# Your First Rattie Bonding Moment!



## juliebug (Aug 13, 2009)

i absolutely love my Luna. But she isn't exactly what you'd call a squishy laprat. lol. it's expected as she is female...and i really do adore her crazy antics  but sometimes i wonder what it would be like to have a cuddly male, as Luna just stops for the occasional treat, nail trim, and playful nibble.

well today while free ranging on my bed...she crawled onto my chest and nuzzled herself under my shirt and hoodie. she stuck her little face by mine, and started to lick my chin, while i scratched behind her ears, for what seemed like forever (which could be due to the fact that i was afraid to move and cause her to scurry away ).

my heart swelled with rattie love! 
i'm sure you've all had tons of these moments, but it was so out of her normal character, and it meant so much to me.

i think i can OFFICIALLY say...i am owned by a rat


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## Corpseflower (Jun 12, 2009)

*Re: Bonding Moment!*

Aw, grats! My first moment like that was with Cas, I was wearing a low cut dress and laying in the bed and he crawled right up it and laid down between my boobs. : Silly boy.


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## teresaisaacs (Jul 31, 2009)

*Re: Bonding Moment!*

i remember the first moment that violet and i had... she was under my bra strap!!! she was bruxing, boggling, licking and grooming me!
needless to say i felt rather honoured! daisy is the opposite! she just likes to mark me and run away hehe! little madam!


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## xxzz6760 (May 1, 2009)

*Re: Bonding Moment!*

Aww, that is so adorable! I should note - neither of my male rats is at all calm or cuddly!  Gotta love moments like that though.


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## Ratnoob523 (May 8, 2009)

*Re: Bonding Moment!*



Corpseflower said:


> Aw, grats! My first moment like that was with Cas, I was wearing a low cut dress and laying in the bed and he crawled right up it and laid down between my boobs. : Silly boy.


Apparently your rat and I have similar bonding methods;D


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## juliebug (Aug 13, 2009)

*Re: Bonding Moment!*

i love these first bonding stories ;D i'm glad i posted this. keep em' coming!


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## begoodtoanimals (Dec 6, 2007)

*Re: Bonding Moment!*

When I put my open flat hand in their cage and Luna drapes herself over it and starts licking my wrist. So sweet and my heart melts.


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## maddy (Jul 27, 2009)

*Re: Bonding Moment!*

they do have there sweet sides...i'll give u that


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## Kimbo (Jul 9, 2009)

my ratty was as skitty as ever. She would run away, bounce and hop at the slightest movement and noise. Until i scratched the carpet she would come out and play with me.  thats my bonding moment, through that bit of trust, she learnt not to run away from me and come to me at nearly all times instead.


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## KatieKates (Sep 4, 2009)

All these moments are so sweet. Reminds me of my bunnies. :'(

I just had a little bonding moment... 

The girls were free-ranging. Lately they've taken to getting in between the cushions of the couch and snuggling down in there - not like, totally within the couch but just between the cushions. Well. Leave it to Selma, the sneaky and curious one, to chew a hole and get lost _inside _the couch. I was panicking because I knew the only way to get her out was to tip over the couch, cut a hole in the bottom and fish her out. What if in tipping it though, I moved a spring or something and hurt her!? I was so nervous. After waiting a good half hour to see if she would just find her way out again I finally decided to do it. Me and my boyfriend ever so gently tipped over the couch. I cut the hole and sat behind the couch to watch for her and finally I saw her. I snatched her up real quick and said "Oh boy, that was just the best adventure of your life so far, huh? And mom just _had_ to rescue you!" Then she climbed right up onto my shoulder, snuggled up against my neck and started bruxing. It was sweet. Meanwhile Heidi was watching from their cage muttering "Selma, you nasty attention *****!" Haha.


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## blenderpie (Sep 10, 2009)

I'm so excited for these moments. I just got my first rat ever yesterday. I've wanted one since the sixth grade. I am now a fresman in college. I'll have to upload pictures on here, as he is beautiful. I know in the rabbit world his coloring would be lavender, is it the same here? Anyway, he comes to the bars of the cage when i talk to him and when i put my hand in the cage he immediately comes over and climbs up it to come out. And this morning he peed on me, which I heard was a good sign. It might just be a conincidence, though.


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## Ratnoob523 (May 8, 2009)

blenderpie said:


> I'm so excited for these moments. I just got my first rat ever yesterday. I've wanted one since the sixth grade. I am now a fresman in college. I'll have to upload pictures on here, as he is beautiful. I know in the rabbit world his coloring would be lavender, is it the same here? Anyway, he comes to the bars of the cage when i talk to him and when i put my hand in the cage he immediately comes over and climbs up it to come out. And this morning he peed on me, which I heard was a good sign. It might just be a conincidence, though.


If he is coming to you and climbing onto your hand those are very good signs he sounds well socialized and you will probably enjoy having him. It took me some time to get my girls socialized they were mostly terrified of people when I got them. If he allows you to approach him, pet him, and pick him up without scurrying off then you are in very good shape. I still have to go to some effort to catch 3/5 of mine when they are free ranging and I'm ready to put them back.

You should get him a friend though. He will be much healthier and happier and i will be more fun for you also. I love watching mine chase eachother around, tackle eachother, and wrestle. It's also cute to watch them snuggle.


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## blenderpie (Sep 10, 2009)

Ratnoob523 said:


> blenderpie said:
> 
> 
> > I'm so excited for these moments. I just got my first rat ever yesterday. I've wanted one since the sixth grade. I am now a fresman in college. I'll have to upload pictures on here, as he is beautiful. I know in the rabbit world his coloring would be lavender, is it the same here? Anyway, he comes to the bars of the cage when i talk to him and when i put my hand in the cage he immediately comes over and climbs up it to come out. And this morning he peed on me, which I heard was a good sign. It might just be a conincidence, though.
> ...


I have debated back and forth with the whole friend thing. I plan to someday get him one, but as of right now, I don't have the room for the size cage I feel would be comfortable for two rats. Maybe within the next few months i can figure something out. The only thing is that I've heard that two unfixed males can really only live together if they were littermates, which may present a problem.


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## Stace87 (Jun 24, 2008)

blenderpie said:


> I have debated back and forth with the whole friend thing. I plan to someday get him one, but as of right now, I don't have the room for the size cage I feel would be comfortable for two rats. Maybe within the next few months i can figure something out. The only thing is that I've heard that two unfixed males can really only live together if they were littermates, which may present a problem.


What cage do you have and what are the dimensions? If you don't deem it to be fit for two rats, then it's unlikely it will be suitable for even one rat. It would really be best to get him a friend as soon as possible, as rats are really sociable animals - two rats is the bare minimum. Where have you heard that about males? That isn't true.


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## blenderpie (Sep 10, 2009)

Stace87 said:


> blenderpie said:
> 
> 
> > I have debated back and forth with the whole friend thing. I plan to someday get him one, but as of right now, I don't have the room for the size cage I feel would be comfortable for two rats. Maybe within the next few months i can figure something out. The only thing is that I've heard that two unfixed males can really only live together if they were littermates, which may present a problem.
> ...


I can't quite remember. I've been on tons of rat sites the past two days. It's 12"X18"X18" it's a small college town with only one pet store, so there wasn't a lot of options as far as cages go. When he starts to grow I will have to get him a bigger one for sure. It's technically a bird cage but it was the only one that had bars close enough together that he couldn't slip through them. He's only about the size of an adult mouse.


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## xxzz6760 (May 1, 2009)

Definitely get him a friend! I didn't get my male rat a friend, and now he's all crazy and what-not.  Plus, he needs someone to play with while you're in class. I feel my quarantined rat is bored out of his mind while I'm in class all day, despite his multitude of toys. But it will be so fun to watch the two of them play! I can't wait until my crazy boy is neutered so I can introduce him to his new friend.

My first ratty bonding moment was about a week after I got Barnabee. I was stressing over some stupid exam or something, trying to study and letting Barnabee run all over my bed. I was pretty upset, and Barnabee just crawled up on my shoulder and started bruxing right in my ear! I knew that rats were supposed to do that, but I didn't really expect B to do it so quickly. It was so cute and comforting! I love that little guy, even if he is a little nutso right now.


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## Stace87 (Jun 24, 2008)

blenderpie said:


> I can't quite remember. I've been on tons of rat sites the past two days. It's 12"X18"X18" it's a small college town with only one pet store, so there wasn't a lot of options as far as cages go. When he starts to grow I will have to get him a bigger one for sure. It's technically a bird cage but it was the only one that had bars close enough together that he couldn't slip through them. He's only about the size of an adult mouse.


If you input the dimensions into this cage calculator you'll see the cage isn't suitable: http://www.rattycorner.com/odds/calc.shtml

There's the option of ordering a cage online, looking for them on freecycle, craigslist and ebay. Pet shop cages aren't the only option.


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## blenderpie (Sep 10, 2009)

Stace87 said:


> blenderpie said:
> 
> 
> > I can't quite remember. I've been on tons of rat sites the past two days. It's 12"X18"X18" it's a small college town with only one pet store, so there wasn't a lot of options as far as cages go. When he starts to grow I will have to get him a bigger one for sure. It's technically a bird cage but it was the only one that had bars close enough together that he couldn't slip through them. He's only about the size of an adult mouse.
> ...


This cage is temporary. He will not be living in it for much longer, it is simply a space for him to live until he is not too small to be able to squeeeze through the bars.


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## maddy (Jul 27, 2009)

please please please get him a friend next week 
u wont have to worry about intros if u get a rat friend for him then
he'll just be so happy to have ratty friends
i've got 4 rats
that way if one rat dies i'm not gonna have a lone rat 
don't know if u know this
they should be kept in a minimum of pairs, so the more u have the better
that's why i like having 4 
its a nice number to have 
not to many, not to few iether
hope this helps


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## blenderpie (Sep 10, 2009)

maddy said:


> please please please get him a friend next week
> u wont have to worry about intros if u get a rat friend for him then
> he'll just be so happy to have ratty friends
> i've got 4 rats
> ...


I am getting him a friend today! I'm so excited. I know he'll just love the company. A new cage is in the process of being ordered online so hopefully they can move into it soon. I used the cage calculater thing (which was really helpful, thank you Stace87) when picking it put. It's not the biggest, but it's suitable according to that scale and I'll end up putting levels in it with dowl rods and cardboard or something to give them more room. Thank you guys for pressing upon me how important it is to keep them in pairs. From reading online I got the impression that it was strongly suggested, but not "mandatory". Now all I need is a name, what goes along with Farthing? Should I go with a theme and do something like Pence? Or even Nickel? I'm not sure yet.


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## Corpseflower (Jun 12, 2009)

Just FYI, cardboard would have to be replaced a lot due to rattie urine. I made the same mistake when I got my first rat.


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## juliebug (Aug 13, 2009)

*sigh* my little thread has gone so off topic :-\


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## Shaun (Sep 9, 2009)

My rat has never really been the cuddly type, I got him out of his cage let him loose. He came back to me and lay on my chest while I was on my laptop. Gradually went to sleep. Was so out of character, I couldn't believe it =)

Or when he went up my sleeve, and went to sleep with his head peeking out =) sooo sweet


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## Kinsey (Jun 14, 2009)

Fisrt bonding moment...lets see, first day I got him. I was in Zamzows (i know, pet shop, >.<) having driven around for hours looking at rats. It was two minutes to closing and our second time in that store for the day. earlier there weren't any rats that I saw, but when we went back, I noticed three little boys in an empty cage I'd seen earlier; they had been inside thier little house. I opened the cage, and two of the boys were nervous, but one of the little hooded brothers came and sniffed me, so I picked him up, checked him over, and let him sit on my hand. He put his little nose right up to mine, and his whiskers tickled my face, and I feel in love with him. I wouldn't even let them put him in a carrier, I didn't want to let him out of my sight.

He's my baby boy<3


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## tuffycuddles (Apr 19, 2009)

ah...first rat bonding moment, right now! ...i just gor her a few days ago... and she was crawling all over but now she is just chilling out and relaxing on my chest. so sweet.  she likes her chin scratched


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## Lynxie (Jun 25, 2008)

I just had a really nice bonding moment with Reggie. I had taken the whole group into the bathroom to run around for a little bit, and while the others were exploring, Reggie ran right up, hopped into my lap, placed her paws on my stomach and looked up at me with those big eyes. I reached down to pet her on the head, and she started licking my fingers. :3


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## Junebug! (Aug 4, 2009)

My first bonding moment with Isabella was when she fell asleep in a super fuzzy blanket I had draped over me. I balled some up for a pillow and covered her in it and she slept for a good 45 minutes on my lap. I haven't experienced any true bonding moments with Dolce, but she gave my mouth a cleaning a few hours ago!


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## kawaiikitsune (Oct 9, 2009)

Hmm...my boys are always everywhere, but I have had moments with them. With Kirk it was me rubbing his head until he pretty much feel asleep. With Spock it was when I rubbed his head and he started wagging his tail XD
With Sylar it was when I rubbed his head and he made cute lil high pitched squeaking noises then licked my neck.
Besides that I enjoy the moments when Spock and Kirk somehow make it up the bed, scurry to my face, and attack me with licks and clawing at my lips x.x. Idk what they think their gonna get by doing this, but they just can't stand it when I take naps I guess.


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