# Timid Rats Cage Biting



## leanconnoli (Feb 7, 2019)

Hi, I'm having a problem of 2 of my 7 rats. I had two rats about a year old, one passed away unexpectedly, and I ended up getting 6 boys from a local breeder ranging in age from 4 months to 8 months, and have been working on getting everyone introduced and moved into the big cage (I have one big cage created by combining two feisty ferret cages) 5 are doing great, living in the big cage and adjusting well to life together and to me. My surviving original rat is very comfortable with me and with being handled, and three of my 6 new boys are the same, very easy to handle and very friendly now that they've adjusted. One is still very timid, and kind of avoids me, but is slowly getting braver and had not bitten me, so he was moved into the big cage with the others and I'm trying to let him get comfortable with me in his own time.

The remaining two, however, I have had to move out. They were both in one of the two feisty ferret cages before I combined them, but they were biting my hands whenever I reached int he cage. They pretty much just stayed in the space pod hide and bit my hand whenever I tried to reach into that part of the cage for anything. They are clearly both very nervous and afraid of me reaching in. In the play area, and when I pick them up, they show no aggression. So right now, I've temporarily moved them into my travel bin cage. They lived in a bin cage as babies at the breeder, and I thought maybe having me reach down over them and not in at them would be less scary. And it's worked like a charm! I can touch them, pick them up, cuddle them, etc. I wouldn't say they are super comfortable with me, but they are much less frightened, so I've left them in there for a few days and do short handling sessions with them every night.

My question is: how do I work them up to the big cage? The bin cage is no life, I want them to get to have all of the space and enrichment of the big cage with the rest of the group, but I feel like even with some time to get used to me, just putting them in the big cage wouldn't solve anything. I want to work them up to it so that they can get used to me reaching in and not feel threatened before I move them. Does anyone have any tips or ideas for what I can do to transition them from the bin cage?


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