I’ve just brought home a trio of rescue ratties, they are very nervous and for good reason, as they were dumped in a plastic box in the woods with 14 other rats! This video is so helpful as a reminder of how much time this process does take (my last rescues were a few years ago now), and I can’t wait to start seeing their little personalities shine through!
Aww I’m you or some of the other rescuers are on our rat group a couple was lost to poor health recently but some are still going strong they are with very good homes thanks For saving them Xxx
Good advice to keep in mind about going at the rat's pace with it. A local reptile store I go to for insects for my Beardie will sometimes have people come back with a live rat or mouse saying they bought it the day before, left it in the snakes cage and the snake wouldn't eat it so they returned them to be put back with the other feeder rodents. I bet some rats/mice that people buy from the feeder bin as pets have possibly spent a night with a snake before they brought it home.
I love telling my rats "youre so brave! Good job! I'm so proud of you, youre doing so well!" Even though they might not understand its nice to praise them
I’m a first time rat owner, and got my two boys from what I thought was a reputable breeder 6 days ago. I didn’t see it when I visited the breeder because of my inexperience, but looking back she didn’t treat them well. My boys are MORE NERVOUS than these two. I was prepared for friendly rats that were used to being handled, and instead I got rats who act like rescues. Kind of a lot for a first time owner, but I’m being patient bc I already love them so much. They’re curious and will take food from me, but if I do anything that looks like I’m going to pick them up or touch them, they run and hide. This video has given me a good framework moving forward, which is a huge relief.
How are you and your rats now?! Have you found anything that helped at all? I picked my first rats up 3 weeks ago and I’m in the same situation. They’ve gotten more friendly and social. They’ll come onto my bed sometimes to explore, take food from me etc. But when I try to touch them, move my hands too much or sometimes try to put my hand into the cage, then they run off. When I tried to clean their cage recently, I had to get them into a tube to take them out their cage. 2 of them were kind of okay with that. But the third wasn’t having it at all. I ended up having to clean the cage with her in it, and work around her. I’m not sure if it’s something I’m doing wrong, but I’ve followed all the advice I’ve seen here and else where. The breeder has a fb group for people who bought rats off her, and they all seem to have super friendly rats, and I haven’t seen anyone mention their rats being super skittish :(
@@xXcHeRrYbUnXx1 Something that helped me bond with my older rescues was literally just being in the room 24/7 and sitting w them in a small area. Go in ur bathtub with them, and just sit on ur phone for a few hours. They will slowly crawl near u and get used to ur scent! I would sit still for the first few days and just let them crawl under my legs or hide behind me. I moved on to a small playpen in my living room and just watched movies and fail army so they were used to sounds and people stopping by and sticking their hands in! I spent at least 2 hours with them daily and usually at night. They had towels, a litterbox, and some water and peas, but no hides. They chose to hide underneath my legs and back and crawing inside my shirts and hoodies. One of the boys even fell asleep in my arms the very first day of me doing this. They basically lived in that playpen except for at night lol. This probably wont work w all rats since mine are extremely friendly and take on to new things suddenly extremely well, but it only took about a week before they were happy to be picked up, handled, and would even cuddle w me themselves :)
Day 4 worked really well for me, had them in my lap for a couple hours to try and get them out of their shells a bit. Luckily it worked and they nearly fell asleep, also saw some boggling on the way, even if one did manage to escape from my arms for a couple minutes. :) THANK YOU EMIOLOGY
I'm currently bonding with my pet store babies, we're on day 5 and they'll let me stroke them, they don't bite and they've started to climb on my hands and arms. Hopefully they'll let me pick them up one day but for now I'm happy considering they're from a store. That malt paste is magic, they love it.
4 month update. They now love to run around inside my clothes, sit on my shoulders and even my head sometimes. They still don't massively like being picked up but they'll tolerate it for a biscuit. Neither have ever shown any aggression towards me, they're really sweet girls. I'm definitely glad I opted for rats as a pet, I've found them to be very low maintenance and they make me smile every day.
This is fitting as we did just adopted a terrified baby about 2 weeks ago. Hes getting closer and closer to brave, but hes nothing like some of our other rescues that love to shoulder ride and play outside of the cage. *i do have experience with this.... he may always be this way, and that is up to him. 💜
I miss having rats so much! I can’t really have them right now due to where I’m living but I love watching your videos and know that when I’m in the right place to own them again I’m going to be such a better rat mummy because of all I’ve learned from you ❤️
Taking things at the rats pace is great advice! I’ve had my bunny for about a year and he was VERY aggressive went we got him. Just spending a couple minutes with him in his gated in area, and feeding him treats has made such a difference. He’s a very sweet cuddly bunny now
Can’t wait to watch this !! I was doing something and then when I got the notification I immediately Clicked this haha I’m also bringing rats in a few weeks from an ethical breeder I listened to what you said about the pet shop And Yes , the rats are from rodent mills so I am instead Buying them from a wonderful breeder . She needs you to send pictures of the cage Since she won’t sell them to everybody unless there Cage and accessories are good .
I just got two feeders. I wanted to get my rats from good breeders but locally that's hard. The only ones I could find where those. So now two of them have a cozy new home and lots of future love to have. You are epic and I've been binging your vids to learn all I can for my pocket puppies
I found a baby rat literally on the street and took him home - hes white with a grey mask on his face so I named him Zorro! He was so terrified the first two days but I took your advice and have been handling him and keeping him in a sling. He groomed me today and is even now asleep on me. Thank you so much for all of your videos they have been so helpful and informative! God bless
I loved seeing them come out of their shells, Kinder is such a crazy boy, reminds me of my Olly. Can't wait to see how the intros are gonna go with the older boys. ☺ Also, Emi, we have the same taste in music it seems, I have Riptide and Ho Hey both in my song playlist. 😄 Some great news as well, one of the biggest pet stores in my country is gonna stop selling pets (the care in those stores was horrible) and I'm honestly so happy! ❤
Thanks for the helpful video! I'm trying to get my 3 girls feeling bit more confident. 2 of them are definitely more bold, and one is more nervous. We are at the stage where they will come forward to sniff my hand, and they will take treats and food from my hand. Once or twice I've got them out and just placed them on my lap - but not restraining them so they were free to run back into their cage whenever they wanted, and they just sat there on my lap for about 20-30 seconds without attempting to run, just investigating, then they hopped calmly back into the cage, so I'm taking that as a good sign! But we are still making progress, they still hate being picked up x
Thank you for sharing some tips and tricks. We've had our Petco feeder rats @2 months old for a week. (We didn't know, first time owning rats) Some of these tips I've done, they have just started coming around. Thanks again.
I will definitely try the game you played with my rescue babies! They are okay-ish on me but hate when I pick them up. They go nuts for soy vanilla pudding so that's what I'll use. You're a lifesaver. 🥰
My girls have come from a pet store, as did their predecessors. I wasted a lot of time wating for the first couple and then they really settled into nervousness. Eventually Lucy warmed to me, and was just a cuddle-bug. Regrettably she was around 2/2.5 years and I think it was just her time. I found your vid by searching 'win over nervous rats' and it couldn't have been a better suggestion. I got a lot out of your video. I thank you and so does 'Izzy' and '#4'.
I needed this video when I adopted 5 absolutely shy young rats this year... They were my first rats and I didn't really know what to expect and that our rats are especially shy. We were so insecure and frustrated and when an accident happened bc a rat escaped we decided to give back the most shy 2 of them. Now we have the other 3 like 8 months and tried to find more brave and chill rats for them to learn from - sadly they didn't get along and now we need to find new friends for them. The 3 have made some huge progress but are still far away from the classic rat u see in videos
I have 3 rescues, which show the spectrum of how much rats like humans. None are biters, but one loves humans and attention, one tolerates us, the other hates being held... The friendliest is a pet store boy. His littermate is the least friendly. It really shows you never know what you're getting from pet stores.
Bless them! I’ll often get people telling me about a really friendly pet store rats they have to invalidate my warnings not to support pet stores but it really is such a gamble, for every friendly rat there’s many others who are scared and being given up as people are disappointed in them ☹️
Heyyyyy emi! Thanks for the new vid THEY ARE SO FREAKING CUTE AHHHHHH I’m getting my cage soon and have learnt how to make hammocks! Do you sow? It’s really cost effective in the long run.
Ye usually it's cheaper! Have some expensive ones in and some cheap ones as they usually get destroyed anyways 😂😂 so ye it takes more time but u make more for your money!
I just got my first ever rats last week, a pair of young males from a breeder. One is very skittish around sudden noises/movements and generally a cautious character. I left them to settle for the first few days, gradually increasing the bonding time each day and he's taking treats from my hand now 😊 really helpful video, thank you.
I have had to postpone a neuter twice now because of a sweet but super skittish boy. Having pocket puppies is really all about not rushing anything ugh. ❤️
I am in the slow-and-patient camp, even with well-bred babies. They start in my nursery/hospital cage which is small enough to move around. I keep the cage near me and talk to them and offer treats. I don’t try to handle them except for cleaning. In a few days, they’re less scared of me and this is when they meet their big sisters. They move in with the big girls whenever I feel everyone is ready, and the amount of time it takes varies widely. Mainly depends if one of my big girls is too much of a bully.
Thanks for this! I adopted two rats about three weeks ago. One loves attention and cuddles, the other one doesn’t. She doesn’t like to come out much. She will lunge and bite if I put my hand in the cage, but once she’s out she’ll accept strokes and sit on me for a short while. I’ve been wondering if I was doing something wrong, but I’ve done almost exactly this. I’ll keep trying, but I’ll love her even if she doesn’t love me :)
super old comment i know, but to my understanding, your rat is probably just protective of her space :) it doesnt necessarily mean she doesnt love you! think of it like a teenager who hates their parents coming into their bedroom.
My baby rats are from a family who bred their rats for their family. They are so flipping cute, second day, now. First time owner of rats, I don't want to over do it. They seem confident. I'm just getting confident myself with the handling
I just got two very young girls I would say maybe around 8 weeks. They definitely haven't been handled much at all and we have put the carrier cage into their normal one and left the door open so they can come out when they feel safe. They haven't come out yet which is understandable I'm just worried I won't know how to properly bond and feed them if they don't want to come out of the carrier cage.
MAN i wish i saw this video when i first adopted these three girls from a pet store. we've had them for about two years now, and although they are shy, they care about each other a lot and often don't mind jumping on me and my mom's shoulder. this was super informative! at least now i have the knowledge for the future.
My old friend when i was younger had 1 rat and even when i was like 8 i just knew his rat was not being tooken cared of well so your channel has inspired me to get rats. even though i can only get 2 im grateful to rescue 2 rats :)
You have a nice way with rats and honestly I can tell you have a good feel for them. It's a pleasure to watch someone with skills working or rather playing with rats. We tend to prefer keeping new rats on our persons for pretty much the first day when they are small enough, for larger rats we take them to a small space and get on the floor with them and play with them until they come to us for security. This pretty much finishes the bonding thing day one. Then we introduce them to their scary cage. This is a trick I learned doing intros with with a lot of rats over the years. Sometimes when we have a really good older rat we bring her or him into the small space and if all goes well we all wind up playing together, both bonding and intros can be done in just a few hours. In my experience the longer it takes to develop a pack bond with your new rats, the harder it will be. With girls intros often have a way of going terribly wrong... I could write a book on how many ways things can and will go badly, on the other hand we've never had one that didn't eventually work out. One more difference in our training techniques is that I never train with treats. Rats don't really have the word "give" in their vocabulary. They do however understand take and steal and it's too easy to become a human vending machine. When rats bond with each other they don't give each other treats. However, rats do understand skritches huggles and praise as rewards. Which is what I use to motivate the rats we train. That most certainly doesn't mean I don't give our rats plenty of treats, not does that mean they won't mug me for food when I'm trying to eat something... just I don't use food as a reward or a training tool. Lastly, beware of really smart rats once they learn what you want, they will withhold the appropriate behavior until they get the appropriate treat. They are smarter than you think and they will learn to play you.
Love ya Em ❣️💕💯 you have taught me sooooo much in keeping and caring for rats 🥰🤗😍 you're such an amazing person and I just love watching your videos so much❣️🙌
i got my two boys from a feeder shop! they where so scared of me but 2 months later they are so cuddly. the first couple of days where so hard to try to not bother them because i am a first time rat mom 😅
Just introduced a very nervous rat yesterday! I used your tips and so on, and it went wonderful! Although there is a slight difference with my rat, she came from a breeder but the breeder did'nt know about the pups for a while. She is a very serious and good breeder, and i have bought rats from her before, but mistakes happen even to the best. But anyway, since the parents werent really the best for breeding the babies were super shy. But still used to being handled. Hard to explain. She was also on her own, and i hate to have a baby rat by themself but she only had one rat left. But i love this rat so much! She is a black eyed siamese dumbo. So prettey! (My grammar isn't the best, i apologize!)
Yeah I got rats pickles and mashed potatoes and pickles is terrified of anyone mashed potato’s is use to me I’ve had them for a week now and it’s really fun having them
Thank you for this video!! I rescued a trio of boys that were let go (with 4 others) in a park. Two of them are 10 months old and one is 6 months so they’re extremely scared and I have no idea of their handling history. The 6 month old is coming around but the older boys have been more of a struggle. I’m gonna try some of these tricks! But, I’ve also been slowly coming to terms that one of them may never want to be handled. He’s the most skittish. He just loves to snuggle with the younger one so that’s a positive for them!
So, I did get my rats from a pet store, knowing the risks. I don’t plan on doing that in the future now that I found some breeders within a 2 hour drive. Anyhow, the only reason I got them is because the owner (it was not a chain) opened the cage to let me play with them. They were all super friendly, came up to me, let me pick them up and snuggle them. They were very receptive to me even when I brought them home. I don’t think I’d have got them otherwise… she knew what she was doing, because I kept looking at them and once I played with them it was all over, I couldn’t help myself. I have been watching your videos for years and wanting rats and we happened to be there looking for fish food for my friends. I thought well, I’ve been preparing for rats and wanting them so I’ll give them a pet and see how I feel. And of course I felt very much like taking two of them home 😩😩 I will say this pet store had a TON of rat products. So many foraging toys, treats and foods. Nothing like any of the chains I’ve seen. All of the chains near me just have hamster tubes and houses. I don’t think I’ll buy any more rats from pet stores but I will be back to get more accessories for them! Anyhow sorry I made that decision but I loooooove my boys. Thank you for the videos!!! I’m watching them like mad this week.
The rescue rats I have now spent the first 3 weeks of thier lives in a snake tank. It took 6 months to get them not to scatter when I walked in the room. Slow and super patient is what they needed. I still have to get them to go into a box after free roam because it freaks them out to be picked up out in the open. In cage they'll let me love on them and climb on me to get out. For the first 3 months one of the sisters was so scared her sister would cover her whole body with hers so she felt safe. Now, a year later all of them will come see me when I open up the cage and are happy to say hi for cuddles. There's always going to be some up and downs with this little mischief but I love all 4 of them to pieces still.
i literally just subbed today and a video gets uploaded? lucky me! love ur videos so far btw, rats and mice are adorable little creatures and i would love to have some once i have a steady job!
i bought home 2 sisters last monday and they wanted nothinnnggg to do with me. they also somehow escaped their cage the first night so the first quick handling was not a good experience for either of us lol. but a week later and they have started crawling fully onto my hand and their personality’s have really come out and it’s so weird and fun to see. they were so quiet and didn’t do anything and now they are both absolutely crazy😭
I just got my new rats home for a pet store and one of them is super super happy and likes to sleep in my hood in my pocket and the other ones a little bit more nervous so this is the perfect video
Thanks for another great video, me and my boys have been watching lots of your videos in preparation for getting our 3 baby boy rat's next month, can't wait 😁
They are adorable! I have hamsters and I will try these since I have heard that taming works in a similar way with all small creatures. These are adorable and I am very happy that they trust you!
Socializing and bonding with all small animals can take time. I got lucky when getting my most recent hamsters because they were rehomed from a good owner who had to move to a smaller place and could not take all her animals. The older hamster walked right into my hand for play time out of the cage in a few hours after taking her home. Her daughter is a bit more skittish and took longer to get out. A few weeks later and I still sometimes have to corner her with the travel carrier to put her back after play time. They both love running around, so getting them out is not an issue during their wake time.
I got two rats from a pet shop but I think they are handled very well because they haven't bit me but I didn't know I couldn't pick them up on the first day and I got like a cage for an adult rat so yeah
This is so helpful! I just adopted 3 young rats from a medical research/animal testing facility who were set to be euthanized, and they are quite anxious. I was doing most of the things in this video already, but had no idea if that was a good way to go about bonding with them… glad to know I’m doing something right. Didn’t know about malt paste - I will absolutely have to pick up some of that! So far I haven’t found any treats these girls like other than their food, so 🤞🏻 Do you have any suggestions on how to tell identical rats apart? My 3 girls are all fully albino and very similar sizes, so aside from personality, IDing them has been difficult for me - especially at first glance. I’m guessing collars/ribbons aren’t a good idea as they’d just tear them off (or even worse, get injured), but… I can’t think of anything else. The research facility marked on their tails with sharpie but that absolutely does not seem safe having them absorb that ink ☠️
I’ve recently become enraptured in the world of rats and I appreciate all of the videos that you post, I’ve been wondering if you know of any specific sites or places that’s sell lil pocket puppies
Your videos are so helpful, thank-you! I have 3 new rescues and I'd like to try a bonding pouch. Would you say the soft slings sold on Amazon for puppies would be ok for rats? I don't want to get the kind that hangs from your neck bc two of my new boys are nippers... tia!
Could the community maybe help .. 2 of our rats bonding is going wonderfully. However we still ( about 2 months in ) Have one that's not taking there free roam well and the other simply acts as tho she's trying to escape ... she's even jumped from high places to get out. She is improving in the fact that when we have to find and get her she seems to have finally find the cage a safe place they all seem extremely cage shy and even the one that connected with us first is very cage shy and yet once out is completely fine Guess what I'm asking is this normal
I just got two ratties recently, they are siblings and I have been watching your videos religiously. I haven't owned rats in years and I wanted this to be my second chance at doing things right and doing things better. I had a question for ya, should I keep their hides in the cage for the first few days or take them out? I was told to keep their hides out of the cage for 2 weeks so they will get use to the cage. They are very timid and scared and I was told that if they stay in their hides all the time they wont get use to their surroundings, smells etc.
I have no Idea why, by my two little ratties don't want to go into the bonding pouch?! They just climb out and start roaming the room!! Haha!!😂 Do you have any tips that might help them come into the pouch?? Great music taste, love those tunes! Those two boys are ADORABLE!! Only one of my girls likes malt paste and sits on my shoulder, sometimes and my other girl, she mostly sleeps although she isn't ill?! Any tips?? Thank you!😊🐀Also Kinder reminds me a lot of Willow, very hyper😂🥰
![🎤 จับฉลากร้องเพลง x P’ #XXSIVK [EP.1] (2/2) เพื่อนจับได้คำไหน..ต้องร้องคำนั้น เริ่ม! 💓🎶 #MXFRUIT](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/1bJvMJXmeS4/mqdefault.jpg)
I’ve just brought home a trio of rescue ratties, they are very nervous and for good reason, as they were dumped in a plastic box in the woods with 14 other rats! This video is so helpful as a reminder of how much time this process does take (my last rescues were a few years ago now), and I can’t wait to start seeing their little personalities shine through!
i think i saw the same listing for rescue rats
Aww I’m you or some of the other rescuers are on our rat group a couple was lost to poor health recently but some are still going strong they are with very good homes thanks
For saving them
Xxx
Good advice to keep in mind about going at the rat's pace with it. A local reptile store I go to for insects for my Beardie will sometimes have people come back with a live rat or mouse saying they bought it the day before, left it in the snakes cage and the snake wouldn't eat it so they returned them to be put back with the other feeder rodents. I bet some rats/mice that people buy from the feeder bin as pets have possibly spent a night with a snake before they brought it home.
Thank God that's not legal in the UK. Sounds horrific
I love telling my rats "youre so brave! Good job! I'm so proud of you, youre doing so well!" Even though they might not understand its nice to praise them
I’m a first time rat owner, and got my two boys from what I thought was a reputable breeder 6 days ago. I didn’t see it when I visited the breeder because of my inexperience, but looking back she didn’t treat them well. My boys are MORE NERVOUS than these two. I was prepared for friendly rats that were used to being handled, and instead I got rats who act like rescues. Kind of a lot for a first time owner, but I’m being patient bc I already love them so much. They’re curious and will take food from me, but if I do anything that looks like I’m going to pick them up or touch them, they run and hide. This video has given me a good framework moving forward, which is a huge relief.
How are you and your rats now?! Have you found anything that helped at all?
I picked my first rats up 3 weeks ago and I’m in the same situation. They’ve gotten more friendly and social. They’ll come onto my bed sometimes to explore, take food from me etc. But when I try to touch them, move my hands too much or sometimes try to put my hand into the cage, then they run off.
When I tried to clean their cage recently, I had to get them into a tube to take them out their cage. 2 of them were kind of okay with that. But the third wasn’t having it at all. I ended up having to clean the cage with her in it, and work around her.
I’m not sure if it’s something I’m doing wrong, but I’ve followed all the advice I’ve seen here and else where. The breeder has a fb group for people who bought rats off her, and they all seem to have super friendly rats, and I haven’t seen anyone mention their rats being super skittish :(
@@xXcHeRrYbUnXx1 Something that helped me bond with my older rescues was literally just being in the room 24/7 and sitting w them in a small area. Go in ur bathtub with them, and just sit on ur phone for a few hours. They will slowly crawl near u and get used to ur scent! I would sit still for the first few days and just let them crawl under my legs or hide behind me.
I moved on to a small playpen in my living room and just watched movies and fail army so they were used to sounds and people stopping by and sticking their hands in! I spent at least 2 hours with them daily and usually at night. They had towels, a litterbox, and some water and peas, but no hides. They chose to hide underneath my legs and back and crawing inside my shirts and hoodies.
One of the boys even fell asleep in my arms the very first day of me doing this. They basically lived in that playpen except for at night lol.
This probably wont work w all rats since mine are extremely friendly and take on to new things suddenly extremely well, but it only took about a week before they were happy to be picked up, handled, and would even cuddle w me themselves :)
Patience and letting the rats take the first steps can do wonders. I hope they're doing good!
Day 4 worked really well for me, had them in my lap for a couple hours to try and get them out of their shells a bit. Luckily it worked and they nearly fell asleep, also saw some boggling on the way, even if one did manage to escape from my arms for a couple minutes. :) THANK YOU EMIOLOGY
I'm currently bonding with my pet store babies, we're on day 5 and they'll let me stroke them, they don't bite and they've started to climb on my hands and arms. Hopefully they'll let me pick them up one day but for now I'm happy considering they're from a store. That malt paste is magic, they love it.
4 month update. They now love to run around inside my clothes, sit on my shoulders and even my head sometimes. They still don't massively like being picked up but they'll tolerate it for a biscuit. Neither have ever shown any aggression towards me, they're really sweet girls. I'm definitely glad I opted for rats as a pet, I've found them to be very low maintenance and they make me smile every day.
They are both freaking adorable!! Especially the mostly black boy.
This is fitting as we did just adopted a terrified baby about 2 weeks ago. Hes getting closer and closer to brave, but hes nothing like some of our other rescues that love to shoulder ride and play outside of the cage.
*i do have experience with this.... he may always be this way, and that is up to him. 💜
Me too going through the same process w my rescue
How’s it going with him?
Just one? You should adopt rats in pairs so they have a buddy
It helps with their anxieties
I miss having rats so much! I can’t really have them right now due to where I’m living but I love watching your videos and know that when I’m in the right place to own them again I’m going to be such a better rat mummy because of all I’ve learned from you ❤️
Seeing them fall asleep so happily in the pouch was really adorable. I can tell they are going to be great, happy rats!
Taking things at the rats pace is great advice! I’ve had my bunny for about a year and he was VERY aggressive went we got him. Just spending a couple minutes with him in his gated in area, and feeding him treats has made such a difference. He’s a very sweet cuddly bunny now
Can’t wait to watch this !! I was doing something and then when I got the notification I immediately
Clicked this haha
I’m also bringing rats in a few weeks from an ethical breeder
I listened to what you said about the pet shop And
Yes , the rats are from rodent mills so I am instead
Buying them from a wonderful breeder .
She needs you to send pictures of the cage
Since she won’t sell them to everybody unless there
Cage and accessories are good .
You’re bonding really well together and they are so cute 🥰
I just got two feeders. I wanted to get my rats from good breeders but locally that's hard. The only ones I could find where those. So now two of them have a cozy new home and lots of future love to have. You are epic and I've been binging your vids to learn all I can for my pocket puppies
Patience and kindness are the best ways to show your love to any pet. ❤
Aww so cute. My girls turn one this month and I miss the tiny, soft baby era 😍
I found a baby rat literally on the street and took him home - hes white with a grey mask on his face so I named him Zorro! He was so terrified the first two days but I took your advice and have been handling him and keeping him in a sling. He groomed me today and is even now asleep on me. Thank you so much for all of your videos they have been so helpful and informative! God bless
I loved seeing them come out of their shells, Kinder is such a crazy boy, reminds me of my Olly. Can't wait to see how the intros are gonna go with the older boys. ☺ Also, Emi, we have the same taste in music it seems, I have Riptide and Ho Hey both in my song playlist. 😄
Some great news as well, one of the biggest pet stores in my country is gonna stop selling pets (the care in those stores was horrible) and I'm honestly so happy! ❤
You have good taste in music 😉 that’s really good news!
I was just binge watching some of your old videos! You’re so pretty omg I’m so excited! 🤍
Thanks for the helpful video! I'm trying to get my 3 girls feeling bit more confident. 2 of them are definitely more bold, and one is more nervous. We are at the stage where they will come forward to sniff my hand, and they will take treats and food from my hand. Once or twice I've got them out and just placed them on my lap - but not restraining them so they were free to run back into their cage whenever they wanted, and they just sat there on my lap for about 20-30 seconds without attempting to run, just investigating, then they hopped calmly back into the cage, so I'm taking that as a good sign! But we are still making progress, they still hate being picked up x
Thank you for sharing some tips and tricks. We've had our Petco feeder rats @2 months old for a week. (We didn't know, first time owning rats) Some of these tips I've done, they have just started coming around. Thanks again.
I will definitely try the game you played with my rescue babies! They are okay-ish on me but hate when I pick them up. They go nuts for soy vanilla pudding so that's what I'll use. You're a lifesaver. 🥰
My girls have come from a pet store, as did their predecessors. I wasted a lot of time wating for the first couple and then they really settled into nervousness. Eventually Lucy warmed to me, and was just a cuddle-bug. Regrettably she was around 2/2.5 years and I think it was just her time. I found your vid by searching 'win over nervous rats' and it couldn't have been a better suggestion. I got a lot out of your video. I thank you and so does 'Izzy' and '#4'.
One of my rats is a gentle giant he is very shy and this video helped slot thanks alot
I needed this video when I adopted 5 absolutely shy young rats this year... They were my first rats and I didn't really know what to expect and that our rats are especially shy. We were so insecure and frustrated and when an accident happened bc a rat escaped we decided to give back the most shy 2 of them. Now we have the other 3 like 8 months and tried to find more brave and chill rats for them to learn from - sadly they didn't get along and now we need to find new friends for them.
The 3 have made some huge progress but are still far away from the classic rat u see in videos
love your videos so so much!🐀
Excellent ! I don't even have a pet and I still enjoy your channel.
Dey so cuuuute! 😍
I have 3 rescues, which show the spectrum of how much rats like humans. None are biters, but one loves humans and attention, one tolerates us, the other hates being held... The friendliest is a pet store boy. His littermate is the least friendly. It really shows you never know what you're getting from pet stores.
Bless them! I’ll often get people telling me about a really friendly pet store rats they have to invalidate my warnings not to support pet stores but it really is such a gamble, for every friendly rat there’s many others who are scared and being given up as people are disappointed in them ☹️
They are adorable and precious ! 🧡
You are the rat whisperer . Enjoying watching your videos.
💖 Good video and lovely rat t-shirt 💖👍❣️
Heyyyyy emi! Thanks for the new vid THEY ARE SO FREAKING CUTE AHHHHHH I’m getting my cage soon and have learnt how to make hammocks! Do you sow? It’s really cost effective in the long run.
I tried but it just wasn’t for me! I don’t really have the time either
@@Emiology ah okay fair enough! Always nice to try new thing but sometimes it just isn’t your thing 😊x
Ye usually it's cheaper! Have some expensive ones in and some cheap ones as they usually get destroyed anyways 😂😂 so ye it takes more time but u make more for your money!
Your new boys are so, so precious and you're doing such an awesome job of getting them used to you and their new home. 🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀
I just got my first ever rats last week, a pair of young males from a breeder. One is very skittish around sudden noises/movements and generally a cautious character. I left them to settle for the first few days, gradually increasing the bonding time each day and he's taking treats from my hand now 😊 really helpful video, thank you.
Thank you for this video, one of our rats from the breeder is very shy. The other two are doing well, this will help us.
Hi i have two rats and they are scared sometimes but today they where being really brave!!
It's very important to go step by step. It works very well. You have to be patient. They are so cute!🥰🤗❤💚💙💜🐀🐀👍👏
My cat really enjoyed this video! He kept watching with me.
I have had to postpone a neuter twice now because of a sweet but super skittish boy. Having pocket puppies is really all about not rushing anything ugh. ❤️
I am in the slow-and-patient camp, even with well-bred babies. They start in my nursery/hospital cage which is small enough to move around. I keep the cage near me and talk to them and offer treats. I don’t try to handle them except for cleaning. In a few days, they’re less scared of me and this is when they meet their big sisters. They move in with the big girls whenever I feel everyone is ready, and the amount of time it takes varies widely. Mainly depends if one of my big girls is too much of a bully.
Early! Cant wait the see the new rats! Love u em!
Thanks for this! I adopted two rats about three weeks ago. One loves attention and cuddles, the other one doesn’t. She doesn’t like to come out much. She will lunge and bite if I put my hand in the cage, but once she’s out she’ll accept strokes and sit on me for a short while. I’ve been wondering if I was doing something wrong, but I’ve done almost exactly this. I’ll keep trying, but I’ll love her even if she doesn’t love me :)
super old comment i know, but to my understanding, your rat is probably just protective of her space :) it doesnt necessarily mean she doesnt love you! think of it like a teenager who hates their parents coming into their bedroom.
My baby rats are from a family who bred their rats for their family. They are so flipping cute, second day, now. First time owner of rats, I don't want to over do it. They seem confident. I'm just getting confident myself with the handling
I just got two very young girls I would say maybe around 8 weeks. They definitely haven't been handled much at all and we have put the carrier cage into their normal one and left the door open so they can come out when they feel safe. They haven't come out yet which is understandable I'm just worried I won't know how to properly bond and feed them if they don't want to come out of the carrier cage.
MAN i wish i saw this video when i first adopted these three girls from a pet store. we've had them for about two years now, and although they are shy, they care about each other a lot and often don't mind jumping on me and my mom's shoulder. this was super informative! at least now i have the knowledge for the future.
My old friend when i was younger had 1 rat and even when i was like 8 i just knew his rat was not being tooken cared of well so your channel has inspired me to get rats. even though i can only get 2 im grateful to rescue 2 rats :)
Brilliant video!
Thank you so much I did it with my mice that was from a dodgy breeder and as soon as I used the pouch it went on my arm. ❤
One of the rats look exactly like my rainbow pet Oreo, she was such an amazing hamster, she loved being handled.
So cute
You have a nice way with rats and honestly I can tell you have a good feel for them. It's a pleasure to watch someone with skills working or rather playing with rats.
We tend to prefer keeping new rats on our persons for pretty much the first day when they are small enough, for larger rats we take them to a small space and get on the floor with them and play with them until they come to us for security. This pretty much finishes the bonding thing day one. Then we introduce them to their scary cage. This is a trick I learned doing intros with with a lot of rats over the years. Sometimes when we have a really good older rat we bring her or him into the small space and if all goes well we all wind up playing together, both bonding and intros can be done in just a few hours.
In my experience the longer it takes to develop a pack bond with your new rats, the harder it will be.
With girls intros often have a way of going terribly wrong... I could write a book on how many ways things can and will go badly, on the other hand we've never had one that didn't eventually work out.
One more difference in our training techniques is that I never train with treats. Rats don't really have the word "give" in their vocabulary. They do however understand take and steal and it's too easy to become a human vending machine. When rats bond with each other they don't give each other treats. However, rats do understand skritches huggles and praise as rewards. Which is what I use to motivate the rats we train. That most certainly doesn't mean I don't give our rats plenty of treats, not does that mean they won't mug me for food when I'm trying to eat something... just I don't use food as a reward or a training tool.
Lastly, beware of really smart rats once they learn what you want, they will withhold the appropriate behavior until they get the appropriate treat. They are smarter than you think and they will learn to play you.
Really a lifesaver, I just now got home with a new rat. (To accompany the one I already have.) The timing is amazing 😭
Love ya Em ❣️💕💯 you have taught me sooooo much in keeping and caring for rats 🥰🤗😍 you're such an amazing person and I just love watching your videos so much❣️🙌
This is perfect! I pick up my rats on Tuesday!
i’m a huge fan i’ve been waiting for you to post lol 😂 also your to new rats are SO CUTTEEEE ❤
i got my two boys from a feeder shop! they where so scared of me but 2 months later they are so cuddly. the first couple of days where so hard to try to not bother them because i am a first time rat mom 😅
I love watching your videos to refresh my knowledge on rats!
Please post more frequently!!! Love everything you post 💕
aww this helped me alot as i am getting 4 rescue rats next week thanks
They are so adorable!
I didn't know you could do this so fast!!! I'll get my babies to do this right away!
Love your videos and got me inspired to get rats! Thank you so much! Been waiting for a new video for a few days 👀
They are so pretty. Rats have so cute ears and eyes and noses and mouths 🤩
... and tummies and backs and feets ans great tails 💖
Just introduced a very nervous rat yesterday! I used your tips and so on, and it went wonderful! Although there is a slight difference with my rat, she came from a breeder but the breeder did'nt know about the pups for a while. She is a very serious and good breeder, and i have bought rats from her before, but mistakes happen even to the best. But anyway, since the parents werent really the best for breeding the babies were super shy. But still used to being handled. Hard to explain. She was also on her own, and i hate to have a baby rat by themself but she only had one rat left.
But i love this rat so much! She is a black eyed siamese dumbo. So prettey!
(My grammar isn't the best, i apologize!)
Yeah I got rats pickles and mashed potatoes and pickles is terrified of anyone mashed potato’s is use to me I’ve had them for a week now and it’s really fun having them
Their froggie hammocks are so cute!
Thank you for this video!! I rescued a trio of boys that were let go (with 4 others) in a park. Two of them are 10 months old and one is 6 months so they’re extremely scared and I have no idea of their handling history. The 6 month old is coming around but the older boys have been more of a struggle. I’m gonna try some of these tricks! But, I’ve also been slowly coming to terms that one of them may never want to be handled. He’s the most skittish. He just loves to snuggle with the younger one so that’s a positive for them!
So, I did get my rats from a pet store, knowing the risks. I don’t plan on doing that in the future now that I found some breeders within a 2 hour drive. Anyhow, the only reason I got them is because the owner (it was not a chain) opened the cage to let me play with them. They were all super friendly, came up to me, let me pick them up and snuggle them. They were very receptive to me even when I brought them home. I don’t think I’d have got them otherwise… she knew what she was doing, because I kept looking at them and once I played with them it was all over, I couldn’t help myself. I have been watching your videos for years and wanting rats and we happened to be there looking for fish food for my friends. I thought well, I’ve been preparing for rats and wanting them so I’ll give them a pet and see how I feel. And of course I felt very much like taking two of them home 😩😩 I will say this pet store had a TON of rat products. So many foraging toys, treats and foods. Nothing like any of the chains I’ve seen. All of the chains near me just have hamster tubes and houses. I don’t think I’ll buy any more rats from pet stores but I will be back to get more accessories for them! Anyhow sorry I made that decision but I loooooove my boys. Thank you for the videos!!! I’m watching them like mad this week.
ROFL, love it when ratties walk backwards, your guy was walking backwards up a ramp 😹
I ADOPTED 3 DUMBO RATS AND THEY WERE VERY NERVOUS. I BONDED WITH THEM UNDER A MONTH THOUGH!
The rescue rats I have now spent the first 3 weeks of thier lives in a snake tank. It took 6 months to get them not to scatter when I walked in the room. Slow and super patient is what they needed. I still have to get them to go into a box after free roam because it freaks them out to be picked up out in the open. In cage they'll let me love on them and climb on me to get out. For the first 3 months one of the sisters was so scared her sister would cover her whole body with hers so she felt safe. Now, a year later all of them will come see me when I open up the cage and are happy to say hi for cuddles. There's always going to be some up and downs with this little mischief but I love all 4 of them to pieces still.
huge fan
i literally just subbed today and a video gets uploaded? lucky me! love ur videos so far btw, rats and mice are adorable little creatures and i would love to have some once i have a steady job!
Kinder is so cute
i bought home 2 sisters last monday and they wanted nothinnnggg to do with me. they also somehow escaped their cage the first night so the first quick handling was not a good experience for either of us lol. but a week later and they have started crawling fully onto my hand and their personality’s have really come out and it’s so weird and fun to see. they were so quiet and didn’t do anything and now they are both absolutely crazy😭
you,re such a good pettuber. you should have more subscribers
Was waiting for this video! Very helpful :)
I just got my new rats home for a pet store and one of them is super super happy and likes to sleep in my hood in my pocket and the other ones a little bit more nervous so this is the perfect video
Scooter and Pooter are their names
Thanks for another great video, me and my boys have been watching lots of your videos in preparation for getting our 3 baby boy rat's next month, can't wait 😁
They are adorable! I have hamsters and I will try these since I have heard that taming works in a similar way with all small creatures. These are adorable and I am very happy that they trust you!
I'm getting Rats on Friday and I'm so excited curly hair and Dumbo ears
my new rats seem to love you lol, i put this video on and they stood up and poked their noseys out
Socializing and bonding with all small animals can take time. I got lucky when getting my most recent hamsters because they were rehomed from a good owner who had to move to a smaller place and could not take all her animals. The older hamster walked right into my hand for play time out of the cage in a few hours after taking her home. Her daughter is a bit more skittish and took longer to get out. A few weeks later and I still sometimes have to corner her with the travel carrier to put her back after play time. They both love running around, so getting them out is not an issue during their wake time.
They’re so cute. lol
thank you for what you doing for them
So wholesome..
I started mine in play pens for a bit then had to move to a tall cardboard box pen and then moved onto freeroam on the bed
I got two rats from a pet shop but I think they are handled very well because they haven't bit me but I didn't know I couldn't pick them up on the first day and I got like a cage for an adult rat so yeah
omg I love this. great advice and video illustrations, thank you
Thank you for your video... I'll try do all of this again. 😞
This is so helpful! I just adopted 3 young rats from a medical research/animal testing facility who were set to be euthanized, and they are quite anxious. I was doing most of the things in this video already, but had no idea if that was a good way to go about bonding with them… glad to know I’m doing something right. Didn’t know about malt paste - I will absolutely have to pick up some of that! So far I haven’t found any treats these girls like other than their food, so 🤞🏻
Do you have any suggestions on how to tell identical rats apart? My 3 girls are all fully albino and very similar sizes, so aside from personality, IDing them has been difficult for me - especially at first glance. I’m guessing collars/ribbons aren’t a good idea as they’d just tear them off (or even worse, get injured), but… I can’t think of anything else. The research facility marked on their tails with sharpie but that absolutely does not seem safe having them absorb that ink ☠️
Just got two pets rats i absolutely adore them so much I’m definitely going to buy some paste ❤
Awww so cute that is the same way I bonded with my pet rats
I’ve recently become enraptured in the world of rats and I appreciate all of the videos that you post, I’ve been wondering if you know of any specific sites or places that’s sell lil pocket puppies
So many helpful tips, thanks.
Such cute little boys 💙💙
Your videos are so helpful, thank-you! I have 3 new rescues and I'd like to try a bonding pouch. Would you say the soft slings sold on Amazon for puppies would be ok for rats? I don't want to get the kind that hangs from your neck bc two of my new boys are nippers... tia!
Could the community maybe help ..
2 of our rats bonding is going wonderfully. However we still ( about 2 months in ) Have one that's not taking there free roam well and the other simply acts as tho she's trying to escape ... she's even jumped from high places to get out. She is improving in the fact that when we have to find and get her she seems to have finally find the cage a safe place they all seem extremely cage shy and even the one that connected with us first is very cage shy and yet once out is completely fine
Guess what I'm asking is this normal
i just brought home 3 very nervous rescue rats yesterday. hoping to get them friendly and housing them with my other 3 :)
I love this ahhhh so cute, love your channel so much! Xx
I just got two ratties recently, they are siblings and I have been watching your videos religiously. I haven't owned rats in years and I wanted this to be my second chance at doing things right and doing things better.
I had a question for ya, should I keep their hides in the cage for the first few days or take them out? I was told to keep their hides out of the cage for 2 weeks so they will get use to the cage. They are very timid and scared and I was told that if they stay in their hides all the time they wont get use to their surroundings, smells etc.
I have no Idea why, by my two little ratties don't want to go into the bonding pouch?! They just climb out and start roaming the room!! Haha!!😂 Do you have any tips that might help them come into the pouch?? Great music taste, love those tunes! Those two boys are ADORABLE!! Only one of my girls likes malt paste and sits on my shoulder, sometimes and my other girl, she mostly sleeps although she isn't ill?! Any tips?? Thank you!😊🐀Also Kinder reminds me a lot of Willow, very hyper😂🥰