Handling a Rat

As part of this course you will have to handle your rat. Most commonly this will mean picking the rat up to move him from his home cage to a testing cage.

There are several ways of lifting a rat safely. The easiest way to do this is to gently, but firmly grasp the rat by placing your hand around his body, just behind his shoulders. Be careful not to squeeze too hard because this could interfer with the rat's breathing. Once you've got one hand around the rat, lift slowly and move the rat to the new location. Rats do not seem to enjoy dangling free in space, so many people place their other hand, or a forearm, under the rat's body to provide support.

As mentioned, there are other ways of lifting a rat. People with smallish hands often prefer to grasp the rat behind his shoulders using both hands. Another technique involves "forking" the rat's neck with the index and middle fingers while grasping behind the shoulders with the thumb and remaining fingers. The main thing is to find an approach that you feel comfortable with.