them coming to you. I have had to associate my hands with treats for a few of mine, if i picked them up, gave them a treat, or give them one when I set them down. I also pet them, give them a treat. Lulu may take a couple of days, our dopey did the same thing. He came around. Now he is a menace.

Pretty soon they will constantly check to see if you have food LOL girls are funny like that.

 

[xxchelle]

All beige rats have ruby eyes

 

[jorats]

I'd say they look about 4 months old as well.
And that's right about the poop. They poop on you, they are still scared, they stop, they are feeling more secure about it.
Are you always putting a gloved hand in the cage? That would be pretty scary to a young rat. Continue to do the "down the shirt" trick, do that several times a day, you'll have a couple of happy girls in no time.

 

[Willk24]

I came out this morning to a surprising sight -- Lulu was at the third tier of the cage. I was pretty happy that she had gotten up there. As soon as she saw me, though, she scampered back down to the hut. Yuna, though, came up to the cage door to investigate. This time, I put my hand in with no glove. About half the time, she still wants to nibble at my hand. I admit, that makes me a little nervous. I am not sure I see it as an aggressive move, though, as she's not striking at me. She gently reaches out with her head and slowly opens her mouth. It's all very deliberate. I tell her, "No bites!" firmly (but not loudly -- don't want to startle her too much)...I hope this gets better with time. She still seemed fearful of my hand when I went to pet her inside the cage, though. I gave her a bit of seedless grape from my fingers to make up for it and let her be for now. Lulu is back out now, hanging around at the base. Sometimes I'll look back to see her little head looking out at me, but as soon as we make eye contact, she ducks back down. It's rather humorous.

I also put my old shirt that I'd used for the sweatshirt "trick" I did last night. I folded it up and put it right next to their hut. I think that may have helped a little for this morning's changes! So excited and eager to see my girls blossom as they are already slowly but surely starting to do. Rats are so fun! Yay!

Jo, I used a thin glove last night because of Yuna's mouthiness and I'm still a bit nervous handling her when she's testing her little teeth on me. It gave me a bit more confidence. From here on, though, I think I'll skip the gloves. I am pretty sure she won't bite hard enough to break skin, and that she is just being inquisitive...however, I may very well be wrong.

Thanks again, everyone! I'll see about getting some pictures of Lulu up if she decides to come out again.

 

[SQ]

When she test nibbles you can eeep softly to let her know you don't like it.
You are right, test nibling is not aggressive. She is just checking things out.

 

[hopefloats]

if you really want them to trust your hand and like it, when you feel brave enough, just put a little something on your finger, jelly, yogurt anything that is lickable. Rats are pretty smart, they usually do the test bite, to see if they can take it, then they will lick it. I have a biter, it is nothing nice. The little nibble she is doing is good, she knows enough to test before she tries to run off with it. If you keep giving lulu treats, pretty soon she will look forward to seeing you.

Pretty soon you will walk into the room, the girls will go nuts trying to figure out if you are going to let them out, what you have for them and what you are doing.


I have seen some beige that had black eyes, i wasnt really sure about her eyes.

Our isis is a pink eye and al has ruby eyes. Both sway like crazy to focus on us. I love watching her do it, there is something about the sway that is cute.

 

[Joanne]

You can dip your finger into something yummy like yogurt so they can lick it off. My rats will get excited and try and grab my finger and pull it into the cage (with their teeth) and away from their siblings, but they don't actually break the skin. They also have grabbed my finger and tried to move it out of the way with their teeth. This is not biting - they are just using their teeth as an implement. Trust me, if they really bite you, it will bleed! If my kids are a bit too rough with their teeth, I will squeak loudly at them, and if they don't let up, blow air in their face. I totally trust them and they have not let me down.
An aside: be very careful with thick, sticky foods like peanut butter. They will KILL for peanut butter, but they are very likely to choke on it. If you want to give them some, make sure you 'water it down' with something so it is a much thinner consistancy.

 

[Willk24]

The girls and I have done a good deal of bonding today. Sweatshirt time, and some trust training with sour cream in a spoon (the fat-free kind, and we didn't do this for too long so as to limit the fattiness of the treat). Yuna went nuts over the sour cream. She actually squeaked in protest when I took it away (that's how I interpreted it, anyway). Lulu even came up for about half a minute to lick at it. Her shyness overcame her, though, and she went back to her corner. Lulu no longer seems quite as terrified as she once was, and didn't poop on me the last time I picked her up. However, she was still shaking like a leaf. Oh well -- baby steps!

I decided to move their hut to the first level and have my shirt down at the bottom for them. They still like to hide under it and cuddle, but it is less of a hiding place than the hut was. Sometimes they venture to the hut, but usually just to chew on it since it's made of hay.

Yuna has become even more curious about me. If she is awake, every time I pass by, she will come up to the cage walls to see what I'm up to. If she has time, she tries to get eye-level with me.

Thanks to everyone for all of your input! This has been a good deal more work and effort than I initially expected, but so far, the results are so very worth it.

I finally was able to get a couple pictures of Lulu!

Yuna "guarding" Lulu while ripping up some paper towels.

 

[hopefloats]

I am glad it is showing so soon for you. It always makes it worth it when you see them start to get excited. Another week, they will drive you bonkers LOL enjoy the peace. Girls are something else.

 

[hopefloats]

wow I didnt see the picture when I first posted! they are so cute, 3 have 3 black hooded rats. I really love them. In that box they look smaller than they did yesterday LOL they might be younger than that. another thing rats love, is sticking a pile of newspaper, just ripped up, they put it where they want to be comfy at, my girls get so much in their beds they hardly fit in there, but it keeps them busy for a while. Any paper will do, i sometimes use blank printer paper. It is funny watching them carry it around and up to their beds.

 

[Willk24]

Thanks! I'm rather fond of them myself. I'll admit, I don't know exactly what a hooded rat is...

My girls both love to shred paper towels. They carry it from the top level where I put it down to the bottom level where their shirt-nest is. Yuna is getting more and more clever, though, and has found a way to toss it over the edge of the third tier platform, and it usually makes it down to the bottom.

Lulu seems to have blossomed overnight! She is consistently out in the open now, watching me cautiously. If I move too quickly, she darts to the hut or shirt-nest, but no longer cowers there all the time. She has come up to sniff my hand and done a few test nibbles. She's even taken a carrot chip and a bit of my crust from this morning's breakfast toast from my fingers. I'm just so happy she is not petrified of me anymore. Still tentative, but not freaking out whenever I pass by.

Today is the first day I need to leave the girls by themselves (grocery shopping and rehearsals, whoooo)...I must admit, I'm a little apprehensive. I don't want them to get out of their cage when I'm not here. I do think it's fairly escape-proof, but one never knows for sure. However, I would think if they haven't been able to for two nights unsupervised, they should be okay today for a few hours. Guess I'm just a paranoid rat mommy. anic:

PS - I just took this...

Nothing like cuddling together on a lazy, rainy Sunday morning with your human playing relaxing piano tunes, eh? :cuddle:

 

[hopefloats]

so cute! It looks like they are getting used to the noise....They are hooded, the solid color that covers their head to the shoulder. but their other halve is white, with the stripe or part of the stripe down their back.

 

[jorats]

They are so sweet... looks like they are laying down being hypnotized by the music.

 

[Joanne]

Awwww, sweet girls!