# Playing With Shy Rats



## TurtleRat (Dec 21, 2020)

Hello! (I'm new to this forum and just had a few questions.)
I've had rats since around late August to early September (can't remember exactly,) and I haven't been able to socialize with my rats. I love my rats probably more than I love anything else, and I want to be able to spend more time with them, but I am always too busy with school or holidays. I have three, one of which is partially blind so he will sometimes accidentally bite me, and will get really upset and hide from me for a while. The other two are very friendly behind the bars, but when I open their cage, they run from me after a few strokes on their back. I've been able to get one out a couple of times for at most 30 minutes, but he gets too scared so I put him back. I was wondering is anyone had a solution to getting them out more while juggling school and other things. It breaks my heart that they're stuck in a cage, though it may be a big one, I know they need more space


----------



## Vividdonut12 (Nov 26, 2020)

Many rats need time to get used to their owners, especially ones that are from troubled homes. As a student, I can relate to having limited time with my rats. But, I have been able to make the most of my spare time. Firstly, I don't recommend touching or trying to pick up skittish rats, never try to drag or pick up a rat that is backing away. I responded to a different post with this answer, but I think you will find it helpful:


Vividdonut12 said:


> Take your time, don't ever force them out of the cage, and avoid picking them up until they are used to you. Many rescue rats take a lot of time and patience to tame. But, a lot of the time they end up being the sweetest rats if they are worked with enough. I highly recommend Shadow The Rat's videos, she has rescued and tamed many many rats over the years and her vids are extremely helpful. She even made a series on taming her baby rats that I think you will find helpful. If you just got them, I would let them settle (without touching them) for about 4-7 days. Moving homes can be very stressful and scary for rats, especially ones from bad backgrounds. If you have already had them for a bit and did not let them settle in the beginning, I recommend letting them settle now in their cage for 4-7 days and offer treats like unsweetened cereals and meat baby food (served on a spoon so they don't accidentally bite your finger). A great bonding exercise to practice, in the beginning, is to be in the presence of their cage and slip them treats when you pass. This shows them that you are not trying to harm them and that your presence is a good thing because they get treats!


 As far as picking them up goes, you can buy some meat baby food (serve it on a spoon at first so they can learn to lick it and not bite it. After a while you can just dip your finger in it to serve them).
Lead them onto your hand and let them lick it without touching them, at first they will be scared and will not want to come near your hand, but they will warm up with time. Do not expect them to hop on you immediately, they will only take a few steps, but they should be rewarded for these as well. If they climb onto your hand, do not move your hand at all until they are used to you. Eventually, they will climb on you every time you offer your hand. 
I wish you the best of luck, please post an update a little later. I want to see how these sweet guys are doing. 😊


----------



## CorbinDallasMyMan (Feb 24, 2017)

I start picking up new rats and bringing them out of their cage basically right away. Some rats can be nervous about getting picked up but it doesn't take them long to realize that it's not so scary after all. 

I'd suggest setting up a safe area where you can socialize with your rats outside of their cage. If they just want to hide when outside of their cage, that's fine. Wear baggy clothes or a robe and let them hide inside, snuggled up close to your body. You could also put a small blanket on your lap and let them snuggle up to your legs. 

Bring them out of their cage as much as you can. Aim for 1 hour per day, 5 to 7 days a week. You can bring them out while you're reading, doing homework, or watching tv. You're not too busy. If you are too busy to bring your rats out, you might want to consider surrendering them and not having pets at this point in your life.


----------



## _dizzy_ (Mar 28, 2018)

You can use a simple tissue paper to play with them
Try to get them used to you too. Keep your hands still in the cage and let them get used to the idea of climbing on you
Also, have you considered they're trying to play? My rats love to play and initiate play with my by running away while I pet them. They love when I chase them with my hand and will give me loving nibbles when they pause on running. I often check to see if they still want to play by pulling my hand away, if they follow it they usually still want to play.
Before doing this with them you want to be sure they're comfortable with you(willing to crawl on you without coaxing) before doing this because they might see it as bothersome.


----------



## TurtleRat (Dec 21, 2020)

_dizzy_ said:


> You can use a simple tissue paper to play with them
> Try to get them used to you too. Keep your hands still in the cage and let them get used to the idea of climbing on you
> Also, have you considered they're trying to play? My rats love to play and initiate play with my by running away while I pet them. They love when I chase them with my hand and will give me loving nibbles when they pause on running. I often check to see if they still want to play by pulling my hand away, if they follow it they usually still want to play.
> Before doing this with them you want to be sure they're comfortable with you(willing to crawl on you without coaxing) before doing this because they might see it as bothersome.


Thank you so much for this response! I have used tissue paper in the past and they loved it, and I never would have that that they would run to play. I decided to see if they would still run after I saw this, and they actually followed my hand and nibbled on my fingers a bit before dragging my hand to the other side. I can't express how happy this made me to see my rats actually play with me!


----------



## Vividdonut12 (Nov 26, 2020)

TurtleRat said:


> Thank you so much for this response! I have used tissue paper in the past and they loved it, and I never would have that that they would run to play. I decided to see if they would still run after I saw this, and they actually followed my hand and nibbled on my fingers a bit before dragging my hand to the other side. I can't express how happy this made me to see my rats actually play with me!


 I am so happy to hear this! Rats are very sweet and playful animals. Playing with them can strengthen your bond with them, keep up the good work!! Here is a guide to rat body language, so you can better understand their behavior towards you:


----------



## _dizzy_ (Mar 28, 2018)

TurtleRat said:


> Thank you so much for this response! I have used tissue paper in the past and they loved it, and I never would have that that they would run to play. I decided to see if they would still run after I saw this, and they actually followed my hand and nibbled on my fingers a bit before dragging my hand to the other side. I can't express how happy this made me to see my rats actually play with me!


I'm so glad to hear this! Glad that I helped


----------

