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Update on Worf, with a couple of pics
13 years ago
So, I've had a couple of days to get to grips with my half wild boy, Worf.
He is unlike any rat I've ever had, which confirms to me he is half wild. I've owned hundreds of domestic rats over the years, from a variety of different situations, some abused, some neglected, some never handled, and they've always been mostly predictable in the way they act.
I know how a nervous rat is going to behave, I know what to expect.
Not with Worf.
For a start, he is EXTREMELY nervous. He isn't nervous in the way an abused/non handled/neglected domestic rat is nervous either. I let him onto the bed for a run, to see how he was out of his cage, and he instantly ran to hide under a pillow. Fair enough, not at all strange for a timid rat; exactly what I'd expect.
I moved the pillow to peek at him, and he launched himself off the bed like he was on fire. I've never had a rat leap off the bed; domestics tend to find a safe place, and return there for security, they don't launch themselves into the unknown like that.
I managed to grab him, and placed him back under his pillow so he could calm down, and again, he made a mad dash to escape, landing on the floor in panic.
I decided he needed more work than I'd anticipated, so I put him back in his cage to settle down.
He is extremely wary of anything new. All rats have this quality, its called neophobia. But domestics have a dulled down version of it, some don't seem to have much of it at all, and happily latch on to anything new with excitement.
Wild rats are EXTREMELY neophobic, its one of the qualities that makes them distinct from domestics. They avoid new foods, new places for a long time until they are sure it is safe.
Worf will not eat much. He eats Harrisons banana brunch, as his previous owner fed this as part of her mix and he is used to it. He won't eat much else, not yoggies, not treats, not anything a domestic, even a fearful one, would go for.
He is obsessed with meat; it is one of the few things he happily eats, even his previous owner said this. And indeed, he ate some duck last night quite happily, but has still yet to touch the rat cookies I gave him.
He freezes, a lot. He will sit, frozen, for up to 10 minutes at a time in fear after being out of his cage. His whiskers won't twitch, he won't move a muscle.
I am not stupid enough to put my hand in his hide out and pull him out. I wouldn't even do that with a timid domestic rat, or even some of the non-timid ones, its a great way to get nipped.
I take the lid off his cage, place it on the bed, and gently coax him out by tipping his bed up.
Last night, I held him, and he made no attempt to bite.
He does not seem the hormonally aggressive rat I was led to think he was. He just seems terrified.
Whereas a new rat here will usually be a little wary for a few hours, I think it will take him a lot longer to adjust to a new place.
I handle him by letting him sit on my arm, and keeping my hands away from him at this point so he doesn't feel closed in or trapped. I only have a couple of photos as he doesn't sit still long enough for any more, and I don't want to scare him with the flash.
He will be a challenge, but one Im looking forward to. If I can tame him, I can deal with any other rat!
He may or may not have his balls off at some point. Im not sure yet. Im wary of castrating very fearful rats and sometimes, that little boost of testosterone is all that keeps them going and keeps them brave enough to do anything.
Take that away, and that can make them far more fearful.
I feel sorry for him, more than anything. He is NOT a wild rat, I must make this clear. If he were, he would never tolerate being caged; it would kill him with the stress. He has no issues in his cage, and, in fact, this is his safe place. He is half wild, but born in captivity (we assume, he was a rescue before his previous owner had him, so I have no idea of his roots).
A wild rat should, in the vast majority of cases, not be made into a pet. But this boy, despite his issues, has no option; he is neither completely wild, nor completely domestic.
I hope to introduce him to Delta, my hermaphrodite girl who cannot get pregnant, and see how he takes to her. Perhaps having a more confident rat around will help him.
Here are the only good photos I got:
http://www.shadowrat.com/rats/worf1.jpg
http://www.shadowrat.com/rats/worf2.jpg
He is unlike any rat I've ever had, which confirms to me he is half wild. I've owned hundreds of domestic rats over the years, from a variety of different situations, some abused, some neglected, some never handled, and they've always been mostly predictable in the way they act.
I know how a nervous rat is going to behave, I know what to expect.
Not with Worf.
For a start, he is EXTREMELY nervous. He isn't nervous in the way an abused/non handled/neglected domestic rat is nervous either. I let him onto the bed for a run, to see how he was out of his cage, and he instantly ran to hide under a pillow. Fair enough, not at all strange for a timid rat; exactly what I'd expect.
I moved the pillow to peek at him, and he launched himself off the bed like he was on fire. I've never had a rat leap off the bed; domestics tend to find a safe place, and return there for security, they don't launch themselves into the unknown like that.
I managed to grab him, and placed him back under his pillow so he could calm down, and again, he made a mad dash to escape, landing on the floor in panic.
I decided he needed more work than I'd anticipated, so I put him back in his cage to settle down.
He is extremely wary of anything new. All rats have this quality, its called neophobia. But domestics have a dulled down version of it, some don't seem to have much of it at all, and happily latch on to anything new with excitement.
Wild rats are EXTREMELY neophobic, its one of the qualities that makes them distinct from domestics. They avoid new foods, new places for a long time until they are sure it is safe.
Worf will not eat much. He eats Harrisons banana brunch, as his previous owner fed this as part of her mix and he is used to it. He won't eat much else, not yoggies, not treats, not anything a domestic, even a fearful one, would go for.
He is obsessed with meat; it is one of the few things he happily eats, even his previous owner said this. And indeed, he ate some duck last night quite happily, but has still yet to touch the rat cookies I gave him.
He freezes, a lot. He will sit, frozen, for up to 10 minutes at a time in fear after being out of his cage. His whiskers won't twitch, he won't move a muscle.
I am not stupid enough to put my hand in his hide out and pull him out. I wouldn't even do that with a timid domestic rat, or even some of the non-timid ones, its a great way to get nipped.
I take the lid off his cage, place it on the bed, and gently coax him out by tipping his bed up.
Last night, I held him, and he made no attempt to bite.
He does not seem the hormonally aggressive rat I was led to think he was. He just seems terrified.
Whereas a new rat here will usually be a little wary for a few hours, I think it will take him a lot longer to adjust to a new place.
I handle him by letting him sit on my arm, and keeping my hands away from him at this point so he doesn't feel closed in or trapped. I only have a couple of photos as he doesn't sit still long enough for any more, and I don't want to scare him with the flash.
He will be a challenge, but one Im looking forward to. If I can tame him, I can deal with any other rat!
He may or may not have his balls off at some point. Im not sure yet. Im wary of castrating very fearful rats and sometimes, that little boost of testosterone is all that keeps them going and keeps them brave enough to do anything.
Take that away, and that can make them far more fearful.
I feel sorry for him, more than anything. He is NOT a wild rat, I must make this clear. If he were, he would never tolerate being caged; it would kill him with the stress. He has no issues in his cage, and, in fact, this is his safe place. He is half wild, but born in captivity (we assume, he was a rescue before his previous owner had him, so I have no idea of his roots).
A wild rat should, in the vast majority of cases, not be made into a pet. But this boy, despite his issues, has no option; he is neither completely wild, nor completely domestic.
I hope to introduce him to Delta, my hermaphrodite girl who cannot get pregnant, and see how he takes to her. Perhaps having a more confident rat around will help him.
Here are the only good photos I got:
http://www.shadowrat.com/rats/worf1.jpg
http://www.shadowrat.com/rats/worf2.jpg
Here's hoping you can bring him out of his shell a little. He'll probably always be a nervous wreck, but he couldn't be in better hands.
I hope things work out for him with you, even a bit; he's got a bit of a rough spot going for him, but if anyone can find and give him what he needs, it's likely you.
In regards to the pics, the first pic kinda seems wildish where as the second pic he seems full domestic.
There was a thriving colony of wild hooded rats reported here a few years ago, obviously a released pet who spread his genes through the wild rats! But they were totally 100% wild.
So your boy could have been half wild, colouration wouldn't make any difference.
The main way to tell is their behaviour, but even then it isn't 100% guaranteed. I was told Worf was half wild, and he certainly acts differently to any rat I've ever had, even very nervous ones, so I have no reason to doubt it. Wish there was some kind of test I could do to tell for sure, though!