First post here, so I'll provide some background....
My girlfriend decided she wanted a rat, so we got two females - one of which died rather suddenly, and so we got another. They did not seem to get along well, but as I figured they were sorting things out between themselves I didn't break up the fighting much. It continued, and the new rat became stressed and died from just being picked on.... and that may have been what occurred with the original pair as well. She doesn't seem to like other rats, and appears perfectly happy to live alone. She's got a fair sized cage that I built on top of a 20 gallon aquarium - it's got 3 levels, and toys. She will run on her wheel for hours....She's about 6 months old, and is now quite tame. Loves to be handled - routinely "grooming" me all over, and I let her roam free about my rather large desk which her cage occupies a portion of.
Originally the rat was not for me, but due to changes in living arangements at the time I have had her, and she has socialized with me (been unemployed lately too). But now she will be moving in with her true owner, and I decided I wanted one as well.
I got a pretty small male - probably a couple months old if that. He's getting used to being handled, but won't take any treats - he won't even EAT them when just left in his cage. Doesn't seem interested in cherios or yogurt drops (actually shoved them out of his house when I put them in the doorway). Wouldn't touch the teklad rat bocks, or seed/nut mixeture. Won't eat dry kitten food either. He eats veggies (I used frozen vegtable mixes, and he likes some of the stuff in there - mostly the carrots and corn), and I got him to eat wet kitten food - it's chunked turkey in gravy....
He also sleeps almost all the time, and stays in his house - rarely coming out. He's a little timid, but he doesn't bite, or get crazy scared when I take him out. I'm sure that will improve, but it doesn't seem normal that he won't touch any typical "treat" foods. My female is a veritable garbage disposal - she will eat bits of anything I'm eating, and really loves any kind of treat I've tried. She eats the lab blocks too.
So what do you all think about my strange pair? I have a loner female and a health-nut baby male? Is that just how things are?
Rick
My girlfriend decided she wanted a rat, so we got two females - one of which died rather suddenly, and so we got another. They did not seem to get along well, but as I figured they were sorting things out between themselves I didn't break up the fighting much. It continued, and the new rat became stressed and died from just being picked on.... and that may have been what occurred with the original pair as well. She doesn't seem to like other rats, and appears perfectly happy to live alone. She's got a fair sized cage that I built on top of a 20 gallon aquarium - it's got 3 levels, and toys. She will run on her wheel for hours....She's about 6 months old, and is now quite tame. Loves to be handled - routinely "grooming" me all over, and I let her roam free about my rather large desk which her cage occupies a portion of.
Originally the rat was not for me, but due to changes in living arangements at the time I have had her, and she has socialized with me (been unemployed lately too). But now she will be moving in with her true owner, and I decided I wanted one as well.
I got a pretty small male - probably a couple months old if that. He's getting used to being handled, but won't take any treats - he won't even EAT them when just left in his cage. Doesn't seem interested in cherios or yogurt drops (actually shoved them out of his house when I put them in the doorway). Wouldn't touch the teklad rat bocks, or seed/nut mixeture. Won't eat dry kitten food either. He eats veggies (I used frozen vegtable mixes, and he likes some of the stuff in there - mostly the carrots and corn), and I got him to eat wet kitten food - it's chunked turkey in gravy....
He also sleeps almost all the time, and stays in his house - rarely coming out. He's a little timid, but he doesn't bite, or get crazy scared when I take him out. I'm sure that will improve, but it doesn't seem normal that he won't touch any typical "treat" foods. My female is a veritable garbage disposal - she will eat bits of anything I'm eating, and really loves any kind of treat I've tried. She eats the lab blocks too.
So what do you all think about my strange pair? I have a loner female and a health-nut baby male? Is that just how things are?
Rick