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I have rats! On purpose though
noir_blood
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So like I said on another thread, I recently acquired two pet rats. Now, I tried finding a rattery, but couldn't, so I picked them from a pet shop(they are/were feeder rats)
They're both females and pretty cute, but so far they are still really skittish. One runs into the toy pipes I placed in their cage at the first sight of me. I been trying to coax them and get them used to me, but they still seem really scared, hanging around the corner of the cage a lot.
The other thing that worries me is that I don't think they are drinking their water. I never see the level drop. Currently it's in a bottle, but should I put it in a bowl just so they can drink it? Any other tips would be appreciated.
They're both females and pretty cute, but so far they are still really skittish. One runs into the toy pipes I placed in their cage at the first sight of me. I been trying to coax them and get them used to me, but they still seem really scared, hanging around the corner of the cage a lot.
The other thing that worries me is that I don't think they are drinking their water. I never see the level drop. Currently it's in a bottle, but should I put it in a bowl just so they can drink it? Any other tips would be appreciated.
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Pictures or it Didn't happen, we need to see these little buggers... well... I want to see some rats. *poke*
I'm no expert on rats, but I do keep guinea pigs. If the water level isn't dropping at all, they're not drinking. Likely because they don't know how to use a bottle, it's a learned behavior. Some water in a bowl might help them satiate themselves for now but it's not a permanent solution. Being open, they get dirty, fast. You might be able to put some food for them on the end of the nozzle and hope they get the idea, but all of my pets learned from their peers.
As for being skittish, I really don't know about that one. One of my guinea pigs has been around me forever and STILL refuses to let me come anywhere near him. Of course, this doesn't stop him from begging for food from me. They are prey, afterall, so some of that behavior is just ingrained and hard to break.
Woops, I forgot the main rule of pet threads, sorry!
Left one is River, right one is Serenity.
You win the award for great name choices.
Yes, yes. I'm a total Whedon whore.
My wife learned that the best way to socialize store-bought rats is to bring the cage over to a table, remove the top part, and attempt to interact with them in the lower portion. Bring food, something tasty- not regular rat food. Don't bring noisy toys or anything, and don't try to pick them up unless they're making a break for it. Just talk to them, call them by their names, and keep your hands around them. After a few days/week, they'll get used to you, and recognize that you're the person that's taking care of them.
As for the water- I'm not too sure. Perhaps putting some yogurt or peanut butter on the tip of the nozzle for them- once they figure out that's where the water is, they'll use it.
This is natural, no need to worry. Rats will be skittish for a while as they get used to you. This will take time, especially seeing as they were bred for "feeding" then they probably won't be used to humans. Take your time and you will get there. If you sit near the cage and offer them treats they will soon come round. When i first got my girls I would sit by the cage for hours watching TV while the girls would just sniff my hand, eventually they grew the courage to walk over my hand, then up my arm... lots of little steps, and a lot of time. It will all be worth it though when you can walk around with River and Serenity just curled up on your shoulders. The main thing is your girls have to learn you are not a threat to them
A bottle is best as they can't get saw-dust / bedding in the water. Drinking from a bottle is not natural behavior though. Unfortunatly all my rats already knew how to use a bottle, or learnt from older rats in the cage. Maybe squeeze the bottle so some water puddles underneith it, maybe they will drink that and then explore the bottle.
Edit: www.fancy-rats.co.uk have a pretty good community, the could defo give you advice on training your girls to drink from a bottle.
If they're too skittish to approach the nummy spoon - keeping in mind your absolute stillness and the patience to hold it there, perfectly still, for up to a minute - just let them get used to you. Nami is still very unhappy to be handled, and it's been a couple of months.
Incidentally, rats drink far less than guinea pigs, especially if you supplement their lab blocks with romaine lettuce or other fresh veggies.
Real tip: My roommate said she had to squeeze her rats' water bottle until they saw water drip out and realized what it was filled with.