# Brought home Elliot



## Vashk (Oct 24, 2010)

I bought my first rat from a local pet store yesterday, A boy I've named Elliot.


Elliot by Vashkin, on Flickr

Having kept mice, I was really loving how willing he was to be held, Relative to a mouse. Of course later I found out I should leave him in the cage I bought for a day before handling him.
I'm kind of worried that he'll turn out like my two mice did, And not want to be held at all.
Also, The cage I have seems rather small for two rats, I'd say two cubic feet would be pushing it, And that's good for one. Should I get him a companion and just change out the bedding more than usual?

I've read a few guides and from the collective information I've gathered between them, I'm thinking I should give him food for a few days and then have a small container of food that I could shake, Trying to get him to associate the sound with receiving food. He's never taken food from me yet, Of course it's been a very short period.
Should I leave food in the cage at all times, Even when trying to train him to trust me and prefer to be outside of the cage rather than in?

Thank you for your time anyone who replies, And compulsive pet buying is rather silly as I'm finding out. (Me and my mum went to get mouse food of all things, And I took home Elliot as well :3)

I was kind of wondering where this sort of beginners thread would be posted, So sorry if this would be the wrong section to unload so many questions. Here's more pictures of him!

Elliot by Vashkin, on Flickr

Elliot by Vashkin, on Flickr

If you guys approve of the rather small cage, I've decided on the name Vergil for his cage mate!
Thanks again!


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

he's cute, congrats  you'll soon learn that they are very different than mice, though!

two cubic feet is the bare minimum for a single rat. definitely not enough for two, and he needs a companion... unless you plan to free range or build them a playpen they can spend the majority of the day in, and return to the cage only to sleep, it's nowhere near big enough. do you know the name/brand of the cage, or have pictures of it? it might be fine while they're still young if the bar spacing is small enough, but they grow FAST.

since he's pretty young i would still leave food in his dish constantly. the withholding food thing works best with adults. what are you feeding him, though? if you find a good rat/mouse block or have one, you could actually feed it to both your rats and mice since their diet needs are similar.

as long as you're persistant and constant with handling him, he should be fine. but it's a gamble you take with pet store rats - when he gets older and his hormones kick in, he could become aggressive, territorial, etc. and in that case having them neutered is the best option. start saving up your extra few bucks for a vet fund - you'll probably need it some time during their lives.


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## Vashk (Oct 24, 2010)

I'm in dire need of a new cage in that case. Really bad decision making on my part after I just measured this one, No where near two cubic feet.
If the two foot rule applied to full grown rats, I guess he should be alright until I bought something else?
Any suggestions on what cage I could pick up that could house two rats well? I could probably return this one.

I really wasn't looking forward to getting him neutered, Are there accounts of male rats going without issues while keeping the entire rat intact? Like, Should it be a solution to any possible problems that might arouse or a prerequisite?

Thanks for the help


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

http://www.evergreenrattery.com/careguide/cage_reviews.html

there's a review page of some of the more popular storebought cages. make sure you get something with smallish bar spacing (definitely not 1") or they will be able to squeeze out until they're 4 or 5 months old haha.

http://martinscages.com/products/cages/rat/

those are also great cages if you live in the usa  the r-680 is great for 3, though i wouldn't recommend anything smaller than that.


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## Kinsey (Jun 14, 2009)

Males won't always have issues..but they can sometimes. If it helps you feel any better, I've had two intact pets store rats who have had no problems with agression. One went through a hormone surge for a week where he bit my feet, but that passed and he's the sweetest baby ever now. I have another who's history I don't know but who came from a (probably) BYB. She knew her colors and temperments well enough, and he was the one she wanted to keep, but he's fully intact and also no prolems. The only reason you were warned is because pet shop rats CAN have bad genes that cause agression, in which case a neuter will fix it


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## Alethea (Jul 14, 2010)

Jaguar said:


> http://www.evergreenrattery.com/careguide/cage_reviews.html


EGR! I am glad to see that a fellow site member uses such a great website. This was one of the first websites I used when I started with my ratties. Sad thing is, it doesn't seem to be active anymore. Still has amazing and useful information on it.


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## Rattus (Nov 2, 2010)

Elliot is a very handsome boy, I wish you two the best of times together. Thanks for sharing the pics.


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