Is my rat happy? And how do I get her to let me hold her in my hands?
So, my rat is a female and I’ve had her for about a month now. The first day I got her I held her almost the entire day, she slept for most if it. The next week continued in much the same fashion, and then she got more adventurous. I take her out of her cage every single day, but she no longer stays on my shoulder. Instead she goes into my shirt and won’t stay still. I’ve tried clearing my bed off and sitting with her. She’ll run off for a while and then go back inside my shirt.
She nibbles my fingers, and never bites me, but she won’t stay still. I’ve heard of this thing ‘bruxing’, but I’ve never heard her do it. Also, she seems to snore. It’s not a wheezing sound, it’s more of a gentle squeak, in time with her breathing, and she only does it while curled into a ball.
How do I get her to stay on my shoulder, or just let me hold her? And is she happy?
If she’s your only rat, the first thing you need to do is go get another female rat for her to live with. Rats are highly social animals and need to be kept in same sex pairs/groups. A rat that is kept alone is far more likely to become depressed, aggressive, to self-harm, become sick and to live a shorter life. No amount of time you spend with her can make up for another rat. You will need to quarantine the new rat for 3 weeks in another airspace to prevent the spread of serious viruses and then you will need to do proper introductions before they can live together.
How to do introductions: http://ratfanclub.org/newrat.html & http://fatratcentral.com/interacting-with-rats/introducing-rats/
Make sure the *wire* cage is big enough: http://www.rattycorner.com/odds/calc.shtml
As for getting her to sit still, you might not be able to. Females tend to be very active their whole lives and generally enjoy exploring their surroundings rather than sitting on your shoulder. Occasionally, some will calm down and become “lap rats” but it’s not very common in females. The easiest way is to let her run around in a rat-proof room for a couple of hours to work out some of her energy and then try holding her.
Nibbling is pretty common, especially if your hands smell like food. If you want to discourage it, say “EEP” in a high-pitched voice when she does it; that lets her know she is being too rough.
Some rats you’ll never, or rarely, hear bruxing; others seem to do it every time you pet them. If she doesn’t brux it doesn’t mean she isn’t happy, so I wouldn’t worry about it. If you want to try and get her to brux, you just have to wait until she is in a calm enough mood to be petted and figure out which spot she likes having scratched (many times it’s between the shoulder blades or right behind the ears). But again, if she doesn’t brux it doesn’t mean she doesn’t enjoy the “scritches.”
As for the squeaking when curled up, I wouldn’t worry as long as that is the only time she does it, her environment is safe and she has no other symptoms of illness; wheezing, porphyrin (red colored mucus), sneezing, not eating or drinking well and/or head-tilt. If she starts making the squeaking sound when she is in other positions or has any of those symptoms, you should take her to the vet immediately.
Make sure you’re not using pine, cedar, sawdust, clay/clumping cat litter or anything scented as bedding.
Make sure you’re not using anything else scented around her or her cage; air fresheners, candles, perfume, scented detergent, scented cage cleaners, regular household cleaners, etc.
Make sure the room she is in stays between 55 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit and the cage isn’t near windows or vents.
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