Thanks for the advice. I'm glad to say Charlie is cheering up a little, but
still won't come to see us. Harvey however is really friendly, and eats all
the time. He's now MUCH bigger than his brother, but perhaps Charlie is
just a smaller rat? He was smaller when we bought him.
I would love to have the cage downstairs, but our 3 marauding cats would
probably think I'd brought them a present! We keep the door locked to Sam's
bedroom, to avoid mishaps! But we do go in there a lot - Sam is 14 so
spends a fair amount of time in her room.
I am still persevering with little Charlie, and hopefully he'll eventually
forgive us for his fright on the first day. He was tempted by a small piece
of weetabix today, but his brother stole it from him eventually! (which is
why he's a much bigger boy - he keeps eating all the food!)
Thanks again, and I'll give it a try and let you know.
Claire
Quote:
> Some rats are naturally more timid than others, just like some people.
Rats
> are usually very good at getting over trauma. Food is the key
> Instead of just leaving a full food dish in their cage all the time
(unless
> you have to leave them for any length of time), feed them 4 times a day by
> hand. Put your hand next to Charlie's bedroom door (rats like to have a
box
> they can sleep in - tissue boxes work well) and wait patiently. If
Charlie
> won't take normal food from your hand then try a few treats. Possibles
are,
> ripe banana, cooked carrot, broccoli, cooked or raw, fruit yoghurt on your
> finger but no chocolate, sweet stuff or lettuce: these are keenly eaten
but
> are really bad for them. Only give really tiny bits of this food each
time
> so he really has to work for it. Once you have got him to take a bit of
> food then you can hold your hand a bit further away so he has to reach out
> of his den to get to you. If he won't eat this way then you will have to
> simply have to wait for two days, putting the bowl back in the cage and
try
> again then. Rats get bolder as they get older. Male rats tend to be more
> laid back that females. If Charlie gets used to taking food from your
hand
> then you can get him out when a meal is due and give him food treats on
your
> knee. If your daughter is very young or quick moving, you may have to do
> this yourself the first few times.
> Ensure the room is kept quiet during this, although it should normally
have
> the usual household noises in it.
> And that reminds me, if the cage is usually kept in a bedroom or shed,
move
> it into the room you are usually in. The rats will soon get used to the
> noises you make and seeing you move around and they can hide in their dens
> if it worries them. But they will be far less nervous if you do this.
You
> can always put the cage back in the bedroom when they are tame enough to
> spend lots of time out of their cage and on your shoulder.
> Love
> Evelyn
> > Thanks for the link - a great site which I enjoyed a lot.
> > Poor little Charlie is still really nervous, but Harvey is much bolder,
> >***ing and nibbling our hands. I just hope that our scent on Harvey
will
> > encourage Charlie to join in. He is also much smaller than his brother,
> and
> > he just looks sort of sad. I just want to pick him up and reassure him,
> but
> > he won't let me!!
> > Claire
Quote:
> > > On Mon, 8 Nov 1999 00:02:15 -0000, "Claire Cook"
> > > Hello, sorry about your little mishap. I'm also a new rat owner, and
> > > I found a site that may help you, goto
> > > http://www.moonsgarden.com/;It has an article about
> > > what to do if your rat gets loose and is scared. Hope this helps!
> > > Ozzfreak
> > > >Hi
> > > >I'm a very new rat owner - I bought two baby boys on Saturday,
> supposedly
> > > >for my daughter but I'm just as fascinated as she is! We've had
> hamsters
> > > >before, but decided to branch out into rats, as it were!
> > > >However disaster struck that evening - one of the babies escaped from
> the
> > > >cage while we were having a look at it, and disappeared behind the
> > wardrobe!
> > > >Daughter was distraught, and I wasn't too happy either! Two and a
half
> > > >hours (and a wrecked bedroom) later we managed to scoop him up and
put
> > him
> > > >back with his bewildered brother.
> > > >My problem now is that Charlie (the escapee) is now extremely
nervous.
> > > >Harvey (his brother) is becoming inquisitive and coming towards us
when
> > we
> > > >come to the cage, but Charlie hides whenever we are there. We want
to
> > show
> > > >him that we mean well, and don't want to frighten him, but I'm afraid
> > that
> > > >his bad experience has put him off us.
> > > >What can we do to coax him out, and start becoming friends with us?
> > > >Any ideas?
> > > >Thanks, Claire
by