# rodentistry? And other ratty behaviours?



## Lexi_Bexi (Jan 15, 2017)

So recently my little 8 month buck Ant has started insisting on cleaning my teeth. I know this sounds weird but I don't mind overly much I was just curious if anyone knew why he is so insistent on doing it? He doesn't do it to his cage mate Dec? Anyone have any ideas or knowledge on this? 

The same little guy who is happy to try and stick his head in my mouth is also really skittish and shy and doesn't like being picked up? Is that just his personality? Because surely he must trust me to stick his head in my mouth? Is there any guaranteed tells for when your little furbaby trusts you fully? 

Sorry this is a lot of questions I'm relatively new rat owner but already love my little boys


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## Shadow <3 (Jan 25, 2017)

My 2 rats Latte and Shadow always try to do this, and I assume it's because my breath smells like food (and possibly my saliva tastes like food?). Latte and Shadow are my tamest rats, however, a past nervous rat of mine (Sonic) also liked to do this. Sonic had a skittish personality in general, and never learned to like being picked up (she tolerated it, but would much rather climb up my arm on her own). On another note, I have never seen my rats try and clean each other's teeth, although I have seen them take a mouthful of each other's fur and drag each other places ;D (it looks quite hilarious!) I doubts our rats really know what our mouth is capable of (if they did, I'm sure they'd be more careful!), and I think they're just interested in the taste and smell of our saliva (as weird as that sounds). Be careful when indulging this behavior, because sometimes rats will get over enthusiastic and start trying to pry open your mouth with their claws (and that hurts a lot!) 

As for the trust question, I believe that it takes rats a long time to understand that your body and hands are all connected. Ant may not realize that your mouth isn't just a snacking spot, and that it's connected to your hands as well. I suggest doing some more trust training with Ant or taking him out for free range in a small area in which you are the only hiding spot, forcing him to interact with you. Try feeding him treats during free range sessions, and work on picking him up and setting him down multiple times during free range (this will teach him that being picked up doesn't necessarily mean going back to the cage, or being carried around, and is just a normal everyday action). I think a sign that a rat fully trusts you is when they allow you to pick them up without protest and will eat a solid treat while being held.


What helped my rats learn to trust in me was training them to do various cute tricks. This made my behavior more predictable and taught them that they could control some of my actions (i.e. me giving them a treat) by doing specific things themselves. If you do decide to try training your ratties, I suggest training come first, as it can be very useful if your rats ever escape. Good luck!


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