In a recent post below titled "How Often to Handle a Young Texas Rat", the last responder mentioned that "...they are born belligerent with a high defensive response, and that all the handling in the world can only mediate that partially."



He may have much more experience with Rats in general and Trats in particular, but I'm finding out things about Trats that is confirming what I've thought about many animals. Comments from other forum posters suggested that they also have had good handling experiences with Trats, and that behavior depends more on the Individual than the species.



(High defensive response? Yes, but that's also true of people, and of dogs & cats not properly trained. Consider how many of your fellow citizens are belligerent, aggressive & nasty, versus how many are friendly or even helpful.)



I think that much of how ANY animal responds to people depends much on the animal's prior experience, how safe they feel and the confidence level of the handler. Horses are a good example; they sense when someone is squeamish around them and show more independence & stubbornness as a result.



My 55-gallon vivarium gives much natural hiding spots, a soak dish and climbing branches. I've recently had 2 Trats. (One of which was ill and died 10 days after arrival. It had been handled and had eaten, however, so I got some experience with behavior.) My replacement is a HUGE 6-foot male. Neither snake bit, hissed nor musked significantly.



Note my handling notes from today:



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"Two instances of tail rattling, but only brief. One when I had just picked him up and was holding him. I have no idea why he was suddenly temperamental. Later I had placed him on my closet shelf and was retrieving him. I surprised him as I reached (should not have) and he jerked and tail rattled, causing a tense moment.



After his defensive response, I put on my jacket & gloves (which I stopped wearing on Day 2) and proceeded to reach for him. He tried to crawl under my military duffle bag, but once I had a firm grasp he allowed me to pick him up & hold him with no resistance.



We walked around awhile; he handled very well with no further tense moments. For awhile, he rested his head on my shoulder and looked very comfortable as I walked slowly around the kitchen.



Back at his biome, I allowed him to crawl down naturally. He did slowly, no jerking, allowing his tail to remain on my arm for a moment before final descent. He headed for the soak pool.



20:35 Head is resting on a log a few inches from the cedar pool. Partially concealed behind a leaf, he's watching me type now.



Despite the tail rattling and tense moment, I'm pleased with overall handling results. He seems to be relaxing and acclimating well. Day 9 and he still has not bitten!"

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I think that if we give animals more patience, and learn to communicate with them on their level, we can achieve notable and even astonishing results. I look forward to hearing from others with more Trat experiences & photos.
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