[Mana]

I moved the girls' cage next to Rokk's so they can start getting used to each others' smells, and now they're right next to me while I'm at the computer. I was talking to them, and all of a sudden, Jellybean started bruxing and boggling! She still bites my hands sometimes, and I still can't pick her up, but if she's happy enough to be boggling at me anyway I must be doing something right! At least, I hope it was for me Rokk sometimes boggles to himself while he's in his cage :lol:

Just wanted to share!

 

[Mana]

Also, I tried again to pick her up (with a towel covering my hands and letting her walk onto it) - and she actually was very calm! She didn't squeak or freak out at all, and didn't even bite me when part of it fell off and revealed my once-evil fingers. Last time I tried this, she attacked the towel and got through to my hand, pooped up a storm, and almost jumped off.

I'm so happy! After *months* of trying, we're finally making progress!

 

[naeby]

Congratulations! It must feel so rewarding making that kind of progress.

 

[rattikins]

Mana, are these rescue rats? Why are they so hostile??

 

[Mana]

It's just Jellybean who's like that. She was from Petco.. When she would bite at first, it wasn't hard, and I had read that rats might do that and to just squeak at them and they'd learn not to do it, so I didn't think much of it. When I squeaked, she would stop and back off, but it never stopped her from doing it altogether. I couldn't leave my hand in the cage for her to slowly get used to it because she would just bite. She'd bite and back off when I squeaked, and then come back and bite again. I tried forced socialization, which was a disaster. For weeks my arms were a scratched up mess and my hands bore her teeth marks. Sometimes she would be okay once I got her out and into my lap, and sometimes she would still be freaked out (whoever said rats won't stay scared for 20 minutes or more never met Jellybean).

It's been a very long road with her. She has calmed down lately. She doesn't bite all the time anymore, and she will let me pet her. What happened today (or, what didn't happen today) was HUGE. It doesn't sound like much, but you have no idea how happy I am about it! We still have a long way to go, but now I know we can do it

 

[rattikins]

I tried forced socialization, which was a disaster. For weeks my arms were a scratched up mess and my hands bore her teeth marks.

I'm not going to say anything, but you know what I think of FS.......

 

[Mana]

I know. She was my first rat (aside from Skittles, who I got at the same time, but she died a few days later ), and I didn't really know what to do. I had done tons of reading and lurking on forums, and I knew theoretically what to do with a rat like that, but it was quite different actually experiencing it... especially with no prior experience with rats. I had heard only good things about forced socialization. Everyone pretty much guaranteed it would work with any rat. And since I couldn't really get her to slowly trust me (all I ever read about that was leaving your hand in the cage - but she would bite it), there wasn't much else I could do.

After I gave up on the forced socialization, I kind of left her alone mostly. I would talk to her, pet her a little bit, but other than some attempts with the towel method, I haven't tried handling her. I let her sniff my hands, but I take them away before she even tries to bite, and somehow that seems to be working. She's also older now, I'm guessing around 7 or 8 months, so maybe that's helping too.

I've been doing my best with her, and hopefully it's finally starting to help ^_^