Need reminders and advice

[dell126]

It has been like 20 years since I have had a rat so it is all kind of new to me again. I got two girls two weeks ago; Science who was born at the beginning of February and Marceline who was born in January. I remember my rat 20 years ago being very cuddly and would crawl all over over me but these two girls seem very skittish. I understand why with Science because she is PEW so she can barely see. I choose Marceline at the pet store because she was very calm and cuddly. When I take her out she freaks for a few minutes but after that I can get her to snuggle and enjoy scratches and lovins but if there is any noise or movement she jumps. I hand feed them treats and if I put my hand in the cage both will come up sniff, nibble and lick my hands and fingers but trying to pick them up I have to chase them sometimes. Marcy was easy to pick up tonight and she sat in my hand for a few minutes before i put her back. I don't want to stress them out but I also want them to become more social. Both were hand raised since babies. So any advice you can give me I would gladly take it.

 

[mehganxo]

They just have to learn that they can trust you. Keep doing what you're doing by putting your hand in with treats. They learn to trust you. If you can, let them take turns crawling around in your shirt too. I'm working on trust with one of my girls who is a rescue rat. She was neglected so she doesn't have great social skills and is still very skittish. I open the cage and put my sweater over my hands, put my arms together and let her crawl out onto my arms out of her own will. They'll eventually learn that you are safe and not going to hurt them or just pick them up for a bit and abandon them. It'll just take time. Keep trying!

Also, when you pick your girls up, (you probably remember this) don't grab them from the top. Try and scoop them up as it can feel threatening to them to have a hand come in and reach for them

Good luck!

 

[jorats]

I agree, your little girls need to adjust to you and their new home. 2 weeks is not that long. But I encourage you to interact with them a lot. If you don't want to stress them out, then just talk to them, sing to them, offer lots of yummy treats. One way to do trust socializing which works wonders with dogs is: open the cage door, go very near to the door, if the rats retreat, you went too close. If they don't retreat and come close to you, pull away. Show them that when they show interest, you back away. That will show them that you are not a threat. Even the slightest head movement toward you, pull away. This will take several days for it to work and many sessions. There is another way, I used to recommend the down the shirt trick which is forced socializing but not the inhumane kind like flooding. put on a tshirt and a sweatshirt over top, scoop the girls and put them in between. The key for this not to be flooding is giving them a dark cozy place to be in while trying to accept being on you. This way seems to work much faster. While they are in your shirt, do some singing, talking, offering treats. You can do this several times a day, and try to keep them in there for an hour at a time.

 

[Little_Vixen]

Alex still hates to be picked up but after a month with us even though he's finally starting to get comfortable with us. Lots of treats and pets have helped that.
Flux didn't take as long, but he's a fatty so as long as you offer him treats he's fine with being picked up whatever which way.

They both are still very skittish to loud sounds and get skittish when the new black lab my roomie adopted comes near. But that is understandable to me and hopefully they will eventually run to you when they get skittish or scared instead of hiding.

 

[dell126]

I can occasionally get my girls to take treats from me. If I put my hand in the cage they are all over it. lol

 

[Sheldon]

What is flooding?

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk 2

 

[jorats]

What is flooding?

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk 2

Flooding is when you force too much stimuli on a pet to the point where the pet gives up. Cesar Milan (dog whisperer) is a big fan if this method... which is actually inhumane.

 

[dell126]

Good news! When I open the caGE AND PUT BOTH OF MY HANDS OUT mARCELINE WILL CRAWL INTO
MY HANDS AND DOWN MY SHIRT.

 

[mehganxo]

That's great news! It's so rewarding to earn their trust.

 

[jorats]

Yay for happy rats!!! :banana: