[Yosei]

I got my first rat yesterday. I know they do better in pairs, so I'm considering getting another one a little later, after I've had some experience with one rat.

The problem is, I'm worried Socrates is bored. There isn't much in his cage yet, just two shelves, a wheel, and a bird toy. He tries to run away when I try to pick him up, so that makes interacting with him hard.

I don't want him to be bored, and I won't be able to get him a friend until the summer. What should I do?

P.S. I bought him from Pets Mart, and he looks almost full grown. I'm not sure exactly how old he is though.

 

[Nazarath]

Getting him a buddy will do a lotof good. A lot of people on here are going to give you **** for buying a petstore rat and only one. I wont be one of them, when you do get another buddy try to see if you can adopt one or contact a breeder. Petfinder.com is a great place , You can try making him some more toys. http://www.rattycorner.com/funstuff/toys.shtml they have some fun stuff. Try to get a buddy as soon as possible, Two rats are no harder than one and even if your still learning a rat with a buddy can become more people friendly. Also ForcedSoc. is a good way to get your rat more friendly.

 

[Yosei]

Yeah, I'll go to a resue shelter or a breeder next time. Too bad that I learned 36 hours too late how bad pet stores are .

But, now that I have him, I plan to give him the best life possible.

 

[Wench]

Why do you have to wait so long to get him a cage mate? If your cage is large enough for one rat, shouldn't it be large enough for two?

As for boredom, he will be bored while he is alone in a cage, especially a small one. If you want to alleviate boredom within the cage, make sure he has one which is appropriately sized, and make or buy him hammocks, tubes to crawl through, treats, chews, and things to tear up.

the best alleviation for boredom is being out of the cage. Pick him up even when he runs, and put him on your shoulder. Walk around and keep putting him back on your shoulder when he tries to crawl down. Keep that up for a while.

If you just got him, start small before grabbing him and forcing him onto your shoulder. Open the cage door and feed him treats from your hand, or leave the treats and let him see you leaving them if he runs away from your hand at all times.

Give it time.

Also, a rat with a rat companion is a better socialised animal and will be more likely to be confident and therefore a better pet for you who is less likely to run away scared.

 

[ladylady]

I did the same 10 days ago.
get loads of cardboard boxes and tubes in there so he can run and hide in them. Find a soft healthy food he loves, liquidise it, spread it up your hand and eventulyy arm, hopefully he wont be able to resist licking it off and will get to trust you. Beware he might bite you doing this, ive learned what is a tasting my finger to see what it is bite and a no i dont want to do that bite (only had one of them). Maybe start with a spoon or the palm of your hand? Lola has spent alot of time Licking mushed up food off me!

 

[Yosei]

Thanks for the fast replies everyone!

Why do you have to wait so long to get him a cage mate? If your cage is large enough for one rat, shouldn't it be large enough for two?

The cage is 24"L x 12"W x 24"H, with 2 8" shelves. Isn't that a little small for 2 rats :/? The two reasons I want to wait is the cost of a new cage, and the comfort factor of my parents. I still live at home and they weren't two happy with one rat. Also, I'm in college right now, and don't have time to work a lot of hours which means less money for cages and supplies, and vet bills.

I'm looking at making a partition for my room so he can run around. He looks kind of forlorn sitting on his shelf sometimes, and when I have the cage door open, he tries to come out but is so skittish he darts under the wheel whenever I move.

 

[ladylady]

Tell your parents rats are better behaved in pairs. Check out gum tree, ebay ect for second hand cages for cheep. Ive managed to join two cages together. get exotic pet insurance so you pay small installments instead of the heafty wack

 

[ladylady]

http://www.ratsauce.com/gallery/index.php?cat_id=21&action=images

interesting cage ideas

 

[ladylady]

http://www.dapper.com.au/grotto.htm

 

[ladylady]

http://www.rmca.org/Articles/build.htm

 

[ladylady]

http://www.fancy-rats.co.uk/information/guides/guides.php?subject=buildingacage

 

[ladylady]

http://cj_whitehound.madasafish.com/Rats_Nest/Norway_Rats/Housing.htm

 

[Night]

Lady, do you realize you can edit your post after you submit it? Please stop posting one link after another, in separate replies. Moreover, a lot of times people are looking to hear personal experiences when they come to forums - not just be given 10 links. You're constantly replying with tons and tons of links. It's kind of annoying and sometimes completely unnecessary

 

[ladylady]

Cool. being in healthcare its my habit to provide evidence for opinions but my myspace is getting loads of links added to it so it shouldnt be a prob for long. Btw how do i quote a post that isnt the post before mine?

 

[Night]

Just click "Quote" on whatever message you want, and then copy and paste.

 

[ladylady]

oh ta, ive been loking in the wrong place

 

[cjshrader]

Hey my first rat was named Socrates too! Did you get that name from Willard like me (My second was, of course, Ben)?

Let me tell you, I've recently discovered how much my rats love a paper towel tube. They're going nuts right now over it. Ratlas keeps trying to pull it into her nest. Silly Ratlas, it's way too big for that.

 

[tasha]

i always enjoy building toys or things for the rattas to play with. there arent that many fun store bought things anyway and it's fun for me to make, fun for them to use! that link naz posted is really helpful and if you read through the forums there are lots of other posts about toys, games, things like that.

and stick with it! im sure in no time your new rat will love to spend time with you.

thanks to ladylady as well for posting so many links, i enjoyed looking at the pictures and reading about the housing tips.