I’ve been busy busy busy the past several weeks. This semester I officially started the Master’s program in behavior analysis at the University of North Texas. Classes are great so far, but I’m having to get back in the swing of going to classes and getting all of my work and reading done. I hope to post more in the coming weeks about some of what I’m learning.
Blaze my awesome little goldfish died at the end of August. He taught me a lot about training and about the intelligence of fish in the almost two years I had him.
There’s an empty spot in my room now and I decided I wanted to fill it this time with some furry that could come out of it’s cage for training sessions. My birthday’s tomorrow, so…my mother and brother bought me two baby rats! (My father is still getting use to the idea of having rats in the house.)
They are both little baby girls and are quite cute! I got them over the weekend and they are starting to settle in. Neither has a name yet, so I would LOVE some name suggestions!
The gray one is VERY outgoing and curious. If I open the top of the cage she immediately runs up and peaks her head out, wanting to be picked up. She also moves at about a mile a minute! The cream and white one is still pretty shy. She is friendly when I get her our but still isn’t completely sure about seeking interaction.
Of course, they will be clicker trained! : )
I’m planning on giving them a bit of time at the beginning to settle in and get use to me and their new environment. The rats are also going to have their own training blog, but I’m still working on getting it up and running.
Please leave a comment with name suggestions AND with any tricks you want to see the rats learn!
Oh! So cute! My 16th birthday present from my parents years ago was a black hooded fancy rat, I called him Norbert and clicker trained him too. He was so much fun! He used to ride around on my shoulder and loved taking in all the sights. His favorite treats were those strawberry yogurt drops you can get for rats. He adored those. Have fun with your new critters! Look forward to reading the rat blog.
Oh! So cute! My 16th birthday present from my parents years ago was a black hooded fancy rat, I called him Norbert and clicker trained him too. He was so much fun! He used to ride around on my shoulder and loved taking in all the sights. His favorite treats were those strawberry yogurt drops you can get for rats. He adored those. Have fun with your new critters! Look forward to reading the rat blog.
Ack! My favorite! Please visit my site, http://www.joinrats.com, for ideas on trust training. I have never practiced clicker training, although I want to, but I am very much into trust training, with ideas here: http://www.joinrats.com/earningtrust. Finally, an example of a snuggle rat, who can convince any anti-rat person that rats are great pets: http://www.joinrats.com/SNUGGLING/Snuggling/11620137_8ZBJ4#819258032_gyagM-A-LB. And if you think snuggling is great, rats are hysterially funny, and here’s one to prove it: http://www.joinrats.com/SNUGGLING/Snuggling/11620137_8ZBJ4#925936467_Zs5wq-A-LB. Trust training pet rats, my absolutely favorite. I’m so grateful you’re exploring rats and look forward to all your posts.
Wow we both started our masters in the same semester. I am studying behavioral ecology so two sides of the same coin here.
I also loooove rats. I had several as an undergraduate. I always like naming my pair of rats something related. Like if you like flowers they could be jasmine and honeysuckle. Or herbs like basil and fennel. Have fun with them! Rats are the best.
They are so cute!! I had two hamsters that were the same colors (one gray, one cream and white). I called the gray one Ashes and my sister called the cream one Tyr. If I think of any other names I’ll come back and leave you another comment. As far as tricks I think the coolest thing I’ve seen rats do is the mini agility courses. 🙂
Happy birthday!
I’m sorry to hear about Blaze: I was always very impressed by his tricks.
a good easy trick to teach is to spin,just twirl it around their head with the word spin,after a while you wont have to twirl it.
Hey Mary, congrats on the new ratties! Had them for years, lots of fun! Handle them as much as possible, even if they are a little shy. They like to hide under your hair and ride on your shoulder and love butt scratchies! Oh, and tummies are very ticklish, so tickle! Like horses they will bite if you extend your finger, especially if it smells like food. Have fun! Deb in Kansas
Speaking of cage cleaning, how often you clean out your hamster cage will depend on how large it is. The larger that it is, the less frequently that you will need to clean it. For a standard 10 or 20 gallon tank, you'll need to clean the hamster cage about once a week.