Angry, shy, freaked out rat?

Question

I have a female rat named Tobie who is about a year old. Ever since i got her when she was 3 months old, she has been very shy and freaks out very easily. Whenever anyone holds her, she poops and shakes. I have been very kind to her and socialized her. Her first cage mate, Helena, died about 2 months ago of cancer. This is when Tobie got worse. Right away I got my other rat, Luna. Since Luna has been with Tobie, Tobie hasn't changed. I got her from a place that gets their rats from a private breeder who i know. I wonder if Tobie has some mental issues or if she was shy since birth, then became depressed after Helena's passing. Maybe she is freaked out because of Luna's hyper activity, since she is only about 4 months old. She has been to the vet and he said that she is very odd acting for a rat her age. What could be happening?

Answer 1

In my experience with rats(I've had probably over 50 of them in my life), some are just shy and reserved. I think I've experience every personality along the spectrum. I've had very shy rats, that prefer to be with their cage mates and no amount of handling will make them more social. I have had rats that would escape from their cages in order to get on the bed with me. I have three rats now, two are very outgoing, while one does not like to be handled, and all three get the same attention and interaction.

She may not be depressed b/c of Helena's passing, maybe just insecure. She could have been the submissive one in the relationship and is now left without a "leader". I used to always pair my shy rats with rats that were very social and loved attention. I found that my shy rats would become a little more interactive/confident when were with a rat that was not insecure or overly shy.

Answer 2

I think Tobie was probably born with this trait of fear and shyness;  these are traits of a wild rats, and I think she is just showing some of her ancestral traits.  This makes her difficult as a pet, of course.  I think that some rat breeders are careless about temperament these days, since pet snakes got popular and people breed rats for snake food.  They don't care about the quality of the rat.  It's good that you know a good breeder.  

Tobie's not as bad as my rat, which is really a wild rat that my cat captured as a youngster, and I saved as a "pet."  But if I try to "pet" him, he squeals and bites; I've tried to tame him, but had no success.

Now I think you are right that Helena's death upset Tobie and made her feel more insecure.  

I would think that since Helena calmed Tobie down, Luna would help too; but maybe it will take a while for them to bond.  It seems that Tobie has a hard time with changes in her environment.  If that's the problem, time will help.

Answer 3

She might have been handled wrong or mistreated before you got her. Try a few of these drills with her.

1) Lure her to the edge of a cage with a treat. At first just let her grab the treat and run away. When she's comfortable with that, move on to step two.

2)Lure her out of the cage with a spoon of yogurt, peanut butter, or apple sauce. That way she has to stay near you while she's eating. That will get her more comfortable eating around you. During this process dont grab at her or take her out. Make small, slow movements so you dont scare her.

3) Now try luring her out of the cage. Set up the cage in a room where Tobie can run free without getting hurt or lost. A bathroom works well for this. just sit there quietly and try to coax her out with a treat. If she comes out to explore, then you know you're making good progress.

4) Now you can try taking her out. Pick her up and place her on a bed. Sit on the bed with her and remove the pillows. If something scares her, your lap will be the only place to hide. She'll learn to associate you as a safe haven. Try giving her her favorite treats during this process. A chocolate chip is an excellent reward.

5) After doing all the above, just take her out for daily sessions. Start off with short sessions, just holding her for 5 minutes at a time. Give her a good treat afterwards. DONT FORGET!! The treat is very important. Only give her treats after her holding sessions. Shel learn to associate being held with a yummy treat! Slowly hold her for longer times. Hopefully she'l eventually get use to it.

I hope this works for little Tobie! ITs what i did with all my rats. I had a super shy rat, who would run and hide whenever i walked by the cage. She pooped whenever i held her. Total mess. I did the steps above, and now she's one of the friendliest rats iv ever had! Real love bug! ^.^  Maybe it will work for you too. :) Email me if you have any questions.

Answer 4

Have you tried one person being the main person who takes care of her. Then hopefully she will warm up to them and that way she could begin getting used to people one by one, and if she gets scared then the person she trusts can take her back and comfort her. Although I have never tried this, it seems to me like this could work. It way take time for her to learn that nobody will hurt her, but it may work.

Answer 5

dont worry all rats and hamsters p**p when you hold them and they shake too but maybe she liked helena and misses her you should have gotten a another rat with the same personality as helena because tobie got used to helena and is use to her personality and bringing in this other rat he is not used to