My rat isn't used to me yet

[WinX]

Hi everyone,
I'm new to the rat world and got a 6-week old female rat about 2 weeks ago. She spends most of her time in the cage and hasn't really been responding to me in the time that I have had her. When she is on my hand she tries to jump off every time and she doesn't approach my hand when it is in her cage, even with a treat on it. I've read about rats a lot and am getting concerned that she is anti-social. When she is out of her cage she runs away, tries to hide and is so skittish that even when I sigh she gets scared. She is also not very active and won't go on her wheel. Suggestions? Tips? Help. Thanks

[LifeInCircuit]

This is completely normal, especially if she was not held much(or had negative experiences with humans) before you got her. You have not had her for long, and she needs a while to get used to you and her new home. Having a friend(rats do best in at least pairs) can sometimes help them feel more confident. Even when she does decide that you're pretty cool, she will likely still want to run around/jump off of you/go everywhere else but where you want her to. Young rats are almost always hyper and explorative, which can come off as anti-social sometimes. There are some good articles on trust training here: http://www.afrma.org/trusttraining.htm and here: http://www.ratfanclub.org/trust.html as well as other good info that all new rattie owners should read here: http://www.goosemoose.com/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=108&topic=5.0


Good luck! I am sure she will decide that she adores you soon enough.

[WinX]

Thanks for the help and the links to the articles.
I'm triyng to stay very patient and slowly work with my rat's trust.
I did notice something that was weird though...
Once in a while her body will all of a sudden kind of spasm. As if her whole body kind of twitches. When it happens she twitches about 7 or 8 maybe times and keeps doing what she was doing before. I'm not sure what this means.
Any ideas?

[LifeInCircuit]

if she is just sort of bouncing around, then it's probably just normal young rat weirdness..lol. If she is twitching(like if you were to pet a cat the wrong way for a second..lol) then it could be something tickling/itching her, such as fleas/mites. If it seems to be a breathing issue(like her sides were caving in...she would likely wheeze to some extent and/or sneeze quite a bit as well), it would likely be a respiratory infection. There is also the small possibility that it would be a neurological thing....it's hard to say unless I could see it, but I'm leaning towards the first option so long as it's not a breathing issue.

[rosie and lucy]

I'm not sure about the twitching it could just be hyper activity, I have three little ones about the same age at the moment and they do some pretty weird stuff. I would also get her a friend, rats really do do better in pairs. I find sometimes that if one of my rats ignores me but another comes out to see the first one comes out to. Plus their more fun as you can watch them play. Some rats do just take more time to build trust in, I've had 13 rats over four years and some bonded right away and other's took up to a month before they would see me and come to say hello. Her lack of activity could reflect a lack of things to do. How big is your cage, are there any toys in there for her? (The fact that she doesn't play with her wheel doesn't suprise me).

This just occured to me. What time does she go into these 'spasms' and how often? If it is happening at night she could simply be in heat. Their body goes stiff, their ears wiggle and they dart and jump around. The first time I saw this I was a little freaked.

[wonderrodent]

It does take time for some rats to warm up. Where did you get her from? If she hasn't been handled from birth it'll take her a while. Probably even if she'd been handled - you are new to her. Don't take it personally. Like LifeInCircuit suggested, first of all read these great websites and get a SAME SEX friend for her (read about "introducing rats" first though!). Rats can get very lonely and depressed if they are kept alone. Even if you give her a lot of attention she could suffer from boredom. Getting a friend will NOT make her less affectionate towards you and it is not more work taking care of two.

Also, whenever you handle her or play with her speak in a soft and soothing voice and keep calling her name and whenever you give her a treat use the same word for it. Before you pick her up, talk to her so she won't get startled. Rats don't see well (albinos even worse) and don't have the same depth perception as humans. So if you grab her, she might not see you coming.
Females tend to be more active and adventurous. They just have to check everything out. A lot of times males are more content just sitting on your shoulder and usually enjoy more being held or petted.
Don't worry, if you are patient and handle her a lot she'll warm up. Two weeks is not that long and every rat has a different personality.

[WinX]

I have only noticed the twitching during the day and not at night at all. When it happens when she in her cage she just stays still for a little while but when it happens when she is out of her cage she does tend to jump around very quickly.
I got her from a small local pet shop and was surprised when the employee (softly) pulled her out by her tail. So like many of you said she is probably not used to being handeled well or very much. I've been trying to let her spend more and more time climbing around me today - she's been doing well so far although she still examines all of her escape routes.
I'm considering getting her another rat to play with although I'm afraid the cage may get too small for the both of them in a few months and I'm not sure if I can afford getting a new and bigger one.

[wonderrodent]

By her tail  ? You NEVER pick up a rat by its tail (even if it's "softly"). That proves my theory AGAIN that a lot of pet employees don't know much about rats! Please WinX don't try this at home. A rattie can get hurt and it is very unpleasant for her/him. No wonder she is scared. Also, she might have come from a "mill", never being handled and maybe she was supposed to be snakefood... who know what experience this poor girl already had in her short life.
If the twitching doesn't stop you can always ask a vet. Ask around for a vet that knows how to treat rats! Not all of them do.
What kind of cage do you have and what are the measurements?
A great cage company is www.martinscages.com They have all different sizes. Maybe this could be on your Christmas wish list?
Don't give up! You are doing great!

[LifeInCircuit]

The twitching sounds very much like "popcorning" to me..which is a normal thing, especially for babies. It's just them being crazy, pretty much lol.  I do suggest saving up your money and investing in a larger cage, though if you can't afford one I honestly do not suggest getting a second rat. Even though I am very strongly against keeping rats alone, I am even more against keeping pets and not being able to afford vet bills when they arise(and they will). Either way, it is still important(even more so for a single rat) to have an enriching/entertaining living space for them.

[lisa.j.31]

My little Suki was about 5 weeks when I got her on November 4th. She still will not come to the door of the cage when I open it and when I get her out she will hide under anything she can get under. I noticed when she starts to get stressed she will do this wierd little jerking thing, so I gently put her back in her cage and leave her be, she stops within a minute or two. When I purchased both of my rat babies from Petco they pulled them out by the tail. I asked the "expert" if it hurt them and she said not at all. But as any new good rat mommy would do I got online to find out anything I could about caring for them and found out it is never good pull a rats tail. So I learned that it is better for me to do my own research and not rely on the pet store "experts".
Good luck, your new furbaby will come around she may just need a little more time and some extra attention.


-LisaJ

[WinX]

I know what you mean with the "experts." Winx doesn't do the jerking for a long time at all it just kind of worried me when she did it. But yesterday I let her run around my desk for at least an hour and she kept getting closer and closer to me. At one point she fell asleep on my arm and then again later on my lap. l was so excited that she finally is coming around and liking me. It felt great to have her trust me enough to do that. So I agree that all she needed was time and probably will need more of it but I'm willing to wait.

[lisa.j.31]

That is so great!
I have realised that all rats are unique and have different personalities. Your next baby may not take as long at all, and the more comfortable you are with them the easier the bonding period is. My older girl, Daisy, was my first rat and I learned alot from her. This forum is awsome, I have learned so many things and everyone seems very nice and helpful.

LisaJ

[Corliss_Gallows]

I work at Pet-co, and sadly that is how we are trained to pic up the animals. Mice, rats and even gerbils. Its 'the safest way for you to handle a animal, with minial risk to you.' I guess they are just scared of the buyer seeing the employee get bit. *sighs* I never ever pick up a rat by the tail at work. Mice on the other hand I do, because they are too freaking fast!
But alot of Pet-co employees dont know much bout animals at all...and it sucks...=( 

[WinX]

Yea, a PetCo employee had a rat himself and was the one who actually convinced me to go with rats instead of mice, he also pulled the mice out of the cage by their tails.