Forced Socialization Questions

[Velo]

I've been pretty much doing "trust training" style socialization with the girls, which has worked pretty well. I don't think their fearful of me at the very least (Rizzy might be a bit... sometimes). But the more I read, the more I see that people feel it can teach the rat to be okay with no ~real~ human contact. And I can kind of see that forming.

So I'm thinking I'll switch over to more "forced" methods - especially the whole down the shirt/down the hoodie method.

Major Questions:
-Should I try this one on one or all three or two at a time?
-How does one go about properly maneuvering a rat into their hoodie/shirt?? I have fears of them dropping/wiggling out and also is there any concern for them falling out after getting in the hoodie? Or do you guy just wear tight hoodies? XD
-Is it bad that I already started trust training? Is mixing and matching okay on a rat? Will forced socialization demolish the work I've already done?
Thanks!!

 

[hopefloats]

Stick them in your shirt!

 

[Velo]

Stick them in your shirt!

HOW??
Just shove and drop? :lol:
Is it really that easy?
I do tend to over think. XD

 

[hopefloats]

Yes it is really that easy. I sit on the couch with a shirt that is bigger so i can tuck it in, with a smaller shirt under it because they will pee on ya.... LOL but you just keep them in your shirt and watch them crawl out. it is the best way to do it.

 

[Velo]

Yes it is really that easy. I sit on the couch with a shirt that is bigger so i can tuck it in, with a smaller shirt under it because they will pee on ya.... LOL but you just keep them in your shirt and watch them crawl out. it is the best way to do it.

:nod:
DUH! Tuck the shirt in. :doh:
That's what my mind couldn't wrap itself around. Like how the crap do they not just pop out the bottom. @_@ Guess it's just been too long since I tucked a shirt in. :lol:

And what do you think? One on one or figure out how many rats I can fit in a shirt?

 

[hopefloats]

Start out with one, till you get the hang of it LOL

 

[Velo]

Alrighty I'll try it out with Theia tonight, she'll tolerate a lot if there's Cheerios in her future. I'll let you know how it goes. :lol:

 

[ilovescience]

How do you guys deal with the squirmy ones? The ones that will NOT stay put (I'm looking at you, female rats).

 

[hopefloats]

wait till they become less squirmy. I have "squirmy" girl hands so I can hold the best of them.. Years of practice.

 

[jorats]

You could place yourself in the bathroom in case one escapes but I never had a problem with it.
Mixing and matching is ok. Trust training is very good too.

 

[Velo]

I've found no good ways for my squirmy young females. Rizzy is pretty chill lately, and generally lets me pet her and pick her up and put her back in the cage. Pika is squirmy, but luckily she likes the bonding pouch Peggy gave me, so if she doesn't go back in the cage on her own, I hold that up and she pops in and I bring her back. :lol:

Theia was a FUN time tonight. XD
I cheated a little, she was in the pineapple, so I just picked the whole thing up and dumped her out in my shirt. Shirt time was great, she peed a LOT, but other than that she just meandered around, ate some Cheerios... Even did some bruxxing. c:
It was all of like exactly 20 minutes before Pika decided to make an appearance though.

I left all the cage doors open (I only have so much time at night and if the others wanted to come out I didn't wanna stop them) so of course Pika was interested. She came out and started messing with me, she knew Theia was in my shirt. Eventually Theia found her way out through a sleeve so I let her go play with Pika.

It was nice for a bit but then Pika decided to run back into the cage. Theia isn't well acquainted with being out (first time out, she never came out the stairs by herself) and she had no clue how the stairs worked. She liked being out so I let her run around a bit. I swear just the short amount of shirt time made her WAY more social with me, she kept coming up and running on me.

But she sure didn't wanna go back in the cage. :lol:
It took over an hour (after shirt time!) for her to go back in. I ended up taking an interior ladder and putting it outside for her to go in. She wasn't even confused about how to get back in, just wanted to mess with me while I tried to "help" her.

Overall, very interesting experience and rather fun too... Rizzy will probably be next, as Pika is a bitey butt and is pretty comfortable around me anyways. XD

 

[ilovescience]

Lucky.... Glad it's working out for you

Algae will literally squirm for HOURS. And by squirm, I mean, crawl and claw her way all over my shoulders, arms, body, trying to get off/down. I've had her for three weeks and she never stays put.

 

[Velo]

Oh, I'll have had the girls 3 weeks tomorrow! o;
Theia definitely wanted to claw out too, I believe she tried to dig through my stomach a few times. :lol: But when she got Cheerios she was like "meh okay I'll stop to eat this"
Getting Pika to sit still seems like an impossible task. XD

 

[hopefloats]

I have been picking the boys up, letting them squirm and settle in my grip then I set them down and give them a treat. That will help them associate your touch with food as well. You can try to give them the treat while you hold them but it usually wont work for a while. I The boys will run on me, but i pick them up they dart. LOL they are buggers.