taming pet rats

Question
Sandra:
I have written a few times before when getting ready to adopt pet rats.  I love your website- lots of great info.  I purchased the 2 level critter nation cage and filled it with huts, hammocks, toys, etc.  I made up a batch of you "trail mix" and purchased the suggested lab blocks from teklad. I located a vet about 45 minutes away that seems to know about exotics- they specialize in birds, but were recommended by cat's vet.  Having every thing in place, I finally got my rats.  I got 2 female rats, 12 weeks old.  Tonight is our 4th night together.  I left them to explore their cage the first night.  I put my hands in the cage the second night- neither would come near me.  Night 3, I put my hands in again- with treats- and still no interaction.  I reached in and pet them- both just sat frozen.  I sit in the room for a few hours each evening- talking to them and calling them by name, but they just hide.  If they are moving about when I go in, they run into their hut.  They do play- there is bedding kicked out on the floor in the morning and their toys and chewies are all over the place.  I am getting nervous about our lack of connection.  What can I do to make friends and bond with my new babies?  I have several mice and have one that I was never able to bond with and don't want this to happen with the rats.  Thanks again for your advice.
Debbie

Answer
Hi Debbie

Sounds like your girls are not socialized properly.  This of course, doesnt mean they cannot be taught to trust you. It will just take time and patience.  Your on the right track though by simply sitting there talking to them and letting your hands in the cage so they can smell you.  

Here is what to do (besides read my page on trust training at the url below)

http://www.freewebs.com/crittercity/trainingshyorbitingrats.htm

Get a few treats and show them what you have.  Set them down wherever they are hiding at and let them retrieve it on their own. They will be aware you were the one that gave them the treats as they will have your scent on them.  They will take them eventually.  Use cheerios or something they will like that they never get on a daily basis.  keep talking to them and repeat the same thing daily.  I always tell my babies who are now around 12 weeks but I got them at just 4 weeks old, that its "ok".  Of course, my three boys were from a good private breeder and the babies were held from day one, carried around daily in the pockets of teenagers. These boys were super friendly the day I picked them up after nearly a 2 hour drive to the other side of North Carolina, but they did shy away for a day or two from me.  I have a page all about them from the time they were two weeks old up till just last week.  Check it out so you can see the play area I made for them out of tall cardboard sheets. This is what you need to do also once they get used to you.  With the critter nation, you may need to make a way for them to get down out of there since its high off the ground. I have a two story ferret nation that they cannot go in yet since the bar spacing is too far apart. The critter nation came out a year after I got the ferret nation, OF COURSE!!!!  Just my luck! I put some hardware cloth just on the first level so they can start to go in it but fear they will chew through it since I just bought the plastic stuff rather than the steel sheets.  I wont let them live in it yet though till I cover the upper level with it too.  They are in a smaller three story cage right now so they have plenty of room but I want to use the huge cage soon as I can and they stick their nosey heads through the bars. I am not worried about them getting out, I worry their heads will get stuck and they will panic and break their neck trying to get free!!!!!!! They are huge for their age with the exception of Jackson, who is still tiny for a male.   

Anyhow, here is the URL. Check them out!

http://www.freewebs.com/crittercity/watchmybabiesgrow.htm

Back to your girls now.... alot of my readers claim they also bond using baby food.  First they use some on a spoon and lure them out of hiding.  After a day of that they put some on their fingers and let the babies lick it from their fingers.  It will take some time but they will bond with you, just dont give up.  Mice are different.  They are smart in their own right but they do not trust us even less than rats do.  I have had many mice too and the last pair I had did like me but got loose every time I took them out so they used to have to settle for playing outside the cage within a small plastic wading pool I used to have so they could not get away.  I have a cute pic of my mice here for you.  I dont think I will have any more mice though.  I prefer rats over mice, but they sure are cuties!

Let me know how it goes and remember to go over my page on trust training. I trained my wild rat Holly this way and she was also a biter.  It worked like a charm after about a week at it.