Rat in a tube.

Question
Hi Robin, I'm worried about my rat Penny. Penny is about eight weeks old. I have had her since she was around four weeks old and during this time she has been on her own. Recently I bought a new, bigger cage for Penny and also introduced her to Polly who is a bit younger. Penny has always been quite a shy and nervous rat and I thought that getting her a friend may help bring her out of her shell. They seem to get along well enough, there have been no fights, but Penny is even more shy and nervous than she was before! All she does is climb into a pipe and stay there. I'm not sure that she's eating as I have not seen her do so. If I get her out of the pipe she's happy enough to stay with me but as soon as I put her back in the cage she crawls back in the pipe. What can I do to coax her out and have her happy and playing with her new friend (who is quite keen to do so!)? I look forward to your response, Zoe.

Answer
If it's only been a few days since you got Polly, the increased shyness is probably just stress at a new situation and she should start to improve again very soon after she gets used to Polly being there.  There are basically two ways you can try to tame a timid rat.

First, you can use the slow method to build her trust.  If she will accept a treat from your hand (try to find something she can't resist), you can offer her treats several times a day and see if she will come to you to get them.  After a while she should get used to this and knowing that you are not a threat and will take the treat from your hand frequently and without fear.  When she does this, you can then offer her the treat but pet her instead, only giving her the treat if she lets you (even for a second).  Repeat this several times a day for as long as it takes to have her let you pet her consistently.  After that you can start petting her for longer, then picking her up, and eventually she should be much more trusting of you.

The second method is 'forced socialization', which is used for rats that don't respond well to the first method.  Basically you just reach in there and pick her up as gently as stress-less as possible then put her in the front pocket of a hoodie or under a small towel on your lap or some place that she can hide but still be with you (some people make bags out of polar fleece to hold their rats just for this purpose).  This will allow her to get used to your smell, your voice, and know that you aren't there to harm her.  Again, it will probably take a while for her to show improvement, but since she is young and has a friendly cagemate it will help.  Taking Polly out along with Penny may help too, at least once they get a bit more used to each other.  If Penny sees that Polly is not scared of you it will help her to understand that you're her friend.

I'm willing to bet she is eating while you are asleep.  Rats feel vulnerable while they eat, which is why they often grab food and run into their nest to do so.  If she is scared of you, she will wait until you are gone to eat.  If you are worried about her you can always weigh her to see if she is losing any weight, or not gaining any.  Since she is only 8 weeks old she should still be putting on weight as she grows, so keeping track of her weight is a good way to see if she is eating enough.

I hope that helps, good luck with your rats!