New rescue rat ?

[D3an]

Recently I agreed to take on a more.. difficult rat. Her name is Theodore, and shes a retired rescue breeder rat, roughly at least a year old. I believe shes a pink eyed, seal point Siamese. Shes never been handled well, never been in a roomy cage, and its safe to say shes never been with other adult rats, only her babies.

Currently, shes in her own cage next to my two baby rats cage. Shes not particularly aggressive, but does need her own space and time. She tries to "nip" my fingers, but its usually gentle and after sniffling my hands for a while. She does not like being held, I think it scares her. If I take her out of the cage, she seems afraid.

She is my first rescue and while I am taking my time in getting her used to my place and myself, does anyone have any advice on how to make her more comfortable or less afraid? I dont expect the moon form her, I simply want to be able to hold her eventually if possible.​

 

[SQ]

It sounds like you are doing a good job. Thank you for rescuing her.

You likely already know these things but:
- have the ratties in a room where you spend lots of time so they get used to you
- talk to her
- several times a day hand her (and the other rats) healthy treats or place them in her cage - such as a block, or put a small dish of healthy yummy food into her cage (ie blocks made into mush, a small piece of fruit, vegs, greens, a piece of cheerio like cereal, cooked sweet potato, cooked oatmeal, etc. That way she will associate you with good things
- take her out to play in a safe area with things to explore, and place to hide, and where she has access to her cage so she can go back or in and out as she wants. She will eventually come closer to you, start climbing on you etc
- having her close to the baby's cage (but far enough apart so no one can grab one another) is good
- If the babies are over 8 weeks old (10 weeks is better) then you can start intros. Living with other rats will help her feel safer. http://www.ratshackforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=32368
- your behaviour, as well as the way the other rats respond to you, will help her to feel safe and to learn to trust you
- there are things you can do to force socialization but I believe treating her gently and allowing her to progress at a rate she feels comfortable at is better
this site may have some helpful ideas http://www.joinrats.com/

good luck

 

[D3an]

Both cages are in my room about.. 10-15 feet from my bed, and are side by side. The babies are both intact males, and Im guessing about 9 weeks old. Babies will not be kept with her until they are neutered. They will be kept near by, but I dont want accidental litters. They have been introduced thou.
Today has been better, shes letting me pet her for about 10 second intervals today, which is alot longer than normal. She does still try to nip occasionally, but Ive been giving her veggie treats to try to get her to focus on something else. The nips dont seem to be mean ones, but its still not something Id like to encourage. As much as I want to hold her, I've only been picking her up once a day if she lets me. She still doesnt seem to like being held. So I picked up a harness and a large hamster ball to put her in and let her roam. Havent been able to put the harness on her yet.

 

[SQ]

It is possible that she is just taste testing your fingers to see if they are food. Make sure you do not smell like food.
(As you likely know, rats do not have great eye sight and some rats have poorer sight then others)

Is she just mouthing your fingers or does it hurt?

If it hurts, you can eeep like a rat and pull your hand back. This will let her know that it hurts/you don't like it.

Hope this helps