My rat thinks i am a predator

Question

i just got a new rat today... and it really try's to avoid me. any help to stop that?

Answer 1

just leave it alone for a few days, it is in a new place so of course it will be scared. you should get another rat

Answer 2

First, you should really go back and get an additional rat of the same s*x.  Rats are highly sociable creatures and require a friend to spend time with.  Even if you can play with your rat a lot, you still have to go to school/work and sleep.  It will keep your rat psychologically healthy.  Here's a site that can help you introduce new rats to each other: http://www.fancy-rats.co.uk/information/...

Regarding handling your rat, give your rat a day or at least a few hours to get used to its environment before trying to handle it.  Coming to a new environment is stressful without having to be grabbed at by giant human hands.

Food is your greatest resource.  First try to get your rat to eat from your hand.  Use food like frozen peas, cheerios, etc that they can eat relatively quickly but won't be bad for them.  Once your rat get used to that, try to get the rat to eat from the palm of your hand.  After that, try to get him to come out of his cage with food.  It's always better to let the rat come to you and get used to you.  With all the food, it won't take your rat long to associate your presence to good things.

Continue to try and play with your rat at least once a day, if not more.   Rats don't take long to become friendly and don't mind being handled, it just takes patience.

To learn more about rats check out these sites:

http://www.fancy-rats.co.uk/home/

http://www.ratguide.com

http://www.quite.co.uk/rats/

Hope that helps and good luck!

Answer 3

He/ she's very scared right now. I know it's hard, but you need to leave him/ her alone for a day or two. Don't worry, you will be best friends eventually! And I'm not going to rag on you for not getting two, but you're going to need to play with it AT LEAST an hour per day.  

Answer 4

Let the rat settle in it's new environment for 24 hours.  Rats should be kept in same-s*x pairs or groups.  It really does help them come out of their shell, and it will not make them bond less to you.  A good website to do some research about proper pet rat care is rattyrat.com  

Answer 5

new surroundings it will take a little time to warm up to you just try talkin to it for a few days before you try picking it up and eventually it will be fine and once it relizes your its source of food it will understand your important in its life and not be scared