| Blondie and Cookie - CLICK HERE for the Pet Manual Forum Home Page |
| Bryan Brake |
Hello everyone,
I just got my first "children" last weekend. I rescued them from a
Pet's Mart. I say rescued because they didn't look too happy there.
Cookie and Blondie are both around 3 months old... or that's what the
lady at the store said... Cookie has white sides, a black head and a
black stripe down her back. Blondie is similiarly marked, but is a
very light brown (blonde).
I just wanted to talk about them and find out if I'm doing okay with
them, as I grew up with dogs and cats...
Cookie seems the more dominant of the two. The first day I brought
them home, I'd give Blondie a treat, and Cookie would take it. I
thought, "okay, Cookie's got one now, I'll just give one to Blondie."
Well, Cookie would take that one too. Cookie's name for the first day
was actually "hey, bi*ch". Also, I've noticed that Cookie will mount
Blondie, or follow Blondie around the cage, sniffing her rearend and
ahem... well, you understand. I was told I have 2 female rats... and
I've checked both of them out as well. They seem to have the same
equipment.
Anyway, I have been bitten by both of them. Cookie got me as I was
trying to pick her up the first day I got her. Blondie bit me pretty
good right after that. I've read on many sites that that is
undesirable behavior and that they should not be bred from or that
they should even be destroyed. I don't wish to see them destroyed, as
I think that I should have gotten them more used to me before I
reached into "their" home to pick them up. They probably haven't
received a lot of attention when they lived at Pet's Mart, and they
don't understand me yet.
Yesterday (Tuesday), I would put my hand into the floor of the cage,
and they come over, sniff my hand, and nibble on my nails (I don't
understand that). They haven't bitten me since the day after I
brought them home. They nibble on my fingers and climb around on my
arms. They don't sit still very often on my shoulder unless both of
them are up there. They love the towel I put in my lap. They climb
around inside there and poke their head out. I can't let them run
around the apartment, as I do not have it "rat-proofed" yet. I don't
want them to get behind the fridge and get hurt... or worse. I also
don't want a lot of damage to my apartment from nibbling.
The only real issue is that when I take them out of the cage, I always
plan on getting sh*t on... Cookie does it more than Blondie, but
Blondie does as well. I've been peed on a few times as well, but that
hasn't happened in a couple of days...
They also seem to want to chew on the interior of the cage... I've
got many chew sticks in there, but they don't seem to use them, or if
they do use them, they are quickly forgotten and the cage chewing
commences.
I guess I'm in need of a little help. My tasks with my kids seem to
be 3 things:
1. potty training them
2. learning simple behaviors (coming when I call, not to chew the
cage, etc)
3. getting them to the point that they know I'm papa, and that they
need not fear me. I'd like to get them where they come to the door of
the cage and crawl right up to my shoulder when I put my hand in, or
something to that effect.
For #2, I just want a few behaviors to make them more manageable...
even children know not to do certain things and know what their name
is and they come when called. My comparison to children may not be a
good one, I don't know.
If anyone has any ideas that I can use for fixing #1, #2, and #3, I'd
appreciate it.
Thanks
Bryan Brake
father of 2
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| J&S Bouchard |
"Bryan Brake" <bryanbrake@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:bbdfd928.0308131517.342ec7d8@posting.google.com...
> Hello everyone,
>
> I just got my first "children" last weekend. I rescued them from a
> Pet's Mart. I say rescued because they didn't look too happy there.
>
> Cookie and Blondie are both around 3 months old... or that's what the
> lady at the store said... Cookie has white sides, a black head and a
> black stripe down her back. Blondie is similiarly marked, but is a
> very light brown (blonde).
>
> I just wanted to talk about them and find out if I'm doing okay with
> them, as I grew up with dogs and cats...
>
> Cookie seems the more dominant of the two. The first day I brought
> them home, I'd give Blondie a treat, and Cookie would take it. I
> thought, "okay, Cookie's got one now, I'll just give one to Blondie."
> Well, Cookie would take that one too. Cookie's name for the first day
> was actually "hey, bi*ch". Also, I've noticed that Cookie will mount
> Blondie, or follow Blondie around the cage, sniffing her rearend and
> ahem... well, you understand. I was told I have 2 female rats... and
> I've checked both of them out as well. They seem to have the same
> equipment.
>
> Anyway, I have been bitten by both of them. Cookie got me as I was
> trying to pick her up the first day I got her. Blondie bit me pretty
> good right after that. I've read on many sites that that is
> undesirable behavior and that they should not be bred from or that
> they should even be destroyed. I don't wish to see them destroyed, as
> I think that I should have gotten them more used to me before I
> reached into "their" home to pick them up. They probably haven't
> received a lot of attention when they lived at Pet's Mart, and they
> don't understand me yet.
>
> Yesterday (Tuesday), I would put my hand into the floor of the cage,
> and they come over, sniff my hand, and nibble on my nails (I don't
> understand that). They haven't bitten me since the day after I
> brought them home. They nibble on my fingers and climb around on my
> arms. They don't sit still very often on my shoulder unless both of
> them are up there. They love the towel I put in my lap. They climb
> around inside there and poke their head out. I can't let them run
> around the apartment, as I do not have it "rat-proofed" yet. I don't
> want them to get behind the fridge and get hurt... or worse. I also
> don't want a lot of damage to my apartment from nibbling.
>
> The only real issue is that when I take them out of the cage, I always
> plan on getting sh*t on... Cookie does it more than Blondie, but
> Blondie does as well. I've been peed on a few times as well, but that
> hasn't happened in a couple of days...
>
> They also seem to want to chew on the interior of the cage... I've
> got many chew sticks in there, but they don't seem to use them, or if
> they do use them, they are quickly forgotten and the cage chewing
> commences.
>
>
>
> I guess I'm in need of a little help. My tasks with my kids seem to
> be 3 things:
>
> 1. potty training them
> 2. learning simple behaviors (coming when I call, not to chew the
> cage, etc)
> 3. getting them to the point that they know I'm papa, and that they
> need not fear me. I'd like to get them where they come to the door of
> the cage and crawl right up to my shoulder when I put my hand in, or
> something to that effect.
>
> For #2, I just want a few behaviors to make them more manageable...
> even children know not to do certain things and know what their name
> is and they come when called. My comparison to children may not be a
> good one, I don't know.
>
>
> If anyone has any ideas that I can use for fixing #1, #2, and #3, I'd
> appreciate it.
>
> Thanks
>
> Bryan Brake
> father of 2
Hi Bryan, welcome to the wonderful world of ratties. You've come to the
"rat" place...lol
First of all... get rid of that site that tells you to destroy bitey rats.
Your rats first bit you because they were scared of you and uncertain of
their situation. With time, this should completely stop.
The nibbling on fingers, they are testing to see if you are actually one big
yummy treat.
The best way to stop biting, never stick fingers through cage bars, never
offer treats through cage bars. When you want to interact with your rattie,
open the door and let them roam on you.
Poops on you, well that's because they are very insecure and scared. With
time, this should stop.
Every time you offer a treat (pea, puffed wheat, puffed rice, fresh corn,
small piece of banana, blueberry...) Open the cage door and say their name
when the rat takes it from you. Eventually, they will know their names. Mine
do.
As for poopie training: set up a litter pan and use a littler like
Yesterday's News... no clumping cat litter, this could be bad for the
ratties if they try to ingest it. Every errant poo, you must pick up and put
in litter pan. And when you see a rattie going to the pan, praise with a
treat. This could take a long time. If you notice that the rat goes in a
certain spot, put the litter pan there.
As for the chewing... put in boxes for chewing or marinate the chew sticks
in fruit juices.
One thing I have noticed with girls is that girls love to explore and will
rarely sit still. But eventually, the girls will know you as Daddy and will
line up at the cage door waiting for you to pick them up.
I hope I answered your questions... there are many more on this NG with
great ideas too.
Have fun with the girls...oh and the mounting, this is normal behavior... :)
--
Joanne
Mom to 15 rats
http://community.webshots.com/user/joanneb70
j-s.b@nospamsympatico.ca
remove "no spam"
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| Ailish |
"Bryan Brake" <bryanbrake@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:bbdfd928.0308131517.342ec7d8@posting.google.com...
<snip>
> 1. potty training them
I've heard of it being done, but all 6 of the adults I've had always went
whereever they were.
> 2. learning simple behaviors (coming when I call, not to chew the cage,
etc)
You can teach them their names, if they comes toward you, call them then pet
them, or say thier name when you pick them up. Chewing however, abandon all
hope now. If there's a rat in the world that doesn't chew on it's cage, it
should be a world record holder.
> 3. getting them to the point that they know I'm papa, and that they
> need not fear me. I'd like to get them where they come to the door of
> the cage and crawl right up to my shoulder when I put my hand in, or
> something to that effect.
Time, and lots of handling. Another good trick is to get something like
babyfood, or yogurt and put it on a spoon, this way they have to sit on you
and eat it, instead of grabbing and running.
> For #2, I just want a few behaviors to make them more manageable...
> even children know not to do certain things and know what their name
> is and they come when called. My comparison to >children may not be a
good one, I don't know.
Being a kid myself (who'da thunk?) I'd say that their pretty close. All mine
do know their names, but they ignore you if they don't want to come.
> Bryan Brake
> father of 2
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| Bryan Brake |
J&S,
Thanks for all your help. Thanks to Ms. Kate for her information via
E-mail. :)
My problem is that I work some long hours during the week. So I will
spend the weekend trying to get them to like me more.
--"J&S Bouchard"--
> As for poopie training: set up a litter pan and use a littler like
> Yesterday's News... no clumping cat litter, this could be bad for the
> ratties if they try to ingest it. Every errant poo, you must pick up and put
> in litter pan.
--"J&S Bouchard"--
If I can't find "yesterday's news" is there anything else that would
work?
Puffed wheat and bananas huh? sounds good too me... Maybe I should
do my food shopping for them at the market. Or at least for the
treats... they probably still need rat chow, huh?
--"J&S Bouchard"--
> Have fun with the girls...oh and the mounting, this is normal behavior... :)
--"J&S Bouchard"--
I kinda figured about the mounting... dogs will do that sometimes to
figure out the pecking order. I don't how soon they establish pecking
order, but that was my thought. Cookie seems to be a little more
energetic than Blondie, so I figured that she might have been higher
ranking at the store, you know? I also thought that maybe Blondie was
in heat or something...
BTW, one last thing... How big will they get? One website said 6-8
inches plus tail... that's pretty big... Maybe they mean 6-8" WITH
tail.
Maybe I should have came here to get my info... heh heh...
Bryan
"J&S Bouchard" <j-s.b@nospamsympatico.ca> wrote in message news:<ghC_a.5007>
> Hi Bryan, welcome to the wonderful world of ratties. You've come to the
> "rat" place...lol
> First of all... get rid of that site that tells you to destroy bitey rats.
> Your rats first bit you because they were scared of you and uncertain of
> their situation. With time, this should completely stop.
> The nibbling on fingers, they are testing to see if you are actually one big
> yummy treat.
> The best way to stop biting, never stick fingers through cage bars, never
> offer treats through cage bars. When you want to interact with your rattie,
> open the door and let them roam on you.
> Poops on you, well that's because they are very insecure and scared. With
> time, this should stop.
> Every time you offer a treat (pea, puffed wheat, puffed rice, fresh corn,
> small piece of banana, blueberry...) Open the cage door and say their name
> when the rat takes it from you. Eventually, they will know their names. Mine
> do.
> As for poopie training: set up a litter pan and use a littler like
> Yesterday's News... no clumping cat litter, this could be bad for the
> ratties if they try to ingest it. Every errant poo, you must pick up and put
> in litter pan. And when you see a rattie going to the pan, praise with a
> treat. This could take a long time. If you notice that the rat goes in a
> certain spot, put the litter pan there.
> As for the chewing... put in boxes for chewing or marinate the chew sticks
> in fruit juices.
> One thing I have noticed with girls is that girls love to explore and will
> rarely sit still. But eventually, the girls will know you as Daddy and will
> line up at the cage door waiting for you to pick them up.
> I hope I answered your questions... there are many more on this NG with
> great ideas too.
> Have fun with the girls...oh and the mounting, this is normal behavior... :)
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| J&S Bouchard |
>
> If I can't find "yesterday's news" is there anything else that would
> work?
Anything that says "recycled paper litter". I've heard of a brand called
"Daily Scoops". Or you can use Mountain Fresh cat litter, it's tiny wood
pellets or you could use Aspen shavings. (positively no pine or cedar
shavings)
>
> Puffed wheat and bananas huh? sounds good too me... Maybe I should
> do my food shopping for them at the market. Or at least for the
> treats... they probably still need rat chow, huh?
You can buy a "rat block" food which is a hard block which contains all
nutrients and will take care of the teeth too. Don't fall for the seed
mixes...very bad for the rats...anything with loads of sunflowers and dried
corn, alfalfa is not good at all. If you can't find a good rat block or lab
block: (Hagan, Oxbow, Purina Rat Chow or Harlan Teklad) then you can perhaps
give your ratties "light dog food". It must be low in fat and low in protein
too. Try and keep the protein level under 20% it can cause skin problems as
well as liver damage. So that means go very very easy on the nuts all
nuts...
> BTW, one last thing... How big will they get? One website said 6-8
> inches plus tail... that's pretty big... Maybe they mean 6-8" WITH
> tail.
Rats come in all different sizes... you could have a female at 8" not
including tail or you could have a tiny girl with only 5" not including
tail. Rats also have their own unique personalities... they are just so much
fun! In time you will find yourself wanting their company more and more...
> Maybe I should have came here to get my info... heh heh...
Absolutely, stick around, the bunch of us here know quite a bit... oh... and
you do realize, we will need pics... ;)
--
Joanne
Mom to 15 rats
http://community.webshots.com/user/joanneb70
j-s.b@nospamsympatico.ca
remove "no spam"
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| Kate |
Yeah its funny you know.... One day I had 2...and now when I look in the big
house there are 10 in there..LMAO. Gizmos house has gone from 1 to 3
too....Just like magic....:)
I must remember to make sure there is no support group or cure for this
addiction..:)
"Tracey" <talton@members.v21.co.uk> wrote in message
news:3f3ce855@news.greennet.net...
> Hi Bryan! The others have answered your questions as I would have, so
won't
> say anything on that front. Just wanted to welcome you, Cookie and
Blondie
> to the group! The people here are so informed and helpful, just post any
> problems or queries and you will always get the best advice. Can't tell
you
> how many times the group has helped me - rat-lovers are great people :o)
>
> Oh, a word of warning, Bryan, rats are very addictive, many people can't
> stop at two, and once you have kept rats you never want to be without
them!
>
> Tracey
>
>
>
>
>
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| Jen |
Hi Bryan, welcome to the group!
>they come over, sniff my hand, and nibble on my nails (I don't
> understand that).
LOL..my Tinker did that when I first got her. They're just curious because
your nails aren't warm like your hands and they don't quite know what they
are!! :)
As for teaching them names, I've always found that just saying the name over
and over to them gently while you're playing with them or giving them some
yummy treat works really fast. I've had Tinker for 5 weeks now and she
already knows her name and understands "come", "no" and "down" (she likes
to climb on EVERYTHING).
Anyway, good luck with eveything. Keep us posted on how you're getting on.
Jen
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| Tiger Spot |
On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 01:46:14 +0100, "Jen"
<jennie.elliott@btinternet.com> wrote in
<bhjvbp$c2t$1@news6.svr.pol.co.uk>:
>As for teaching them names, I've always found that just saying the name over
>and over to them gently while you're playing with them or giving them some
>yummy treat works really fast. I've had Tinker for 5 weeks now and she
>already knows her name and understands "come", "no" and "down" (she likes
>to climb on EVERYTHING).
Good lord, she understands "down"? And obeys? I'm impressed. Come,
teach me your wisdom... I need this command....
-- Theresa
tiger_spot(at)hotmail.com
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| Jen |
yep! I didn't really expect it to work when I tried it but she seems to pick
up everything I try to teach her! She surprises me every day with how smart
she is.
Jen
"Tiger Spot" <tiger_spot@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:3f3f0115.616786@ext-news.cc.utexas.edu...
> On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 01:46:14 +0100, "Jen"
> <jennie.elliott@btinternet.com> wrote in
> <bhjvbp$c2t$1@news6.svr.pol.co.uk>:
>
> >As for teaching them names, I've always found that just saying the name
over
> >and over to them gently while you're playing with them or giving them
some
> >yummy treat works really fast. I've had Tinker for 5 weeks now and she
> >already knows her name and understands "come", "no" and "down" (she
likes
> >to climb on EVERYTHING).
>
> Good lord, she understands "down"? And obeys? I'm impressed. Come,
> teach me your wisdom... I need this command....
>
>
> -- Theresa
> tiger_spot(at)hotmail.com
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| J&S Bouchard |
"Jen" <jennie.elliott@btinternet.com> wrote in message
news:bhjvbp$c2t$1@news6.svr.pol.co.uk...
> Hi Bryan, welcome to the group!
>
> >they come over, sniff my hand, and nibble on my nails (I don't
> > understand that).
>
> LOL..my Tinker did that when I first got her. They're just curious because
> your nails aren't warm like your hands and they don't quite know what they
> are!! :)
>
> As for teaching them names, I've always found that just saying the name
over
> and over to them gently while you're playing with them or giving them some
> yummy treat works really fast. I've had Tinker for 5 weeks now and she
> already knows her name and understands "come", "no" and "down" (she likes
> to climb on EVERYTHING).
>
> Anyway, good luck with eveything. Keep us posted on how you're getting on.
>
> Jen
>
My sister's girls know when she tells them to go home, they go to their
cage.
Rats are very smart.
--
Joanne
Mom to 15 rats
http://community.webshots.com/user/joanneb70
j-s.b@nospamsympatico.ca
remove "no spam"
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