Trust Training Rats
I get a lot of lettters from people who are worried that their new pet will never become the social, loving friend they hoped for. It’s often hard for new rats to adjust to their surroundings. Some may be easier to adjust than others (like my rats Samantha and Roxy) and others might be more difficult (take Piglet, for instance, who still is anxious). Like humans, all rats have different personalities. It’s possible that poor little Piglet is destined to be shy. But other rats just need to be coaxed out of their shells. Getting your rat to trust you and other humans is a very important part of your relationship with your rat. Here are a few tips on how to turn your insecure little friend into a friendly and outgoing companion. An important fact to remember when dealing with rats is that they love food–and in general, they’ll like a person who can give them a tasty treat. The trick with trust training is to use a type of food that forces the rat to stick by you in order to eat it. If you give a piece of fruit, your furry little friend can dart out of her house, grab it, and run back in to eat in peace. If you use yogurt, pudding or baby food on a spoon, she is forced to stay put and lick the food off the spoon. Because rats are often suspicious of new foods, it’s important to get your rat used to the food you plan to use for trust training before you use it in training. Put dabs of it on a small dish and place it in the cage. If, by the next day, the food is still there, 
assume it wasn’t a winner and try something new. Once you’ve found something you think your rats enjoy, start the training. Keep in mind, the only time your rats should be getting treats is during the training. No exceptions! Objectives of trust training are the following: Your rat should come to the cage door, crawl out onto your hand or arm, and allow you to hold him while he eats the food. Training is very simple. Place some of the pre-selected food on a spoon and show it to your rat. Once she begins to lick the food, use it to lure her to the cage door. Once she feels comfortable at the cage door, lure her into your hand, and get her to sit in your hand to eat the food. Although it’s simple, training can last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks.
on April 3rd, 2006 at 7:36 am
I have just recently bought a male rat from a local pet shop, I bought him as a young adult so he wont be used to me. I try to encourage him out of the box he stays in, but he is really shy and runs into his box when i go near the cage.
he sometimes lets me stroke him when hes sleepy but i have not tryed picking him up yet. How would u recomend i get him to know im not a threat to him?
I also take the box out of the cage and place it on my bed and sit next to it but he just likes to stay in the box.
on August 17th, 2006 at 4:37 pm
I own two Rats, and Albino (Mika), and a younger black (Rikku) I recently got a new cage for my rats. I switched from a aquarium to a large wire cage. My questions, however is about Mika. She seems to have started to get agressive with me. Usually I put my hand against the cage for them to sniff and lick me while I talk to them. But the last two days when i’v tried to do that Mika has tried to bite me. I would like to know if this is because of the cage or something i’m doing wrong. I love my rats and play with them a lot, and so does my boyfriend and his roomate. I was thinking she could be Jealous of the younger rat? Rikku sometime gets more playtime then Mika. I’d apreciate any ideas. Thanks!
on October 2nd, 2006 at 9:16 am
I recently purchased two rats, one female and one male, from a well-known pet store. The male is very social but the female seems to be a bit older and not nearly as social. The first couple of days she hid in the corner of her cage and wouldn’t let anyone near her. I’ve never had this problem before and am not sure what to do.
on October 11th, 2006 at 10:14 am
i have two rats i have had them since they were 8 weeks and they are nearly two
they are female so the like to run around my room and have fun
but they will never ever just carmly sit on my lap and be stroked
what can i do to make them like being stroked or what ways of petting a rat is there
many thanks
alice
on October 15th, 2006 at 5:09 pm
Alice- Are your rats perhaps female? All of the little girl rats ive had are very hyper, and would rather play. You should put aside a good 1/2 hour to play rough and tumble with your ratties, then after they are worn out try to get them to sit still. Offer them a dab of yummy food on your finger while you stroke with the other.
good luck
on October 30th, 2006 at 6:54 pm
I have had this rat for about two months and she still isnt trust traind. I followed books and websights, but she still dosnt like to be tuched or picked up. This becomes a real hassle when i clean her cage Help!
on December 14th, 2006 at 11:45 am
i just recently got a 5 week old male albino rat and he just sits and hides in his box he doesnt like to let anyone else hold him and he freaks out when he hears someone elses voice when i hold him so far i am the only one that can handle him will he ever come out of his shell he doesnt even like treats either
on January 18th, 2007 at 8:25 am
perhaps you should take him to a vet for a check up
on February 8th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
my ats are not suspisious to new food if your eating it babe will eat it she such a fatty lol
on February 18th, 2007 at 8:18 pm
my rat vanilla is 1 month old and she stays in her house and I have to fight just to get her out of her house my other rat is wanting me to hold her so I need help bAD!!!
on February 18th, 2007 at 11:06 pm
oh and when I make little noise vanilla runs in her house.so what I have been doing is geting her used to all the noises. alex p.s.my 2yr old rat died one week ago.my mom said I have to train vanilla better.
on February 19th, 2007 at 4:51 pm
My other rat mocha not very socil and I have ben trying to train her but I just can’t train her I need help!!!
on March 30th, 2007 at 12:36 am
I put my rats in a tied off turtle neck shirt, the second day they where home. I kept them sitting in the shirt pouch on my lap while I did my stuff on the computer, and soon enough they’d fallen alseep. Within the next few times I’ve done this, they where poking their noses out and crawling up my chest.
Just turn the shirt right side out, knot the arms and neck, and place your rattie inside. Make sure to support him, and not to squish him. It would help if it where a shirt you did not mind having nibbled.
on August 13th, 2007 at 8:42 pm
My rat is well trust trained and is very afectionet but I can not get him to come when I call him. He is 9 months old
on September 13th, 2007 at 7:16 pm
alexandria,
try letting them run. i block off the vent in my bathroom. my girls, lilly & chandler, were REALLY shy. now they love to climb on me but love being free to run. they are really more outgoing. hope i helped!!!
on September 23rd, 2007 at 8:35 am
I have 2 PEW rats. one is sort of old and the other is kind of young. the old one doesn’t like me. I’ve had them for a month. i try to pet him but he bites me. I give him treats but he’s really greedy, and he gets jealos because the younger rat likes me and I always pet him. I don’t know what to do! Please help me. And I also have a kind of young dog (Pomeranian) She really is jealos of them, and tries to hurt them but I stop her. But still Please Help Me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
on September 25th, 2007 at 10:03 pm
Please Help!
We made the mistake of buying a single male rat; however, he has been a true joy to our family. He is extremely well-trust trained, will come when you call him, loves to run free, but will come back frequently to sit on your lap or stand on your feet to “check on you”. He is my daughter’s rat and is appx. 9 - 12 months old. Suddenly about a month ago he has started biting. He isn’t mean or aggressive to start with, he comes out and plays and hangs out with you, then suddenly: SPLIT PERSONALITY!! He turns around and bites - not just once, but over and over again until you are able to get away from him! He has done this to several people (not just one). He is not nervous, frightened, nor is he mistreated in any way before he launches into his tirade! He is not neutered and we don’t know whether to try to neuter him to see if that will help (we have been told this may or may not help) or to have him put to sleep and start over with a pair of rats. We really do not want to give our rat up, but he is becoming more and more unpredictable and we are all becoming wary of even handling him. This is very disheartening to my daughter as she had continued to work with him after numerous biting episodes until she is finally afraid of him herself. Please help! Will neutering him help or will we just end up wasting our money and have to put him down anyway? Is there anything else we can do? I really don’t want to put him down, but I can’t have him biting everyone.
Thanks!
on September 28th, 2007 at 5:55 pm
No, don’t put him down!!!
my rat went through a phase at about the same age.
took kim to the vet (who were experienced with rats) regarding being neutered, but the vet was helpful regarding behaviour, so i decided against it.
Make sure he’s not hungry! Make sure hands are washed before handling (food smells!), and he may need to know his teritory, mine did it when the cage was on a table, so he maybe thought his area was the table as well.
The vet advised not to stick hands in cage, as this is their area, although i can put my hand in and stroke one of my 2 rats fine, the other would bite depending on mood! Once out he’s fine, although watch for signs of head turning round to bite. I find that if you try to get them out to play when you want, (maybe when they are sleepy),he will be more prone to bite, rather than when they want (obviously waiting by the door!), it will not happen, my rats times are first thing before school, and anything from early evening to late at night, you can tell when they want to come out.
Also, mine stopped biting when i stopped letting them wonder out, as your rat could have a problem with teritory. Take them from the cage to where ever you play with them (mine sit on my lap all night while i work at the computer, they are on it now!), they learn the difference then, cage=their area elswhere=yours. My son, who is 12 and was bitten a couple of times and was quite upset at the time now gets along with him fine. He has not bit for about a year, he will now nibble, not bite when he does not want handling.
Another hint, i put shorrts on, or some clothes that have been worn a bit when they go on me, and they hardly pee on me because i suppose they can smell me, if i have clean clothes on they will scent mark all over them!
Let me know how you get on.
on September 28th, 2007 at 5:59 pm
Another thought, stick to one person for a bit, as i think they can sense nervousness, handle them confidently,both hands on him so he feels safe. Sit on something like a dining chair, where he cant really go anywhere apart from on you.
on September 29th, 2007 at 10:20 pm
Hey,
we love her very much and thought that maybe she would like a friend, so we went to the same pet store to the same guy who breeds rats and got another type of rat, dumbo I believe it was and this female is younger alot smaller and way more friendly, she doesnt mind being picked up and likes to snuggle up and get close where as bella dosent, when bellas out of her cage she wants nothing more than to get away and run. Well my question is that since we got the younger rat “tiramisu” bella doesnt want to be picked up she runs, tira jumps all over bella and bella wants nothing more than to get away from her they dont bit they just bicker a little, and tira always ends up on her back with bella running away… I was just wondering if bella and tira will ever get along or should we just give up.. and if they do get along how long should it take before this happenes. thank you very much ahead of time.
Me and my fiance got a female rat who is a young adult named bella luna, we wanted to make sure she was happy and well taken care of, she knows her name but doesnt trust us completley and she became a bit spoiled, and well kinda a brat
on October 11th, 2007 at 5:50 pm
I just got two girls with red eyes. I found this awesome way to calm a frantic or just hyper rat . Grab the rat if it wont sit still, rub rat close to eyes for about 2 miniuts, and make little to no noise.The rat will almost be in a transe, and when awake will just sit in your hand until you move.
on October 30th, 2007 at 1:23 pm
I just got an 8 week baby buck for my 4 month old that I have had about 2 months. They are not fighting, infact Milos , the older was convinced he had been introduced to a new girl,, but when the vanilla wore off, they did the normal boxing routine, with no major fights. Milos is very sweet,knows his name, loves to sit by me to get his pets & massages while he dozes off. The new boy, however is just like many others I have read about here…just wants to run around free to explore, and will not sit still to be picked up. I am hoping the trust training will improve his behavior.
on November 23rd, 2007 at 5:59 pm
Hi, I have a rat named Ratatouille, I just got him last spring and its been wonderful to have him. He is a Dove rat who loves to wonder the house freely. But sometimes I want to play with him and i dont know how to find him. So i am wondering if i could teach him how to come to his name. Is that possible? Also he is very curious and trys eating everything that smells good. So I am wondering what is poisoning for him and what is not? finally, he has been acting weird lately, I am wondering if he is sick because he sneezes like ones every 10 minutes and sometimes he makes a fussy noise like he cant breath very well. It is worrying me horribly!
on November 28th, 2007 at 10:37 pm
Hi there,
Had a wonderful female rat who passed away. My son and I truly enjoyed her, got her when she was about 3 wks old. After about 6 months my son (7) and I decided to get two. We wanted females but there were none available so I got two males 8 wks old. After over a week now, they still hide from us, the bigger one bites now when you get to close to him, I am not sure what to do. I am thinking I should return them to the pet store and wait till I can get some that are a little younger and maybe from a different place. Any help would be appreciated, we are looking at making a decision in two days. Thank you
on December 4th, 2007 at 5:32 pm
Hi,
Me and my sister just got 2 girl hooded rats. My rats name is Albinka. My sisters rat bits me and her but mine is shy. . What can I do to get them out of this stage? This is my first time having a rat. By the way I like the others comments.
Thank you
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on January 14th, 2008 at 1:12 am
I am about to receive my new male pair from a breeder. Now I’m a little afraid after reading some of the articles on this page. I want my fellas to feel free to run around, but I don’t want them to only want to run. I’d like a rat that likes to hang out with me.
Am I making a mistake having these expectations?
on January 20th, 2008 at 1:46 am
I have just one rat for now. I’ve had her for maybe two weeks. Shes been fairly easy to train. What I did was, for the first couple of days, just pet her in her cage, and nothing more, until she didnt seem frightened when she saw me approaching. Then I would take her out, and let her rest on my person, but not run around to explore just yet. my idea was to get her used to me first, then once she realized that i wasn’t going to harm her, then let her run around freely, so that i know she wouldnt run away from me when i would need to put her back in her cage. It’s been working very well.
on January 20th, 2008 at 1:50 am
I got a male rat a couple weeks ago, and I had a male rat already at home, they are really good friends but Cotton (the new one) and Ra (The old one) just sit in the corner and sleep all day. Ra used to run around and play all day. Mabye it’s just that it’s winter. Do rats hybernate?
on January 31st, 2008 at 5:30 pm
Hey i just got two new rats from a little girl my sister is friends with when i got them they were really skinny and their cage was disgusting. one of the rats will Not let my pet her and runs away when i try to hold her and sometimes when i put my finger to the cage she will come up and bite me. The problem might be that sometimes when the rats come up to the cage i will give them treats through the bars but im just not sure…..i read the thing about trust training but i was wondering if there was any thing else i could do.
on February 29th, 2008 at 2:44 am
I have two young females and neither will respond to trust training. I am near tears by the failed attempts because I have been waiting several years to get my new companions and so far they won’t leave the cage. The biggest problem seems to be their lack of interest in food, except of course when they feel like eating and go to their bowl to do so. Rats are supposed to love food, but mine don’t care for anything I try to hand to them, even if it’s something they like and I do it while they’re eating (as opposed to sleeping or playing). I have placed applesauce in their cage for a couple of days and they like it quite a bit, but when i offer it on a spoon–trying to get them to eat from me, in my hand, on my lap, etc–they don’t touch it, they just stare at me from their corner, where I can’t easily see or reach them. Sometimes if they are in a sleepy mood they will allow me to reach in and stroke them where they sit, but that’s the extent of the contact. They also run to the aforementioned corner every time I open the cage. Is there anything else I can try? I am very upset by their lack of socialization.
on March 4th, 2008 at 11:45 pm
i just got 2 male rats who are 6months old but they either sleep all the time or hide. one likes to eat from my hand but only in the cage and the other hides constantly, they are brothers who nevr leave each others side and havent been handled much. if i try take one our of the cage it just runs back in, i can leave the cage open for days without either one leaving. they just don’t seem interested. are the too old to socialise? should i get a younger rat as a companion to show them how nice i am?
on March 11th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
I would just like to say how sad it is to hear these stories of social problems with your rats. It really puts a damper on my heart to hear the lack of love you all are feeling right now. I recently purchased two rats last week. These are the first rats that I have ever owned. They are so darn cute it puts a grown 26 yer old like myself into a childhood trans. Really wierd!!! The one thing that I have noticed though is the difference between buying a rat from a pet store and buying a rat from a breeder. When my girlfriend and I first started looking around pet stores, we thought it was normal for rats to be frightend of us and not want to be held. But in fact that is not true. The rats in most pet stores are for feeding and not for pets. We saw some rats that looked to have never been held in their lifetime. Very sad!!! The reason the rates aren’t being so friendly and lovey with you is not because of you. You are not the problem. Think of it as if they were humans. When children go through a very dramatic and sometimes traumatic childhood, some do not recover. The same goes with pet store rats. Who knows what these poor little guys have gone through. However this does not mean to stop loving them. All rats need to be loved. My suggestion to you would be for the next rat or set of rats, is to spend the extra dollars and go with a hand raised rat from a breeder. You will not be disapointed.
on March 22nd, 2008 at 3:05 pm
I have had my two rats ever since they were 8 weeks old, they love to run around my room and climb onto my lap once and a while, but they won’t stay on my lap and they don’t enjoy being petted. I got my rats because I heard rats were supposed to be loyal and enjoy humans, kind of like dogs, I was wondering if there was anything I could do.
on April 15th, 2008 at 4:42 am
I have 3 fancy rats all girls 2 are 9wks (gizmo and stripe) and one is 11wks and possible pregnant (coral). I have had rats for many years and my last 2 saskia and maisey were well trained using litter boxes walking on back legs and spent most of the time touring the house on sholders or wandering about (supervised of caurse!) all rats have different personalitys. maisey was very out going, saskia was shy but came out when she wanted to.
my new 3 are different stripe is hyper and inquzative, gizmo is dominent and likes to testyou by nibbling fingers an running away, coral is changable she can be playful but can be moody. The best advise I can offer is study rats personality and encurage interaction but dont give up and perservier they will come round.
good luck fellow rat lovers!
on April 15th, 2008 at 4:47 am
to jenny
about a year old is rats equlivent to being a teenager seperate him from the other rat as they will chalange each other.
once you have done that his behaviour will improve. you can also add a female (spaded) for company if you are concerned dont put her in with both males could cause bigger problems.
on April 17th, 2008 at 9:45 pm
i accedently posted a comment under caging. I ment to post it under here. Sorry!
on April 18th, 2008 at 7:35 am
lunrat look under caging left advise there for you
laine x
on April 19th, 2008 at 11:19 am
the other day i bought 2 12 week old male rats from pets at home. the one i named ‘Rafiki’ who has a larger black stripe down his back, i took him out today and he was fine, although it took me a while to get a hold of him. however the other one, named ‘Zazu’ is very nervous, and when i go to stroke him, he flinces slightly.
i tried giving him a treat out of my hand, but he would just look at my hand and he wouldnt move. im worried about when it comes to cleaning them that he will leap out of his cage and go under my bed.
on April 21st, 2008 at 3:01 pm
To sarah,
it takes a good week for arat to settle into his new suroundings. just be careful with zazu he has to lear to trust you. try to offer him treats on your lap like a pro-biotic yougart on a spoon. dont give him anything he can just grab and run away with.
spend about half an hour a day with him stroking and holding him, after a few days maybe even weeks he should carm down and be easier to handle.
I had a simular problem with my gizmo but shes now alot carmer and has stopped biting and comes out on her own now.
on May 9th, 2008 at 11:23 am
Hello!
It breaks my heart to read all of these stories about rats not loving their people…
I have had almost 20 rats in my life time so far, all of them pet store rats and all of them nervous when I first brought them home, and have never had a problem after a couple days. I have two tricks I use when I first bring them home: The first is I keep them out in the open away from their hidey places for a little while every day (maybe just taking their box out from their cage) and talk to them calmly, every now and then I pet them and just act very calm and soothing. The important thing is to make sure that they CANNOT RUN AND HIDE anywhere where they feel they are “safe from you.” What this does is is teaches the rat that even though it can’t get away and hide, it is not being harmed and therefore it does not need to hide every time. They soon realize that “hey, I am vulnerable and scared but I am not being hurt.” This may sound mean at first, but the rat gets the point sooner than you think and starts to use its hidey place in the proper way. The other thing is just to let the rat ride around in your sweatshirt pocket/hood/sleeve until it feels very secure in the fact that you are not out to harm it. You can pet it and talk soothingly. If it tries to run away, just very gently ease it back into the pocket. DO NOT ever try and hold the rat firmly in place because it will feel trapped by you and scared. Simply let him or her be in your pocket or exploring your shoulder. They learn to love this very quickly. That being said, sometimes you just get a born “explorer rat” like my rat Dora (get it?) they will always be crawley but will cease being scared after the first couple days. This is entirely dependent on personality, since Dora’s sister Isabelle is a lap rat to the very core. Adventure rats like to run around but will come back to you as “home base” when out and quickly approach your hand when it’s in their cage so that you will let them out on an adventure. These rats will never be lap pets (unless sleepy or adventured-out) but they will love you just as much as any other rat. I hope this helps and I just know that someday all of you will have a loving rat if you have patience.
on June 9th, 2008 at 10:36 am
hii
i hav had my rat about a month now and she is very friendly and would never bite me,,wen i open the cage door she runs out and climes on me b t as soon i i sit down she runs of me and just wants to explore,she nbnever stays still and somtines i just want her to sit still so i can stroke her
any advice??
wb
on June 9th, 2008 at 10:45 am
does this mean my rat doesnt like me
help plz
on June 9th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
To sam,
no this does’nt mean your rat doesnt like you she/he is simply exploring her enviroment. she trusts you wont hurt her so now wants to know what else she can get up to. you can put her on your lap to stroke her but i dont think staying still is a rats idea of fun.
sit on a bed or somthing she han run on and lis with it after its done some exploring it should come back and sit with you. make sure you dont leave it free ranging on its own and make sure the area is safe.
Laine
on June 10th, 2008 at 10:33 am
ok thanks laine
on July 1st, 2008 at 12:55 am
Hey Laine,
You seem to have a good deal of info so could you tell me if is possible to safetly mark rats? My dad and I have a snake named Monty who we are going to feed the babies to, however, we have heard now from many places that rats grow quickly. We want to keep the baby girls with the females (don’t have rats yet. are looking at cages still) ,but we don’t want to feed the moms to Monty. If it is possible to mark the rats could you tell if there is a certain brand for doing so?
Thanks,
Kimsy
P.S. If anyone else can answer please go ahead
P.S.S. Sorry if this hasn’t got anything to do with Trust-Training
on July 1st, 2008 at 1:33 pm
hi kimsey,
rats usualy have ther own markings. you can’t realy mark or label them but you could take photos of adults (mums) to identify them, but rats should not be continously bread because over breading can result in death.
i surguest you seriously consider how you are going to care for your rats baby females often don’t get on with their mums.
on July 4th, 2008 at 7:57 pm
Thanks Laine I appreciate the suggestions and advice. It helps alot.
Kimsy
on September 28th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
I just bought a male hairless (sphinx) rat, and having no experience, I didn’t even realize that rats even have trust issues. My rat climbs right up my arm and over my shoulder as soon as I stick my hand in the tank, and I’ve only had him for two days, so I assumed that they were trusting creatures by nature. I sure got lucky with this one! =D
on September 30th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
I just got a rat whose only about a month old. but he is SHY. here’s a trick for you guys. talk to your pet. that sounds a little stupid but heck it works. as soon as your pet is use to that start making noises. a rat always afriad of noises is well… its better for them not to be so afriad. start with stomping and then try shutting the door wo/em jumpin out of their skin.
then put ur hand in the cage. my rat bites, but dont worry about that. if they bite say EEEEE or some loud noise. they will jump and soon learn thats bad. to try to coak them out of their cage wo/them biting, try leaving the door open while you stand outside the room. as soon as your rat comes out, slowly walk in and give him a treat. even if he runs back in the cage give him a treat. keep that up and you’ll have a rat that loves being taken out.
my rat goes into a daze when i pet em. depending on the gender, and personality, some rats may or may not like that
hope these tips help
please re if they do!