Moon's Graden

Since Saturday, I am now the proud owner of 2 female rats.......Chalk
and Cheese.

I have read a couple of Rattie books and have been following this
group for a while, trying to take in as much as possible before
becoming a rat owner.

But...I have found nothing quite prepares you for their arrival and I
still have a couple of questions which I hope you will be able to
answer for me.

Both rats were really shy and scared when we got them, one (Cheese)
seems to be coming out of herself a little bit, while the other
(Chalk) seems to rely on her sibling to get her food for her!

My first questions..what can I do to help them settle in? I Sit and
talk quietly to them and gently stroke them and have actually managed
to pick Cheese up ...but I am afraid of scaring them or doing
something that will "set them back".

My second question is....treats, should I be using them at this stage?
and if so what? I don't want them to become fat and learn bad habits
from the start!

Thank you for showing me just how much fun rats can be, I love mine
already and its nice to feel there are others who feel the same.

Mary

You seem to be doing fine. It will take them a little time to become used to
their surroundings, but when they do they'll become more adventurous.
Handling them, and getting them used to you and your voice is the most
important thing when they're young, especially if you get them from a pet
shop and not a breeder. They are handled very little once in a shop, and it
can take a little time for them to trust you.

Don't worry too much about scaring them. You want to get them used to you
moving about the room, and making the usual noises without always going to
them. Just percivere, and it will be well worth it. There are plenty of
'healthy' treats that you can buy in big pet shops, but I've found that wee
bits of cooked chicken really do the trick.

Auds

Rats really improve with age.  Give them two days of talking and putting
your hand inside the cage and leaving it there.  Remember, they don't know
you from King Kong yet.

It will help if you have a bit of something nice on your fingers.  If they
are very young (less than 7 weeks) then this will have to be fairly
sparing - nothing sugary and not too many greens I gave one of my rats the
odd sugary treat when I was taming her and she is now overweight and a real
food ***.  Best avoid all dairy products too until they are a week or two
older.

Mine would bite my hands off for spaghetti bolognese sauce, in fact, as my
oldest rat became short sighted, this became literally true and I had to
start feeding her that treat with a spoon.

Little bits of cooked or raw carrot seem to go down well. Little ones might
prefer it cooked, you can always go back to raw when they are tamer).  If
they have a bit of gravy on them, so much the better.  Porridge oats are
enjoyed by some rats, mine adore broccolli, cooked or raw.

Small amounts of dandelion leaves (well washed of course) are a good source
of iron and vitamins and may be enjoyed.

As rats are omnivores, they like what we eat although they should have less
protein than we do.

I know you will enjoy your rats and look after them well as you have already
taken the trouble to find out about them.

Let us know how they are getting on.
Love
Evelyn

Hi Mary,

Welcome to the wonderful world of rat ownership (or should I be welcoming
Chalk and Cheese to the wonderful world of people ownership?!)   :-)

In reply to your first question......patience is the key.  Try putting your
hand in the cage and letting them sniff you.  Chances are that you bought
your little bundles of fun from a pet shop, where they may not have been
handled very much.  They need to get used to you and your scent.  I would
imagine they are feeling pretty insecure right now and they need time to get
to know and trust you. We make a point of never taking ours from their cage
or invading their place of privacy (their nest box).   We let them come out
of the cage of their own accord.

Try offering a treat in your hand (which brings me nicely on to your second
question).  Cheerios seem to be the usual currency for *** and
corruption! :-)  Although any small unsweetened breakfast cereal would
suffice <fond memories of one of our rats making off with a whole weetabix
from one of the kids' breakfast bowls!>  Once they have started taking
treats from your fingers, you could try putting the treats on your wrist so
that they have to climb over your hand to get it. Basically, you make them
work a little harder for the treat each time.  It is then a short step to
offering treats at the cage door to tempt them out.

In order to establish a home base where they can feel secure, we have always
carried them around the house on our shoulders for the first few weeks
before allowing them to discover the floor.  This way, you become the first
point of safety for them (if anything should upset them - strange noises,
people, rooms, etc.).  It worked for us anyway - it's kinda cute when they
come running back to "Mum"!  Once we had rat-proofed the living room (i.e.
cables, escape routes, etc .) we started letting them explore the room in
the evenings whilst we were there to supervise.  They keep coming back to
check on us from time to time, and pop back in to their cage briefly for a
drink of water, etc.

You may also want to bear in mind that each rat has its own personality.
Our two have completely different  characters - Sky is the quiet, sensible
one while Chelsea is the cheeky, daredevil one.  They are both from the same
litter and their personalities are as different as, well, chalk and cheese!!

When in the future you are trying to get your little devils back into the
cage or out of your sleeve or detangled from you hair....you will look back
on their shyness with affection  :-)

Hope this helps,
Sandra.
<:3 )~~~

Congrats on your new babies: Chalk and Cheese!

I posted in the rodents NG a few months ago as a relatively new owner
with a "nibbly" rat.  Now have 9 ratties! ( not by choice but guess
it's destiny as I cant find homes for the babies)

Anyhow, you can look foward to getting great advice here! Thanks to the
help of the great rattie people here, my daughter and I went from a shy
rattie to her current self, who now is so tame she would just about let
my kid brush her teeth if she desired!( Not that we do that!)

Just be patient, give lots of treats, its in thier nature to be
friendly and they will open up to you once they settle down...
Good luck and keep us updated..

~Sonya and the rats: Patty, Bubbles, Gerbil, and Butterscotch,
Peppermint, Oreo, Strawberry, Banana, and Spot.

Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.

I would just like to say thank you to all your kind and thoughtful
advice.

I am learning loads..but still the questions keep coming.

It is nice to know you are all there.

I will keep you updated

thanks again

Mary