squEEK! it's a human!
AFRMA - Trust-Training: "Trust-Training Nervous Rats by Elizabeth R. TeSelle
Since most people in AFRMA handle their young rats a great deal, they grow up accustomed to and interested in interacting with people. In some situations, however, a new rat may have been handled very little, or handled inappropriately, as was our Phineas. These rats can be difficult to tame, but as we have found, the key is establishing trust.
Our agouti rat Phineas was 14 months old when he joined our family. For all of his life he had been used as a stud rat by a man who bred rats as “feeders,” and who was, consequently, not particularly concerned with how easy they were to handle. When he bothered to pick Phineas up at all, it was by his tail, with Phineas hanging in the air flailing his legs wildly. Needless to say, this treatment did little to make Phineas feel positive about human beings.
The first time I reached my hand into Phineas’ cage with a treat, he shrieked in terror and ran into the corner, where he huddled and chattered in fear. For the next 2 days I persisted, until Phineas was so hungry he was forced to take food from my hand. This may sound hard, but I knew that unless Phineas learned, through approaching my hand and not being hurt, that not all human beings are the same, we would make no progress at all. When Phineas finally began taking the food I offered, he was frightened and nervous, but I tried to remain as benign and non-threatening as possible. Within a week Phineas was allowing me to rub him behind the ears and gently stroke his back, though he still appeared nervous and concerned that I might alter my behavior at any moment.
Following the Skinnerian technique, which emphasizes rewarding desired behavior, I began gradually increasing the difficulty of what Phineas had to do to get the small pieces of food we offered him."
squEEK! it's a human! squEEK! squEEK!
Since most people in AFRMA handle their young rats a great deal, they grow up accustomed to and interested in interacting with people. In some situations, however, a new rat may have been handled very little, or handled inappropriately, as was our Phineas. These rats can be difficult to tame, but as we have found, the key is establishing trust.
Our agouti rat Phineas was 14 months old when he joined our family. For all of his life he had been used as a stud rat by a man who bred rats as “feeders,” and who was, consequently, not particularly concerned with how easy they were to handle. When he bothered to pick Phineas up at all, it was by his tail, with Phineas hanging in the air flailing his legs wildly. Needless to say, this treatment did little to make Phineas feel positive about human beings.
The first time I reached my hand into Phineas’ cage with a treat, he shrieked in terror and ran into the corner, where he huddled and chattered in fear. For the next 2 days I persisted, until Phineas was so hungry he was forced to take food from my hand. This may sound hard, but I knew that unless Phineas learned, through approaching my hand and not being hurt, that not all human beings are the same, we would make no progress at all. When Phineas finally began taking the food I offered, he was frightened and nervous, but I tried to remain as benign and non-threatening as possible. Within a week Phineas was allowing me to rub him behind the ears and gently stroke his back, though he still appeared nervous and concerned that I might alter my behavior at any moment.
Following the Skinnerian technique, which emphasizes rewarding desired behavior, I began gradually increasing the difficulty of what Phineas had to do to get the small pieces of food we offered him."
squEEK! it's a human! squEEK! squEEK!
posted by Lee at 7:37 AM
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