First of all: Be sure to choose a curious rat, one who is not scared to sniff your fingers or even to climb up on your hand. Think about taking home two rats, preferably of the same gender if you don’t want to be in for a surprise of twelve little rat-babies anytime soon.
Rats are very social animals and will feel lonesome, except you can spend more than four hours with your new pet every day. Their eyes should be clear and the fur clean. By this you can pretty much judge, if you are about to get a healthy and happy rat.
Hold the Little Rat as Much as You Can
Provide your rat with a big enough cage, the bigger the better. Give the rat some time to adjust. But take your little pet-rat out, hold and carry it around as much as you can for the first weeks. It will get to know your smell and will learn to accept you as the alpha-rat, who provides safety, food and love. You might even consider putting an old piece of clothes with your smell on it in the cage.
Rats tend to chew each other by their ears as a token of affection. They will enjoy it very much if you pet them gently there with your fingers. After a while, they might return the petting by licking your finger or kissing your ear, when sitting on your shoulder. By that time you might count yourself very lucky to be the owner of a “kissing rat”.
Rewards Ensure Training-Success
If you take your pet-rats out of the cage at about the same time of the day, they soon will curiously await you, clinging with their feet on the wire of their cage. Start taming them by calling their name. As soon as they approach you, make sure to reward them with a treat like a Cheerio or a piece of spaghetti, or just some extra love and petting.
You can increase the distance every time you call their name. Another way to practice the name game is to put your rats on a table. Put a towel or old blanket over the table-surface, since you pet-rats will mark their territory. Ask a friend or family member to watch the other side of the table, than call them and don’t forget the reward.
After a while you can make it a little bit more difficult for you rats to find their favorite playmate – you. Put up some obstacles, like wooden blocks to climb, toilet rolls or empty potato chips rolls for them to crawl through. With a little patience you can also teach them to jump through a hoop. Just put their favorite snack on one side. Let them first crawl through the hoop to get their treat. Hold the hoop higher every time, until they have to jump. Make sure to practice on a blanket or a towel, otherwise they might slide and get scared.
Spend Enough Time With Your Pet-Rat
Remember: If you spend enough time with your rat, it will be a fun and trusting pet in no time. Don’t let your pet-rat get bored in it’s cage. In case you do not have time for a training session put on a hooded sweater and let your pet ride along with you while you are doing some chores or checking your email.
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