Anonymous asked: I've got a really shy rat - I've had him for about 4 months and he's still hesitant to come out of his cage or be held. He's been kept in my room since I got him (since the only person who comes in is me) but I've recently moved him to a slightly more high-traffic area (meaning 1 or 2 other people occasionally come by) hoping this will help him come out of his shell so to speak. Any other ideas?
Mod 2: First of all - is he the only rat you own? Rats really do best when housed with other rats, and they can get really depressed if they’re kept without any rattie company. See if you can find a friend for your little guy - caring for two rats isn’t much different (or much more expensive) than caring for one. Some people will tell you that keeping a single rat forces them to “bond more closely” to you, but that’s really not the truth at all. Domestic rats as a species have been bred to seek out human affection, and a rat who has buddies to keep him happy is going to be much more likely to seek out human attention than a single rat who is depressed because he has nobody to socialize with. A good comparison I’ve heard is to imagine that you were forced to spend your entire life with just a dog for company - you’d be really happy to see the dog, but after a while the solitude and lack of human company would get really hard to deal with. Getting him a buddy is the first step in ensuring a happy rat.
As far as getting him used to you, you can try “forced socialization” (which sounds a lot worse than it actually is!). First, put on a hoodie that you don’t mind getting dirty. Reach into the cage and pull him out (regardless of whether or not he tries to escape - though of course, be gentle!), then put him in your hood/pocket/sleeve and go about your business. You can also improvise and hang something around your neck to make a “cuddle sack”. Basically the idea here is to just force him to be next to you for an extended period of time without asking anything else of him. He’ll get used to you and your scent and realize that you’re not going to do anything scary to him.
Another thing you can do is put your hand in the cage with some treats, and try to get him to eat from your hand. Since they can snatch solid treats, you can try dipping a finger in plain greek yogurt or something similar and tempting him with that - that way he has to stay next to your hand to get the treat. If he’s still too skittish to approach your hand like that, you can put the yogurt in a spoon.
Hopefully that helps! I’d love to know how it goes, keep us updated!
