New little buddy

[dairy]

I just picked up a new little buddy. She's a rat! I've named her Garbonzo. Rizzo seemed too obvious but I like the Muppets and Gonzo is one of my favorites She's still pretty timid and doesn't seem to happy about being picked up, but once I get her sitting on my arms she goes in to explore mode and seems a little more comfortable.

I did a quick search and didn't find too much on training. I'd like to take her on the road with me so I want her to respond with her name. I repeat her name a lot and plan on using "Nibbles" as a key word for offering treats/rewards. I've offered "Nibbles" a few times but she wont take them from my hand. I'm planning on calling her and only if she comes I'll open the cage and pick her up or offer a treat. Any other tips/tricks?

 

[Laceface]

rats are REALLY smart, so if you work with her every day, she will get it in no time. We had one that, if she got out, you could call her back by mimicking the chatter sound she made. If you look online, there's a few places you can get a list of rat safe foods, and non safe foods. She would looove raw veggies, or mealworms I bet. Good luck with her! I get jealous everytime I see someone with one, we used to have em, but I developed an allergy

 

[zonbonzovi]

As far as getting her acclimated to you: my wife used to wear a beat up hooded sweatshirt which she at first placed yogurt treats into next the opening on their cage. After they got accustomed to her smell, she would wear the sweatshirt while reading or watching TV. Soon she could take them virtually anywhere if she was wearing the hoody. Great pets, esp. if you want something you can physically interact with.

 

[anna_babyxox]

You should probably think about getting her a friend. Rats can get neurotic and puposefully hurt themselves if kept alone. I'm not saying yours will, but she would be much happier with a playmate when you're not around. Plus watching rats interact with each other is fun. I have two boys of my own. ^^ As for tricks, I haven't had too much luck with training, so I won't be too much help there. I mostly got them because they're just fun to play with. One thing that my boys didn't even have to be trained to do was dive for peas. They go crazy for peas and will willingly dive for them. Just start out with shallow water and work your way up. =)

 

[pouchedrat]

Check out youtube videos of rat agility courses. They usually catch on quickly with the right treats.

My boys are lazy and do nothing, but they're ancient old farts, lol. In the past I've trained rats to beg on command, come when called (which is insanely easy, and hilarious when you're outside and your mother just happens to live next to a golf course that's active year round), turn in a circle, etc. You can get them to do quite a bit when food is involved. Sorry I can't be much more help.

All rats are individuals. Some will be easy to train, others hard, some won't. I had a rat who craved my company and attention SO much that she would drop any treat given to her IMMEDIATELY just so she could come out and be pet by me. Even if she was starving and I knew she was, she ignored it for attention. Needless to say I couldn't train her to do anything since all she wanted was cuddle licky time.

Now a pouched rat, I can help you better with... trained my boy to do a lot when he was alive.

 

[dairy]

Food is definitely a factor with this rat