About Robin Bartlett Expertise I can answer any rat-related questions including feeding, housing, breeding, showing, genetics, health, and behaviour. I am a veterinary assistant and though I cannot answer in-depth health questions I am familiar with the most common ailments and treatments for rats. I have owned rats for 10 years and have been breeding them for 5 and have studied everything about them that I can get my hands on. I currently run my own rat care website at http://careguide.evergreenrattery.com and have been answering rat and other rodent questions via email and IM for several years now.
Experience I am a veterinary assistant who has owned rats for 10 years and bred them for 5. In this time I have learned nearly everything there is to know about rats and continue to study more about them every day. I have been answering rat questions via IM and email for several years now and I am currently ranked #3 on Yahoo! Answers for the best answers in the rodents category.
Organizations RatsPacNW, RMFE
Education/Credentials Though I am a veterinary assistant, I have not gone to college for it. My parents are both vets, and I have grown up with our family business and have learned what I needed to know on the job.
I would be very grateful for any help and advice you could give me!
We have kept hamsters, chinchillas, guinea pigs and mice before and have never had any trouble taming them... although it has taken a while at times! but we are complete rat novices!
4 weeks ago we bought 2 rats from a pet store (brothers) they were 12 weeks old and I not suspect they were not handled much. They are curious and will come to the cage door for treats, but will not tolerate being stroked or handled and constantly try and bite if we put our hand anywhere near them. We do spend time with them. We want happy, sociable rats...please help!!
Answer Unfortunately most rats from pet stores are not properly socialized. Rats are generally the most social pet out of all the small animals but they still need to be handled from birth to make them good pets. They can be socialized at an older age but it is harder and they may never be as tame as a pet rat bought from a breeder.
Coming to the door of their cage is a good sign, at least they are not terrified of you. I would highly suggest picking them up anyway and putting them either in the front pocket of a hoodie or making a fleece bag to hang around your neck. They will have a place to feel safe but still be with you and smell you, and you can reach in and pet them or give them treats occasionally. I do this with all my litters of babies and any rats who are not quite as tame as I would like. After a while they will eventually get used to being handled, or at least improve from their current tameness.
Male rats also have the potential to be more aggressive, and having them neutered can make them calmer and lazier and therefore more apt to be handled without protest. If you can afford it and have a vet who knows how to do the procedure properly I would recommend having them both neutered. It also reduces the smell, urine-marking, and buck grease they will have when they are adults.
Just keep on working with them, it can be difficult but when a rat is not properly socialized from birth it takes more time to tame them down. I hope this helps, good luck with your boys!
