Newbie here with some questions

[mommydearest]

Hi all!  My family and I have added two new "boys" to our family.  These two are our first rats and I wish I knew about this place before we got them.   We fell in love with rats while visiting a pet store (I know, the horror!).  Not knowing any better, we bought them and they are adorable.  My sons named them Sneakers and Hotdog.

Anyways, these two boys are the most skittish guys I have ever seen.  We have had them for about two weeks now and everytime I try to pick them up, they cower in the corner.  I have given them yougurt treats and even yogurt on a spoon but they are still not happy to see me  !!!  I realize now that they were probably not socialized and we would have been better off going through a breeder or a rescuer but now that we have them it is too late.  How long will it take before they "warm up" to us?  My children are not allowed to handle them at all right now as I don't want to scare the boys.  They do feed them threats while in their cage.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  I have already learned so much just from "lurking" here.  Thanks in advance.

[AngelZOO]

Where is their cage located, and how often do you spend time with them?

I don't know how well socialized Toshi was, and I've had him for almost 2 weeks now, and he's been doing great.
I keep his cage on my computer desk with me (where I almost always am) so he can get close to me, and get used to my scent, my sight and my actions, (The way I move). I would let him sniff my hands through the bars, then I would put my hand in the cage and let him explore it. Sooner or later they generally use your hand/arm as a climbing later to get out of their cage, hee hee.
I would just take him out (support him with both hands, securely, don't pick him up by the tail.) and I would hold him close to me on my lap with  my hands on his back letting him explore a little, for about 5 minutes at a time, and do this several times aday.
Eventually I increased the length that I would hold him.

I think it would be most important for him to just bond with you right now, or you and your husband, getting used to a big family all at once can be overwhelming for any rat.

Make sure wherever their cage is doesn't have too many disturbances, really loud constant noises, lots of other animals who try to bite them or paw at them, etc. They need at least a little time to settle in by themselves, and then get used to their suroundings.

[Apopli]

I suggest hitting up the Referance Desk section of the forum and checking out the internet resources here: http://www.goosemoose.com/rfc/index.php?board=2;action=display;threadid=5 and start reading.

As for socializing, daily handling, snuggling, and petting will help them come around.

Welcome to the forum!  

[Panda Phil]

 It can sometimes take awhile for them to get used to us. I started out by offering them lots of treats. Then I'd leave their cage door open so they could come out and explore the surrounding table if they liked.  At first they'd barely poke their noses out. Then they'd come out, but insisted on keeping one hind foot inside the cage. Then after a few days they'd come out, grab a treat, then dart back inside. Eventually they got a little braver and started running around when I opened the door.  I started walking around and letting them sit on my shoulder. Then once a day I'd bring them out and let them run around on my desk for a few hours while I was on the computer. After about a month they finally realized I was safe and were quite comfortable around me, although after six months Rufus still jumps a little when I move suddenly.  

 So basically it's all about time and patience.

 Anyway, welcome to the board, and keep us poste don how things go.

[-Kelly-]

Another way to let them get used to you, once they are a little more settled, is to let them run around on the couch while you sit on it. No sudden movements, let them climb on you and associate you with being out of their cage. You will LOVE it the first time they fall asleep on you.  

[mollys]

Welcome to the forum!  Sometimes skittish rats just take time to come around.  If you can spend lots of time in the same room with them, that is a big help, I used to do all my reading in the bathroom (where I keep my rats) so that Gilly would get used to me being around without actually having to interact with me.  

It sounds as if you are doing the right stuff, but it may take a while longer than you would like it too.  This may sound odd, but I found that when my boy was still very skittish he did best on a daily routine.  Then he knew what level of interaction to expect.  For a long time we did something like this:

1.  Greet each other and then let the rats out to play in the morning while I take my shower.  (For a long time he wouldn't leave the cage either for my entire shower or at least until I was well hidden behind the shower curtain.)

2.  Treat taken from my hand when they go back in the cage for me to go to work, for a while I was not picking him up to get him back in the cage but would remove the other hiding spots in the bathroom and he'd go back on his own.

3.  After work read for a while in the bathroom with the cage door open so he could come out to see me if he desired, or go hide in the rest of the bathroom if he preferred.  He mostly ignored me, but eventually decided that my feet were interesting and I would get an occasional nibble.

4.  A bit of yogurt on a spoon and then dinner.

Knowing what to expect he seemed to do better.  I also found that for a long while before he was comfortable with me touching him he would come to the door to greet me and follow me around the bathroom from inside his cage.  He sitll does not like being picked up, but he tolerates it as a necessary evil.

Good luck, and let us know how things turn out.