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Why is it the rats I have seen and held tend to be mean and bite when held?
Can rats be trained to use litter boxes or are they like hamsters in that
respect that they go in a corner but basically all over the cage. How are
they on smell, hamster cages stink! TIA, Lynn F


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

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On Fri, 25 Oct 2002 15:05:34 EDT Puddinghead1@... writes:
> Why is it the rats I have seen and held tend to be mean and bite when
> held?

They weren't well-socialized as babies?

> Can rats be trained to use litter boxes or are they like hamsters in
> that respect that they go in a corner but basically all over the
cage.
> How are they on smell, hamster cages stink!

I don't see how you could box train them, at least I've never heard of it
being done. Our most-socialized rat generally doesn't pee or poop on
people, and if we're holding her we can tell when she needs to go and put
her back then. The rest of them are more iffy...

We have 5 rats now, and the cages get cleaned weekly. If you stand next
to the cages near the end of the week, you can smell them, but otherwise
they're not bad. Boys, again, seem worse than girls.

When we clean the cages, we actually scrub them out with baking soda,
every week. We use Carefresh bedding - made from recycled newspapers, no
cedar or pine. Our cage is mesh, not a tank, so air can circulate
through.

I don't recall hamster smell, but mice certainly smell more than rats,
IME, especially considering the size difference.

Dar

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In a message dated 10/25/02 2:28:14 PM Central Daylight Time,
Puddinghead1@... writes:

> Why is it the rats I have seen and held tend to be mean and bite when held?
> Can rats be trained to use litter boxes or are they like hamsters in that
> respect that they go in a corner but basically all over the cage. How are
> they on smell, hamster cages stink! TIA, Lynn

Mice and hamsters are very stinky! They don't mind where they go at all. Rats
OTOH, pick a corner or two. They don't go where their food is or where they
sleep. They clean their nest area daily. When we had rats (my Canterbury, a
beautiful blue girl died a few years back and I haven't been able to get
another yet.) We didn't use cedar or pine chips, there is a problem with the
wood and respiratory problems in rats. If they got slightly stinky, it was
more our fault than theirs, the boys were slightly more smelly, but a bath
would cure that. And they do like a nice bath. I've never seen a hamster
enjoy a bath. I don't even know if you can give a hamster a bath.

~Nancy


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Pam Hartley

--- In Unschooling-dotcom@y..., Puddinghead1@c... wrote:
> Why is it the rats I have seen and held tend to be mean and
bite when held?

I have no idea -- I have owned hundreds of rats over the past 23
years and have yet to be bitten by one I'm holding (excepting the
tiny little "tasting" behaviors that baby rats will do like any baby
animal -- never hard enough to sting, and simply blowing in their
faces taught them to stop).

> Can rats be trained to use litter boxes or are they like hamsters
in that
> respect that they go in a corner but basically all over the cage.
How are
> they on smell, hamster cages stink! TIA, Lynn F

All rodents, especially males, will be stinky if their cages aren't
cleaned often enough. *Some* rats can be taught not to poop
while you're holding them, but for the most part they poop
wherever they are, like guinea pigs or hamsters or mice (or
horses... <g>)

Pam

Mary Bianco

>From: "Pam Hartley" <pamhartley@...>

<<All rodents, especially males, will be stinky if their cages aren't
cleaned often enough. *Some* rats can be taught not to poop
while you're holding them, but for the most part they poop
wherever they are, like guinea pigs or hamsters or mice (or
horses... <g>)>>


Okay this is a really stupid question but how exactly do you train a rat not
to poop on you?? I always wanted a guinea pig but always got peed on by
them.

Mary B



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Pam Hartley

> Okay this is a really stupid question but how exactly do you
train a rat not
> to poop on you?? I always wanted a guinea pig but always got
peed on by
> them.

Positive reinforcement. If the rat likes being held, hold him as
long as he doesn't poop. Give him treats, like letting him lick bits
of peanut butter off a spoon, as long as he's not pooping. Stretch
out and vary the reward as you go on.

Negative reinforcement: If the rat likes being held, if he poops he
goes back in his cage. If he *doesn't* like being held, he
continues to be held until he's stopped pooping, then he goes
back in his cage.

In real rat-training life, though, the calmer rats don't have as
much urge to poop (true of any of us <g>) in stress, so the more
you handle the rat or guinea pig or whatever, the less they will
probably poop on you.

Pam, Queen of Poop Training

Todd M.

At 11:47 PM 10/25/02 +0000, you wrote:

>but for the most part they poop wherever they are, like guinea pigs or
>hamsters or mice (or
>horses... <g>)
>
>Pam
==
Or goats, or chickens :)

Todd

"Consciousness is... That annoying time between naps!"

Mary Bianco

<<Pam, Queen of Poop Training>>


LOL!!! Thanks for the info Pam. Not that with two dogs, two cats and a snake
I'm in the market right now for rats.......but one never knows. Maybe I'll
become a rat lady in my old age!!

Mary B



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