My rat squeaks whenever I pet her. Is this a good sign or not?

It's only been a few days, and from the sounds of it, she may still be getting used to you and could still be frightened of you. If she wasn't hand-raised or given a lot of attention by people as she grew up, this could account for a slow adjustment.

Continue to be gentle with her, and don't force your attention on her. Give her a bit of time to adjust. If her reaction remains the same after a bit of time, or you notice any changes for the worse in her behavior ( such as listlessness, aggressiveness or restlessness ), then it may be a good idea to call your vet and have her checked out.

Keep in mind that female rats go in to heat regularly. When this happens, if you stroke them down there back they will occasionally freeze up, arch their backs and wiggle their ears. It's something they do to prepare for mating, and it can be unnerving if you're a first-time rat owner.

Every sign you posted means your rat is terrified. But don't worry, this can change!

First of all; you should never ever keep a rat alone. They are incredibly social animals, and always need to be kept in pairs or more. If you keep her alone she will pine away, grow depressed, stressed, and even aggressive. So you need to go out and get her a female cage mate.

Rats learn from each other by example, so two will actually get tame much faster.

Peeing and pooping when you pick her up is a sign of being afraid. She will stop doing this over time.

Start by sitting next to the cage, putting your hand in it, and just talk. Talk and talk and talk. Put the cage somewhere where there is a lot of human traffic around.

Next pick her up. Don't pounce on her from above, scoop with hand under belly, make sure you can reach her anywhere within the cage. So if there are hiding places that make this very difficult, the hiding places will have to go for a while.

Then, put her under your sweater. The proximity and scent will help with getting her used to you. Sit on the couch and watch TV, just let her sit there. (use an old sweater, obviously).

You can also take an old shirt, ear it for a day, and put it in the cage with her.

If you make the time to socialize with her every day, you should see improvement in a week. If she stops pooping on you, great, you're on the right track. Rats are prey animals, so the picking up will be scary for her in the beginning, but that too will get better.

Also, rats are suckers for bribes, so treats are the way to go ;-)

Your rat is an albino, which means her eye sight is worse then other rats. This means she will scare more easily. Don't let this discourage you, just give her a heads up when you approach her.

Signs of trust would be when she crawls out of your sweater to explore, when she runs up to the bars when you enter the room, when she sniffs you, and when she starts grinding her teeth.

Good luck!

First of all I didn't see the rat, but it seems to me that he/she is still trying to adapt. Remember it's still a new home, new place to get used to... give it a couple more days and don't forget to feed it...

Hope it helps

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