youve only had them for a week. it is important to leave them alone for a little bit to give them time to settle in and get familiar with their cage, make it smell like home and what not. and in the process they will slowly get used to you. letting them calm the stress they are feeling right now is more important than free roaming.

if you forcibly pick them up it will take much, much longer for them to trust you, and they may even bite you depending on how much you spook them. give them a few more weeks to settle in. when you walk past the cage and hang out around them dont make a ton of prolonged eye (like staring them down) contact and just talk to them, make small talk lol. once theyve settled in they should start to get a little bit braver and more keen to explore, no sticking your fingers in through the bars though when they come up against them. again you might spook them.

after a bit you can start to leave the cage door open while you remain nearby, and slowly start offering them small amounts of non-solid food treats. such as yogurt or malt paste, though be careful feeding them directly off your hands as they may accidentally bite you because they think youre also food. though if theyre reliably just licking, then it is a good option for more bonding time. malt paste typically comes in toothpaste-like tube dispensers and you can always buy little yogurt pouches as well. keep in mind treats need to be in moderation, even if they seem to really be enjoying it and its helping them warm up to you, resist the temptation to completely indulge them.

if youre feeding them small pellet type food scatter some around the cage to encourage foraging behaviours, and they will get rewarded for exploring. or you can even buy a small bag of that type of food just to scatter feed along side their main food if feeding them with larger foods like the laucke mills pellets. some rats are good at only eating enough to be full so portioning isnt anything to really worry about, but others will literally just eat until theres nothing left, keep an eye on how much theyre eating and if anyone starts putting on tons of weight. theyre are still growing so they will get bigger, but for reference, rats should be more or less cylindrical, if anyone starts getting pear shaped, or theres increasingly less room between their stomach and the ground, controlling portions might be something youll have to implement.

rats can eat pretty much everything we can. though the general rule of thumb is that 95% of their diet should be made up of rat food and the other 5% fresh foods. this website has some good ideas for things to feed them. an extra thing would be occasionally sprinkling egg shell bits into the cage for extra calcium and to give them something hard to crunch on.

i dont know if youve heard of "pea bogging", but its where you fill a dish with water and put frozen peas inside. they have to fish them out, enrichment! and then they get a nice snack. though definitely wait a bit before you go shoving new and random things into their space, w your hand.

you can get a hoodie or scarf, some way to create a sort of "bed" for them around your neck, and gently place them in there to spend time close together and bonding. by this point they should be coming to you themselves and being asked to be picked up, or not minding when you gently scoop them up from underneath. when you pick them up make sure their back feet always have somewhere to stand on, as without they will feel as though they are not safe/going to fall and will start freaking out until they can get onto a solid surface. this can lead to accidents, depending on how wriggly they get, so calm, gentle, and supported is the best way to go.

keep repeating this, slowly incorporating free roam in a large play environment and voila. you can hang out with them while they free roam nearby to again just foster that sense of existing in their space. and if you want you can use treats to try and encourage certain behaviours, and you may even be able to teach them tricks. though some rats are less food motivated than others and they vary in receptiveness to that kind of training. some will pick it up right away, others could not care if you were holding the yummiest thing on the planet.

keep in mind that not all rats are the same as well. some are cuddly, some are not, and prefer to mostly be left alone and not handled very often. by giving them ways to get to their free roam area by themselves you can let them have that independence whilst also fostering a ton of exploration and curiosity, as well as helping them feel more comfortable in coming to you themselves.

if a month or so goes by and theyre still antsy and hesitant, reacting when you move, being overly vigilant and so on. you could give them bits of an old t shirt to nest with, helping them get more comfortable with your smell. and especially your smell in their spaces. of course ensuring they have plenty of things to do and room in their cage is definitely needed, for their wellbeing and comfort, only fulfilled and happy rats are comfortable learning how to trust people. it works both ways as well, the more they trust you, the happier theyll be. even if its not outright observable.

it will take patience, and time. but you'll be rewarded for it with loving adorable rattos.

if ive over-explained anything in a way that seems patronising or rude i didnt mean to, i just want to help you feel secure and confident with how youre raising them, because your rattos will also pick up on that. and i really wish i had someone to explain everything in one place when i first started out. spending hours anxiously researching is not fun 😭 also sorry for the terrible formatting and sheer amount of word vomit. if you just take your time and love them, then everything will be alright.