Socialising an African Pouched Rat

All the advice and guidance about socialising Pouched Rats, so they can be kept as pets, says that the best way is to hand rear them from before they are weaned so they trust you and bond to you. However getting pouched rats at this age is very difficult unless you have your own breeding pair and bottle feeding baby rats must be a very time consuming and skilled task. I had great trouble finding any rats for sale let alone a rat this young.

Kali was about six weeks old when I got her and she quickly let me know that she wasn't interested in interacting with me at all and that she saw me as a threat. She would hide when I went near her house and she bit me when I tried to pick her up. I've gradually got Kali to accept me by a combination of bribes and gentle force. The methods I used are given below.

Training methods

• Routine
• Rewards
• Playtime
• Hand feeding
• Handling

Routine

I established a routine so that Kali knew when meal times were, when she would come out of her cage and how long she's be out and when her house would be cleaned out.

Rewards

This sounds obvious but rewards are not just food treats, although they work very well. Once I understood Kali's behaviour I could reward her by letting her have her own way. Early on Kali would fight me when I tried to hold her and was desperate to be let down but I wouldn't let her go until she's calmed down and was still. She learnt that the sooner she stopped struggling the sooner she would be let down.

Playtime

Kali regularly comes out of her house for an hour to run about in the hall, up the stairs and on the landing. I was always there when she was out so she learnt that this was an area she shared with me. At first she just hid in a corner but over several weeks she explored the area and found the food treats that I hid about the place and the toys that I put out for her. Gradually she got more confident and now she's totally at home there.

I try to keep her interested by using a whole range of toys and other props. Every so often I move the props around to stop Kali getting board.

I always carry Kali from her house to the hall for her playtime. This helps to make the area more 'neutral', less part of her territory and also means she has to rely on me for one of her treats - if she wants to come out to play she has to be picked up.

Hand feeding

I wish I had hand fed Kali more when I first got her. It's now become part of the breakfast routine but we're both a bit nervous about it. Kali lunges for the food and, if she misses, will get my fingers.

Handling

I forced Kali to be picked up (a task which was much easier once I'd made the armoured rat glove). It was the only way to get her to realise that I wasn't going to harm her. She obviously thought I wanted to kill and eat her to start with. She fought me as if she was fighting for her life.

I found that if I walked slowly about the room and sang to her (poor girl) she would be calmer. I only put her down again once she was still.

To start with I could pick her up by putting by hand round her shoulders and lifting her up under her armpits but she quickly got too big for this and I found I needed two hands. I now stop her running off by holding her by the base of the tail with one hand then I slide my other (gloved) hand under her and lift her up and hold her against my chest.

She now understands about being picked up and will sit calmly on my chest once I've picked her up but she still dislikes being caught in the first place and will still, occasionally, bite the glove.