Newbee mom again after 16 years of being ratless

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M

Mel

New Member
Joined
May 9, 2013
Messages
2
Location
Markham,Ontario
Hi
I am a new rat mommie after 16 years since owning one. I have a 6 week old and a 3 month old girls . Both grey hooded girls.Names are Freya and Moon-Sparkle
My name is Melissa friends call me Mel
 
Greetings Mel!
My dad has a Husky named Freya.
Welcome back to the wonderful world of rats!
So now the important stuff: we like pictures, especially of babies, so post away so we can meet your girls!
 
Hi Mel! Nice to meet you, and welcome to the ratshack!
What led you back to pet rats after 16 years?
Looking forward to seeing photos of your new fur kids..
 
Thanks all I am so new to this mommie thing its hard to get them to trust me when the other owners hardly handled them :( the baby is 7 weeks old the older girl is 4 months old any advice is very welcomed. they will take food from me and let me scratch them but picking up is hard to do. i don't want to stress them but what can i do to make them come to me?
 
Hi Mel,
Mostly, you just have to take things slow. As long as you're calm and let them warm up to you, they will be fine with being picked up, and coming to you, soon. Another great thing to do is, when giving them food, opening their cage, etc. is to say their name(or however you plan to call them) whilst doing so. This will get them used to the noise and knowing that it means treats/playtime, and will make them come out to you. It's really hard to gauge how long it'll take for them to be 100% comfortable with you, because it really depends on the individual rat. You may find that it'll take one a week to be head-over-heels in love with you, and another one will still be skittish a month later. Either way, don't give up! My Matilda was the most skittish, fearful rat I've ever taken in- and now she can't get enough of me. They're letting you pet and feed them, so you are already halfway there.

Another thing you could do, this is the faster, but maybe scarier method, is to just insist on handling them for a set amount of time everyday. That is, no matter how much they squeak, take them out and hold/pet/touch them for 20-40 minutes a day.

Here's a great article on this: http://www.rattyrat.com/guidebook/bonding.html
Good luck. :)
 
Are they inquisitive? If so, here's something I do that seems to work very well.
During out time, I put them on the small sofa next to me, and have a bit of food on hand. When they come by, I pull my shirt out some, so that it covers them. This encourages them to investigate me (climb under my shirt). The first few times, they didn't go for it, but after that, I became their favorite jungle-gym for a while!
 

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