# Wild Pet Rat



## Trenix (Aug 30, 2013)

So there is a wild rat that made my shed it's home. It's so ironic because I just recently got some pet rats. I know it isn't native to this area because I live in Arizona and it's also albino. I feel sorry for it and always leave it some food and water. It's extremely dirty, but seems healthy. My girlfriend wants me to catch it, any tips of how to do it without hurting it? It bites pretty hard so I don't want to just grab it. It's taken food from my hand and has climbed over me already, so it seems sociable and with proper training it could be part of the family.


----------



## Xerneas (Aug 6, 2013)

I could be wrong about this, but I hear that PEW rats are extremely rare in the wild (I know you said it wasn't native to your area) and even so don't survive for very long due to their poor eyesight and since they stick out so much are a very easy target for predators. With that in mind, that could very easily be someone's pet or a feeder that got loose. ???


----------



## Korra (Dec 11, 2011)

Yeah that is a domestic rat. Probably an escaped rat or a feeder that someone let loose. Try buying a humane live trap to catch it.


----------



## Grawrisher (Sep 10, 2013)

Please catch the poor dear! Did you say Arizona?...snakes....snakes et rats, definately quarantine though...keep us updated


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Hey-Fay (Jul 8, 2013)

Yes, keep us updated!


----------



## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

The best traps are by have-a-heart. I have the suitable one, but I live in NJ. You might call your local animal control office and tell them you need to catch a squirrel or similar rodent that lives native in your area and see if they will lend you a trap. 

You might be able to befriend it and call it up on you and bring it inside. The earliest rat-human relationships were recorded between so called witches and their familiars that were often rats. Basically think little old lady some table scrap left overs and a lot of patience, next thing you got was a pet rat... well then the story might end with a good old fashioned witch burning because back then they didn't believe in shoulder rats. But people have tamed wild rats before even without cages or traps.

Be forewarned, if the PEW has been wild for a while you are in for a real interesting immersion, it's likely pretty smart to have survived, and pretty strong agile and fast because it hasn't been living in a cage. It's also likely to become a one owner rat as in it will bond with one human and very likely bite others. It may or may not play nicely with the rats you already have... it will be superior to them in skill and ability and likely it knows how to kill to survive. My part wild rat went native outdoors for 5 months, the rat that came home was sweet and loving towards us, and learned to live with Fuzzy Rat, but tore my neighbor up when he tried to pick it up. Although she was quite friendly and well behaved, she was never what you might call domestic ever again, not that it ever was "normal" from the start.


----------



## Grawrisher (Sep 10, 2013)

I want to see pictures when you catch it

Side note: whenever I read PEW I think of little kids shooting "guns"...anyone else?


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Trenix (Aug 30, 2013)

This is the second time I've used a have-a-heart trap in my life and both times they haven't been successful. One was for a squirrel that managed to get in my garage which eventually get out. The second time is for the rat in my shed which is still living there and keeps taking the bait from the cage like it's a joke. The pressure you need to put on the trigger to set the trap off is ridiculous. Even the sound of the trap going off scares the rat allowing it to escape before the doors shut. I just don't get it, it's so much cheaper and reliable to buy a rat trap rather than purchasing a humane trap and saving an animal's life. I blame have-a-heart for my frustration, if you have any tips to make this trap function appropriately, please explain. Otherwise I'm returning it and I'll attempt to befriend the wild rat, hopefully getting it eventually inside my cage with the others.


----------



## Finnebon (Jul 15, 2013)

If the traps don't work, you can try just setting up a cage kinda hidden in the corner, maybe covered with a blanket or boxes so it feels more secure. Set it up like a normal rat cage. Put in food and water and hammocks and a box to hide in that's stuffed with nesting material. If you're lucky, he may move in to the cage and you could just close the door and bring him in. If not, he will at least have a reliable place to get his food and water and maybe to sleep, and when you eventually catch him, he will not think cages are so scary. Good luck!! This is very interesting, I hope you can catch him and that he's healthy!


----------



## Grawrisher (Sep 10, 2013)

Oooooh I second the cage thing!!!!lots of soft stuff and disguise it so its just a cozy dark place....that's good thinking


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Piff (Aug 29, 2013)

Grawrisher said:


> Side note: whenever I read PEW I think of little kids shooting "guns"...anyone else?
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Ahahaha! pew pew pew pew! I always read it in my head like that too ;D


----------



## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

With the have a heart traps sometimes you have to put a little bit of oil or grease on the catches and sometimes you have to tweak them a bit with a pair of pliers. 

The other trick is to leave one door closed and put the bait all the way in the back of the trap so the rat has to walk over the tip tray and set off the trap. You can also put a weight on the tip tray so the rat can set it off with less pressure.

I realize that the have-a-heart traps aren't start of the art, some take a bit of bending and tweaking and some work better than others, but I've trapped cats and squirrels pretty successfully over the years with them. I have an old squirrel size trap, every time I pull it out of storage I spend a couple hours tweaking it to get it to work right. I have no idea why it's always a pain to set up the first time because I always put it away working perfectly. 

With mice I've also used the glue traps, but it's a real trauma to get the mouse out of the glue. I'm not sure it would be any easier with a panicking rat.


----------



## Trenix (Aug 30, 2013)

I caught it!








(Don't worry about the flooring, the fleece is in the laundry currently.)

So here is what happened. I was washing my 10 gallon fish tank, dried it, and then put a strip of fleece inside because I was about to put my girls in it so I could clean the cage. The wild rat manage to be interested in the tank so I tilted it and she jumped in, then I quickly tilted it back up. It was that simple...

Afterwards I mixed her one by one with all my other rats and kept a water spray with me in case they were to attack each other. Instead they welcomed each other, by entirely grooming her. So I got an additional rat now, not sure if I'll put her up for adoption or not. She's VERY skinny, so it's a good thing that I scooped her up. She also looks really awesome with a split ear. Her name is moonlight.


----------



## Grawrisher (Sep 10, 2013)

Yayayyay!!!!a gorgeous hard earned and much deserved rat has found a determined and loving home!!!! I was just starting to worry about this little one again


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## evander (Jun 30, 2013)

She looks very young - poor little thing!!

Glad you caught her! Hoping things continue to go smoothly for your mischief and their new addition!


----------



## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

I'd guess she was raised in an aquarium and recognized it as a safe home. In the photo her tail has been recently preened by another rat, if your rats didn't do it, you have more wild rats to think about. When My part-wild rat came home she was perfect, not a hair out of place but her tail was black and filthy looking so I knew she had been living on her own.

Best luck.


----------



## Trenix (Aug 30, 2013)

The rat was filfthy at first, the tail was almost completely black. However now it's looking a lot cleaner. I have a feelings that's she's completely blind because she acts unusual and doesn't react very fast. My rats went at it with her last night that I had to squirt them to cut it out, but she's doing perfectly fine though this morning. It looked like they were all challenging her, but it wasn't anything major. It was good to see them all grouped up sleeping together.


----------



## Actress (Aug 9, 2013)

Aww this is amazing! Definitely keep us updated! Also, make sure you check her for any signs of lice/similar because she was out in the wild for so long


----------



## Trenix (Aug 30, 2013)

She's a tad aggressive. She loves to grab onto people and bite. Any tips to stop her from doing this? Squeaking doesn't work...


----------



## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Squeaking wouldn't work, it's the sound a submissive rat makes :/

You can try to pin her and teach her it's bad; say NO firmly, bop her nose, flip her. She won't like it. It took a week with a rat biting me nigh-constant to get her to stop.


----------



## Piff (Aug 29, 2013)

Same here. I made a loud noise then closed him back in his cage. He loved outside time, so he caught on pretty quicky. Don't give up


----------



## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Immersion might be a good place to start. But it isn't likely to be easy.


----------



## Grawrisher (Sep 10, 2013)

Bop and swipe at her a bunch after she does it, with some good ole fashion immersion....immersion is magic


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Hey-Fay (Jul 8, 2013)

Oh my gosh! She is amazing! I wouldn't put her up for adoption, but that's just me. Keep us posted on her progress!


----------



## Trenix (Aug 30, 2013)

Honestly I'm getting really fed up with her, she bites, refuses to get potty trained, isn't water bottle trained, and pees everywhere. She is more work than all three of my rats combined and today she extremely ticked me off because she drew blood with one of her bites. Whether I push her around, pin her down, or even yell at her, she stops biting for that moment, but than continues with her bad behavior. It's getting to the point where I can't grab my other rats without her lashing out on me. My girlfriend no longer spends time with the rats anymore because of her. When I pick the rat up, she doesn't bite or anything, but the moment she's in her cage, she goes crazy. She ALWAYS tries to bite everyone's finger tips, probably because it's easy for her to bite. I can't even pet her or else she'll attack me.

Please give me some sort of tips, this rat seriously needs some help and requires taming. I don't want to put her up for adoption because I'm sure the place I'll drop her off at wont have other rats there and I doubt anyone would want an untamed rat. If she's not going to be in my care, then she'll most likely end up as snake food. So please tell me what I should do as of now.


----------



## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

I'm not sure if you did an immersion session yet, but if you did how did it go?


----------



## Trenix (Aug 30, 2013)

Well right after that I grabbed her, held her down, and shouted at her. I also continue to push her around every time she attempts to attack me and I'm guessing she is starting to understand that she shouldn't mess with me anymore. Now she's the one flinching instead of me, it's pretty funny. Outside of the cage she is still nice so at least that's good because then I can easily bond with her.


----------



## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

The problem with using negative reinforcement outside of a long session is that the following scenario is likely to happen...

The rat does something bad...

You discipline it..

You let it go.. and put it back in it's cage and...

It decided it got away and got the best of you!

And it's emboldened to do the same thing again.

In a long session, it does something bad... get's disciplined, tries it again... gets disciplined, and again and again... and it learns that there's no way it gets to have a happy ending that leads back to it's cage. Therefore it has plenty of opportunity to think about what it's doing wrong and try something else... like being nice and submitting to authority.

It's like a child that learns that when he does something bad, he gets a 5 minute time out then he gets a cookie and gets to play with mom who is supervising him to watch for more bad behavior. So if he wants attention and a cookie, he has to do something bad and wait 5 minutes for it. This is a strange phenomenon common with children, that actually causes children to become "negatives". And we have seen the same in rats. Basically the reward at the end of the discipline makes the original bad behavior more attractive.


----------



## DustyRat (Jul 9, 2012)

Quite the saga so far. Hope it all ends well.


----------



## Hey-Fay (Jul 8, 2013)

If you lived in Michigan I would take her off your hands. Instead of negative reinforcement try positive reinforcement.


----------



## Trenix (Aug 30, 2013)

Rat Daddy said:


> The problem with using negative reinforcement outside of a long session is that the following scenario is likely to happen...
> 
> The rat does something bad...
> 
> ...


Oh no, after that I was playing with my other rats in the cage and when the wild one tried to bite me, I kept pushing her around until she cut it out. She's getting the idea that it's ok to sniff me, but biting won't be tolerated. She eventually gave up and walked away from me.



Hey-Fay said:


> If you lived in Michigan I would take her off your hands. Instead of negative reinforcement try positive reinforcement.


I don't believe in strictly positive reinforcement, that doesn't even work with humans. I like the idea of combining positive and negative reinforcements. Currently the only positive reinforcement I provide is a treat when she becomes submissive or becomes afraid of me because I shove her around for quite a while. It's pretty obvious when she gives up with immersion training, because when she's aggressive she's in this stance like she's about to jump/attack me. By the way, thank you guys for telling me about the immersion training. I think it works...


----------



## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

The theory behind immersion training was taught to me by Fuzzy Rat, the best shoulder rat and most charismatic and communicative rat I've ever known.... The technique comes from watching a pack of wild rats try to immerse my daughter. Immersion works because it's based on the way rats see the world, not on how we want them to behave.

Although I actually intended to promote immersion as a fast and gently way to bond with friendly and normal rats It's fixed some of the worst screwed up rats that nothing else including neutering could fix. And before it became a standard approach with normal rats, extreme immersions became better known as the last resort for the messed up ones. 

And lastly when it comes to negative reinforcement... just consider what happens when a subordinate pack member bites his alpha rat. First there is chasing, then there is fur flying, then lots of blood and then the alpha grooms what ever is lift over of the rat that attacked him to thank it for being submissive. Sure it ends with grooming and positive reinforcement, but before the rats get there there's plenty of negativity to go around. Before you can use positive reinforcement you need good behavior to reward. It's like praising a kid for getting a 16 out of 100 on a math test. No kid that isn't 'special' is going to take you seriously.


----------



## September (Jul 30, 2013)

My only experience to date is with dogs, so of course I can't speak for rats directly. But I think a lot of what's been said here can be compared to the dog world, so I've decided not to hold my tongue, which was my original decision.

First of all, Rat Daddy, I want to establish that I respect your experience with rats and the valuable insight that you have to offer, and I really appreciate that you offer it to newbies such as myself so freely, in such easy to understand posts. (OT, you should totally write a book)

I'm seeing a lot of parallels being drawn between domestic rats and wild rats, in the way that they should be approached and handled. This really doesn't make sense to me, given the amount of effort being put out by the rat community to stop people comparing the two. Just for example, wild rats are known to carry disease, domestic rats rarely, if ever, do. It seems a bit backwards to me to tell people don't look at them as one and the same, but then to go ahead and do so ourselves.

Also, and this is where the relation to dogs comes in, rats are intelligent animals, are they not? Everything I've read or been told has backed up their intelligence level. So I would be willing to bet that a rat knows your not a rat. It might not know what you are, but it knows what you're not, and you are not a rat. With dogs, a lot of people used to think dominance was the best way, the only way. Treat the dog like it's part of a wolf pack, you become the alpha, and all your problems will go away. This has proven to be untrue--Because the dog knows you're not a dog, therefore you can't assert your dominance in the traditional sense of the word. I feel it's probably the same with a rat.

I have used only positive reinforcement with my dog, and I've had people tell me there was no way that would ever work. It did, and he's the best dog in my entire town. (admittedly, our population is on the small side, because I live in a rural area.) And I plan to use only positive reinforcement with my rats. An experiment, if you'd like to call it that, to see how well it works. I've already been working on modifying much of the tips provided here to take out anything resembling dominance or negative reinforcement. I just can not see how it would be beneficial to make your rat fear you, or make it flinch every time you move near it. Doesn't sound right to me.


----------



## Grawrisher (Sep 10, 2013)

September said:


> My only experience to date is with dogs, so of course I can't speak for rats directly. But I think a lot of what's been said here can be compared to the dog world, so I've decided not to hold my tongue, which was my original decision.
> 
> First of all, Rat Daddy, I want to establish that I respect your experience with rats and the valuable insight that you have to offer, and I really appreciate that you offer it to newbies such as myself so freely, in such easy to understand posts. (OT, you should totally write a book)
> 
> ...


Is like to se how hi goes with your rats, but I feel like you've never actually been bit, if it works with your I'll bring you a bitin rat and we can see if it works with that too, we know immersion works, will strict positive reinforcement, well see


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Grawrisher (Sep 10, 2013)

September said:


> My only experience to date is with dogs, so of course I can't speak for rats directly. But I think a lot of what's been said here can be compared to the dog world, so I've decided not to hold my tongue, which was my original decision.
> 
> First of all, Rat Daddy, I want to establish that I respect your experience with rats and the valuable insight that you have to offer, and I really appreciate that you offer it to newbies such as myself so freely, in such easy to understand posts. (OT, you should totally write a book)
> 
> ...


Is like to se how it goes with your rats, but I feel like you've never actually been bit, if it works with your I'll bring you a bitin rat and we can see if it works with that too, we know immersion works, will strict positive reinforcement? well see


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Daize (Jun 8, 2013)

September said:


> My only experience to date is with dogs, so of course I can't speak for rats directly. But I think a lot of what's been said here can be compared to the dog world, so I've decided not to hold my tongue, which was my original decision.
> 
> First of all, Rat Daddy, I want to establish that I respect your experience with rats and the valuable insight that you have to offer, and I really appreciate that you offer it to newbies such as myself so freely, in such easy to understand posts. (OT, you should totally write a book)
> 
> ...


I've only used Positive Reinforcment with my girl. She's never been a biter, towards humans. However she's highly aggressive towards other rats if they're in her cage. Because of her history, with other rats, I choose to keep her as a lone rat. Positive Reinforcement was the best way for my rat. She's now completely socialized and has bonded with us perfectly. She plays with our cat and I have a friend that brings her male rat over for "play dates". She doesn't spend much time in her cage. She loves to free range, but she also loves that she has her own space if she chooses. She's more a part of our family, rather than a pet.


----------



## Poisoned (Nov 17, 2012)

Could you post some more pictures of her? I've seen an albino wild rat before.. I don't think she is, because of her behavior, but I'd like to see more anyway. 

I hope it ends well, find a rescue to take her rather than be fed up and mean to her (shouting and pinning is just downright mean). I fail to see why it's funny that she flinches when you come near - all you've done is scared her more, positive reinforcement done right is worth 10x any negative reinforcement when it comes to taming a feral rat. She's blind, she's scared, she's in a new place, and who knows what she's been through, and what if she IS a wild rat? Which I doubt, because she would have torn you a new one by now. lol

The rat in my avatar is mostly blind, was over 5months when I got her and had no positive human interaction, I had the life bitten out of me any time she got the chance, I bled like a stuck pig when she latched on and no I can pick her up and kiss her head, pet her, and the only time she puts her teeth on me is when she's making sure I'm not food or something to build a nest out of at first when I visit with her.


----------



## Mouse (Aug 13, 2013)

I think that both positive and positive-negative work, but it depends on your personality, time available, urgency, and patience level.


----------



## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Rats are way more than an animal that works off positive and negative reinforcement. But like children they need to know when they do good and when they are doing wrong.

Most cops still wish you a nice day after they issue you a ticket, even if they just wrecked it... The point being, mostly, they are not personally punishing you, just delivering you the consequence of your own actions. Now maybe we'd all rather get pulled over and handed an award for following the speed limit... but that's not the way the real world works. In nature when a rat screws up, lessons are often either hard or lethal.

I can't imagine anyone who wants to discipline their children or pets, and honestly I rarely do it, but sometimes it's not only the only way, it's the right way. Rat studies done way back when I was a psychology major proved that it works to change a rat's behavior fast... In cases of biting for example that's exactly what's required. And once the rat stops biting and is sociable you have lots of time to reward it for being your best friend.


----------



## Grawrisher (Sep 10, 2013)

Rat Daddy said:


> Rats are way more than an animal that works off positive and negative reinforcement. But like children they need to know when they do good and when they are doing wrong.
> 
> Most cops still wish you a nice day after they issue you a ticket, even if they just wrecked it... The point being, mostly, they are not personally punishing you, just delivering you the consequence of your own actions. Now maybe we'd all rather get pulled over and handed an award for following the speed limit... but that's not the way the real world works. In nature when a rat screws up, lessons are often either hard or lethal.
> 
> I can't imagine anyone who wants to discipline their children or pets, and honestly I rarely do it, but sometimes it's not only the only way, it's the right way. Rat studies done way back when I was a psychology major proved that it works to change a rat's behavior fast... In cases of biting for example that's exactly what's required. And once the rat stops biting and is sociable you have lots of time to reward it for being your best friend.


I love all the examples you use  


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Grawricher,

It's the way I think... some people think in straight lines, some in works, some in pictures, I tend to think in relationships and analogies. For me disciplining a rat is like being a cop, it's not personal and I love my animals and I don't want the to get hurt. Or perhaps like a doctor administering a bad tasting medicine to make a patient better.... see there I go again. Thinking in analogies helps me with original thinking and some people tend to enjoy the analogies on their own, so I don't always delete them when I finally get to the point. I'm glad they work for you too.


----------



## Voltage (May 15, 2013)

Rat Daddy said:


> Grawricher,
> 
> It's the way I think... some people think in straight lines, some in works, some in pictures, I tend to think in relationships and analogies. For me disciplining a rat is like being a cop, it's not personal and I love my animals and I don't want the to get hurt. Or perhaps like a doctor administering a bad tasting medicine to make a patient better.... see there I go again. Thinking in analogies helps me with original thinking and some people tend to enjoy the analogies on their own, so I don't always delete them when I finally get to the point. I'm glad they work for you too.


I do that too, not with analogies but stories. I'm always telling stories and stuff. When I'm trying to help someone I usually have a story for an example. Whether it's a story of my own experience or someone else's. I use analogies occasionally but no where near as good as yours.
The funny thing is I'm only 21, it's usually the elderly who tell stories nonstop.

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Grawrisher (Sep 10, 2013)

Rat Daddy said:


> Rats are way more than an animal that works off positive and negative reinforcement. But like children they need to know when they do good and when they are doing wrong.
> 
> Most cops still wish you a nice day after they issue you a ticket, even if they just wrecked it... The point being, mostly, they are not personally punishing you, just delivering you the consequence of your own actions. Now maybe we'd all rather get pulled over and handed an award for following the speed limit... but that's not the way the real world works. In nature when a rat screws up, lessons are often either hard or lethal.
> 
> I can't imagine anyone who wants to discipline their children or pets, and honestly I rarely do it, but sometimes it's not only the only way, it's the right way. Rat studies done way back when I was a psychology major proved that it works to change a rat's behavior fast... In cases of biting for example that's exactly what's required. And once the rat stops biting and is sociable you have lots of time to reward it for being your best friend.


After having taken part in this thread and reading your comment I was perusing Facebook and saw.....








Facebook: undermining analogies since 2004


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Sylver (Sep 5, 2013)

Positive-only reinforcement works great for dogs, horses, pigs, chickens...

But rats aren't any of those animals. 

Positive reinforcement also works wonders for humans, but it's a long and winding road if you only ever tell your spouse/kid the things you like, and can never tell him the things that really make you mad that you'd like to stop. With dogs, you've got about a year and a half of training, then you've got maybe another 10-15 years to enjoy your well trained dog, even with no negative reinforcement ever. When they bite as little puppies, you can redirect them to bite something appropriate, praise them when they bite the _right thing,_ and it's not so bad because they generally don't bite to the bone and cause much blood and infection. You don't get that with rats. You could end up spending two thirds or more of your rat's ENTIRE LIFE just trying to get it to stop biting, by what, giving it treats when it's _not_ biting? You still end up full of holes and miserable. 

Positive enforcement exists to show an animal what you want it to do. You did something good? Here's a treat!
Negative enforcement exists to show an animal what not to do, under any circumstances. Positive training does not do that, because what is wanted and what are not wanted are not generalized as opposites like that in an animal's mind. You bite? Finger bop on the head or flipped. Bite again? Same thing happens again. Doesn't take long for them to figure out the pattern. This can be done rather early, and then you have the rest of your rat's short life to enjoy it with them. Otherwise, they're going to positively reinforce themselves when they bite, by getting what they wanted all along, probably back in their cage, or otherwise not being messed with. By doing nothing, you are likely teaching your rat that biting is the correct course of action. 

Positive-only reinforcement for rats seems passive aggressive. They want to know what to do, they just don't know it. They don't know that the things they do are wrong if they've only ever been shown what's right. Some people get lucky and have rats that make it easy, and you only ever have to show them how great it is to learn tricks. But other people have to teach them to be polite and not bite, and that training has to take place before any other training is even going to have a point. Without some sort of negativity at some point, they may go their whole lives not knowing what 'no' means, or end up stuck for life in their cage because their owner is tired of being bit. The occasional light roughing up does not actually do harm to them, they just don't like it, but that's how you teach them to not do the things that YOU don't like. The amount of time that lasts is usually much shorter than their lifespans, so you still get time to enjoy them, and they get time to enjoy their lives.

They aren't stupid, and they're often raised in a litter up to a point. They figure things out in litters, like what happens when they bite another rat. It won't take them long to figure it out if humans do the same thing that rats do when they bite them. Doesn't matter if they know you're not a rat, they know you're going to flip them like one and make them behave if they bite, and that's all you need. The lesson is a simple one: good times end fast the moment you bite into living flesh.


----------



## Trenix (Aug 30, 2013)

As for an update, the rat is doing much better. She knows not to bite me when I am handing out treats to my other rats, so she ends up getting one. She tries to challenge me every once in awhile within the cage, but I quickly show her who's boss and she gives up. Outside of the cage she can easily be petted, picked up, and doesn't think twice about biting. She only attempts to bite me within the cage and now her bites are getting more and more gentle. For those who despise negative reinforcement you need to take a class in psychology, as I have. Positive only reinforcement doesn't even work with dogs by the way, just take a look at what the dog whisperer does on TV. Positive only reinforcement for even children is a bad way to raise them which has been heavily proven by psychology already.

Take a look around, everything is about the dominant and the weak. You become the weak and then you get taken advantage of and if you're animal, you're either dead or rely on someone else. I don't get joy out of doing this, but I do get joy taming a wild rat which her instinct was to bite or kill whatever gets near her. Now she is reasonable, has a warm home to live in, is part of a rat pack, and has food and water whenever she likes.


----------



## TexasRatties (Jun 2, 2013)

Glad she is doing better I believe in positive-negative reinforcement as well.


----------



## Piff (Aug 29, 2013)

Oh, I'm so happy she's coming around.. Your patience has paid off  

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Trenix (Aug 30, 2013)

She's way cleaner especially after giving her plenty of baths, but the strange thing is that the tip of her head is getting really black. Looking at other albino rats, they don't have the same thing. So why are my rat's eyes red and her face is partially black? Anyway, she only bites after being woken up, otherwise she's really friendly. She will however bite anyone that she doesn't know, which makes me feel pretty important to her.


----------



## Voltage (May 15, 2013)

Looks like she is turning siamese!
Or himalayan
Not sure which


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Finnebon (Jul 15, 2013)

Wow, you found a little siamese in your shed! I can't even find breeders or pet shops that have siamese rats! She looks so healthy and beautiful. What a cute little girl ^__^ I'm so happy she is better now, and she'll probably only get nicer in time!


----------



## Daisy (Jul 8, 2013)

Very interesting thread!! I'm glad you're making some headway with her  Looks like a little Himalayan to me, a bit too light for a Siamese methinks, but some better/brighter pictures would help tremendously.


----------



## FallDeere (Sep 29, 2011)

I believe that if she was originally albino (no color on her face) then she's a himalayan. I'm pretty sure all himalayans start albino and then points appear around the time that their adult coat starts coming in. Siamese tend to start out beige and then fade until only the points remain, though some are born appearing siamese. I had a beige (or champange) capped boy who turned into a siamese. He still retained a bit of his cap, but his nose was a very dark beige.


----------



## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Becoming one owner rats is typical of wild and part wild rats. I suppose it could apply to rats that have been on their own for a while too. But yes... you are very special to your rat. Surviving in the wild generally requires NOT trusting humans. So making friends with one is no easy thing for a rat that's been on it's own. 

Congrats on your success.


----------



## Grawrisher (Sep 10, 2013)

Cute little himi! Yay 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------

