These boys came to us on 10/23/21 from a home that had several oops litters.

Fostered by Wendy in Woburn, MA.

UPDATE 12/16/21:

“They are marking less after the neuter and they have mastered Pee Rock marking so the litter training is going well. I’d say 75% there; there’s two culprits and they still have an adjustment period when I move the litter. For mischief socialization, they have figured out dominance ordering around food resources though there’s still some scuffles. They have been grooming each other properly. We had two injuring/sick rats and they were mostly attentive to them and curious about their medical conditions. I did see some healthy reactions and acceptance for when another one of our 3+ year old rats died last week.

For human socialization, they are now comfortable being pet while they are sleepy. They might still shift away, some will put their paw up to gently push away. Only WuKong has been comfortable with belly scritches. Some of them have sought out scratches but no one has boggled or bruxed in response yet. I have not had reciprocated grooming happen yet. They are comfortable walking on arms to shoulders, traveling outside their cage through a tube to play and get food from our couches. They are comfortable sticking heads under hands and don’t show hesitancy of sticking their heads into a closed hand. They are now also comfortable with climbing under and over limbs, eating on or in laps, and climbing up chest. They have not consistently been eating while sitting on us nor have they shoulder perched or been comfortable with movement/riding us around yet. They have gotten more comfortable with scooping pick ups; they aren’t seeking to be scooped up yet, but they are not screeching or struggling when reached for.

For enrichment, the three beige ones have mastered the running wheel and Bajie constantly uses it. That also means their nails have been filed nicely down. I have not done nail clipping training yet. They have figured out how to roll a treat ball around to get kibble out, some have figured out how to break open hazel, almonds, and brazil nuts, and have puzzled out treats wrapped in paper and tp rolls.

For training, they are responding to crinkled paper, and some reaction to “tsk” calling for feeding time. A few have sort of mastered the Stand Up action and the Spin in circle action. I have not worked on object interaction or fetch yet. They are settled and like their cage/homes and are using them well; they actively are eager to return back to the cage on their own and don’t seek to escape the cage when the cage is left open. They are well behaved during cage cleaning; they are now not afraid and upset when I take their soiled box homes, are good at getting out of the way for when I put back in pee pads and cardboard, and are immediately comfortable exploring the new homes I make and put in. They are still jumpy with loud noises but have desensitized significantly; less squeaks and dashing, faster recovery time.”

ADOPTED:

#2021811N, “ShaHeShang”, Rat, Beige, , Standard Ears/Double Rex Coat, Male, DOB: 04/23/2021, Spayed/Neutered?: Yes 11/23/2021

#2021819N, “BaJie”, Rat, Beige, , Standard Ears/Double Rex Coat, Male, DOB: 04/23/2021, Spayed/Neutered?: Yes 11/23/2021

#2021813N, “TangSeng”, Rat, Black, , Standard Ears/Rex Coat, Male, DOB: 02/23/2021, Spayed/Neutered?: Yes 11/23/2021

#2021815N, “WuKong”, Rat, Beige, , Standard Ears/Rex Coat, Male, DOB: 02/23/2021, Spayed/Neutered?: Yes 11/23/2021

ShaHeShang

TangSeng

WuKong

BaJie