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RatPack

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2014
Messages
1,503
Location
WV, USA
This girl is a retired feeder breeder and I was warned that she probably has babies on the way...She doesn't have a name and I am having trouble thinking of one for her..she is very scared and does fear bite..she doesn't want to even think about a human touching her and we don't know how old she is just that she has been housed with a male since sept/oct last year and has been continuously producing feeding (pinkies) for them until recently so was time for new breeding stock...makes me sick to my stomach to even say that :( She is in desperate need of a bath cause she is covered in only god knows what but she is rex so her hair I know is supposed to feel a bit wirey?

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I really hope so...she reminds me alot of Hope when we first got her but she didn't bite she just didn't want to be touched...I'm kinda looking forward to petting that fur :) feels funny and cool hehe
 
What a lucky girl to score a home instead of being fed off to a big snake.
One of my favourite girls is a former feeder breeder, but she is nowhere near shy or scared!
I am so glad you are taking care of her. :D
 
If looks could kill..oh boy I would be dead yesterday haha think we are pregnant as we are starting to look like a pear :) I'd way her everyday but I am really trying to not stress her in case she is preggo...We got some yummies today to help any buns grow.

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Beautiful girl. I'm sure in a bit more time she'll realize this pregnancy is different, that she'll feel better during and after becuse of all the extra good stuff. Can't blame her for being weary!
 
I love the way her fur feels but she won't let me touch her :( I just wanna run my fingers down that wavy hair hahaha does that make me weird? I've never had a rex rat..and her curly whiskers are so sophisticated looking like maybe she might have an english accent or something if she could talk :)
 
Gave her some cooked pasta and baby yogurt bites and little brat bit me! I guess maybe it was my fault because I was trying to shake some bedding on the pasta and she just flipped...maybe she was picked on? either way my thumb hurts but atleast she didn't draw blood..Should I switch her to fleece for bedding? what about those wooden chin bath boxes for a nesting box? cause the roofs are removable so she could have privacy but I could check on babies without disturbing the nest?
 
A shoe box with a door cut into the side makes a great nest box as the lid can be removed so you can check on the babies without disturbing things too much.
I have no idea what those wooden boxes are like, but the nest box will get pretty gross and wood absorbs urine etc

Bedding that does not have threads is essential .... paper towels make good nesting materials

Hope she has an uneventful pregnancy and easy births
I am sure that she will enjoy not having her babies stolen and being able to keep them this time

I hope she has a small litter
 
I have a shoe box but I think it is about the same size as the cage I have her in haha....there might be 3-4 inches left on the end for food bowl and such but width wise I am not sure..I'll give it a try in the morning..I will assume she will be a good momma since this isn't even close to her first rodeo and hope it is small...I already know a 3rd DCN is in our future..gonna have to sell off some stuff to afford one..
 
So both of gypsy's old tank mates had babies over the past 2 days sooo is it safe to assume that if she is going to deliver it will be the next day or so as well? but I guess she could have gotten pregnant in the day or so before we got her since they had just removed the male...I need to clean her cage but I hate messing with her cause she is so weary of us :( I want it to be clean for any babies that might come...
 
We have 2 nests built now since last night...she even yanked the fleece I had drapped over her cage inside haha guess she needed more then what I gave her before I went to bed...she seems a bit restless today so we shall see if babies are not soonish..
 
They will use every inch haha. Aggie did the same. When I cleaned after babies were born she ripped up the liner even though the house was already full of fleece
 
Today might be the day...we are very restless today. She rests then poofs up then moves of a few inches then rests..rinse and repeat..She also has no interest in me which is another sign as I can't even look at her while she is sleeping without her noticing me and being ready to get a bite :) but today she has only looked at me once for a moment before laying down to rest...I just told her that it will be ok and I am right here is she needs me...but I know she has done this a good 10+ times before so she should be ok...I hope.
 
By no means give up hope. Many of the people on Floridaratlist , Ratlist and other forums have tamed totally wild rats, in short, by lots of experimentation in communicating with them in the way RATS understand. (I know it is a cliche you hear over and over in every animal book and movie -but its true you have to "think like a rat" NOT a human). Millions of dollars are invested in training rats to detect bombs by the military. Nothing is impossible if you commit yourself to it. I have over 200 videos I made last year (some on Youtube) when deciding to tame a wild rat, but I don't have the bandwidth to upload them here.

Whatever the method you choose, I can't emphasize enough, but set up your technique to allow the animal to chose for itself, without coercion or force, and you can never go wrong. The overall 'theme' should be to "give a rat what a RAT needs." NOT what a horse, lion or parakeet needs (sorry, I am a horse trainer), but a rat is a prey AND predator animal.
Step 1 is to keep the rat alone until her panic response is under control. She insisted on biting me, so instead of force - handling her, I left the cage on my bed where she could (theoretically) get used to my scent and come / go at will. 100% of the time she ran straight for the edge and dived off like a maniac ... unlike our domestic rats, who will strive for the highest point in the room.
Here is where creativity comes in (there is not a set rule for every rat) . I borrowed a dozen small buckets of water and lined up around the bed. After diving into the "moat" three times she effectively NEVER jumped off again.
Step 2 was to teach her that "my shoulder" was good. I filled up the bathtub and allowed her to make the choice: 2 times 'accidentally' diving into the bathtub, and she regarded my shoulder as a place of security. She 'got" it!
#3!!! ....What is the one thing every living thing wants ('cept maybe a hamster)? Companionship, of course!
Now it was time to turn her loose on the bed. Of course she wouldn't jump off (knowing she'd meet a tub of evil water!), but her new MO was to run under my leg and hid for security. Poor little thing, from having run loose and alone from a baby, she was just terrified of the world! Once under my leg (she decided I was the safest place to be), she let me touch her, flip her, weird stuff like cartwheel her and do anything to her.
The 4th step (6 weeks later) was to bond her with another female. Due to her lack of ratty social skills (a separate challenge) she was extremely aggressive to the newcomer, but I was able to mitigate that with more training (squirt bottle), and throwing them into new (and scary) adventures together.

I have males, and unable to keep any girls, but finally adopted them to a 1st time rat owner with NO complaints. I had NO interest in trying to change "Pineapple." Her anxiety and social fear were #1 priority so I only focused on that -reducing her anxiety . Once a rat, or any animal, associates that "you are good," she will let you do anything with her ... I clipped her claws weekly, and bathed her 2-3x/week. I held her upside down, and she bruxed and didn't move, because she now associated me with safety.

In conclusion, where there's a will there's a way! The only thing that concerns me is the pregnancy biting. It's completely common, and under no circumstances means she will continue when the babes are weaned. Been there done that. Its just hormones. They will abate after birth and weaning. Feel free to pm and leave your # if you would like to talk ok anytime
 
Oh that precious girl is the female version of our first ♡ rat Curley (RIP). Do you think she's been able to nurse/keep any of her babies or were they taken away right after birth? Being a "mom" might not be familiar to her despite all her pregnancies. I hope she does alright. She
might soften up to you after she realizes she gets to keep her babies and not make anymore! Good Luck sweet girl!
 
They were all feeders so I assume they probably didn't make it past a week or 2 before being fed off :( Still no babies..I was supposed to clean cages today but because she was acting off I tried to occupy myself outside with the kids so she would have peace an quiet...maybe she is just pulling my string? I hate this waiting game..I have to get my butt to bed as we have 3 girls getting dropped off bright and early so if she has them through the night hopefully everything is ok or I guess I could just pull an all nighter...
 
Still no babies but she actually let me pet her for a minute which was shocking...that fur! then she climbed out onto the door and was letting me rub my face on her :) again....that fur! so fluffy! Maybe this really is the no baby zone?
 
So hands she hates...I can rub my face all over her haha but upon doing that I realized that her breathing sounds a bit congested...could be do to weather changing from dead heat to raining like crazy so I'm gonna watch her and if she is still like that by tuesday I will take her for meds...she is trying to chew her way out of the cage now :) think she wants more face rubbings.
 
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