Raising Rats

 Simple Tricks Responding to name - use your pets name often, whenever you hold then and give them affection. When you walk over to their cage and they come to the door use their name in a greeting and give them a treat. When you start to train your rat to respond to their name give them treats when the react to the name. Standing on back legs when commanded- say stand and lift your hand up with rat treats only just out of reach of your rat. They will stand on their hind legs to try and reach the treat. At that point give them the treat. Then when your rat is accustomed to this try it without a treat. Then start saying "stand" without the hand motion. Litter training- Find the corner of the cage where your rats tend to go to the bathroom. Now put a small rodent litter box with rodent litter inside. Multiple times a day pick up the pieces they have left around the cage and place it back in the litter box. At the end of the day empty it and put one or two pieces of poop in the...

Forming Trust When you first bring your pets home put them in their cage and give them some time to wrest. Once they seem more adjusted open the cage and reach your hand in, lay it down on the bottom of the cage and stay still. This will help your rats learn that you aren't dangerous, and that the large hands entering their cage won't hurt them. If your rats don't come to your hand and investigate put some treats on them and wait. If they still show no interest leave the treats in the cage and give them more time to settle in.  Continued Bonding There is a concept called pocket time that is a time when you hold your rat. They might be comfortable in little pockets in a jacket if you are wearing one. It is simply a time when your rat is somewhere near you and in contact with you. This will let them get comfortable with you as a whole. Holding them close to your body so they can feel your warmth and feel stable is a good technique.  Bonding Through the Cage If you want to spe...

A Little Background When I first got my rats I walked around the isles of PetSmart looking at all the different kinds of rodent food. I personally picked out my rat cage and then noticed it had a "sample" bag of food inside. I decided that would be enough and I went looking for rat toys. Luckily the "sample" food that came with the cage was the same food that PetSmart had been feeding my rats so there didn't need to be an integration of old to new food. The sample lasted for about 2 weeks. I have continued to buy that brand since. In addition to my rats everyday food, I have also given them treats that I bought at PetSmart.  General Information Rats will eat almost anything, but it is important that they have specialized rat food. This can be bought at PetSmart or online. Rats enjoy treats like strawberries, Cheerios, and vegetables, all in small portions as to not overfeed them.  Changing Food When it comes to integrating foods to switch your pet rat from one f...