New Rat-Training??

[pimpin_posey]

Hey my g/f jus got her self a female rat. I was curious how we go about training her. She just brought her home last night so iono how long it will take for her to become acustom to the cage and us? So i was wondering do they have rat treats to train it to come to the open door or do you have sumtin to substitue as treats. and how do we go bout Toilet training a rat. and anyother things we should go about doin. any and all help is much apprecieted.

 

[Gigas]

I know you can train them but im not sure how to go about it, BTW did you gt any pics of that Sidewinder?

 

[pinkzebra]

Rats are fairly easy to train. I would give her a couple of days to relax and feel at home with you. Rats from petstores, especially feeder rats, can be very frightened at first, understandably so.

There are many different ways to litter train a rat, but the way I do it is to choose a litter and keep them in a cage that has a slide out bottom and put the litter in the bottom. After about a week I put them in a rat cage and put the litter pan in the corner with the same kind of litter that I had been using in the temp. cage. They almost always get the idea. You may have to put a few of their droppings in the litter pan at first. Use a different kind of bedding than what you are using for littter in the litter pan. (I use old clean rags for bedding, rabbit food for litter in the training stages.) The rags and rabbit food are much cheaper than commercially sold bedding. Now that all of my rats use the litter box, I don't even put litter in it, just clean it out daily. I would say most rats use the litter box for poop 99% of the time, pee about 75% of the time.

To train her to do tricks use cheerios as a food reward. They are healthy and just the right size.

Rats are very social animals and should really not be kept alone. Having a friend with her will boost her confidence and help her bond more quickly with you.

Wow, sorry about the book. If you have any specific questions, you can PM me. I have had rats for years now, they are great!!

Jen

 

[Spideyman]

Do rats stink?i mean like hamsters

 

[atavuss]

Do rats stink?i mean like hamsters

yes, they will stink if you let their waste build up without changing their bedding/substrate.

 

[smellyocheese]

congrats on the new rattie! I just got myself one too. Rescued actually... he was seconds away to being fed to a ball python. i'm yet to get him a friend but I'm having trouble finding a rat for him... breeders refuse to sell me feeders as pets. they wanna sell me the pet rats for 10 times the feeder's price which is really ridiculous.

and thanks for the litter training technique, exkrhla. I'm gonna try tht out

 

[pinkzebra]

Do rats stink?i mean like hamsters

I have guinea pigs, rabbits, rats and have had mice. The rats definately smell the least of any of these. All mammals need their cages cleaned regularly though. And they will usually use a litter box, which is a big help.

 

[pinkzebra]

and thanks for the litter training technique, exkrhla. I'm gonna try tht out

Congrats on the new rattie! And your welcome! Good luck! If you need any help you are welcome to PM me.

Enjoy your rattie. If he is a male you may have a little trouble at first with introducing him to a new friend.