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Pet Forum / Mammals / Rats / July 2008How do you play with this thing?
Well I tried posting this earlier and it apparently went into the Usenet Black Hole. We take Pippy out of her cage every day, but she's reluctant to be picked up, and she always starts pooping. I assume she does this because she's frightened. I also assume that this will change over time. Am I correct? Do you let your rats run free all over an area, or do you contain them? Do they like to be petted and scratched? I tried rubbing and scratching gently around her head and ears, and this always makes her stop what she's doing, but it also makes her poop again. Does she stand still for the scratching because she likes it, or is the poop an indication that it scares her? Cats are easy - just pet, scratch, drag a string, share a lap for a nap. I understand cats. But this little rodent is a bit of a mystery. What do you /do/ with these things? What do they like to play?  Signature"Because all you of Earth are idiots!" ¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·-> freemont© <-·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯ Hi again. We have a rat room, a smaller bedroom that we shut the door to and give them free reign. When our rats are babies, we put a blanket over the top of our bed (that can be washed when we're done) and lay on the bed with them. Pooping is showing she's scared, but this will pass. You can lay on the floor and let her crawl on you. Lay on your stomach propped up on your elbows and let her crawl in your shirt. All of my rats when they were young liked to chase fabric or my hands.... I would scratch the carpet with my hand and then drag it along the carpet, and they chase it. You can sit cross legged and let her explore you. My rats seem to like terrain, when I'm sitting they crawl up to my shoulders and back down. They like to investigate ears. Just keep on working with her. You can create a wading pool for her. I use the lid of a plastic storage box that is about 1" deep, and fill it with 1/2" of water. They really like that. Take a shoe box and cut a couple holes in it so they can go in and out. My ratties LOVE their hammocks. It's easy and cheap to do. They all have different personalities. It will be fun for you figuring out what Pippy likes and what her future companion likes. You will want to consider getting a smaller cage for vet trips and to use as a hospital cage. We actually use a very small cage for that. I have read that rats who have companions need at least 1/2 hour/day out of their cage, and lone rats need up to 4 hours. This is why I'm working with cranky Bernard, currently a lone foster-rat from the Humane Society, on getting him to get along with our other boys. -Marlo > Well I tried posting this earlier and it apparently went into the Usenet > Black Hole. [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > understand cats. But this little rodent is a bit of a mystery. What do you > /do/ with these things? What do they like to play? also, rats always poop lots in unfamiliar territory because they feel nervous. once they are familiar with an area, they mostly just pee :) > also, rats always poop lots in unfamiliar territory because they feel > nervous. once they are familiar with an area, they mostly just pee :) Oh, great! ;-) Poop's a lot easier to clean up. Signature"Because all you of Earth are idiots!" ¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·-> freemont© <-·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯ > You can sit cross legged and let her explore you. My rats seem to like > terrain, when I'm sitting they crawl up to my shoulders and back down. > They like to investigate ears. Just keep on working with her. You can > create a wading pool for her. I use the lid of a plastic storage box that > is about 1" deep, and fill it with 1/2" of water. They really like that. I offered a "pool" to Pippy, but she could've cared less. :-) For now she actually seems happy to join us on the couch, going back and forth and up and down, occasionally pausing to fix her hair. She's become much more receptive to being scratched and rubbed, and sat on my wife's neck for a long time yesterday while she petted her. She gets the "crazies" sometimes, darting about her cage, up her ramp, and through her hut. This reminds me of cat behavior, where they sometimes go nuts and haul a.s around the house with their ears laid back, as though in a war zone - up the hall, back to the living room, attacking the couch before rushing to a bedroom... Oh, and we figured out that she LOVES popcorn. (popped fresh with no salt or butter of course) Signature"Because all you of Earth are idiots!" ¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·-> freemont© <-·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯ I'm so glad she's settling in. -Marlo >> You can sit cross legged and let her explore you. My rats seem to like >> terrain, when I'm sitting they crawl up to my shoulders and back down. [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > Oh, and we figured out that she LOVES popcorn. (popped fresh with no salt > or butter of course) On Jun 22, 1:17 pm, freemont <freemont.spamme...@freemontsoffice.com> wrote: > She gets the "crazies" sometimes, darting about her cage, up her ramp, > and through her hut. This reminds me of cat behavior, where they sometimes > go nuts and haul a.s around the house with their ears laid back, as though > in a war zone - up the hall, back to the living room, attacking the couch > before rushing to a bedroom... Rats are kittens that never grow up into nasty cats. Oh, and their pee doesn't stink (much) either, unlike cats (holy hell what went off in here!?!) - Dr S |
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