Tips on Handling Your Rat Here are some pictures showing how we hold and handle our rats. When your sitting, you can just gently hold your rat on your stomach. When holding your rats it is always good to hold them close to your body. This makes your rats feel more secure. If you have a skittish unsocialized rat, it is best to keep a solid grip on them when carrying them around so that they don't get spooked and fall to the floor. The classic shoulder perch. This is your rats' favorite way to travel. Very young rats, elderly rats, and rats that are sick should not be carried around on your shoulder as they will be too weak to keep a good grip and could fall. This is the preferred way that we like to carry our rats around. This is an extremely secure hold to immobilize your rat for whatever reason, such as trimming nails. Notice how I have both the hands and feet pinned. The more your rats are handled, the more mellow they become. Here, Baku sleeps in the crook of my arm. A very well handled and socialized rat will even feel relaxed enough to lay on their back for you, although this is the hardest to accomplish as it takes total trust from your rat.