What Erin says does remind me that Pinky never really liked the picking up process (I didn't have to "chase her around," but she would wriggle and slip through my hands if given a chance). Once I picked her up, though she was fine with it (but she did have to be supported very close to my body, as she seemed more sensitive to heights than Gussy, but Pinky's eyesight was very poor (even for a rat) and it seemed to make her especially fearful of sudden movement and heights.
"Once he makes friends with the hand..." that is so cute -- plus it really kinda shows me what the world looks like from his perspective with a big scary hand swooping in .
I'll try to food on my palm thing today and see what happens. Thanks for the advice! And I also think tonight I'm going to totally rat-proof my bedroom and bring them both out together for playtime. I forget who mentioned this earlier, but having Hector around may really help Paris be more comfortable outside the cage.
You know what else I love? They are so gentle when they take food from me...no grabbing or anything. Very polite little boys .
It is funny how gently they take the food isn't it? Pinky's eyesight was so bad, that the first few times we gave her treats from the outside of the cage, she would nip a bit, because she couldn't see where food ended and finger started. She seemed to realize the "faux pas" though and learned to be more careful when taking a bit between the bars (unless the treat was something so irresistable that she'd get over excited). She didn't have any problems if she could see your fingers clearly though. It's so funny how they do seem so polite, isn't it?
Rats really don't see all that well, and I have heard that pink-eyed and red-eyed rats tend to have more vision problems than dark-eyed rats. Pinky was a ruby-eyed champagne, and she would weave her head back and forth and crane her neck to try to see better. So she was forgiven for the occasional lapse, though when she bit finger, even if lightly, we'd say "ow," even if it didn't hurt, and not give her another treat right afterward (didn't want to teach her that we didn't care if she bit).
Kate - they are sooo cute!! How are your dogs tolerating them? Do you have any cats? My son is home sick today and say your rat picture and fell in love. So we're off to th elibrary to get some books to learn more. But we do have two cats who love to watch the squirrels come eat on my balcony and I definitely wouldn't want one pet to feel "hunted" all the time.... Again so cute, and I'm so glad you saved them from an untimely death!
I saw a really funny clip on America's Funniest Home Videos once of a cat who was staring at a rat through the cage bars - the cat got too close to the bars and the tiny little rat reached through the bars and got her teeth around the cats nose, chomped down and hung on for dear life! The cat was howling and struggling but the rat wasn't letting go. It wasn't very pleaseant for the cat (she got away and wasn't really hurt, just a sore nose), but I bet that little rat felt like king of the mountain!
My girls do the weavy-head trick almost all the time - it helps them to detect motion b/c by human standards a rat with fantastic rat-eyesight is pretty close to blind.
Another humorous note - my boyfriend has a rather scruffity beard and last night during playtime the little alpha rat suddenly scampered up his chest and started power grooming his face! She was quite determined to show him who was in charge. I thought it was funny - he mostly thought "OW!".
The picking up thing - I know they aren't rats but the pigs do the same thing. They'll actually "wheek" for attention but then when I go to pick them up they run away. I usually "herd" them slowly into a chube (like a giant paper towel roll from the petsore) then pick them up in that and slip them right out the end into my hand. I think it makes them feel more secure in the picking up process because they go in easy every time.
I usually "herd" them slowly into a chube (like a giant paper towel roll from the petsore) then pick them up in that and slip them right out the end into my hand. I think it makes them feel more secure in the picking up process because they go in easy every time.
THAT is SUCH A GOOD IDEA!! I actually have a chube already, so that's cool. I did take them both out today to clean their cage -- and I had to do a little chasing, but I figured it's better for them to be scared for a few seconds than have a dirty cage .
And we had a big breakthrough today! I left the cage door open and just sat in front of it. Hector came out, ran around the table a bit and then jumped back in the cage. He did it about 8 times . He's a brave little guy. Paris is getting better and better. He actually came to the open cage door and kinda peeped out at me a bit.
How are your dogs tolerating them? Do you have any cats? My son is home sick today and say your rat picture and fell in love. So we're off to th elibrary to get some books to learn more. But we do have two cats who love to watch the squirrels come eat on my balcony and I definitely wouldn't want one pet to feel "hunted" all the time.... Again so cute, and I'm so glad you saved them from an untimely death!
My dogs and cats (I have 3) aren't allowed in that room yet! I think my Basset will fall in love with them -- she was best buddies with my turtle . I'm not sure what the cats will do. My professor insists her cat just sits on the cage and watches the rats and that the rats don't mind...I dunno, though, two of mine are outstanding mousers...
I think a rat is a great pet for your son! And actually, you're usually encouraged to get TWO rats because they're such social animals. It never would have occured to me to get rats, but I'm so glad I did!
I have something totally funny to say about my DD's rat!
i open its cage door for a few hours in the morning and it runs around the house and explores, but it really likes people, so mostly it will pick someone and just follow them around for a while,
today it was CHASING! (hopping and running) my younger DD (6) around the kitchen island, around and around and around! It was so funny!! the rat was so enjoying the game, if it could of had the cheesiest of grins on its face it would have.
THEN
the rat found my christmas tree and hijacked some of the lower baubbles and snuck them into its cage (would have been quite a struggle dragging them across the house!) I had to confiscate some that might have been bad for it (with glitter) but i let it keep a few, my oldest DD (9) thinks that it wants to decorate its house for christmas
This rat is such a clown!!!!!!!!! life is just a game to it, if it can find some fun, it will be there! it likes chasing the dog (golden retriever) and the dog just does not know what to do! so sometimes the dog will move to its bed (the rat will chase it) then the dog comes out to the lounge room (rat running after it) back and forth until i let the dog outside!
this rat must be related to Jim Carey! life is all fun and games.....
(maybe it has "the mask" it really is a devil of a thing!)
I was always amazed at how the cage is so much their home, I always assumed that if the rats got out of the cage, they'd keep running and never look back, but once Gussy got out of her cage and I didn't know how I would find her. I sat on my bed and listened very carefully and heard her grinding her teeth, so I knew she was still in the room. I closed the bedroom door, and finally followed the sound to the dresser underneath her cage. The dresser was long, but she was hiding in the corner (same corner where her cage was on top of the dresser). She had obviously chosen the corner purposefully as she had created quite a little stash of objects in the corner (some pretty scary). An ibuprofen caplet (apparently untasted, luckily), a chunk of rat chow, a small Merle Norman lipgoss sample, a piece of what appeared to mummified sausage (don't know where that came from, especially if she never left the bedroom - a prior tenant maybe, Ewwww).
It took a bit to get her out from under there - she was so frightened she wouldn't come out of the corner, which was just out of arms reach.
Hey, why shouldn't rats decorate their homes for the holidays, too?
That is really one of the cutest things I've ever heard -- running off with tree decorations! I wonder if I could make a little edible Christmas tree for their cage...?
Funny thing happened to me today when I opened the rat cage...
A rat came out, cruised around the table, and sniffed at me. I ASSUMED it was Hector because he's the only one who has ever come out. But then I caught sight of the rat's little belly and there was a black splotch there . It was PARIS!!! What a brave little boy!
And here's my question of the night...it's going to sound really idiotic, so remember I'm a rattling newbie . Do you "tidy" their cages for them? I don't mean actual cleaning. I mean in the morning after they've had a rat party in the middle of the night and totally trashed their cage, do you neaten things up for them?
I do.
Should I? Or should I let them do their own "decorating?" Or doesn't it matter?
I generally only do tidying if they've done something particularly drastic like yanked a hammock down or flipped their house completely upside down - otherwise I usually let the girls use their own decorating sense...they're just going to go back and untidy everything the minute I'm done if I get nitpicketty about it .
I know what you mean, and I was a tidier too. I did learn to lighten up about it, especially when they showed a definite preference (pulling a piece of rat "furniture" into the same spot repeatedly told me that I was "undoing" their decorating).
Normally, I redectorated after a cage cleaning. It seemed good exercise for them, because they always did some adjusting on their own. And when I was having company over and planned on showing off the little guys, I'd tidy up a bit.
You have to pay attention too, because sometimes something that looks like just the remnants of a late-night rat party, is actually meticulously planned rat home renovations, such as creating elaborate little (and not so little) burrows in the bedding.
After rebuilding several times, I finally got the hint. Boy they must have been frustrated with me!
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. Do you "tidy" their cages for them? I don't mean actual cleaning. I mean in the morning after they've had a rat party in the middle of the night and totally trashed their cage, do you neaten things up for them?