DWARF RAT Behavior- how do they differ from reguloar rats?

[horsart]

I just got my first dwarf rat yesterday. She was just weaned. She is precious and tiny. about the size of a mouse with huge black liquid eyes. Shes white with a grey saddle on her back, grey ears and black 'eyeliner' on her eye lids. She is very timid, shy and jumpy. i would assume she was not handled much or at all. I have tried to hold her, shes like popcorn..jumpy poppy and quick! she bit me  a couple times which didnt really hurt cause of her size. i hope to get another dwarf female to keep her company because i feel that she is just too tiny to live alone.
I have had normal sized rats for years and was wondering if a dwarf rats behavior is differant than the big guys. Her behavior seems more 'mouse like ' or 'russian dwarf hamster like' than 'rat like' even in her movments and exploration about her new cage. Can anyone who has kept dwarfs advise me ?  thanks. 

[~KK~]

According to the breeder I'm getting mine from they have the exact same personalities as they age, except that all young dwarfs are very active! They said they calm down around 6 months or so?How old are your babies? You should post pics! I'm getting two dwarf males this spring

[horsart]

I just found out that i was tricked...  i did not get a baby dwarf rat. the pet store sold me a Natal Rat. (African Soft furred rat) they told me it was a dwarf rat. not having seen one in person, and not knowing of Natals existance, i guess they arent common..  i didnt know. she is very small. i googled natal rats and found they wont grow bigger than a gerbil.. but sadly she is very wild and mouse like in behavior. i was told thats pretty much how Natals are. They are wild like and not friendly like regular rats. so now we have an adorable creature that cant and wont be held. we will keep her in her critter trail, but  i am  very dissapointed. I cant find any true dwarf rat breeders in my area.. i am in ohio near the kentucky border. id post a pic here but cant figure out how. shes real cute.

[psycho_ash]

That sucks that you were tricked, but I wonder if you could socialize your Natal? I bet if you work with him/her well enough, they could be just as sweet as any other ratfriend... but that's just my thinking. Good luck, in  any case.

[AvaAdoreSmashing]

Maybe I'm a mean person but I would go back to the store and demand my money back. That's not cool for them to sell you the wrong animal. I'd be ripped.

[JaqandChewsmom]

Maybe I'm a mean person but I would go back to the store and demand my money back. That's not cool for them to sell you the wrong animal. I'd be ripped.

I agree....Even if I wanted to keep her I'd demand my money back.

[AvaAdoreSmashing]

Honestly.. I'd probably return her. Which I wouldn't suggest for people who recieve a sick rat or the wrong gender... But to end up with a completely different animal.. I'd probably hand her back to them. I would for sure at least get my money back. Sucks because I'm sure you've become attached a bit

[ema-leigh]

ASF's can be tamed. It just takes regular handling. Wear gloves at first, and she should get used to you eventually. Do it multiple times a day, for around 30 minutes each time. It is true that they usually calm down after 6 months of age, but its not always the case. Even after you tame her, you will still have to handle her regularly to keep her friendly. They can turn wild again in like 3 days. But there are always exceptions....

Also you MUST get her a ASF friend or two if you plan to keep her, they are even more social adept than rats! (to their own species anyways)

Either way I'd definatly go back to the petstore and complain. I bet it was the breeder that ripped the pet store off and the pet store was just too stupid and lazy to notice. ASF's dont make very good pets at all really, at least nothing like you were prob expecting to get when you went in for a rat! 
They are normally used as feeders for picky snakes, and they are born fluffy!! They are cute, I'll admit I've looked into getting some myself. But they are escape artists and chew through everything!!

Not my cuppa tea 

[Jaguar]

My pet store did the same thing - they had them in the same tank and i'd never seen a fuzzy rat before... I thought it was just a different type or marking... but when i got him home i was kind of curious why his head was more mouse shaped than rat... Found out that's actually cause they ARE mice.  They don't bond well with rats unless from birth, and since they haven't been domesticated for very long they are sometimes skittish and/or aggressive.  I went back to the store and made the guy swap him for a norway rat after he complained about it and we argued for like 20 minutes.  this was the little guy i had for about.. 3 days.



and this was the guy i brought home:



he sadly passed away a few weeks ago after a series of violent seizures.  i had him for about 3 months.  last pet store rat i'll ever get.  if the guy hadn't refused to give me my money back for the fuzzy rat i would have just left with nothing.

[~KK~]

Yeah I don't think you'll find dwarf rats in pet stores for a while. They haven't reached the over bred pet store point (thank goodness) because they are still rare and breeders usually like to keep in touch with the babies they adopted out. So if you see a pet store trying to sell "dwarf rats", don't fall for it! They aren't available to "backyard breeders" yet.

[alison03]

We have 3 dwarf rats, and 2 are 1 year and 1 is 2 years, and all are still quite active and energetic! I don't believe they act any different than regular size rats (though we've never owned any) but they are cute and smart and funny!