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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2011 12:47:54 GMT -5
So I've had one for two weeks and the other for a little over a week, they are wonderful.
Eve is my female. She's a dark dark smoke one top and a white belly and arms and then a light tan/cream around the edges of the white. She's very pretty and I love her. But she's not tame at all. I've never been bite but she doesn't want to be pet and handled. And I can't seem to get her to calm down.
I believe she was to be breeding stock at a local pet store but they either decided that they didn't need her for she wasn't breeding, but I don't think she is that old either so I'm not sure. I found her on Kijiji and got her for free.
Then there is Henry, who my boyfriend has re-named Justin, from the Secret of Nimh. He's always wanted rats and to name them after the Rats from the movie. He's white with gray patches. He's fur is soft but kind of curly, and thinning a several places.
I'm not sure of his age but he has a wonderful personality and temperament. He was also from Kijiji for free. Seemed to be well cared for but the guy I got him from was.... well strange and a butt in my opinion.
The only problems with him is that he doesn't want to come out of or off his cage. I've slowly tried to get him used to us and tried to pick him up but he doesn't like that. He will wonder out of his cage on the top around and walk around the edge but if I try to pick him up back in the cage he runs.
I haven't had to clean the cage yet but I'm not sure how I'll do that if he won't come out.
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Post by Sherry on Mar 8, 2011 15:01:47 GMT -5
Oh, poor babies! They look adorable. Hopefully Candice comes back on soon-she seems to be our resident rodent expert
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2011 15:05:25 GMT -5
That would be very nice. I've always wanted rats but these are my first so I've done some reading but have no personal experience.
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Post by Sherry on Mar 8, 2011 15:10:29 GMT -5
Why not join up with a couple of rat forum? They could likely give you some really good advice, too!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2011 15:27:09 GMT -5
Between the FH, HF and work I just haven't had a chance the last two weeks to find a good one.
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Post by sherik on Mar 8, 2011 16:15:52 GMT -5
Rats are awesome. I've always wanted one. My friend used to have a rat named Justin, and was a she. She used to ride on your shoulder, and she was huge.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2011 16:27:17 GMT -5
Justin is very large and I'm sure he'd be a great shoulder rat but he's not an out of the cage rat.
I love him though. He's a doll. He is much older then I was told he was I believe though.
I had a friend who also had a rat when I was younger and he was a shoulder rat, very tame.
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Post by tinytippytoes on Mar 8, 2011 19:31:32 GMT -5
Hi there Ive had rats a pretty long time now. Almost 10 years. From my exp. you need to set up a table(desk or bed will do too)with a few toys but not so much that they can hide. You can sit with them talk to them let them get used to you. As long as they are in the cage they will hide. Its a little forced but thats really the only way for these rats to see that your are there friend. Also a wonderful way to get them to get used to you is take 2 old shirts put rat or rats between one and let them have a go at it while you clean ,do comp stuff write letters...etc fill in gap LOL) in the rat world its called shirt diving my rats love this!!! Give them treats but dont let them walk off with it. Make them eat it from you. Ive used sweet potato baby food on a spoon. Dried banannas while holding one end. This takes sometimes weeks but you should notice them slowly coming to you. I wait till they walk over to me and slowly show them my hand. Hope this helps I know you said you are busy but there is a really wonderful forum for rats ,,,GooseMoose. Hope to see you there and good luck with your 2 new babies.
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Post by Sherry on Mar 8, 2011 23:16:42 GMT -5
Thanks tinytippytoes! I knew we had more rattie people on here, but the only one I could think of offhand was Candice
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Post by Deleted on Mar 9, 2011 14:13:37 GMT -5
Hi there Ive had rats a pretty long time now. Almost 10 years. From my exp. you need to set up a table(desk or bed will do too)with a few toys but not so much that they can hide. You can sit with them talk to them let them get used to you. As long as they are in the cage they will hide. Its a little forced but thats really the only way for these rats to see that your are there friend. Also a wonderful way to get them to get used to you is take 2 old shirts put rat or rats between one and let them have a go at it while you clean ,do comp stuff write letters...etc fill in gap LOL) in the rat world its called shirt diving my rats love this!!! Give them treats but dont let them walk off with it. Make them eat it from you. Ive used sweet potato baby food on a spoon. Dried banannas while holding one end. This takes sometimes weeks but you should notice them slowly coming to you. I wait till they walk over to me and slowly show them my hand. Hope this helps I know you said you are busy but there is a really wonderful forum for rats ,,,GooseMoose. Hope to see you there and good luck with your 2 new babies. Thank you for the advice. I'll give this a try.
I can get Justin out onto the top of the first cage. He came with this large cage, it's a Super Pet with a smaller cage strapped to the top and a hole cut in it top to allow them up into the second. If I open the door on the top cage he can crawl out onto the top of the Super Pet. He comes out and crawls around and looks at things and I can pet him and such. But if I give him a treat he attacks it and run away. Sometimes I'm almost scared he's going to bit me. The female, Eve, is worse. More aggressive seeming.
I have no toys for them, they didn't come with any and I am trying to find some that are rat safe but the local stores don't really carry rat toys. Justin came with a ball, like a hamster ball, but they told me he didn't like it so I haven't bothered to put him in it.
I'll come over to GooseMoose some time and sign up for it. I've looked around there a little as well as one or two other places but GooseMoose will likely be where I sign up.
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Post by tinytippytoes on Mar 10, 2011 6:22:11 GMT -5
Boxes of any kind ...just cut holes ,dollar stores OMG heaven for ratty toys. Whiffle and cat balls (its so darn cute seeing them carry them around LOL) Get some of their baskets and cut holes in them too. Take a box and throw scraps and paper in it. Yes like ferts they love digging boxes too. Thrift shops have cute baby and kids toys. I just bought a large soft bird that its belly had hole in it and mouth is wide open...cute tunnel for them. Tunnels...I could on. I use carpet rolls you do need a saw for that but just watch when somebody is redoing their carpet and grab them!!! My boys love their tunnels. If their attacking the food try the spoon way. Its probably they really never got to be social with people that much? This takes time just keep going at it little by little. As for biting rats rarely do bite. Try this make a fist and bring it to them and see what happens...for some reason rats won't bite a fist...why i don't know. Just one weired thing about them.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2011 6:33:32 GMT -5
Hi Allenya! Haha, Sherry, thank you for the kind words. But TinyTippy here is more of a rat expert than I am. I am currently learning TONS about rats (have already read a bunch of books and joined forums) but I have always been more of a mouse person. I'll be getting my first rats in May-June (they will be born next month, so expect to see lots of baby pics!). Allenya, I agree with TinyTippy - the GooseMoose forum has been invaluable to me though I don't really post there too much. Also check for local rat clubs on yahoo lists, since I'm in the Pacific Northwest, mine is "RatsPacNW" for example, though they probably don't all have clear-cut names like that. Congratulations on becoming a proud new rat owner! Rats are wonderful pets. P.S. I heartily recommend you switch your rats to a homemade mix diet free of any lab blocks, which are ALL filled with soy. Soy has been proven to cause tumors in rats and mice. A lot of them contain corn, sweepings from grain factory floors, and alfalfa meal - which rats cannot even digest or glean anything from. If you are interested I would be happy to send you a recipe I got from a local rat breeder who based hers off the very popular "Shunamite Diet". Besides that fresh veggies and fruits daily are really good, even crickets and mealworms occasionally.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2011 10:49:22 GMT -5
I thought soy reduces the chances of tumors.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2011 10:52:49 GMT -5
If their attacking the food try the spoon way. Its probably they really never got to be social with people that much? This takes time just keep going at it little by little. As for biting rats rarely do bite. Try this make a fist and bring it to them and see what happens...for some reason rats won't bite a fist...why i don't know. Just one weired thing about them. The only time one of my rats was inclined to bite was when she was cornered. It's best not to reach into the cage when they're inside... they get panicky and try to defend themselves. I would just leave the cage door open and allow mine to come out on their own, then invite them to climb onto my hand or arm. If you absolutely must scoop them out of the cage quickly, do it with a tube or hut! My Bianca was the only biter out of six rats. She'd try to nab you if you stuck a fingertip through the cage bars. Part of the trouble was people giving her treats through the bars... she was a little ornery to begin with, and would strike at anything just in case it was food. But once she was out of the cage, she loved to snuggle and have her ears rubbed.
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Post by tinytippytoes on Mar 10, 2011 11:26:42 GMT -5
If their attacking the food try the spoon way. Its probably they really never got to be social with people that much? This takes time just keep going at it little by little. As for biting rats rarely do bite. Try this make a fist and bring it to them and see what happens...for some reason rats won't bite a fist...why i don't know. Just one weired thing about them. The only time one of my rats was inclined to bite was when she was cornered. It's best not to reach into the cage when they're inside... they get panicky and try to defend themselves. I would just leave the cage door open and allow mine to come out on their own, then invite them to climb onto my hand or arm. If you absolutely must scoop them out of the cage quickly, do it with a tube or hut! My Bianca was the only biter out of six rats. She'd try to nab you if you stuck a fingertip through the cage bars. Part of the trouble was people giving her treats through the bars... she was a little ornery to begin with, and would strike at anything just in case it was food. But once she was out of the cage, she loved to snuggle and have her ears rubbed. I do agree with that not going in and scooping them out, Thats so true. They do get panicky on the other hand there rats that will NEVER come out of the cage when your there. So I guess it should be a mix of the 2 or just go by what the rats body language is telling you. Also there are rats who have had such traumatic exp. with people and will never get comfy with you. I had such one rat named Punky. I like to wring the person for giving him a terrible start. Also I believe females will bite like that because they are protecting the nest and any babies they think you MAY be harming. All my females did that.
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