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Raising Rats From Birth

6K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  VanillaRat 
#1 ·
Hey all, needed some input on raising baby rats from the time they are born. Are baby rats that are handled from birth more friendly than your typical pet store rats?

Every rat I've ever had or dealt with has been skittish for an extremely long time before it got used to me. Even then...they don't really enjoy being held, just getting their treats and then retreating to their corners of the cage(male rats, btw).

Any thoughts on whether or not rats are more social when handled from birth, or are they naturally so distrusting and fearful? Just wondering ;D
 
#2 ·
Yes,rats indeed are alot more friendly and enjoy being handled if they have been handled from birth.The first 5 weeks of a rat's life is one of the most important times.This time is when they are learning about things,so the more you talk to them and handle them,the more friendly they are.

I handle my rats from birth and they grow up to be wonderful animals and enjoy being with humans.I start handling on the second day of their lives.

In the case with pet store rats,they are not handled often and thats why yours are probably skittish.However even then,with abit of work...they should come around.I rescued some rats before who were not used to handling,but after a few weeks...they warmed up.
Rats have different personalities tho.

But to answer your question,yes.They will be more handable if handled from day 1.
 
#3 ·
i have personally fostered rats from a young age of 4 days old...very hard work, but in the end a sweet rat, then again, i have gotten a 6wk old, Skrat, and she turned out to be even sweeter...she was a feeder so i doubt she got a lot of love, i really think you have a better chance at a young age, not necessarily sweet as my Skrat..lol
 
#5 ·
I'm not personally, but I might have the opportunity to acquire a pair from a friend who does breed from time to time. I don't think I'd make a very good rat breeder having three ferrets and rats and gerbils of my own to attend to, but I could definitely add to the family.

Thanks for the responses so far.
 
#6 ·
If you have a friend that is making babies, then you can probably take care of them from the time they are born.

I also find that if you have an older tame rat, then the babies will see that you're okay and they should calm down.

I got a rat a few months ago and it didn't take very long for him to get to know me once he started hanging out with the other rats. He's only a few months old and he lets me hold him all the time.
 
#7 ·
i have 8 rats and one of our girls gave birth to 13 beautiful babies, me and my partner handled them everyday and checked that they had a "milk band" - this is a white line on the rats tummy that you can see and thats how you know they are taking milk from the mother.
Our mother rat was so good with us, she would let us hold her babies and we could give her them back and she would take them out of our hands. I am hoping to let another one of our rats have babies, i enjoyed seeing them opening their eyes and getting fur. I would say that babies held from birth are deffinetly more friendly.
 
#8 ·
dumbo rat said:
i have 8 rats and one of our girls gave birth to 13 beautiful babies, me and my partner handled them everyday and checked that they had a "milk band" - this is a white line on the rats tummy that you can see and thats how you know they are taking milk from the mother.
Our mother rat was so good with us, she would let us hold her babies and we could give her them back and she would take them out of our hands. I am hoping to let another one of our rats have babies, i enjoyed seeing them opening their eyes and getting fur. I would say that babies held from birth are deffinetly more friendly.
Isn't raising rats such a wonderful experiance!!??

I also would like to breed again.I am thinking of it now and who I would breed and who has the best qualities...etc,etc...but I also wanna get a waiting list of good owners too,as any ratlet that don't get a home,stays here and since I am moving soon...it can be a little stressful...so we shall see what happens in the future!
 
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