Dixie And Dora

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Lauryn H99

Member
Joined
Mar 29, 2021
Messages
6
Location
Weymouth, Dorset, England
Hi everyone!
This is my first time caring for rats (I've dealt with lots of animals before - dog, guinea pigs, birds, tortoises, fish, cats). I have a few questions about my baby girls (they're 12 weeks old, brought home on Sunday) but maybe I'm in the wrong topic but I'll list them here and maybe I could get some guidance?

1. When giving one of my girls a treat (Dixie) through the cage bars just to learn that I'm not a threat, she tends to try and Bite me, is this normal behaviour? What should I do differently or is this just a learning process?
2. Is it normal to have one rat that is more confident than the other? Dixie likes to run around and explore and will come up to the side of the cage where I am sitting but her sister Dora likes to hide away in her hut. I'm worried that Dora will be harder to bond with.
3. How do you teach your rats their names?

Of course I have more questions with being a first time rat mum but these are some things that I have noticed over the last 4 days.

Thank you in advance and here's a picture of Dixie enjoying a little treat
 

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They’re adorable! Congrats on being a new rat owner! I got my first 2 a year and a half ago and I’ve been hooked ever since. I try to never give treats through the bars because it encourages them to bite whatever comes through the bars (in case it’s a treat) so that’s probably what your girl is doing. As for the confidence thing, all rats are different and have different personalities (one of the best parts about them!) so it’s normal to have some that are more outgoing and some that are more shy. For the shy one I recommend soft treats like baby food and yogurt so she can lick it off your hand or a spoon and have to stay near you while she’s eating. You can then lure her out to spend time closer with you and she will start to get more comfortable. It takes time for the shy rats to come out of their shells but it’s worth it! I have 8 girls right now so individual names doesn’t really work. They all just come running if they think there’s a treat involved so I just started making this sort of clicking noise everytime I shake the treat bag and they all know to come when I make that noise. You can also watch shadow the rats’s videos on YouTube to learn more about training rats. My girls know a couple tricks but not their names. I’ll call them by their names but the only way I can call them to me is the clicking noise that I’ve taught. I hope this helps! I’m not an expert but I’ve spent lots of time researching and hanging around my rats so I can hopefully give pretty good advice :) I’m willing to answer more questions if you have them!
 
Sorry for the very late reply, but after I posted this it turned out that Dixie (the one in the picture) was actually pregnant and I'm going through a whole fiasco at the moment with the girls and pets at home. The babies will be three weeks old on Wednesday but I don't know how many there are and haven't seen them as the my girls and babies are in the care of pets at home
 
I sorry you don't get to see your girls! I'm glad pets at home were willing to raise the babies though. Most pet stores in America won't take babies back and also the rats come from terrible rodent mills :( I'm glad your girls are getting good care, except for the fact that she somehow got pregnant in the first place. I hope all the babies are happy and healthy!
 
It's been really hard with not having the girls around and not knowing how they're doing all the time. But I saw them today and it turns out that I have six babies, at least two girls and boys and I got to hold one of the girls today who was boggling when I was stroking her so that must be a good sign that she's comfortable with me already. Dixie was very happy to come up to me as well and show off, she's full of energy, like a totally different little girl
 
Yeah, at least two of the girls. The picture is one of the girls I'll be keeping, she fell asleep in my hands not long after this picture was taken and she was trying to boggle so I'm guessing that's a good sign?
 

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Awww! Adorable! As long as they are handled as babies and spend time getting to know humans they shouldn’t be afraid and should be loving little babies 😍
 
Dixie and Dora are home, along with three healthy little babies. I've been letting them settle into their new home for the last 24 hours but I'd love it if anyone has any tips for looking after the 5 of them. The babies turned 4 weeks old today (Wednesday)

I've attached a picture of all of the ladies but currently they're in a pile on a hammock 😂
 
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