[dragonegg]

Hi,
Five days ago I brought home my first pair of female rats. I'm not sure how old they are, but they are fairly small and I was told they are 'teenagers' (whatever that means for rats). I assume they are sisters, since they came from the same batch at the store and look a lot alike.

However, their personalities are like night and day. Scrumph, the smaller one, is so inquisitive and almost hyperactive. She loves to explore and is not shy at all. The other one, Pookie, looks healthy and eats and drinks well, but she hardly explores at all (we set up a large playpen for them with all kinds of toys), not even when left alone in her 3-floor cage. She finds a cozy spot and goes to sleep. She has repeatedly fallen asleep in my pantleg, when I sat down with her, so I don't think she's excessively shy. But I worry that she sleeps so much and doesn't show much interest in anything else.

Any advice?

 

[cjshrader]

If you've given her plenty of things to be interested in, then she might just be a rat who likes to just chill out and sleep.

She could also just be getting used to living on a new schedule and in a new environment. Beyond sleeping, she's not doing anything to suggest she's sick is she? Maybe some red stuff on the nose or around the eyes? Sneezing?

I'm willing to bet she's just fine and just a lazy rat. As you get more rats, you'll learn quickly how every one of them has such a different personality. I've had 9 rats so far and every one of them has been different.