# 6 weeks, rats still won't trust me



## Basil (Feb 14, 2017)

Hi! I got my two rats Jupiter and Ophelia 6 weeks ago. They were already two months old, and had almost never been handled. I've been spending time by the cage every day, letting them sniff me and offering them treats.

Jupiter will take treats from my hands or lick off yogurt/baby food, but Ophelia still won't. Sometimes she'll smell the food and approach me, but nips me instead of eating anything.
Jupiter will allow an occasional pet, but Ophelia runs and hides every time I come near her.
When I took them into the bathtub to get used to me, Jupiter warmed up and hid under my sweater. Ophelia had a big nasty wet poop, and seemed panicked for the entire experience.

Jupiter seems to be making progress slowly, but Ophelia is no different than the day I got her. Is there anything else I can try to warm her up to me, or should I let her have her peace?
I love her a lot and don't want to harass her forever if this is just her personality.

I'm also wondering how to pick up a rat that doesn't want to be picked up? They dash or squirm out of my hand every time I've tried. I'm not comfortable letting them free range if I can't handle them, and I feel bad leaving them in their cage. The few times I've had them out on my bed or in the bathtub I've had to wait for them to snuggle into their pocket hammock, so I could unhook it and carry them while they're inside. I'm worried about how I'll get them into a carrier to go to the vet if either of them has an emergency. ???


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## morsel (Feb 10, 2017)

Hi, so my rats are rescue lab rats, they are for the most part terrified to be picked up, but once I have them they seem fine and to enjoy being with me. What I found that works for me to get them out of the cage is very quiet slow movement and just sort of very slowly grab them. If I make any sound or quicker movement they'll bolt, but something about the slow movement and grabbing them very slowly and softly, I'm able to do it.

When I'm having free roam play time, this is also a tough time to grab them, they squirm and squeal and jump if I try to grab them, which half the time I can't cause they're so fast and squirmy. Again what I do is I just lay on the ground with my stomach towards the floor while they're playing, eventually they'll start to sniff me and eventually climb on my back. As long as I don't make sudden movements, they warm up and hang out on me. At this time if the one that's the hardest to catch is on my back, I'll just slowly rise and then he'll climb up to my shoulder and hang out, and then I can easily put him back in the cage.

This is how I dealt with my first two rescues, they both now are totally comfortable with me grabbing them and hanging out with me. The two new ones I'm still working on and I'm sure eventually it will be the same with them. It just takes patients... give them time, they'll warm up to you.


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## TheRatAttack (Mar 29, 2016)

I would recommend going into the bathtub with Ophelia again, but make sure you stay in there for at least 30 minutes, preferably more. Rats cannot maintain fear for more than ?twenty? minutes, so if you stay in there for 45 minutes, you will get 25 minutes of quality time.


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## Basil (Feb 14, 2017)

Update! I introduced them to my new very friendly kittens - who seem to be teaching their older sisters how to behave! In just a few days Jupiter and Ophelia have both calmed down noticeably - they jump less when I move, they let me get closer to them, and Ophelia ate out of my hand for the first time today! She gave me a couple nips to test if I was food as usual, but she stayed and licked up the baby food instead of running! I'm excited to see what other surprises my four ratties have in store for me!


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## Yummy (Jan 18, 2015)

That's a great update! Yay for progress!


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## Eightbitengine (Feb 20, 2017)

Basil said:


> Update! I introduced them to my new very friendly kittens - who seem to be teaching their older sisters how to behave! In just a few days Jupiter and Ophelia have both calmed down noticeably - they jump less when I move, they let me get closer to them, and Ophelia ate out of my hand for the first time today! She gave me a couple nips to test if I was food as usual, but she stayed and licked up the baby food instead of running! I'm excited to see what other surprises my four ratties have in store for me!


I was amazed to find out just how powerful peer pressure is to a rat. One of my rats Elly is very courageous and the other Mandy is to scared to do anything but if Mandy sees Elly doing something she will quickly want to do it as well. So I would say having a brave rat to show a scared rat the way is a great way to help them.


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