Trust Training Rats

1. THE NEW BUT FAIRLY TAME RAT

If rats were socialized as pups they should trust humans and getting to know the new home, owners and other rats would be the biggest challenge. Reputable pet breeders work with pups on a daily basis since birth. Some even expose them to new objects, sounds, smells, other rats and situations as they grow older. These rats should easily adapt in a new environment.

Refrain from keeping young or new rats in a large cage with too many accessories and places to hide. Place the cage on eye level and in a part of the house where they have interaction during the day. Approach the cage by gently talking to them and offer food or snacks by hand through the open cage door. Do not feed snacks through the bars as they may start to nip people approaching the cage, thinking they are offered a snack. Take the rats out on a regular basis. If scared in the new environment you can use a bonding bag or small carry cage as a “safe space” they can return to. Socialized pups will often see humans as their “safe space”. In the first few days, use the same area for socializing. Let them gain confidence and build a relationship with you before exposing them to new things.

2. THE SLIGHTLY AGGRESSIVE OR NERVOUS RAT

Trust training an aggressive or skittish rat can be done by using one of the following methods:

METHOD 1 – Winning them over with kindness and food!

Visit the cage often, talk to the rat and offer food from your hand. If the rat nips, rather place the treat on a spoon. Use something like custard, yoghurt, Ensure, honey or something similar where they have to stay with you to get the treat. You can also pinch a biscuit or rice crispy between your fingers. You can later on position the treat in such a way that they need to climb onto your hand to get to it. You will build a strong bond with your rats by playing, petting, feeding and talking to them regularly. As they build confidence and get to know you, take them out more often.

METHOD 2 – Forced handling.

Rats that don’t improve by using Method 1, may be forced to be with you for prolonged periods. Pick the rat up using a towel if it bites then keep it with you (in your clothes, lap or a bonding pouch) for at least 20-30 minutes at a time. A rat can only stay fearful for a short period of time. By repeating this daily the rat will lose its fear of humans. On returning it to the cage, offer it a treat so that it associates human contact with a reward.

METHOD 3 – Ignore and focus attention on other tame rats

This is a method that especially works well on pups who doesn’t (or pretend to not) like attention and handling. Introduce the new rat to a group of socialized adults. Give the adults lots of positive attention and snacks and ignore the new rat. By playing with the other rats the new rat will see that it’s ok to be handled and that it may even be fun. In most cases they will start to copy the others rats behaviour and interact with you.

3. THE VERY WILD RAT

Extremely wild rats are not for the inexperienced rat owner. These rats should be tamed at their own pace. Use a small to medium sized cage with only the basic accessories and allow one place where they can hide. Place the cage in a quiet area of the house but where they will still have human interaction a few times a day. While these rats can’t always be homed with your tame rats, they might benefit from being homed next to them so they can see other rats and your interaction with them. After a few days, open the cage in a small confined area at least once a day for 30 minutes or longer. The bathroom floor will be perfect. Place a blanket on the floor as most rats will not like to walk on the cold slippery tiles. Sit on the opposite side of the room and ignore the rats completely. Catch up on reading or messaging your friends. Don’t make any sudden moves and allow the rat/s to come out of the cage and explore at their own pace. Some may not leave the cage the first few days. You may place snacks or their dinner directly outside the cage to encourage them to leave the cage. They will eventually overcome their fear and walk over to you to explore or smell you. As soon as they reach out to you, you may talk to them gently or offer them snacks. The moment they get nervous they will most likely retreat to the safely of their cage. After a few days they might even climb onto your lap. As soon as they seem comfortable with your presence and are comfortable with interaction, you may start the first method of trust training.

Unfortunately some wild rats never tame. These rats should either be humanly euthanized or kept in an environment where it can still receive a quality life with the minimal stress. These rats are unpredictable and will often be unadoptable. Some may even be extremely aggressive towards humans and other rats and might have to be homed on their own or in the original groups they were rescued. Several of these animals will benefit from neutering or getting spayed.

SEE BLOG ARTICLE ON SKITTISH & AGGRESSIVE RATS

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