tips on picking up rats?

[Oxyvince]

ok so my rats are very friendly with me, they take my treats, play with me, etc

but one problem im having is that they dont like being picked up at all..

i pick them up by scooping them up but they run out of my hands

and if i do finally pick them up, they squirm like crazy

 

[pscychopomp]

Can't say that mine are very fond of it either. If they're young they probably just want to go go go, females are more active too. I just pick them up by grabbing around their middle, and then use my other hand to support their feet so they don't flail around, and then put them in the crook of my arm or on my shoulder (if I'm standing, if not I put them in my lap too). I think they feel safer in those areas.

 

[Godmother]

Whenever possible, I face them when scooping them up (so I don't take them by surprise), with both hands and supporting the back legs so that they don't feel nervous about falling. My girls don't really like being held, and they squirm. I have had a few rats that would run (as if they thought I would murder them or something) whenever I tried to pick them up, and I have had a few that would squeak when picked up. And once they feel chased, it is really difficult to get them.

For escapees, I never try to grab them. It's easier and faster to put out a container and wait for them to hop into it. they prefer an enclosed space to wide open space. Some rats will go easily into a container to be transported to the play area, even if they don't like being picked up.

Most get used to being picked up if you do it repeatedly and often, though. Good luck!

 

[trexgorawrrrrr]

another thing to also keep in mind is that you've come a long way from your first posts... of even trying to get them to sniff you, want to be around you, want to come out of their cage, take food from you, ect. so you should just take it one day at a time. listen to godmother, and also remember that these things take time. it will take them a little time to learn that you're ohkay and not going to hurt them.

i recently got two new girls, one very socialized, the other alright. but still isn't as fond of being picked up. i just have to take it one day at a time... every day it seems like she's doing better. she actually loves playtime where before she was afraid to come out of the cage. but the girl i got her from had come from petsmart and seems to only be a few months old. so i think it was really just the lack of socilization.

 

[Fidget]

I've had all mine for quite a while and they don't like to be held. Because I don't hold them. Cause of allergies.
Ratties will be ok (except for the very odd individual) with whatever they are made to get used to. Ratties like familiar stuff, they aren't comfortable with stuff they don't know (even if curious).
If you want them to get comfortable with being held you can put them on your shoulders while you go about doing things at home. They will be freaked at first but will get comfortable pretty fast - and maybe even expect & look forward to it.
I like to let my kids decide what they want. But they are so curious and energetic that forcing them to experience something new & nice just enhances their world even if it takes 15 minutes of stress to get them thru it.
You decide what you want from them and you do it, even if they are freaky about it. They get used to things easy if they can't get out of them. Try holding them and offering a fruit loop (or whatever treat), chances are they won't take it first session or 2nd but will on the 3rd or 4th, hold them while they eat it.

 

[Marylou]

Here are a couple of thoughts:

#1 make sure you do not feed your rats through the bars, they may develop a biting behavior from that.

#2 if your cage has a small opening, they may think of your hand coming in as a threat, this is why I love the CN/FN cages, they open up wide and the rat has full vision of your approach.

#3 When starting out with little babies, keep them in a smaller cage so they don't develop the run and hide behavior.

Hope this helps, as it sure has helped us, we start out with babies in a see through plastic cage for the first couple of weeks, then they move into a double level cage/wire, then they are ready for the CN/FN when they are big enough, I think sometimes we start out in too big of a cage, the little ones get used to running away, where as in a small cage they get used to your hands much easier...

 

[Argent]

Only 2 of my guys have a massive problem with being picked up - and one just happens to be the one that likes hanging out with me the most! I just try and keep 'picking up' as brief as possible and let them explore me in their own time. I've had them all about a year now, and the 2 scaredy rats are around 20 months old. It's possibly down to lack of handling from a young age, as these were the two rescues, whilst the 'babies' just take it in their stride because they've been handled from day 1.

 

Only one of my girls like to be picked up, she comes running for me.
All of my boys love it too, they just kinda jump in my hands lol
But 3 of my girls run away most of the time, they like to get up on thier own.

 

[sketchi]

the worst at being picked up used to be my strider, he would cling to the carpets and his tail would swish out of control and he would claw me away. but after doing it repeatedly and finding out it's not so bad (took about a month or two!), now he lets me pick him up without a fuss. the best pick-up rat is noodle though, he actually goes limp in your hands! :laugh4:

so just let them get used to it. pick up, treat. then progress to when they DON'T struggle, treat. associate good things with being picked up! or even just pick up, hug/kiss. strider prefers to be picked up and immediately placed against my chest, he feels secure with something solid against his paws.

 

[ryelle]

Same with Sketchi, i think it takes time for rats to figure out what exactly you are doing when you grab them. They are prey animals after all, so natural instinct to something like that is to struggle. It took my girls a while to not scream the house down or run away when we picked them up