Embedded YouTube videos demonstrating techniques to help you help your adult rat be comfortable being held.
<: 3 )~~~~ <: 3 )~~~~ <: 3 )~~~~ <: 3 )~~~~ <: 3 )~~~~ <: 3 )~~~~ <: 3 )~~~~ <: 3 )~~~~ <: 3 )~~~~ <: 3 )~~~~ <: 3 )~~~~ <: 3 )~~~~ <: 3 )~~~~Princess settles into her human's arms but eventually her prey instinct takes command and she moves down inside the shirt. Tanya asks her to try again, and Princess relaxes further, even yawning.
Bear loves to be scritched on his back. He and his human, Amber, are playing too. He even boggles briefly at the end when they are done.
Jake Rat climbs to his human's shoulder and basks in being scritched. He's very still and deliberate and you see him zone out. Handling pet rats this way will draw them to you more and more.
Jake again, resting in his human's arms. If your rat wiggles too much when you ask him to settle down, just keep at it. Bring him down from your shoulder over and over, into this position, and scritch him just like this human does. Rats love to be scritched - you are grooming them - and they will realize sitting in your arms like this feels good. As you keep asking your rat to come into your arms, maybe a thousand times, he will stay longer and longer on his own. He might even brux, boggle, hiccup (not really hiccuping), tail-flick, groom your fingers, and even fall asleep, and, while asleep even dream sweet dreams.
Here's something you'll be able to do with a well-socialized pet rat - let him sleep on you. Male rats are more likely to snooze than females, although many of them will as well.
GALLERIES OF YOUTUBE VIDEOS: Techniques to Hold Rats. If you're viewing this on the keyword page, click to go to the galleries with several videos about holding adult rats.
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