rats

i just bought a male and a female rat..i wanna try and use them for breeding and pet purposes...except...the person i bought from never really had any interaction with them whatsoever and they're pretty scared to death of me..any chance of them taming down a bit?...oh..and also..i bought one of those vertical ball water bottles...and it'll drip about every 10 seconds..any way to fix that..or is it a dud..thanks, mike

They should eventually get better if you work with them. You can try various pet rat websites and read up on rat socialization.
As for the water bottle, check the washer, try tightening it, if it keeps dripping it's probably a dud.

what i do for my rats is I sit with them in the bathroom. I take everything off the floor except for a towel, treats, and me! lol :crazy02: that way, they get the treats when they come "close" to me, and they have to get used to me being there. it also works as a little play time out of their cage, too.

I've always just picked them up when I had rats and mice. You could start by putting your hand in there alot. Feed them peanuts or something just hold it there and wait for them to grab it. Let your scent get in their cage and they will learn you're ok. If the bottle leaks or whatever you should buy a new one. You can also just put a dish in there. You dont have to have the bottle thing. I find wish dishes there is less chance for rodent escape as they have one less thing to climb up and get out.

If they're small rats, just holding them and offering them toys or treats while they are out that they don't get in their cage will work. If they're large rats... gardening gloves.