Rats and their Humans
Interacting with your rat
Rats are all very different creatures and so need different types of handling. Some rats will benefit from a calm gentle approach, some prefer firmer handling, even verging on manhandling, many fall somewhere in between. It’s up to you to pick up on the signs your rats show to decide which suits them. It can be worth trying a range of behaviours to see how your rats react to it; this will help you decide your longer term approach to that rat. Rats also often change through their life, a kitten generally needs gentler handling than a big alpha buck, an old rat needs slower handling than an adult in the prime of their life or an energetic kitten, and with these changes their preferences will also often change.
There are a few different approaches to handling your rats and in general they fit into 2 categories; where the rat controls the contact or the human does, both have their plus points, both have their benefits and disadvantages. It is natural to favour one over the other but rats are a mixture of personalities so the ability and flexibility to do both is a very useful skill to have. Also individual rats will benefit from a mixture of both approaches. Too much of the rat controlling the contact and the rat may become overly dominant towards the human, it may also result in the rat resisting being picked up and handled when not on its terms, which can be a problem in the vets or in an emergency. Too much of you controlling the contact and the rat may well become shy and heavily reliant on their human without the confidence to handle itself.
There are a few different approaches to handling your rats and in general they fit into 2 categories; where the rat controls the contact or the human does, both have their plus points, both have their benefits and disadvantages. It is natural to favour one over the other but rats are a mixture of personalities so the ability and flexibility to do both is a very useful skill to have. Also individual rats will benefit from a mixture of both approaches. Too much of the rat controlling the contact and the rat may become overly dominant towards the human, it may also result in the rat resisting being picked up and handled when not on its terms, which can be a problem in the vets or in an emergency. Too much of you controlling the contact and the rat may well become shy and heavily reliant on their human without the confidence to handle itself.
The rat controls the contact
This approach relies heavily on the rat coming to you and seeking out for contact and then maintaining their presence. In this form the human often takes the more submissive role in the exchange, though this is not always the case and there are a number of different interactions in this section. Typically the human will wait for the rat to make the first move; they may then approach and stroke or fuss the rat often moving into more alpha type behaviour once the rat has shown signs of wanting it.
This approach mirrors the Patience Method in "Starting out with rats"
This approach mirrors the Patience Method in "Starting out with rats"
You control the contact
This approach is where you initiate, and then control, the contact with the rat. You approach and then handle, stroke, and interact with your rat with you playing the dominant or alpha type role. This shouldn’t be confused with dominating behaviour, which is particularly stamping your authority on the rat. A rat can know you are the boss without you forcing it to be submissive towards you. Acting as the alpha is more about calm confident handling where you are comfortable with the situation and pass that confidence onto the rat. It is possible to act as the alpha in a situation and give your rats freedom to do their own thing in their own time too.
This approach mirrors the Confidence Method in "Starting out with rats"
This approach mirrors the Confidence Method in "Starting out with rats"
Things to avoid when handling your rats
Flipping and pinning your rat
This is a method sometimes recommended for disciplining aggressive rats, the theory being an Alpha rat will flip and pin its subordinates. However it should be noted that we are not rats, our rats are not foolish enough to believe we are rats and so mimicking them in this will not be interpreted as us being a confident handler. The rat will be at best scared and at worst terrified of this behaviour. A far better alternative is to hold the rat firmly at eye level and say (not shout) a clear, firm no at them, or possibly reinforce this by placing them in a dull boring places such as their carrier or a show tanks for a few minutes.
Shouting at your rat
A rat has highly sensitive ears, far more sensitive than our basic human ears. Shouting at a rat can hurt it; it can also scare it and adds an element of aggression into the relationship which can backfire. Using a firm voice that is a little louder than your normal tone is fine, just don’t yell at them.
Grabbing its tail
Grabbing a rats tail is often an almost instinctive reaction to them being about to run somewhere they shouldn’t or fall off something. The skin on a rat’s tail is very loosely attached and if grabbed it can pull of leaving a very painful wound in need of amputation. There are cases where the benefits of preventing the rat from going somewhere (i.e. out of an open window) may outweigh the risks. But if so ensure you grab the base of the tail nearest its body and do not lift the rat by its tail if you help it (and never by anywhere other than the base). You are far better directing your energies to reducing the chance of you needing to do this (no open windows etc…). Handling a rat by picking it up by its tail routinely is not a good way to build a bond with your rat and the risk of ‘degloving’ (pulling off the tails skin) is high unless done properly. Even when done safely it is not respectful of the rat and can needlessly scare them.
Holding with little support
Holding your rat insecurely and leaving it hanging for any length of time can cause a lot of stress in a rat, they will often kick and struggle with their tail windmilling and may will manage to slip out of your grasp possibly injuring themselves. Holding securely and bringing them quickly into your body is a far better approach and less likely to upset the rat. Some very relaxed or submissive rats may be happy to dangle from your hands much like a ferret, but they still should be held firmly around there chest and should never be expected to behave like this, it’s very much the rats choice.
Surprising your rats
As with humans if your asleep or unaware and someone suddenly pops up and yells hello or hugs you a rat is likely to not react as its normal self. This could mean jumping, panicking and running away or even biting in extreme cases (especially when combined with poor eye sight or deafness and a deep sleep). This isn’t an aggressive response; it’s a response to being startled or surprised, it can actually genuinely upset the rat if they wake up to find they’ve accidentally bitten you. As such it’s only polite to let a rat know you are around before approaching, a standard greeting like “hello” or its name and then a gentle touch before withdrawing making sure to approach from the front works very well. If they are deeply asleep you may need to make a little more noise. Individual rats are happy with different levels of warnings, some may be fine with a quick hello then you can sneak a hand into the warm rat pile for a sleepy stroke, some may want to be fully aware and have a sniff before they are happy to be fussed.
Rats biting humans
Rats very rarely bite humans, however there are circumstances where it can happen. This section has been given its own page as its a complex subject in its own right. You can find it here.