I love ur channel I am going to use these vids to help me when I get my rat

@ShadowTheRat

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks! You'll want to get 2+ rats of the same gender though, as they're super social animals who do best when living with other rats.

@LexiconDisgr4ced

6 жыл бұрын

I unfortunately can not have more than one rat😟. Do you have any tips for training a single rat? Also what kind of treats do you suggest?

@ShadowTheRat

6 жыл бұрын

It's not fair to get a single rat. They are social animals, and depriving them of this social interaction doesn't make sence. The reason I can train and interact with my rats so easily is because their initial needs are met, including their social need to be with other rats. Plus, the shy rats copy the confident ones, leading to a more stable state for all of them. If you want a single human bonding pet that is still super smart and able to learn tricks, try a male mouse. Male mice CAN NOT be housed with other male mice once they reach sexual maturity, as most become territorial and will fight to the death. If neutered, they can live with female mice, but otherwise they're perfectly fine being kept alone with human interaction. Hamsters are another solitary rodent, however they do tend to be less human oriented and less motivated to learn tricks. But at least 2 or my hamsters learned to spin and come when called, and 3 of them very much enjoyed cuddling when they got older. So that's another option. The only time I would get a single rat would be if that rat was shown to be rat agressive. However, this is super rare and your unlikely to find such rats. I don't understand why you couldn't get 2 rats anyway. A cage that can't fit 2 rats is already too small for a single one, and as rats only eat around a pound of food monthly, an extra rat costs only a few dollars extra. And rats living together are less stressed, meaning less sickness and vet bills (stressed rats tend to get respiratory problems that need vet treatment, heck, even happy rats can occasionally develope respiratory issues! If you can't pay for an extra rat, then vet treatment (which is usually required at least once in a rat's life) is going to be impossible). Finally, the idea that single rats bond more readily with people is just wrong. Rats aren't birds, they don't treat humans as their mates. Rats see us as different from other rats, and interact differently with us and other rats accordingly. Plus, rats copy each other, and if you get a shy/untame rat (which is likely if you buy from a pet store), taming will go much faster with 2 (the shy one will copy the more confident one, speeding up the process). I hope you reconsider either getting a different pet or multiple rats. It's really not fair to get a social animal and keep it alone, especially when so many other solitary pets would do just fine living like that.

@LexiconDisgr4ced

6 жыл бұрын

Shadow The Rat it's not that I just want one rat, it's that I live with my parents as I am not old enough to even have a job, and my parents only will allow me to have a rat, I am not allowed to have hamsters, guinea pigs, mice, ect. And I can only have one rat because my parents think if I get more than one my rat will get feral instincts, Be more likely to escape, be poorly socialized, and more likely to bite. So I can only have one rat. I am in homeschool so I can have my rat with me all day, will that help to better socialize my rat and keep it from getting lonely?

@ShadowTheRat

6 жыл бұрын

No, as you really can't understand their "language" (both body and noise, heck, we can't even hear the majority of rat vocalizations!) Plus, you can't fit in a hammock/hide with them, or play fight with them when they wake up sporadically throughout the night and day. Sure the rat might seem happy to be with you, but the idea of forcing an animal to like me by depriving it of the social requirements it actually needs is not something I'd want to do. In fact, when my most human oriented girl Shadow had her cagemate die 2 years ago, I thought for a while that I could just keep her alone. But it was awful for her! I had her out for 12+ hours a day, yet she always wanted back out. She was so desperate for social interaction that she wouldn't even explore the free-range area like she used to! Once I got her 2 younger cagemates, things went back to normal. She was still cuddly and friendly with people, but she didn't mind relaxing in her cage either. Keep in mind that rats like Shadow are also relatively rare. Many rats are way less human oriented, and especially as youngsters can not sit still long enough to cuddle with you. But they will cuddle and play with cagemates, and also learn to trust you much faster. The largest concern for me though would be if your parents aren't going to allow 2 rats, something which is best for the animal in question, how are they going to react to potential vet costs? When I got my first 3 rats, one died of pneumonia just 2 days later AT the vets, yet we still had to pay $100 as the vet had started examining her. Then two days after that, another girl came down with the same strand of pneumonia, and cost $800 (yes, eight hundred!) dollars to save (and yes, she was a $5 rat. Rats can and most likely WILL require vet treatment, and I don't think its fair to judge an animal's worth off how much they initially cost.) Of course, this isn't the situation for most people, but I sure as heck didn't expect this cost right off the bat! Luckily my mom is an animal lover, and was willing to help me pay whatever amount to save my girl. Because without vet treatment, she would have been dead within a few hours, no question (they had her in an oxygen tank, under 24 hour care, nebulized her with albuteral several times a day, and force fed her antibiotics and liquid food. I only had her there for maybe 16 hours, yet it cost an exorbitant amount because vet care (and especially the oxygen tank part) isn't cheap. Now that rat survived and stayed healthy for another 2.5 years, but her sister, the only girl that didn't immediately come down with pneumonia after I got her, came down with pneumonia just 1 year later. I took her to the vet and got the same oxygen, nebulization, and antibiotics treatment, yet she died anyway. Rats are fragile, but you really do bond deeply with them. Being unable to give vet care because your parents dislike your pets would be a horrible feeling. Don't forget that a good rat cage is also around $100, and that contrary to what your parents think, a solo rat is more likely to develop behavioral issues such as biting you or even themselves (this is called barbering, and my most nervy/bitey girl does this to her arms. Having cagemates has not only decreased this behavior some, but if she had been housed alone when I got her, I have no doubt that she would still be lunging and biting to draw blood today. She had no issue biting the crap out of me when I got her, but her tame cagemates examples helped teach her that their are better ways to interact with me. In fact, when she was taking food from me with other rats, she never bit, but if she was taking food from me alone, she was likely to just bite me instead.) I would seriously research rats a ton, then present that info to my parents. If you really care about the animal your getting, then you probably want it to have the best life possible. And for a rat, living solo just isn't healthy. Besides, your parents should probably know a bit about the animal your planning on adopting before you do so. If they think more rats mean that the rats in question will go "feral" (which won't happen, as rats have been domesticated for HUNDREDS of generations and are thus just as domestic as a family dog), then I'd seriously want to change their minds before getting one. That mindset makes me think they'd be very wary about paying for supplies, let alone vet care, and those things are absolutely essential to rats.

You help me so much👍

Lindezas, amo muito. 😍 🐁🐭 🐀 sou fã do seu incrível canal.😘 🤗 🐁🐭🐀🐁🐭🐀💜💕💜

You are ecxcellent bro how fast they understand you👏👏👏👏👏👏🤳

so dam cute

It's great to know you treat them with care unlike some other people

I like the fact that it was many tutorials in one well made u have a big cuter to look after. 😊😉(my rats can barley do weaving/spin and a bit of agility)

@ShadowTheRat

6 жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed :) Weaving/spinning are some of my favorite tricks, and agility is certainly my rat's favorite! If you do decide to train other tricks though, I'm sure their background with other tricks will make it easier :)

@luciapatino2211

6 жыл бұрын

Shadow The Rat tux for the tips

very cute rats l LOVE YOUR RATS

Good

What prize do you give them? (sorry my english is bad)

@ShadowTheRat

6 жыл бұрын

Mostly Cheerios or Gerber puffs broken into 2-4 pieces each. And for extra motivation, I give meat baby food.

@Eternatease

6 жыл бұрын

My rat loves banana and mashed potato (not too salt or seasoned)

@phoenix419

6 жыл бұрын

Ty :)

Do you have any tips to get Snoopy to use the Kaytee Silent Spinner that I got him for Christmas? My sister recommended putting something sweet around the inside of the wheel. I haven't tried that yet but so far he basically ignores the wheel.

@ShadowTheRat

6 жыл бұрын

I find that many rats just don't like the repetitive motion of wheels. I have 2 for my girls, one of which is the same as yours. Of my girls, both Berry and Latte will occasionally use it if I'm taking too long setting up the free-range area (or if I have one in the free-range area, they might take a quick jog if they run by it). Cookie and Cream will use it more if it's in the cage, but outside, ignore it. Back when I had just Shadow and Sonic, Shadow refused to use the wheel. I tried to "teach" her by luring her into running on it. At the time Shadow was just 6 months old, yet she only really ran on the wheel for a treat. Her sister Sonic by comparison loved the wheel, and is my only rat so far that would use it for and hour or more straight daily (she took to it right away). So my experience has been that if you leave it in the cage long enough, the rats eventually figure it out on their own. But only rarely have I found that a rat really takes to running on it. You could try helping him figure it out by luring him round with a treat (the sweets is a good idea, but I'd be wary of placing it too high in case he overreaches, turns the wheel by accident, and becomes afraid of it like Shadow once did), but since rats don't generalize well it might not get him to use it on his own. The only other thing I can think of is removing all toys/houses exept for one and then placing the wheel in the cage. He might be more inclined to try it out then, although I can't say for sure. Anyway, hopefully he picks up on it. I wouldn't worry if he doesn't love it though, as even my younger girls aren't too keen on it.

Another question, my new rat is making weird noises, nice weird sounding squeaks, sneezes, and some weird sounds that sound like a squeak combined with a sneeze. Any idea why she is making this noise? (She is new, I got her on Christmas)

@ShadowTheRat

6 жыл бұрын

It could be new home sneezes, or it could be the beginning of something more dangerous (like a URI). I'd probably take her to the vet if possible, so that they can check her out and give your some antibiotics like baytril and doxy if necessary. As a note, new home sneezes shouldn't last more than a week, so if she doesn't stop sneezing/gets worse, a vet trip is the best idea.

Yo, I don't even own a rat but this looks fun as Hell! I might get one if the next place I stay at (hopefully my own house) will let me have a pet.

@justasillygoofyguy

4 жыл бұрын

If you ever do get rats ,you need more than one. its very cruel not to as in some cases they can even die of not having another rat with them. I know this was 2 years ago but still.

Hi, I do not know English well, so I use Google translator, I apologize in advance if something is not clear. How do your rats understand what you want from them? You say the name of the team or use only the clicker, the rats do not memorize the command, it turns out that the old team need to learn again?

@ShadowTheRat

5 жыл бұрын

I use hand signals and prop cues. So a certain hand signal tells them to do certain tricks and certain props tell them to perform certain behaviors :)

I see sometimes you use a paper treat. Is this rice paper? I am starting to train my 3 rex rats, and they love cheerios, but it looks like that rice paper is easier and healthier. Also, what are some tips and tricks for training. I have a big playpen that they roam around in and jump on me. I have been trying the "kiss" method when giving them treats, but no luck really.

@ShadowTheRat

6 жыл бұрын

Yup, that's wafer paper (aka rice paper). It's technically better for the rats than Cheerios, but I no longer use it very much. It can take a few days for rats to bein to like it, and it was always my girls least favorite treat. But it can still work fairly well, especial as a lower tier reward for well-known tricks. Right now I mainly use Cheerios and Gerber Puffs broken into 2-4 pieces each, and meat baby food occasionally when I want to give the rats extra motivation (usually when they're learning a difficult trick). As for training, keep trying to pair whatever noise you want the rat to come to with food. With my first girl Shadow, it took me a week to get her to respond to my come noise, and another to get her to respond to my spin cue. I'm fairly certain my timing was a bit off, which caused a steeper learning curve. But with each of my other rats, I've gotten better with my timing and their learning speed has considerably increased. (Plus my new rats actually learn my come noise just from watching the other rats, so I haven't had to train come in quite a while - once one of your rats is responding to yor come noise, try free-ranging them all together and letting the others learn from the first rat). Finally, you'll want to let the rats explore for a good 15-30 minutes before hand, just so they're used to the play area and no longer distracted/scared by their surroundings. I'd recommend bringing out the really tasty treats (like meat baby food) for come in particular, as it's a pretty important trick and you want the rats to respond pretty consistently.

I think one of my rats does not think of food as a reward

@ShadowTheRat

6 жыл бұрын

All rats find food rewarding, however if they are distracted/scared by something, they won't eat it. Same with dogs and other animals. Try training in a area that the rats knows well and has already explored for 30 minutes. By then, the rattie should be sufficiently confident and have drained enough energy to eat treats. My rat Berry seemed not food motivated at all, but as she adjusted to me and the free-range area, and as her attention span increased, her level of food orientation did as well.

😘😍

Shadow the rat I have a question, where can I train my rats to do these tricks? I can’t make one of those cardboard play pens and I can’t teach them on my desk, and they refuse to eat on my lap or hand. Where can I train them to do these tricks?

@Eternatease

6 жыл бұрын

I use the couch. You can make a hiding house from a box with a hole cut in it. And you could put like a stack of 6 kitchen papertowels for your rat to pee on outside of the boxhouse. Or train them on your bed. Start out to make the rats comfortable to come to you for a treat and build on from that. Teaching the rat to spin or go to a specific spot (positioning) to get a treat is the easiest. And use something like a clicker to indicate a successful attempt and then reward the rat. They pick up on click=reward pretty quickly. And be patient and consistent. Sometimes the rats don't immediately get what it is you want from them, but the clicker makes it easier. They can pick some of the more basic tricks up in 10 minutes if you're lucky. Good luck

@ShadowTheRat

6 жыл бұрын

Uitjebolsmurf gave a good answer, but I just wanted to add that some rats will scent mark your bed/couch a lot, leaving it smelling like urine (Shadow, as awesome as she was, once made my bed smell AWEFUL this way!) So make sure to cover up your bed or couch with something you can easily wash if you go that route. You can also try training some tricks on top of your cage, which is what I do. But why can't you make a cardboard pen? The first time I did so, my parents made me trash it a few months later. but I made another one and used it only at night after everyone had gone to bed, and they were okay with that. If it's a matter of getting cardboard, my first 2 pens were made with cardboard I gathered from Kroger, my high school, my local UPS store, and any cardboard food boxes. It wasn't pretty or super high quality, but it got the job done. Otherwise, I'd work on feeding liquid treats off your hands until they'll eat while sitting on you/being held. Good luck! :)

How is Latte? Is her health better? Sorry 4 this question, if it uncomfortable 2 answer

@ShadowTheRat

6 жыл бұрын

She's doing fine :) She was actually basically back to 100% (or as close to it as possible) when I posted her video. She still has what looks like a benign mammary tumor, but it isn't affecting her in any way.

@AdarubyUA

6 жыл бұрын

Shadow The Rat ty 4 answer :)

1st Comm-I mean 2nd Comment!!!

@Eternatease

6 жыл бұрын

Why is having a non-sensical comment an achievement when it is not even rat-related? Grow up

@deckofcardsfilms3262

6 жыл бұрын

uitjebolsmurf I was just having fun.

I got a better idea, instead of humans raise the flags on flag ceremony, why wont rats help too?

U show the same thing over and over

@chelerycelery4702

6 жыл бұрын

Troy Straw and...? It’s amazing what these rats can do, and were amazed by seeing these rats’ tricks, even if she shows them over and over again.

@ShadowTheRat

6 жыл бұрын

I have shown these once before (in the in dept h tutorials), however I've gotten question about which tricks to train first, and decided to compile 10 basic ones with quick tutorials. But I found that I really liked that video, so I decided to do similar ones for intermediate, advanced, and expert tricks.