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Andrew

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Nov 11, 2017
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First time poster, but I've been lurking for quite a while.

I have a pair of female rats, who are around 9 months old. They started off very skittish, but lots of care has helped. They will still bolt if there is a noise or a fast movement, but they'll come out onto my lap for a treat, or hop up from my lap to my shoulder for a look around. They are obviously unhappy if I pick them up, or pet them, and they'll run back to their cage at the slightest suggestion of peril.

It's great that they are coming to me for treats, but I would love to be able to pick them up and give them scritches, or have them less nervous at least around us.

Any suggestions, or should I be content that they are this far along? They used to be terrified of us!
 
Hi, there is a website that goes into great detail for trust training: joinrats.com
I've had a few rats like that and I chose to just let them. I've always had big colonies with all kinds of personalities so I just enjoyed the friendlier ones more until the skittish ones came around more. After about a year or so, my skittish rats always become more needy and loving. So either trust training done right or allowing them to come to you on their own time is good. If I only had two and both were skittish, I would probably take the time and effort to do trust training.
 
Thank you for the information. I've been reading through the website that you linked, and I'll let you know how it goes!
 
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