meghan

I am finally getting Maggie to trust me a bit, by offering her treats when
she comes to the bars of the cage. She is still so shy! I've been using
Rice Krispies and Cheerios which she has come to LOVE. The conditioning is
working a little too well because even when I put my finger down for her to
sniff, she tries to take a treat even if there isn't one there. Tonight she
got her upper and lower teeth around my finger, and didn't bite down, thank
goodness - if she had it would have been bad! She's very sweet and seems to
know not to chew on mom.

Where is the line drawn between using treats for training/trust exercises
and not having her try to chomp every time she sees my finger? I have read
in the books to say "treat" when there's food, but I am also trying to get
her to learn her name, so I've been saying that instead. How do you all
deal with this?

Meghan

paghatspam-me-not

I always pet the rats' faces BEFORE feeding them by hand so they learn my
hand will be touching them just before food appears. Also I do not feed
them through the wire, though I often pet them through the wire, so that
if anyone did put a finger through the wire the rats would come up to be
touched, not to grab at things they hoped would be food.

You can also breakf her of snapping too aggressively at food, finger &
all, by feeding her SESAME SEEDS one seed at a time -- this forces her to
look carefully at exactly where the seed is stuck to a fingertip, & take
it off delicately.

Since she is not biting down hard when she graps hoping for food, she is
already showing a desire to be careful, the sign of a naturally gentle
rat.

-paghat the ratgirl

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
Visit the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com

geezer

You know, I've mentioned this in several forums and nobody ever seems to
notice or try. I'll give it one last try. Dip your finger in yogurt and let
one or two rats lick it off. They will nip at first bet as you squeel and
pull you fingers away, they will quickly learn to grab on with their paws
lick instead of nip. Do this once or twice a day for three days. Your rats
will never bite you again either through the bars or otherwise. It imprints
upon them that your fingers are a'friends" or nursing tools or whatever, it
works. I've broken 4 rats from the nipping habit, all success, no failures.
You'll find alot of 'experts' professing to know what to do about
everything. I'm no expert, but I do know what works, and this does! Even
when giving them solid food through the bars and they're crowding to get
their piece, they will all angle their heads just so and take the treat
without nipping any fingers. And when I stick my fingers through the bars
with no food, they just sniff them and then let me tickle their bellies.
That is the solution. Don't wanna try it? Then do like the rest of these
folks and "Don't touch them in their cage" or "wash you hands carefuly of
any food before touching them" or whatever nonsense you want to listen to.
Rats are capable of learning some simple lessons if you can be bothered to
teach them.

Geezer

geezer

I think I should add that my first two girls were 6 weeks old when I got'em.
The second pair were 6 months old, and so somewhat more set in their ways I
imagine. When I went to give them treats and recieved a healthy CHOMP! from
each of them, I thought "Oh, yeah...time to put that theory to the test".
After the "yogurt training" they are every bit as gentle as my first two.
They never nip through the bars.

Geezer

meghan

I will definitely try this technique, and report back how it works (or how
many stitches I got) ;-)
Meghan

all

j&s bouchard

This a very good idea...
I too put my fingers through the bars a lot just to pet. And my rats know
now that a finger coming through the bars is no necessarily for food.
--
Joanne
Mom to 12 rats
http://community.webshots.com/user/joanneb70

tracey

Good idea - I'll keep it in mind for future reference!

Funnily enough I've only ever had one rat do this and it was the only female
I've ever had. She would really pounce if fingers were stuck through the
bars and could really hurt, she wasn't being nasty, just trying to run off
with the tasty morsel of finger being offered...

Tracey

klary

I think I used your method without knowing it was a method.. from the
beginning, I always gave my rats very small treats that they had to
search for on my hand or lick of my fingers. Now whatever treat I give
them, they grab my fingers with their paws and take the treat. So, it
works!

klary

geezer

I kinda figured I can't be the only one who never gets bitten. And I'll bet
if there is one common denominator among us it is that we let our rats lick
that yougurt off our fingers ...or that smudge of peanut butter and/or jam,
drop of ice-cream etc... Chronic biters (food-clumsyness biting, not
aggression biting) have probably never had heaping helping of gooey-liquid
treats like yogurt served up on fingertips.

It's funny how when you pull your finger away they grab on with those tiny
little paws and pull you back with such force. Delusional little buggers
aren't they? heh heh.

Geezer.

meghan

I have to say this method is working for me!!! I tried my first
finger-yogurt feeding yesterday, and the first two times, Maggie used her
teeth. I yelped my best rat-yelp and pulled away. She looked at me in a
confused way, and then the third time on, she never used her teeth again.
Now she is grabbing my finger with both paws and licking only. I haven't
fed her anything through the bars of the cage for 2 days, and now she only
sniffs and licks fingers. Incredible! Thanks Geezer.

Meghan