Bond with Rats in “Pouches”
(For the Rat Who Already Willingly Enters a Pouch)

If a rat is not afraid to venture into a pouch, encourage him do so, and then set the pouch near you. This can be a helpful socialization technique. What's key is that the rat isn't afraid to enter the pouch from the get go.

What this method does Not involve: Insisting that a scared rat go inside a pouch, or taking hold of a shy rat and putting her inside a pouch when she doesn't want to go there.

I've often seen the notion, "Bond with your rat using a bonding pouch." Most of the descriptions explain that a rat likes to be inside a covered cave of sorts. The idea is that you wear a type of pouch around your neck, in which the rats hang out, and then carry the rats around with you while you do chores or whatnot. The result is that the rat becomes desensitized to scary sights, sounds, smells, and You.

I would actually suggest slowing down with this kind of work, and start with using a pouch on the outside of the cage, or on your lap.

Here's one example of a pouch I have that I really like:

What I really like to see in a pouch for this purpose is that it only has one opening, between 3.5 inches and 4 inches in diameter.

For helping the rat learn to feel comfortable being touched, and to bond with you for snuggling, I've been having a huge amount of fun using a large hammock with a particular design. You can see a photograph of examples at the bottom. I got the idea to hold them in one, on my lap, in bed, where they're not allowed to roam on the bed. The rectangle should be between 10 inches and 12 inches on all sides, to give the rat as much freedom as possible to explore and be cozy at the same time. It should have only one fist-sized/rat-sized opening so that, when the time is right and the rat is okay with this, I can slide my hand inside.

Then, I do also wear the neck-type pouch around my neck. Specifically I have liked the ratoob because of its large size. The rats can move from the pouch on my lap, to inside the tube, and this allows me some freedom to do chores and help desensitize the rats to all the activities sights, sounds, and smells. I am still looking for a store that sells the specific type I like.

This is one of the best activities I've ever done with my honey bunches, and I'm sorry it didn't occur to me to try it out when they were babies.

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