Help With Scared Girls

[Riot!]

i adopted 2 little girls a few weeks ago
this is my first time owning girls
well they are still terrified of me :/ i can barely get them to take treats from me unless its through the cage bars they wont take baby food or yogurt off the spoon they just freeze in fear whenever i even go near the cage
im able to stick in hands in and pet the since they just freeze
i can get them out of the cage by wrapping them in a blanket and holding them on my lap
one sister Kali is better than the other she'll calmly sit on my lap let me pet her
but her sister Rooker tries to get away from me
ive tried everything i can think of to get them to trust me
i know they were handled every day since birth they came from a rescue and i was sent pictures and videos of them every day since they were 2 days old
does it just take longer with girls?
does anyone have any tips?


Kali (they're 9 weeks now)

Rooker (she wouldnt stop trying to get away long enough for a picture)

 

[Petunia]

girls tend to want to explore a lot, so take them out where ever you are doing their out time and sit with them when they play. Praise them when they approach you, speak in a comforting cheerful voice and offer them treats, and eventually they will associate you with all things good (happiness, out time fun, good treats, etc)

It takes time but they will come around. They need to get to know you and your scent plus the scent of their new home, that's a lot for them to take in all at once

they are probably still worried about whether or not they are safe- did you say how long you've had them?
even very well socialized rats can take several weeks to get used to a new home and scents etc

Girls are easier to handle when they've run off their excess energy. Keep all your interactions with them pleasant but brief at first and they will seek you out more and more as time goes by.

do you have any photos of these sweeties? =)

 

[Steph]

Look at those cuties! My girl doesn't sit long for pics either but that's cuz she wants to run around...
When I first got my two (1 boy and 1 girl) I would take them out and sit in an empty bathtub with them for a couple hours. We did that everyday.

 

[Riot!]

girls tend to want to explore a lot, so take them out where ever you are doing their out time and sit with them when they play. Praise them when they approach you, speak in a comforting cheerful voice and offer them treats, and eventually they will associate you with all things good (happiness, out time fun, good treats, etc)

It takes time but they will come around. They need to get to know you and your scent plus the scent of their new home, that's a lot for them to take in all at once

they are probably still worried about whether or not they are safe- did you say how long you've had them?
even very well socialized rats can take several weeks to get used to a new home and scents etc

Girls are easier to handle when they've run off their excess energy. Keep all your interactions with them pleasant but brief at first and they will seek you out more and more as time goes by.

do you have any photos of these sweeties? =)

i've had then 4ish weeks now i think? its hard to let them have free roam time since i use the extra bed room for free roam with the boys its been rattie proofed but theyre still so tiny they could slip out under the door or behind the bed been doing their free roam in the bathroom or on my bed they'll still just sit there and look at me in fear :/ wont come anywhere near a treat. i just hate that theyll still so scared i feel bad for them my boys came around in a day
(tried to attach pictures on my first post they're showing up for me idk if theyre for everyone else ill try and take more later boys are having their play time right now)

 

[jorats]

I highly recommend joinrats.com They have great advice for working with scared rats.

 

[DawntheSnipe]

When we got our first two girls, they were very fearful as well. One thing that we did was eat our meals next to their cage. It took a little while for them to learn we weren't as scary as we looked, but we made steady progress. I got a lot of tips from JoinRats-it's a great resource.