My husband and I just adopted a rat yesterday, he's 5 months old and very sweet. The only thing is, he doesn't play, he doesn't eat anything he's offered other than rat food. He moves around his cage a bit, just inspecting things, sometimes he goes in a tube, but he doesn't use his wheel, and whenever I take him out of his cage to play, which is quite a bit, he basically just walks around on the bed, or lays down next to me. He sounds a bit snuffly every once in a while, and he chatters his teeth, but I wouldn't say he's ill looking. Maybe he's just getting used to the new home? Also, we have 2 cats, and one of them tries to get at him a lot, so maybe he's a bit nervous? Or maybe he's just very boring and this is all his idea of a good time? If that's the case, then no problem, I just hope he's alright! We're thinking about getting him neutered so he can have a friend. Any help would be appreciated!
Answers:
This is what is called the "Honeymoon Period" for pet keepers. You bring an animal home and they seem scared, subdued, and dull. He's just trying to figure out what his new home is all about, and it could be that the smell/sight of the cats is indeed making him overly cautious.
He should be coming out of his shell within the week, showing you his true personality. If he isn't, get back to me at spazrats@yahoo.ca and we can discuss this further.
Five months is an older rat to be adopting, usually people get their babies when they are around 6 to 12 weeks of age. Do you know if he had a cage partner before you got him or has he always been a lone rat? It would make a big difference in how you procede with introductions to a new friend, if he already had a cage partner before you got him.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...
If you are considering neutering him just be aware that surgery for rats is different then surgery for dogs and cats, and some rats do not survive their surgery. My suggestion would be to just keep him as a single boy rather then put him through surgery.
Edit:
I'm sorry but in my own professional experience both the pet store people and the SPCA people HAVE to tell you that in order to cover themselves. You see, if they said go for it and something did go wrong during introductions it would be a bad reflection on their buisnesses. When you join rat-only groups http://groups.yahoo.com/group/holistarat... you will learn from expert rat keepers, and breeders, how to do the introduction right. People can have rats/breed rats for 20 years and not know much about them, and yet others can have rats/breed rats for 5 years and know everything about them.
spazrats
"my life has gone to the rats"
well, youve only had him for a day, dont worry about it, it takes time for them to get used to their new home, just leave him alone for a few days (this will be difficult for you, but just do it) He should be fine as soon as he gets used to you, he should be a fun rat
Yay! Rats are great pets, and all of them are really different once you get to know them. Some are playful, some are serene, some are hyper, some are sweet. He just might be a mellow-jello kind of rat.
Give him a pat on the head for me!
From experience I'd say your rat is adjusting. He will need time, and changes should be introduced in gradual steps.
He's a little older so he's used to things being a certain way, and now things are different. Give him time (several days) to adapt. Pet him in his new cage infrequently and keep him on the plain rat food for a while. Eating anything is a sign he is generally healthy. The sniffling could easily clear up soon (his old home could have been too dirty). Chattering teeth is a sign of contentment, but grinding or clocking the teeth together is a sign of agression, like a warning to other animals that he has big dangerous teeth.
Let him figure out the cage and the toys on his own. As for the cats, try to keep them away during the adjustment period. After a few days you will get to know his personality and can tell if he's feeling more at home.
After he's settled and feeling comfortable, take him out more and try to play, rewarding him with treats in moderation.
After he is comfortable and dependent on the two of you, see about getting him a friend, although he will be just as happy alone with you two and the cats. I'm not sure what to say about neutering, but I can say I have two litter-mates that were good buddies until they were about a year old then began to fight often. They live separately now and don't seem to miss or even recognize eachother. However, I previously had another pair who were best friends until one died.
Give him time and don't worry too much. It sounds like he trusts you already. Good luck!
ok so he came to you yesterday, out of his 'home' a car journey full of smell and noise, a new home, new voices, new smells, new food and then a cat tries to grab him
he needs time to absorb it all and realise this is his forever home.
his snuffles are probably due to nerves and his chattering teeth is known as bruxing they can do this when nervous and when happy and contented, like a cat purring, when hes super relaxed and happy you might see him boggling, which is when he trembles all over and his eyes vibrate[scary the first time you see it]
buck rats rarely use a wheel they are just too lazy, they, unlike super hyper girls, like nothing more than a cuddle, theyre not known as squish monsters for nothing
also if hes on his own he will be more nervous, rats are sociable creatures and fret if kept alone, you really should have gotten two same sex rats together, its a total myth that they wont bond with you if they arent kept alone, its more likely theyll be to scared to bond with you because they are alone
theres no need to get him neutered if your thinking of getting another male rat but you must if you want a female to go with him, although you have to wait 6 weeks from the day after the op for any little swimmers to completely disapear
keep doing what your doing havng him out on the bed and letting him snuggle, he is already starting to trust and feel comfortable with you
have a look here
http://www.goosemoose.com/
or
http://www.fancy-rats.co.uk/home/...
for loads of free help support and advice from likeminded friendly people
edit to add : ok sspca so scotalnd and from a
shop adoption centre guessing p@h
def join fancy rats [above] and see how many of us have done intros with non related different age group bucks
my own youngest was introduced to the totally unrelated group at 6 weeks when all the others [all also not related to each other] were between 8 and four months
A note on rats and wheels... I've only ever had ONE rat use the wheel in my 17 years of owning/loving/raising them. My boyfriend got her to do it somehow and I'm still beyond shocked. Now, even when she's not on the wheel, she runs around with her tail curled up over her back.
you can get him a male cage mate without having him neutered. they are social creatures and they need a same sex cage mate.
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