We have 4 ratty boys :

Bob and Oscar, both 1 year old black and white hooded rats (brothers), Stanley 4 month old brown rex and Norris 4 month old grey and white hooded. All 4 of them are totally adoreable and are hillariously wonderful!

Bob and Oscar are lively, funny, and very very affectionate. They will quite happily sit for ages with you, snuggling and chattering with happiness. They love being stroked and have never bitten us ever. Stanley is a livewire, full of personality, very sociable and does nothing but lick you to bits!

Norris on the other hand is nervous, jumpy and unsociable. He nibbles everything in sight and and bitten us several times. When being held, he constantly nibbles your clothes. He will come out of his cage onto your arm but the slightest movement and he jumps back in. When out, he is fast, jumpy and very unsocial. We treat them all the same and have handled them all from the first day we got them. He also attacks the other bigger rats (the big ones and smaller ones live in 2 separate cages) if they come into contact, biting their feet and tails if they go near his cage.

Has anyone any ideas how to help him become more sociable or is it just his personality and how he will stay? I have had lots of rats over the years and never had one as jumpy/bitey or unsociable as him.

Thanks :)

Hegel, Sherlock and Mycroft have long since died, but I keep a small place in my heart for rats; it's lined with bits of old flannel and favourite chewy things.

I have Merry and Pippin and two of their babies, Pansy and Gedren.
They are dumbos and couldn't be cuter.
Alas Merry is now minus baby making equipment and has taken up hairdressing on the three girls:hihi:

I have Freddie and MyMateMarmite....have had loads of rats in the past.....I don't seem to give these two the love and affection that I have done to the rest.....maybe I am just a bit bored of rats - I know I am definately bored of the 2 legged type :hihi:

Still they keep each other company and are happy living together :D

So, anyone any ideas about my unsocilable little nibbler then?

If he's from good fancy rat stock, then I'd say there's hope for him. If as you say he's been handled the same as the other two, then perhaps he's just a born sociopath though.

I had a rat once.....I called him Tetley....

Tetley came from a local pet store....it was nearly Christmas and there was a sign on the window of the bit where they kept rats...it said "rat - free to good home". I asked about it and they said it had been mistreated and bought back to the shop as it bit the child who it was bought for.

They wouldn't get it out so I went to the area where I could access this rat....it was very hostile.....and lunged for me....I said I would leave it and walked away.....but I kept thinking about it.....and eventually went and got him and took him home....together with a pair of heavy duty leather gardening gloves the shop had provided free of charge.

I named him Tetley after a friends cat who was also quite hostile...due to it being mistreated in a previous home.

I tried to love him but he wouldn't have it....so I came up with a plan....I needed to gain his trust first....so he was put in a cage on his own....and I made sure that NO-ONE interacted with him except me....visitors were forbidden to look at or acknowledge him at all.

I had received a make up brush kit for Christmas and in it was a small fan brush.....so each day I drew a chair up to Tetley's cage and I would brush him through the bars, talking and singing to him....and after a few weeks of this tried to pick him up.....he was well mardy...and would bite. So I continued with the brushing....and eventually he let me do this and I think he actually enjoyed it.

Next step was to pick him up....he still didn't like it....so I took him upstairs to bed with me to let him explore - I would lay in bed with the quilt tightly wrapped round me and after a while he would lick my face....after a while he was round to wholesale washing of all of my face....but if I tried to thank him with a stroke he would bite.

He next learned the delights of the living room floor....and he knew his cue to return to his cage when I put a cushion on the floor...he would get on the cushion and I would pick it up and put him back in his cage via the cushion.

He never did like being handled....apparently the boy who had him originally used to squeeze him hard which is why he had bitten...he never did tame right down but I learned to love this grumpy creature....and then one day he gave in.......and everything changed.

He came to me - and let me pick him up and from that day until he died about three months later we were inseparable.....he would sit on my lap and wash me and it was lovely.

Indeed right at the end I took him to bed...and he snuggled in and I stroked him and talked to him until it was over.

And despite his grumpy character he was one of the best rats I ever had.

So persevere....:D

We will! We love him to bits and he is so damn cute! We've no intention of getting rid of him. It just seems such a shame that we can't interact with him the way we do with the other 3. We'll persevere and hope we can win him round.

I've got two of pippin and merry's boy- babies, from Mojo. They are "moet" and "chandon" cos they were Champagne hooded dumbo- eareds at first, although now the champagne hood has faded, and the dark smut has appeared and got darker on their noses. they are still cute as buttons and very amusing. (they are approximately 16 weeks old now if i calculated correctly)

I also have two other, dark (black and sort of "beaver") hooded, "top-eared boys", (they're approx a year old. The "babies" are getting so big, now, that they are almost the same size as the top-eared boys)

All four boys are gorgeous, and I have had my living room arranged in such a way that their cage is beside the PC, so I can talk to them and pass them treats as I sit at the PC, and they can see what's happening, too.

all I have to do is make a little "tut-tut/ tsk tsk noise to attract their attention, and they will "starfish" (leap, in a sort of splatt-y, spreadeagled fashion) onto the bars of the cage to see what "treaties" I have for them. There currently seems to be absolutely nothing at which they will turn up their noses, food-wise.

Mojo discovered their love for rice pudding, even before they were ready to leave mummy -Pippin. they also like:- crisps, cheese, pizza, fruit of all descriptions, biscuits, yogurt, doggy chews... erm.. breakfast cereal, cooked meat (when I was with my ex, he ate meat).

what else...? erm.. pasta, doggy chocolate-drops, dog biscuits, dog kibble, oh, and they like to help me finish off the odd sandwich or two. doesn't matter what the filling. a feww nights ago, it was toast and veggie pate they were helping me to demolish!

I used to have pet rats and loved them, theyre brilliant little pets.

Actually, I might start nagging my OH to let me have some more.

ive had several over the years and all have been lovely to handle, my brother has 2 still and he adores them. ive not had any since i started greyhound rescue, i just dont have the time to handle them like i did as one of my lot would probably kill them. the only time a rat bit me was an adult one in a pet shop and it wa really nasty, i can only imagine what the poor thing had been through to make it so hostile to people as they are normally so placid. Sorry no advice about bringing a biter on but fingers crossed you can. anna.x.

So, anyone any ideas about my unsocilable little nibbler then?

I know this sounds odd but try sleeping with him in the bed (in a small cage).
This sounds very difficult and can be, however I managed to tame a real nasty that had been returned to his breeder 4 times before I accepted the challenge.
If he's surrounded by your scent for long periods of time this could help him to develop a bond with you.
If you don't want to go to such extremes then find an old T shirt, sleep in that and then put it in his cage so the scent is still very strong around him.
Some rats, unfortunately, are like some people and just have plain old personality defects, it can't hurt to try though.

Yep!! I'm waiting for us to finish decorating so I can get a couple of dumbo girlies (hoping for a siamese or himalayan and a burmese blue but you can't have everything!!).

Already contacted a breeder to go on their waiting list for my girls: Tallulah and Pandora! :lol:

Can you tell I'm excited?

ooh i like those high-falutin' sophisticated names you've chosen for your girls when they arrive!

I wish I wasn't such a "blonde" when it comes to technology, I would post piccies of my four ratty boys, cos I reckon they are sooo handsome.

ooh i like those high-falutin' sophisticated names you've chosen for your girls when they arrive!

I wish I wasn't such a "blonde" when it comes to technology, I would post piccies of my four ratty boys, cos I reckon they are sooo handsome.

hehe thanks. I'm so not girly that people say 'did YOU choose those names?' but I think they're fab!

If you want to email me your pics and I'll put them up for you, feel free, just let me know and I'll pm my email address (although I'm going out soon!)

Yep!! I'm waiting for us to finish decorating so I can get a couple of dumbo girlies (hoping for a siamese or himalayan and a burmese blue but you can't have everything!!).

Already contacted a breeder to go on their waiting list for my girls: Tallulah and Pandora! :lol:

Can you tell I'm excited?

Awww I have a Pandora!! She's a little black hoodie :love:

aw bless!! What is it about names like that that seem to suit rats? :lol:

aww yes they are lovely, I've rescued quite a few as well has owing my own fancy rats, siamese rex and dumbo were always my favourites and we used to take them to shows. My son once appeared on pet rescue with whats hisface Mark thingy talking about theones he had rescued. Even with the rescued ones rarely did we get one which bit. The boys seem to be more gentle and I think I prefer them to the girls. They used to love playing in my dogs fur and climbing on her back. Our last boy a big brown rex died about 4 years ago he was really old and had a tumor sadly a lot of rats get tumors when they get old. I think they are probably the best rodent you can get, most are friendly, socialable animals who enjoy human company. Unlike hamsters who would rip your finger off rather than look at you.

Well we seem to have had a bit of a breakthrough today. Norris has been very keen to come out of the cage, even jumping up onto my chest from the doorway! He even licked me on my cheek and did the same to my son. :o Totally amazing. I guess we just keep at it bit by bit and hope that as each day passes he comes round a little bit more.

I had a rat once.....I called him Tetley....

Tetley came from a local pet store....it was nearly Christmas and there was a sign on the window of the bit where they kept rats...it said "rat - free to good home". I asked about it and they said it had been mistreated and bought back to the shop as it bit the child who it was bought for.

They wouldn't get it out so I went to the area where I could access this rat....it was very hostile.....and lunged for me....I said I would leave it and walked away.....but I kept thinking about it.....and eventually went and got him and took him home....together with a pair of heavy duty leather gardening gloves the shop had provided free of charge.

I named him Tetley after a friends cat who was also quite hostile...due to it being mistreated in a previous home.

I tried to love him but he wouldn't have it....so I came up with a plan....I needed to gain his trust first....so he was put in a cage on his own....and I made sure that NO-ONE interacted with him except me....visitors were forbidden to look at or acknowledge him at all.

I had received a make up brush kit for Christmas and in it was a small fan brush.....so each day I drew a chair up to Tetley's cage and I would brush him through the bars, talking and singing to him....and after a few weeks of this tried to pick him up.....he was well mardy...and would bite. So I continued with the brushing....and eventually he let me do this and I think he actually enjoyed it.

Next step was to pick him up....he still didn't like it....so I took him upstairs to bed with me to let him explore - I would lay in bed with the quilt tightly wrapped round me and after a while he would lick my face....after a while he was round to wholesale washing of all of my face....but if I tried to thank him with a stroke he would bite.

He next learned the delights of the living room floor....and he knew his cue to return to his cage when I put a cushion on the floor...he would get on the cushion and I would pick it up and put him back in his cage via the cushion.

He never did like being handled....apparently the boy who had him originally used to squeeze him hard which is why he had bitten...he never did tame right down but I learned to love this grumpy creature....and then one day he gave in.......and everything changed.

He came to me - and let me pick him up and from that day until he died about three months later we were inseparable.....he would sit on my lap and wash me and it was lovely.

Indeed right at the end I took him to bed...and he snuggled in and I stroked him and talked to him until it was over.

And despite his grumpy character he was one of the best rats I ever had.

So persevere....:D

What a lovely story, made me cry, laugh and smile. Well done for perserverence. :thumbsup:

Well we seem to have had a bit of a breakthrough today. Norris has been very keen to come out of the cage, even jumping up onto my chest from the doorway! He even licked me on my cheek and did the same to my son. :o Totally amazing. I guess we just keep at it bit by bit and hope that as each day passes he comes round a little bit more.

Slowly, slowly, catchee monkey.. as the saying goes.

I think playing it a bit cautious is the way to go, and to let him come to you in his own time, (which he seems to be doing)
I think you are doing things just about as right as you can do, if you've had such a leap of progress today. looks like it's all going positively for you.

Just uploaded a pic of Stanley.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2232/2289103227_318c52355f.jpg

must get round to doing the rest

hello,

i've got 4 rats, Thelma, Louise, Mr Hoffmann Grink (Grink) and Mr Wiggins.

Louise was very unsociable when I first got her. Stupidly I bought her from pets at Home as I was unaware of the conditions there at that time. She is blind and must have been treated badly as at first she attacked everything. She is calmer now, I used to keep her in one cage with Thelma and although Thelma is extremely friendly they still fell out quite a lot.
I had to separate them a few weeks ago as Thelma is getting old and she is unfit what made Louise bully her. I don't blame her, it is their instinct to try and get rid of a rat that seems ill/old.

Now Louise lives in a big cage on her own and it has made her happy as never before. I guess she is very territorial and maybe this is why she is calmer when on her own. She decorates her cage with pieces of bedding and moves food bowls around what seem to make her really happy.

Boys are much more sociable but still one of them was treated badly in the past (I've adopted both of them) and although I can see the difference after a few weeks, Mr Wiggins will still need time to get used to the fact that people can actually be fun ;)

Mr Grink is lovely but very protective of his territory (and of mr Wiggins, I think they are in love ;) ) so every time my loopy cat sticks her head in the cage she gets bitten. She runs away and comes back after a few minutes for more ;) :loopy:

photos :)

Mr Hoffmann Grink:
http://s152.photobucket.com/albums/s191/NachtUndNebel/?action=view&current=DSC03004.jpg

Mr Wiggins:
http://s152.photobucket.com/albums/s191/NachtUndNebel/?action=view&current=DSC03008.jpg

Thelma and Louise:
http://s152.photobucket.com/albums/s191/NachtUndNebel/?action=view&current=ThelmaandLouise.jpg

Loopy Luna:
http://s152.photobucket.com/albums/s191/NachtUndNebel/?action=view&current=loopyLuna.jpg

Hi

My daughter has 3 female rats Princess is the oldest a brown hooded and also two dumbos we got from Mojo1 Suzanna and Smudge. They are all really great fun and obssessed with food!

I only ever had one nasty antisocial rattie a few years ago and I never managed to tame him he would never let anyone near him the funny thing was he was the baby of two rats we had so he had never been mistreated, I think sometimes they are like people some are just antisocial by nature. Any way good luck with yours:)

I had a rat once.....I called him Tetley....

Tetley came from a local pet store....it was nearly Christmas and there was a sign on the window of the bit where they kept rats...it said "rat - free to good home". I asked about it and they said it had been mistreated and bought back to the shop as it bit the child who it was bought for.

They wouldn't get it out so I went to the area where I could access this rat....it was very hostile.....and lunged for me....I said I would leave it and walked away.....but I kept thinking about it.....and eventually went and got him and took him home....together with a pair of heavy duty leather gardening gloves the shop had provided free of charge.

I named him Tetley after a friends cat who was also quite hostile...due to it being mistreated in a previous home.

I tried to love him but he wouldn't have it....so I came up with a plan....I needed to gain his trust first....so he was put in a cage on his own....and I made sure that NO-ONE interacted with him except me....visitors were forbidden to look at or acknowledge him at all.

I had received a make up brush kit for Christmas and in it was a small fan brush.....so each day I drew a chair up to Tetley's cage and I would brush him through the bars, talking and singing to him....and after a few weeks of this tried to pick him up.....he was well mardy...and would bite. So I continued with the brushing....and eventually he let me do this and I think he actually enjoyed it.

Next step was to pick him up....he still didn't like it....so I took him upstairs to bed with me to let him explore - I would lay in bed with the quilt tightly wrapped round me and after a while he would lick my face....after a while he was round to wholesale washing of all of my face....but if I tried to thank him with a stroke he would bite.

He next learned the delights of the living room floor....and he knew his cue to return to his cage when I put a cushion on the floor...he would get on the cushion and I would pick it up and put him back in his cage via the cushion.

He never did like being handled....apparently the boy who had him originally used to squeeze him hard which is why he had bitten...he never did tame right down but I learned to love this grumpy creature....and then one day he gave in.......and everything changed.

He came to me - and let me pick him up and from that day until he died about three months later we were inseparable.....he would sit on my lap and wash me and it was lovely.

Indeed right at the end I took him to bed...and he snuggled in and I stroked him and talked to him until it was over.

And despite his grumpy character he was one of the best rats I ever had.

So persevere....:D

I Love Love Love this story!