# When Do Rats Chill?



## ElectricPaladin (Jan 18, 2016)

A quick questions for the rat veterans. My wife and I are the relatively new roomates to a pair of girl rattos, Mel and Sid. We originally got them to balance out my propensity for scaled and largely indifferent pets - ie. my bearded dragon Lír - with some furry and loving critters. So far, the girls have not disappointed, except in one regard. They have absolutely no chill. I understand that rats are often, well, twitchy, with limited patience for cuddles. Not all rats are lifestyle shoulder rats or lap rats. However, I was under the impression that most rats will tolerate being held and brushed and fed treats for at least a little while. Our rats are extremely athletic, and prefer to run around, chew our hair, explore our pockets, try to run away, run back, etc.

So I guess it comes down to two questions:
Our rats are still pretty young - furry, but still growing. Is a little chill something they are going to develop with age?
What hints do you have that I can pass along to my wife for making her lap a rat-cuddle-friendly environment to stretch out the (extremely) limited chill time our hyper rattos are capable of?
Thanks!


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## Cookie_Rat12 (Feb 5, 2016)

1. They are young, so that will make them energetic than most older rats2. They are female. Females are USAULLY more energetic and jumpy. I would advise getting makes in the future if by want more of a lap rat (this is just a preference and is what the genders are USAULLY like. U could get them spayed, which MIGHT make them calmer without hormones. Want at least one lazy squish? Get a neutered male to add to the group (this usaually works, just make sure that one of the sexes are spayed/nurtered, but remember that sometimes introductions don't always work.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

I might have the only one neutered male who is even more hyper than my females, lol. But seriously, it is just an average. On average neutered rats are more cuddly than females.


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## RatAtat2693 (Jan 13, 2016)

^Definitely, mate. Girls want to run and boys want to cuddle and pee on things. Even intact boys are more cuddly. They *might* chill as they get older, but one of mine was at a full blast go until two days before she died.

I agree with the neutered male, and if you want some extra insurance, go to a good rescue and they'll be able to tell you all about his personality, and you might be lucky enough that the adoption fee includes neutering. (A breeder would be my second choice, but that's expensive.)


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## BlackoutCat (Jan 23, 2016)

Boy are in general definitely more chill than girls but if they are under six months old there is still hope. Six months is about average time when rats are finalizing a social hierarchy and start to calm down if it's in their nature. If you'd like more cuddly times maybe try liquid treats on a spoon that they can't snatch and take off with. I had girls when I was younger but they were a bit more than I bargained for in terms of activity so this time around got three boys. They're not yet six months so it's a waiting game, hopefully ending in squishy lap rats.


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## jlhummel (Oct 23, 2014)

I have two 2yr old girls and they are go go go pretty much always. Heck, they both have tumors and that doesn't slow them down one bit!

My two 8mo old boys on the other hand will sit in my lap for hours for a good snuggle.


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