Hiya
my rats are 80% used to me , one of my rats is 95% used to me and it has taken 2 weeks and a day to get this far ..i let them out to free range and bond with them like that , i constantly talk to them through there cage and also put my hands in there cage often , offer them treats and make sure they see its me puttin food and treats into the cage.
My girlies didnt go into there home made hammock at all and they had it for about 4 days ..there pet shop ferret hammock they love and it took 2/3 days before they would go up there for periods of time now they love it up there ..it just take time , patience and ecouragment ..
Jess x

 

I have had my Petsmart ferret hammock for about......3 weeks now or possibly a month, and my rat Templton never sometimes goes in his. Well, maybe he just needs more time.

 

You could try putting a treat in the middle of the hammock. That would at least get him used to going into the hammock.

As far as your rat getting used to you... I read in another post that you're trying to convince your mum to let you get another rat. Good luck with that! If Templeton had a friend, he might feel more comfortable with his environment and thus be more willing to trust you. You could also try baby food on the tips of your fingers, or bring him treats and always give them to him out of the palm of your hand. That will get him used to you as the Bringer of Good Things and he will likely be more eager to greet you at the door.

 

I got my rats from a breeder and day 2 they were coming up to the cage to greet me. One is a tad more shy then the other but they don't run from me. Also, they love their hammock, it's just a cheap nylon one that came with the cage, which I thought was weird for 5 week old babies lol

 

When I first put a hammock in my first rattie's cage he never went near it, however I'd pick him up and put him in it to show him that it was there and that it was safe and he would get back out and I did that a couple of times, next time I checked he was fast asleep snuggled in his hammock. So cute.

 

Thanks for the help, I will try putting the treat in the middle of the hammock. I have noticed that he goes in it a little more often. Also, something else I noticed just, maybe....2 days ago is that, whenever I get up and am getting dressed for school, I look up at my rats cage and he is alsways sitting on top of his igloo and looking at me like its time to play , and when I get home from schoolhe is in his igloo like its his nap time. I guess we are just in opposite time zones! lol!

 

Ha, you guys are lucky. I've had a hammock for the girls since I got 'em, and they STILL won't go in it. Maybe maybe maybe they'll venture on there if I leave a trail of cheerios, and half of it's on the top level, but... I gave up on it.

 

hahaha

 

Hahaha the treat thing never worked for me. They would just get in the hammock only to take the treat and go eat it somewhere else. When I first put in the hammocks my girls wouldn't use them either. But after a few weeks I noticed little by little they would use them. Well Lilly anyway. She is very curious she will just lay in her hammock and watch whats going on. Especially when Me and My bf play video games. Hahah it's funny. And Luna only started using it when I took out the cardboard tube she used to sleep in and replaced it with an Igloo. She never sleeps in the igloo only eats in there I don't know why. But now she is always in her hammock. I think it's different for all rats. Some will like it some wont. It's the same with the wheel. My rats have not used the running wheel once since I got either one of them. But other peoples rats love it. As far as him being scared. You just have to bond with him even if your not holding him or anything just sit next to his cage and let him get used to your voice and smell. Then eventually slowly but surely he will begin to trust you. It may not even take that long.

 

my rats are 80% used to me

I second that.

 

It has been a few weeks since this post, and my rat loves me now. usually he runs up to his cage door and tries to climb out(he does that only if he's not sitting on top of his cardboard box, he loves his card board box). I give him treats and we bond.

As for the hammock thing, I tries doing the treat thing and Templeton just goes into the hammock, take the treat out, and runs back to his bed.

P.S.
I got him a wheel and also tries the treat thing, he just got it off the wheel and ran away with it! Does anybody know how to teach your rats to run on a wheel?

 

The thing with the wheel and the hammock differs from rat to rat. Neither of our girls would go on their hammock or the wheel for a long time and we tried the treat trick, etc. Finally we gave up and figured they would use them if and when they decided to and simply left them in the cage.

I can't even say when it happened, but now they are in the hammock regularly and one of them runs on the wheel all night long (they are nocturnal, by the way). What it boils down to is that they will use those things eventually... if they feel like it. Heheh. Their natural curiosity will take over once their youthful skittishness wears off.

 

my little girls name is Templeton. Two of my girls are pretty used to me after 2 months but Templeton is still pretty skittish. The treat in the hammock thing worked for me after that when ever i put a hammock in the jump right into it. lol.

 

Some rats just don't like hammocks i think. I have had 8 girlies over the years and I have found that *most* like them. 5 of my girls loved/love them, 1 tolerated it to snuggle w/ the others, and 1 absolutly HATED it! Lightning Bolt would not go in that thing if her life depended on it (my brother named her, not me). I tried a couple times to set her in it but she looked at me as if to say"Hey! what do you think your doin'" Once I saw her crawl into the hamock, wrestle all the other girls until Rufus crawled out and went to snuggle w/ lightning bolt in the igloo. As for your boy being shy still, one of my new girls Cinna Bun was the same way. She really only stared to get really used to me this week, and this is the 9th week she's been here! I have noticed she is WAY, more bold and willing to come over to crawl all over me and come over for some luvs when her sister is near by. This week she has started to crawl in my sweat shirt and snuggle so I guess thats some major progress form when I first got her I found the best way to get to a rats heart is through they're stomach, and luckly Cinna Bun's favorite thing to do is eat!