my rats seem to hate me!! :(

I am a great rat lover. At the moment I have 8 rats. Each one of them was taken off people who brought them and didnt realise how much time and attention they need. They then became nippy to the owners and they no longer wanted them. As the others have said, keep letting them sniff you and feed them from your hands. I never pick up any of my rats, I spend about 4 hours each day, handling them all and spending time around the cage. Try and put the cage somewhere where they can always see you. I do all my coursework in the same room as them. To be able to handle them I now simply put my hand in the cage and they all want to come for a hug and climb onto my hand. That is all except the one I have recently got. I find it easier when I introduce new rats into the cage now because they tend to watch the others coming over to me and join in. I have only had her for about a week and already she is becoming more interactive with me. I do have to say when I got the first two it was quite difficult getting them to trust me. However, after 6 weeks of just stroking, letting them sniff and feeding them they started climbing up my arms for hugs.
Hope this helps, If you need any more help just ask on my profile or through the inbox :) xx

I had rats for a few years and we had one girl who we never got to pick up without her trying to escape or squeak! She loved climbing on us though, and she too would take food from our hands but it would always take us ages to get her back into her cage after free ranging. I used to just open the door of the cage and let her come out when she was ready rather than trying to pick her up from the cage. Their squeaking can be quite off putting though! Enjoy your boys, I miss mine, they were so much fun and fantastic pets to have.

i agree with janet, just holding your hand in the cage will encourage them to explore you and eventually they will probably try climbing on to your hand and up your arm so that you don´t really need to grab at them to pick them up. you can always try moving treats further and further up your hand so that have to physically step on to you to get at it. at first just let them take the treat and go away but eventually you can then raise your hand to pick them up. you could also try using a carrying pouch. place pouch in cage. rat gets in pouch. pick pouch up. most rats will come round to handling if given enough time and patience and gentle care. some will still squeek when you pick them up though, its just the way some are, bless ´em!

hi janet, thanks so much for your reply, i will try this and let you know how they are getting on, thanks again, lizzie x

Hi Lizzie - I just read your message here. If you are feeding your rats by hand then they will soon get used to you and to your particular smell. If you put your hand into their cage and let them sniff you, and don´t try to grab them, they will soon become familiar with you. It is just a case of their previous owner not handling them, and now it is up to you as their new Mum. I have had rats in the past and now have two baby rat girls, and I bought them from a pet shop and one was more friendly than the other at first, and now two weeks later they are both comfy when I pick them up. If you put your hand in their cage and pick them up from underneath so that they feel safe and secure, then that is the best way to do it. If you have any more problems, then please send me a message here. Janet X