Ever wondered just how clever rats really are? People say all the time they are intelligent animals but how much can you actually do with a rat? Not only can rats be taught basic things like how to use a litter tray and also recall methods but you can get them to do much bigger things like completing an obstacle course, play fetch and also have little games of rat basketball. You can even train bad habits and behaviour out of them using positive methods to shape them into better versions of themselves. All it takes is research, a little setup and some good patience and hopefully you can have some fun along the way.
The Science Behind Training
Before we get into the fun tricks and games etc we will start out by looking at the theory and science side of training first. The Science of Learning by Azuline Rattery is the best place to start with this. This guide will teach you about the 4 Consequences to behaviour: positive and negative reinforcement and positive and negative punishments. Plus it will go into more detail on how this relates to training. Also a brief breakdown of antecedents to behaviour too. It’s a very science heavy guide but it’s a great read and worth trying to understand fully especially if you want to look towards the training behaviour side of things with one of your own rats.
Once you understand the technical definition of reinforcement and punishment first we can move on to looking at positive reinforcement training. This principal is used as it’s far more effective and more ethical on the rat than other techniques. You want to teach them what they should be doing rather than punishing them for what they shouldn’t be doing. For further examples of why this is the best approach read Why Reinforcement Only Training? by Azuline Rattery which will go into further detail on the matter.
There are many different reasons why you might want to train your rats other than just for tricks or to compete in things like agility courses. Rats are extremely clever animals do not only do they find training very stimulating but also it’s a good bonding exercise for you. The main thing to remember is you have to do it the right way to make it really worth it. You don’t want to over stimulate your rats or even practice things too much so they get bored. Everything in moderation is preferred. To go through things in a bit more detail Training your Rat is a great guide by the NERS in taking you through things in a bit more detail. It explains the benefits to rat training and what can be done with them as well as examples of different types of training and the benefits to them not just for your rats but also to you too.
So that’s the scientific side of training covered let’s move onto the actual procedure of training your rat. This isn’t as simple as just thinking of a trick you want to try and them just doing it after 10 attempts. There is a lot more that goes into it and you will need a lot of time and patience to achieve this well. We’ve already learned the basic principles so next we shall see how to use those to effectively teach new behaviours How to Train your Rat by Azuline Rattery will teach you some science on the principles behind shaping and how this relates to training tricks. It will also help you select good reinforcers to use while you are training and show you how clicker training works. It’s packed full of much more information too so well worth reading to the full.
Before we move onto the tricks and fun training side of things its worth looking into actually applying some of the theory we learned at the beginning of this section into solving some everyday problems you may face with your rats. Zoe Lumour has this covered with Training for Everyday Husbandry & Managing Problem Behaviour. This will help you look at certain problems you may face like a rat chewing bars a lot and not only understanding why this might be happening but what you can try to fix it.
Training and Tricks
So now onto the real fun bit – the tricks. Some people may look at all of this and think it’s all a bit pointless and a bit of a novelty. While this might look like you are just passing some time there is actually quite a few benefits to the tricks side. For example not only will it stimulate your rats as rats can get bored very easily but it also keeps them active meaning weight management is better. Spending all this time with them doing tricks is also a great way of bonding with them and helping gain their trust more. Plus it’s a great excuse to make them work for some treats.
Let’s start off with a Rat Training Crash Course by Azuline Rattery This guide is for people who are not interested in learning why or how, but would just like a very quick tutorial to teach their rat a trick, and we start here with how to learn to spin. This is a perfect place to start as it’s not too difficult to teach or for the rats to learn. Some tricks take an incredible amount of patience at the start which can be off putting so starting simple is the right thing to do. Hopefully once you do this one you will want to learn more.
If you enjoyed teaching your rats to spin and would like a few more examples of basic tricks to move onto please check out Zoe’s other guide Training and Tricks Videos which gives you a lot more things to try and all in video form meaning you can watch exactly how to do each one.
There are also a few more examples of slightly more complicated things to try on the Training Videos- Trick Examples and Compilations guide too to keep you busy.
Want to start training your rat but not sure what is best to give them food/treat wise to really keep their interest? Find out what a top rat trainer uses for best success with the What Treats Should I use guide by Shadow the Rat. This will give you a short list of the most successful treats to use and there is some videos on the guide too which give more varied treat ideas to use while training as well as getting your rats to take treats outside of the cage which some rats will not do.
To answer any extra questions you may have be sure to check out Azuline Ratterys Training Troubleshooting and FAQs guide which should hopefully cover anything more needed.
Agility
Tricks are not just a great and fun thing to teach to your rats. You can also look into doing agility too. Agility is using a set course of different objects so that your rats can start at one end and make their way through to the other. You can make this fun by timing each rat and seeing who the fastest one is. This is something you can do at home by making your own course or there are even certain clubs that still do this at shows. The Midlands Rat Club for example set up an agility course towards the end of each of its shows and members can take their rats up to compete against others.
To guide you into the basics of agility take a look at Training your rats by Isamu Rats. This will give you some good tips on setting up your course and teaching the rats to use it.
Want to learn to make your own course but not sure where to start? Estelle Sandford of Alpha Centauri rats has this covered fully with the Agility & Obedience guide. Not only does this show you some great examples of obstacles to have but also explains how each one was made. It will also run through the guidelines of agility at shows and some other great fun events you can usually take part in.
Also offering tips on Agility is the NERS. Their guide Agility training gives a great introduction to agility events and how to get the rats used to completing the course by tackling one obstacle at a time and rewarding them for each one they do. They also show how you can recreate your very own version of their course so you can practice while you’re at home and hopefully do great at the next show you attend.
Rat Agility Kits can also be purchased from the following businesses:
Mr Mango Makes 3D Printed 8 Piece Competition Set
Ratcessories 5 Piece Wooden Agility Set
Really hope you’ve enjoyed looking into the world of training and tricks. Not all rats will take to this easily but it’s a lot of fun to try this and see them enjoying some one on one time with you and as mentioned before the treats will go down very well. Plus never know, you might even invent some new tricks you can share with others yourself.
Shadow The Rat – Rattrixs
I feel like we can’t have a rat trick section without doing a separate section on Shadow The Rat, tricks and training guides. So far on this section we have covered a wide variety of training and tricks content including a great introduction to a wide variety of basic tricks. Now its time to step it up a notch.
Shadow the Rat Facebook and YouTube channels have become very popular over the years. A huge part of this is down to the great videos featuring rats doing all kinds of tricks. There is a great selection of trick guide tutorials and other fun games for the rats to play. From basic tricks to start doing yourself to more complicated agility courses and games there is something for everyone.
Creator Esther Minic-Rosenthal has spread the Shadow the Rat brand far and wide with multiple different channels across social media, a website with all sorts of other care guides and tips and tricks videos and even her own book on rat Tricks.
For a complete written guide on what can only be described as “The Ultimate Library” of Rat Tricks take a look at the Trick Tutorials section of the Shadow the Rat website. This very organised and simple to use section allows you to browse over 100 different examples of tricks spread out through multiple different difficulties allowing you to start simple and build your way up.
The Rat Trick Tutorials Playlist on the YouTube channel is a great resource where there is over 50 “How to” videos you can watch to hopefully brush up on your training skills.
You can also check out the Shadow the Rat Frequently Asked Questions page where Esther runs through some answers to the most asked questions she gets about rat training. If you have any unanswered questions at this point there might be an answer for you in there.
If you are interested in finding other rat training enthusiasts and sharing videos and tips then there is the Pet Rat Training Facebook group you can also join. With nearly 1500 members it’s a great place to keep up with the latest Training videos as well as other rat related content.
Please check out more Shadow the Rat content from the links below.
The Rat Wiki 