Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Timid ratties?

2 weeks ago i got 2 gorgeous 8 week old ratties (boys), they love cuddles and attention, but at times they seem very jumpy and timid. they are handled everyday and at nights they are out most of the evening. Any ideas on how to overcome this?

Genuine answers only please, no abuse about my ratties please.
Answers:
That's normal, they will calm down with a little more time, make sure if you have a kid to teach it not to thump on the cage, cats can be a real nightmare to control, it's best if the room the rats' cage is in had the door closed when you aren't able to supervise everything.
In my experience it just takes a little time and patience! Good Luck! They'll get used to being held but they're still young %26 have alot of energy ;)
P.S Treats work good too
卢It will take them a while to get used to you. Just handle them as much as possible (which it sounds like your doing) and tempt them with treats! I use Cheerios. My rats LOVE them! Make sure they are not in a room that has a lot of noise. Ratties are sensitive to noise, and it will scare them. Also remember to move slowly and talk softly to them.
Don't worry they will get used to you and you will both bond so well! Rats are great.
brilliant fantastic glad you picked rats as a pet they are misrepresented i feel sound like your doing a fantastic job up to know give it time the more you handle them the less timid the will be carry on with everyday stuff so that they get used to noise and toings and froings just make sure no one scares them or bangs on the cage enjoy your rats too good luck
i had 2 guy rats too and they were so sweet- one loved being held the other not so much but try to be patient, they make great pets! good luck-
I've had several rats, 2 right now (little girls). The older one, Eva, was calm from the start. The younger one (she is about 7 months now), Chloe, was very scared and it took a lot of careful handleling with her. She wasnt mean at all, I've never worked with a mean rat, but skittish. Shes very calm now, but it did take a while.
As other people have said, time and patience. And plenty of treats! They'll come to associate your hands as good things! You can also put them on your sholders and have them tag along as you do things around the house, if they're calm enough.
Sometimes it seems like that's my little guys' favorite place to be. Snoopy sometimes avoids my hands, but he seems more than content on my sholder.
they are still in that jumper phase that rodents go through. stick them in a sweater when they get jumping and they should settle down. my boys are 10 month, 7 months and almost four months and they still do that some days.
The American Fancy Rat and Mouse Association has a really good article about trust-training nervous ratties. It worked for me, and I hope it works for you! Heres the url address: http://afrma.org/trusttraining.htm...
aw boy rats are the best !
They are jumpy at the start still getting used to their surrounding s and it wont be long till they feel safe with you etc..mine was like that but after gentle handling wow he was like a dog, i used to think rats were yukky but not after owning them. only thing is i dont like girl rats i just dont trust them, boys are lovely wish i could have them again lol - lucky thing

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