Vanilla Bean Rat Rat Merrimack, NH

Fostered in Salem, NH.

This description applies to this rat, as well as the others in the same foster home:

UPDATE 5/4/23:

“They’re doing great! They still don’t like being handled but they’re so sweet in their own way and they’re such happy little weirdos.

Roe has made some big strides. He’s always been skinny but we’ve really seen him start to eat like his sons and he’s slowly gaining some weight. He also comes up to the cage and asks for food and watches us, whereas his previous m.o. was to hide in a far corner hide surrounded by a blanket of his children. He’s on his own willingly now, he’s eating and happy, and he’s MUCH more mobile and exploratory than he’s ever been. We’re so proud of the massive progress he’s made.

The kids have improved too. They have played with each other a bit over the last 1-2 months, something they NEVER did before. They also show interest in playing with me when I cautiously engage them in hand play. They are very interested and excited to play right up until the point that they feel they’re going to be touched. But still even willing to try is incredible improvement. And lastly they used to cuddle as if they were a terrified mass, now they freely roam and when they cuddle it’s more relaxed posturing, like what we see from our well adjusted kiddos.

They’ve definitely come a long way. They need a home where they can stay together as a family and continue to “rat” and live life on their terms with the safety and security that will enable their confidence to grow.”

UPDATE 2/10/2023:

“The Roe crew really cling to each other. They’ll take treats and allow us to check them out but are not fond of us handling them. They don’t like free roam time, they really just prefer the security of their hides and home. I’ve swapped them around here and there, seeing if I put three of them in a separate house to see if that would calm down a bit, but so far they are still pretty skittish and shy. They seem rat friendly, so potentially I’d say adopting them out to established groups would help them come out of their comfort zone. They will need an experienced rat owner to keep working with them to keep them coming out of their shells.”