# Head Swaying



## Renigaed (Jan 30, 2018)

Hi guys, I’ve noticed my rat Monty swaying his head back and forth quite a bit when I open the door for play time. I’m pretty sure it’s because he has trouble seeing. He has red eyes, but they’re not that super vibrant, intense red, they’re a little darker. Do you have any suggestions for making him feel more comfortable? He doesn’t come out of the cage on his own, and I think it’s because he can’t see well enough and it makes him nervous. My other rat, Lester, has more of deep burgundy eyes, they’re not quite black, they have a slight red tinge, and he seems to see much better. He runs around and explores and doesn’t express the head swaying or any of the nervousness that Monty shows. Any suggestions for how I can make him feel more comfortable being out and about would be wonderful. Thank you!


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## doperats (Feb 7, 2018)

Albino rats are very different from your average rat. Their sight is worse. My naked rat has trouble seeing and will sway her head as well when she’s trying to focus, but she’s the craziest out of all of them! I would say just keep letting her out. Take her out yourself and allow her to get a feel for the place, she has other senses that will slowly but surely guide her. Once she becomes comfortable enough to realize she’s in a safe space with no threats, she will become more adventurous despite her vision. I have 3 albino rats and they are all very active and happy. If she is scared, make sure to lower your voice around her and slow down your body language. No sudden movements and allow her to smell you before you touch her. The faster and louder you are the harder it is for her to register what is happening. Be gentle. Best of luck!


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## Shadow <3 (Jan 25, 2017)

Head swaying is totally normal in some red eyed (and even a few black eyed) rats. Red eyes that appear black in certain lighting are known as "ruby" eyes, while the more vibrant ones are called "pink eyed". This motions is often associated with the rat trying to see depth better, and indeed my own pink-eyed girl would usually do this when startled or entering a new area.


Anyway, eye color doesn't seem to relate to temperament with rats. Sure the red eyed ones can't see as well, but that's how they've been since birth so they'll have adjusted just fine to it. Chances are that Monty is just a more shy by nature (timid) rat, so you'll need to work with him more if you want to build his confidence.


Black eyed rats can certainly be just as timid as their red-eyed counterparts, my Cream for example (black eyed black hooded rat) is probably my most timid girl so far (along with my previous fawn hooded pink eyed girl Sonic). Cream would urinate and defecate all over herself when touched and freeze and squeak-scream when handled. But now she's actually quite confident for a rat, still more timid and takes longer to adjust to new things than my naturally confident girls, but much more confident than she was before (for example she actually volunteers to come out of the cage and goes limp when being handled - things that both used to terrify her!)




I initially pulled her out of the cage for handling and free-range, which did to some extent get her used to both things. But then I decided to take a step back and let her come out on her own, albeit with much prompting from me and the other rats. So I would plop my most confident girl Latte next to wherever Cream was hiding, and begin feeding her treats. I would reserve a special liquid treat like meat baby food for Cream, just to really entice her out. Once she stuck her head out, I would feed her some of that treat and continue trying to lure her out. If she stagnated or walked backwards, I'd retrace my steps and feed from there until she was once again ready to move forward. The first time I did this, it took over 30 minutes to get her out (and Latte was probably the biggest help, as she helped assure Cream that everything was okay). Same with the next day. But slowly but surely, Cream got faster and faster at coming out. 30 minutes turned into 20, 20 into 10, and 10 into just a few seconds. Now we're at the point that once I open the cage door, Cream dashes forward to check if I have any treats. Usually I'll either lure her onto my hand or wait until she jumps onto my lap before giving her the treat. Then its off to the play pen for fun and training!




Ever since I switched to this method of "I'll give you a choice to come out", Cream has become much more confident outside the cage. Whereas before it took her 10-15 minutes just to start running around, no she starts exploring immediately! I mainly attribute this to letting her decide to come out on her own, and teaching her how to signal me when she's done playing (my rats don't have access to the cage during play-time, so I've taught them to jump onto my shoulder when they're ready to go home). I also did oodles of desensitization exercises (basically working from something that didn't scare her into something that did, and transforming the "scary" thing into something more positive by rewarding her decision to stay every step along the way), which really increased her confidence outside the cage.




With your guy, if he's already used to handling, I'd perhaps try the method of using the other rat and some food to lure him onto your palm. Then try free-ranging him in another area without the cage, but with some other toys like tubes and huts for him to hide in.




In any case, don't give up! I know it can seem hard to bond with the shier rats, but if my Cream has taught me anything, its that even shy rats can become confident and sweet if you work with them.


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## Renigaed (Jan 30, 2018)

Thanks so much guys for the great advice. I’ve been doing what you’re talking about Shadow. I open the cage door and it rests on the edge of the bed so that they can crawl right onto it. They’re not as used to handling quite yet so I don’t pick them up or force them to do anything. Lester is fairly confident and will run around and he’ll come up and sniff me and walk on my arms when I sit by the bed. Monty sits at the edge of the cage and steps a little onto the bed but retreats back into the cage where he’s more comfortable. He’s definitely been making progress though over the last couple of days which has been great; I also think that Lester being confident and running about coaxes Monty our a bit since he can tell Lester is enjoying himself. 

I give Monty delicious baby puffs (they both LOVE them) and I can occasionally lure him into my hand for a few seconds and he’ll usually take the treat back into the cage which isn’t a problem. Lester has actually started eating his treats on the bed which makes me super excited! Monty also like to climb on top of the cage, look around, and then crawl back into the cage lol. 

I’m kind of surprised that they’re still pretty comfortable with me, even though I have to give them antibiotics twice a day, which I imagine would be pretty traumatizing, but they’re starting to handle it much better, and it doesn’t seem to bother Lester because even when I put him back in the cage, he comes back out! 

Anyway, thank you so much guys! I really appreciate the time you took to give me advice


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