Baby Dumbos

Question
QUESTION: We have just bought two baby male dumbo rats, Badger the smaller baby is really affectionate alreadey seeking human company, whereas Shadow seems to avoid us.  We let the pair out of the cage daily for approx 2hours sometimes more.  Badger stays close, and when we want to put them back for their food we don't have a problem with Badger but shadow, we have to hunt down and when we do spot him he's bolted before we can catch him.  We had to leave him out all night once, cos we just couldn't catch him.  Weve had rats before, but never experienced this sort of problem.
We have tried taking him out on his own, but once he's on the floor, we have a hell of a job getting him back.  They are from the same litter, and have a good sized cage with all the mod cons and a good healthy diet, with TREATS
Please help

ANSWER: Hi Rosemary

It seems that perhaps Shadow has to learn to trust you a bit more before he gets as much freedom as you are giving him.

When the rats are out of the cage,sit down with them for a while, let them explore you. You may already do this but if you don't, this is a good time to start. If you can limit the area that Shadow has to roam so he is forced to be in your "air space" instead of finding a hiding spot and keeping his distance.  He needs to trust you and since you have a hard time finding him, he is showing he doesn't trust you or he would seek you out.  My rats usually use me for a safety zone and not their cage. If they hear a noise that startles them, it is me they run to instead of their cage.  What you can do is purchase a small play *fence* area made for small critters/rodents. Put it in a circle with their cage in the middle or attach it from one part of the cage to the next and sit right smack in the middle of the play yard. He will not have even half the amount of room to roam but again, he will be forced to interact with you. I am sure the other rat will be climbing all over you though which is rewarding in itself.  Little rats are slippery as heck...fast, sneaky and can fit in the tightest of spots and can hide very well if they don't want to be found, as you have come to find out for yourself.
Does he allow you to hold him etc? or does he fight you about giving him any kind of affection?
If he doesn't like being held, don't hold him or pick him up until its time to put him back in the cage. Let him come to you and eventually he will let you hold him. Some rats are so antisocial and its not their fault. Rats should be introduced to humans the day they are born and handled every day, several times a day.  A good breeder sees to this but a not so good one, esp those breeder mills that supply rats and other critters to pet stores, do NOT socialize properly. Sometimes, you just get lucky and if your rat is friendly, it was probably born that way.

I LOVE dumbos. I have three out of my 6 all male mischief and have had many in the past, including my own dumbo male named Shadow!  He was white with a gray "shadow" over his eye!

Anyhow, hope this helps. I am sorry this was floating around in the "question pool" and had gone unanswered since it was not directed to any specific expert.

regards

Sandy

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Sandy,
Thanks very much for the sound advice on SHADOW, he is a little bugger but like anything he has his own character.  He is a lot better than he was, still hides but I think it's his way of playing in a way.  As you said when it suits him he seeks out our company, diving from the chair onto our shoulder when you least expect it.  He is now insisting on opening my mouth with his hands, licking gently but obviously trying to groom inside my mouth.  Why do Rats do this?  Also can you tell me if Dumbo Rats have a longer life span than most, cos we break our hearts every time we lose one.  It would be nice that we could have them a little longer on this earth.
Thanks for the advice
Rosemary

Answer
Hi Rosemary

I am glad Shadow is doing a little better. Why do rats love to try to see what we have in our mouths? Why do rats do half the silly things they do! LOL  People think it has something to do with the scent of our breath, but I have studied rat behavior and have found that rats are intrigued with our mouth because of our voice and the sound we make and the movement of our mouth, lips and tongue. They want to see how it all works and of course they LOVE tunnels and holes...I bet they wouldn't mind trying to go down into our mouths to explore!!  LOL

As for Dumbos living longer...I wish it were true...I wish rats had a longer life than they do, but they unfortunately do not. I have had rats live to be close to 4 years old (my wild rat Holly who just passed away a few months ago was a few months shy of her 4th birthday and she was the best rat I have EVER had. I am still sick about her loss!!) I have had feeder rats live well past 3 years old and my first dumbos that were bred from a so called reputable breeder, my Patches and his brother Shadow...died at 18 months old. Patches died first from chronic lung disease (myco that turned into a secondary infection and into pneumonia that was antibiotic resistant) and a few weeks later, Shadow followed, only his death was a mystery. It was more or less from a broken heart due to the loss of his brother. His immune system went haywire from stress from depression. Is that sad?  I was planning on putting him with two rats but they had to do quarantine first and he died waiting for his future cage mates to go through the 3 week period.
I was sick over it. I had a necropsy done on him which showed infection of unknown origin and blood tests showed weakened immune system.  :-(  Rats CAN die from a broken heart, my sweet boy was proof.
The myth about Dumbos living longer or being sweeter and more social than standard eared rats started like this:
A good breeder will make sure they breed from stock that has a history of being free from disease and being prone to tumors and other illnesses, although if female there is no real escape from mammary tumors since they are estrogen fueled usually after menopause and that cannot be bred out of them no matter what. Cancer, however, can, as can megacolon and even heart disease.  Also, a good breeder knows how vital it is to get the pups socialized soon as they are born. so breeders spend time with the pups, usually from the day they are born, which is ideal in order to get these pups used to the human touch.  So, since a good breeder does all of this, we end up with a good healthy social sweet fun loving dumbo rat or any rat for that matter.
However, there are careless breeders as well, especially those that cater to pet stores and breed back to back using the same female and male once they produce the desired type of rat. This is so unfair to have the poor female pregnant back to back and usually dangerous for her health as well.

Anyhow, this may explain why dumbos may seem like they live longer since they are often bred better,but unfortunately, it is simply luck of finding a good breeder or a rat that has good genes.

Hope this helped!!


Sandra