Just got my boys :D

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Amlet543

Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2016
Messages
11
Location
Scarborough, ON
Hello all,

I just got my 5 boys from a rescue 3 days ago and decided it was time to introduce them on the forum, these are my first rats ever and I'm really excited! I'm still learning marking's and colours so please feel free to correct me if I got one wrong :)

Their names are: Armani (Black, Broken hooded), Romeo (Fawn, Broken hooded), Cap (Fawn, Masked? He's the one relaxing on the mouse hammock), Richie (PEW, still a bit shy but you can see his nose poking out of the mouse hammock), and Graham (black self, no picture, he's still very shy and rarely out of hiding).

I'm very fortunate that 3 of the 5 boys have already begun opening up to me and will run to the door to greet me and pull my hand over to them to lick my fingers (I think they're looking for treats).

Currently, Cap and Armani are the ones with the biggest personality. Armani absolutely loves food, he will steal it from the others, he will daringly reach out of the cage and pull the bottle of baby puffs I'm holding over to him while I'm distracted finger feeding another and grab 2 or 3 puffs and run away to eat them. I'm thinking he would do really well learning some tricks with that kind of food motivation.

Cap on the other hand will occasionally turn down food I'm offering him and knock it out of my hand just lick my fingers instead, it's utterly adorable! He also seems to like sleeping in the open. he'll sleep on the top of hammocks instead of in them. I noticed earlier that instead of going in a wooden hut I have in their cage he instead lied outside and just rested his head in the window of the hut, it looked like he was a headless rat!

I did have one question for anyone willing to offer their advice, here's the context of what happened:
Yesterday I took the 3 outgoing boys (Cap, Armani, and Romeo) out for some free range time (I didn't wanna stress out the 2 shy ones as they were hiding). Armani and Romeo explored a bit but eventually found some chews/treats and spent the rest of their time in the hide nibbling on them. Cap, however, explored the whole time, he really wanted behind the barrier I had up (the door has a gap at the bottom). He frantically kept hiding behind one of the folds of the barrier, pulling at it and walking along it trying to get behind it. He completely ignored the other 2 boys but for some reason would acknowledge me (standing up and putting his front paws on my leg before moving on), he wouldn't take any treats either. Eventually he started bruxing (I think for about 2 seconds he chattered before going back to bruxing). Eventually he walked away from the barrier and plunked himself down in the middle of the room (no "protection" above or around him) and starting bruxing and boggling.

I'm wondering if this was a sign of him being stressed/frustrated or if he was just overexcited? If he was stressed is there any advice for next time to help make the experience easier for him?

Anyways, thanks for reading :)

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First off...they are adorable!
Second... chattering is usually stress, very high stress but it could just be part of him trying to grasp his new play area. What I would do if it's possible, allow access to the cage so the rats can come and go as they please. Some rats feel so much more secure if they can return home whenever it pleases them.
Oh wow! I just noticed your hammock! Love it!!!
 
Thank you jorats! I've gotten to know Cap much better in the last few days and agree that he was definitely stressed. I've bought some barriers to build around the cage with a ladder leading in and out. Just finished some free roam time and 3/5 of the boys are happily coming out, running around and climbing on me (including Cap). The other 2 are stepping on to the ladder so I'm sure it won't take long until they climb all the way down :D
 
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