[Secularian]

Hi.

My wife and I just got two female hooded rats two days ago and we already have plenty of questions. Heheh. We did quite a bit of research before purchasing our girls, but having them is a lot different than reading about them.

Anyway. Hi, I'm Paul, my wife is Christina, and our girls are named Willow and Tara (from the Buffy TV series).

Like I said, we only got them two days ago. Willow (chocolate brown hooded) is really shy and doesn't seem to want us to pick her up or even be petted. She'll come up to our hands in the cage and sniff and nibble our fingers, but the second we try to pet her she ducks into her igloo. Tara (light tan hooded) is a little sweetie. She likes to be petted, but doesn't seem to want to be picked up. They are pretty young, but we have no idea how old they actually are.

Should we be a bit forceful about the being held stuff until they get used to us... or what?

 

[AustinXAPMX3]

Hi Paul and Christina WELCOME to the forum. Congratulations on getting your ratties. Trust me these forums will help you out alot with your new ratties.
Do you have pics of your ratties yet? Everyone would love to see them

Just continue with what you are doing with your ratties they will soon come around.

And again Welcome to the forum

-Austin

 

[BlueSkyy]

they will come around eventually just try to read their signals and don't stress them too much (unless you opt for the "forced socialization" method.) sit next to their cage, talk to them, let them lick and nibble to get used to your scent, and try your best to hold them for 20 minutes a day. if they don't like being held, you can let them scamper around on your bed (covered with an old blanket to prevent messes!) sit down with them and they will probably crawl all over you.

enjoy your ratties, and welcome~

 

[jellybeanqueen]

welcome!
you could try wearing an old shirt and putting them inside it for 20 minutes at a time.
my girls got used to my scent very quickly using that method and soon became confident, crawling on the outside of my shirt and sitting on my shoulder while i walked around! (Baby still hates being picked up though..Vegas is okay with it. )
can't wait to see pics of your ratties! =)

 

[Berks]

Hi, welcome to the forums! After theyre are adjusted to being in their new home you could always try a bonding pouch. I used one that I made myself (rather than ordering one online and waiting for it to get here) and it really helped with the bonding process. One of my girlys is named Willow too

 

[Secularian]

Thanks everyone. Those are some great suggestions.

Tara actually seems to like us already. She runs over to the front of the cage and sticks her nose out every time either of us is near the cage, but Willow just stays in her igloo and peeks out at us. Tara is a lot more active and playful (in cage) thus far, too. Willow is shy. Heheh.

They've only been with us a couple days, though, so I'm sure it will just take more time. We'll work with them every day and keep you all updated on their progress. We'll have pictures up this evening after work. Promise!

 

[madeittothemoon]

I'm glad that Tara is starting to warm up to you! Something else that you might want to try is putting some of your old clothes on top of the cage. Make sure it's nothing that you like, because it'll probably get chewed. But I did that when my boyfriend and I got our first two rats, and they warmed up to us fairly quickly. Hope that helps!

 

[Secularian]

That's a great idea! In fact, we've taken it a step further. As silly as this sounds, each of us has an old wash cloth in our shirt. In an hour or so, we will trade wash cloths... so that they both have each of our scents. Then we will put one in the igloo and one in the little plush bed thing (they sleep in both).

Later this evening, we are gong to give them some "out" time and try to get Willow to relax a bit. We plan to bribe her with a banana chip. Heheh. Hopefully, she will relate coming out to see us with getting a tasty treat and learn to love us. Tara is already well on her way. It's Willow that's the stubbornly shy one.

We'll take some pictures then, so look for them in the photos forum.