[janrobwei]

Hi, my name is Jan, my family and I have just become the proud owners of a little ratty called Pip (she's absolutely adorable even if I do say so myself haha). I think we kind of went about getting our little rat the wrong way, we didn't do much research about rats before hand. We got her from a pet shop. We were told she's about 6/7 weeks old but we think she is younger (she's about the size of an adult hamster). She's quite nervous but seems to be getting a bit braver everyday. I've been handling her daily since we got her (5 days ago). We've tried her with cheerios and treats but she isn't too fussed on them so we've tried baby food which seems to be working well. She's now willingly coming to the front of her cage and when I held of her yesterday she even groomed me :blush: (I've attached a pic but not sure if it's uploaded properly).

 

[tab]

She's a doll

 

[janrobwei]

Thanks :blush:

 

[Kipcrash]

Pip looks great! The way you're going about handling her is proper, and grooming is always a good sign. One of my girls, Maggie, is just now getting comfortable around me, despite the fact that I've had her for about three-fourths of a year now. Like humans, I suppose rats can also be shy. Cheerios are great way to encourage your ratties to do just about anything! I personally use Rice Chex because it's more affordable where I live, but a small dab of yogurt on the finger seems to be famous among rat-owners for training and bonding. Remember: There's never such thing as too much research, and of course, good luck taking care of your new friend! ;D

 

[janrobwei]

Thanks, it's good to know I'm on the right track :relaxed: I'll definitely try the yogurt on the fingers. I was so happy this morning when I got home from work, Pip popped her head out of her bed so I said hello, went in the kitchen and when I went back to her she was waiting at the front of her cage (I'd love to say for me but I'm pretty sure she was waiting for some baby food ha ha ha).

 

[Jesuy]

Aww she is cute! I think you should consider getting her a friend rats should be kept in pairs or more. She is still really young so she would get used to another rat really well and live happier life and you'd have to little cuties to play with and watch them play and cuddle together!

 

[Jesuy]

Aww she is cute! I think you should consider getting her a friend rats should be kept in pairs or more. She is still really young so she would get used to another rat really well and live happier life and you'd have two little cuties to play with and watch them play and cuddle together!

 

[janrobwei]

Thank you :relaxed: We were thinking of getting her a little friend and we will do at some point but I can't seem to find any breeders near me. I don't really want to go back to the pet shop that we got her from, she was kept in the same tank as her 6 brothers so I guess we're going to have to see how things go over the next 15+ days, we've had her for 6 days now and we're not sure how old she is. The other pet shops by us that sell ratties only seem to sell the older ones and they're quite a bit bigger than Pip so i'm not too sure how they would get on and if Pip would be bullied too much. We were thinking of waiting a few weeks until she's a bit bigger and can fend for herself against a bigger ratty and it will also give us time to rat proof a room so she (or they) can play.

 

[Jesuy]

Okay hope you can find good breeder nearby or something like that!

 

[janrobwei]

Me too

 

[Coffee_Mom]

She is fracking adorable @[email protected]

 

[janrobwei]

xx