How can a shy baby pet rat be helped to feel more social and less frightened?

Answer 1

First, if you have the option, always buy your pet rats from a breeder or from your local RMA (Rat Mouse Association). These rat enthusiasts start handling rats from day one, and they always have the best temperments. If you have a rather ferrel rat or a pet store rat, the key is patience! First, NEVER reach in to grab a rat from its cage, and NEVER coax it out with food held in your fingers or in the palm of your hand. Rats are territorial, and they will bite if they feel like you are invading your space. You don't want them to associate your hands or fingers as food either until you have established that you flesh isn't apart of the food. Spoon feeding yogurt is great! This process is long and requires patience, but I've only had great sucess with it, and I hope you will too. With my rats, I have the cage right by my couch. Every day, after work, I open the cage door and I just leave it open while I read my book, watch t.v.. etc, and they rarely leave the cage at first.. but after awhile, they will start venturing out because they notice that the giant human next to the cage isn't trying to attack them.. and soon they are coming to you! And they associate you with freedom and fun! Always pet your rat on his/her head first and slowly work your way down! When rats fight, they try to immobilize their victims by biting the bums or the back, and if you suddenly touch these areas, they will instinctively bite! Once they are used to your touch and scent, and you can officially pick them up without scratching and kicking, you can start playing with them like little mini-puppies. A site I love visiting is The Dapper Rat. She has great ways to entertain your rats, and if you do these things with your rats daily, your rats will associate you with fun, and will ALWAYS want you around. i dont have a rodent, i am a lizard hobbyist. In my experience i have found that putting a decorative background on the sides of the container he is in will make it feel safer in his home. You must make sure that you handle him very gently for a long time. If you let all kinds of strangers pick him up he WILL develop behavoir problems. you must train your rat through repetition that YOU wont hurt him or drop him on accident. Handle him gently and repeat until he is accustomed to you. Rats are extremely social creatures and shouldn't be alone...espccially when they are babies. That is why good breeders will never sell you a single rat unless they know you and know you have other rats. If you plan to keep them as a single, you should be prepared to spend a minimum of 4 hours a day with them for the rest of their lives. They will actually become sick if they are left alone. As for a decorative background...sorry, Rats have truly lousy vision so they won't see what you put on the side of the cage. They are primarily smell/feel/hear/taste creatures. Matter of fact Rats who go blind get around just as well as rats with sight. What is important is that they have variety, space and lots of places to hide and snuggle into.