Pet rats - can someone reassure me please?

[PollyPentapeptide]

We brought 2 male pet rats on Saturday and are in the process of 'getting to know them'

We have been spending lots of time around the cage and offering food etc but haven't tried to handle them yet. One of the rats is quite curious and friendly and willlet you stroke him but the other rat is def.more aggressive and has so far bitten 3 times!

Are we doing anything wrong? Im worried that if we dont start handling them soon, they will get lonely and it will be difficult to tame them but we are a bit wary of the one that bites

Thank you so much!

Oh dear

No experience of this but I think from what I've read (via google) a male rat that bites might need to be castrated. We got 2 terribly timid young males who hadn't been handled at all, and it took ages for them to settle down, but they never bit.

Does he bite if you try to pick him up or does he just come at you if you put your hand anywhere near him?

From here which is a very helpful site.

It's probably because you have two males, one will want to be top dog so the other has to fight for it's way iyswim.

Try geting them out seperately and handling them with food. I had rats for years as a teenager and was rarely bitten, big sesame seeds already cracked open and shelled are good to get them used to handling.

Hi Wendy, he only bites if you try to stroke him. We have spent ages by the cage with the door open and talking etc to get them used to us. And he seems happy enough if I chnage the food or water or rearrange toys etc (providing he isn't too close) but if I tried to to touch him, he bites.

He is curious though and will come to edge of the cage to sniff and take a look.

Does he just need a bit more time?

It sounds more like fear than aggression then, PP, so it may just be a matter of more time; ours took weeks, and just when they had about got used to us we realised their cage was getting too small so we got them a huge one, and then they were petrified again for ages - they hated being touched for a long time.

If you sit with your hand inside the cage, not moving, will he come to you and sniff it?

He might (my daughter is braver then me so I will get her to try it )

Will let you know how it goes and thanks for your advice, we really want them to settle in.

Do you have cats by the way? We have 3 and I have a feeling that the rats will give them a run for their money. We are keeping them separated just in case but I know of cats and rats that have gotten on well!

No, no cats here, but we know a woman who runs a rat shelter (her house is the rat shelter, she has dozens ) and she has cats (and 2 big dogs) and often lets some rats out and her cats do play with them so yes, it's possible - not sure how you'd go about the initial introductions though!

Good luck anyway, I'm sure it will get easier

Some rats are very territorial about their cage, or certain parts of their cage. One of our first two was like that - you had to be careful not to put your fingers near him in the cage. Out of the cage he never bit, but if you wanted to change the food etc, it was wiser to give him a titbit first (which he always took "downstairs" to eat), before taking the food bowl out.

There is lots on good info here and also forums you can ask questions on here.

Is it safe for you let them run around in the room that they are in ? If you make it so that they can climb down from the cage themselves they will eventually come and investigate you, and you can touch them without having to pick them up at first. If necessary you can then use an igloo to transfer them back to the cage if they don't go back themselves.

Good luck with your new rats.