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Pet Forum / Mammals / Rats / January 2004free ratty
do most of you all let your rats run free on occaision? i did for a while but started finding headphone, telephone, stereo, etc cables with little chomps removed from them. what's the word - do they need it? their cage is an old 6' booshelf with a chicken wire door. just the two of 'em. > do most of you all let your rats run free on occaision? > i did for a while but started finding headphone, telephone, stereo, etc > cables with little chomps removed from them. > what's the word - do they need it? > their cage is an old 6' booshelf with a chicken wire door. > just the two of 'em. I do let mine have free range of my living room and dining room but everything is rat proofed, no exposed wires for them to find. lol  SignatureJoanne Mom to 14 rats http://community.webshots.com/user/joanneb70 j-s.b@nospamsympatico.ca remove "no spam" >> do most of you all let your rats run free on occaision? >> i did for a while but started finding headphone, telephone, stereo, etc [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >I do let mine have free range of my living room and dining room but >everything is rat proofed, no exposed wires for them to find. lol We cover the top of my bed with an old comforter (most of the time...sometimes just let them out without it to chew up my sheets and pillowcases <g>) and then put their cage up there, too, so they can get back in whenever they want for food, water, bathroom use, etc. We put a piece of wood from the bed as a bridge to one nightstand, and from there they can get over to my chest of drawers also, where there's an old desert diorama of my daughter's they love to climb about it in. I do have to remember to put the clock radios down off the nightstands, because they started to chew on the cords, just like you said. I also put an old travel cage on the bed and some little boxes and cover that all over with an old sheet, which is really their favorite thing to do, go tunneling through all that. When I go to clean up, I just gather everything up in the old comforter in a bunch, and that's how I store it all. If you can't ratproof an area from electrical cords, especially, you can make or buy playpens, cover a couch and let them run about, etc. I think it really is good to let them out occasionally (once a day, if possible, for an hour at least, though ours are out a good deal more than that usually) to be able to actually get a good "run" going and for the stimulation and change of scenery. SignatureMariette i'll just have to rat-proof the basement area where my office is. i used to let them run free all day while i work and they seemed to really enjoy scurrying around. both would eventually climb up my pants leg and run across my keyboard screwing up the computer code i'd be working on. thank microsoft for the undo key. >i'll just have to rat-proof the basement area where my office is. >i used to let them run free all day while i work and they seemed to really >enjoy scurrying around. both would eventually climb up my pants leg and run >across my keyboard screwing up the computer code i'd be working on. thank >microsoft for the undo key. Isn't it so sweet how when they're out, they mainly often just want to get back to you? We have one guy who's "escaped" a couple of times who isn't that way, unfortunately, but the other two just seem to be looking around trying to find out where we are and have run across my feet while I'm sitting at the computer, and so on. Just love 'em so much. :) SignatureMariette Before we had this last litter, we had 4 girls...Bells, Rocky, Dakota and Sparkles. We always let them loose in my sons room. The kids would have so much fun with them because the ratties would actually "chase" them....it was kindof hard to walk in the room because they always were at your feet. If you would lay or sit to watch tv...they always were climbing on you..they NEVER went to hide....they were the most social rats I've ever had. We also let them on the beds and couches....they would use the dogs to get down from the couch....belle would like to explore a bit, but when I'd call her....here she comes up the steps from downstairs! she was so well trained......I miss them. The crew we have now is not quite as trained. One of the reasons is there is too many of them....They don't get as much one on one attention like the others did. Although I love all my ratties, I will never breed again. I just don't have the time to give them all the attention they need. Sue > >i'll just have to rat-proof the basement area where my office is. > >i used to let them run free all day while i work and they seemed to really [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > Just love 'em so much. :) I can't even begin to number to wires for stereos, mics, etc. that Sam has chewed through. He really really loves a good mouse wire...silly rat. He'll sit on the mouse pad and munch away if I don't stop him. Sam and Lester both just love to "play computer" with Mommy and I could care less about the weeing on my keyboard.......it cleans, kinda. Anyway, other than either buying the wire keeper things or blocking wires off some other way, I dont' know how to stop them from chewing. I've noticed that Sam isn't interested in any of the higher voltage wires...guess he senses the difference. Lester has never attempted to chew a wire...no food, no chew. That's my Les. Nonetheless, we let them out for an hour in the morning and and hour in the evening at least. They have full run of the living room and kitchen. The boys have their individual cache places for food, and will steal from each other like there's no tomorrow. I love to just watch them play "food swap." I couldn't imagine having them out less, but they do well when they have shorter, more frequent spans of time out of their house. I'm sure that varies from rattie to rattie though. Jamie > Before we had this last litter, we had 4 girls...Bells, Rocky, Dakota and > Sparkles. We always let them loose in my sons room. The kids would have so [quoted text clipped - 32 lines] > > -- > > Mariette Its funny you should say about the amount of time you have your Rats out roaming for.... When I let our lot out to invade the place they all head for under the couch or work out the shortest, quickest way back to their house...:( I envy those who have cuddly adventurous Ratties..:)) Regards Kate SignatureToday I may meet with injustice, ignorance, denial, all of which are due entirely to the other,s lack of knowledge of good and evil and the difference thereof. > I can't even begin to number to wires for stereos, mics, etc. that Sam has > chewed through. He really really loves a good mouse wire...silly rat. He'll [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > > Before we had this last litter, we had 4 girls...Bells, Rocky, Dakota and > > Sparkles. We always let them loose in my sons room. The kids would have > so > > much fun with them because the ratties would actually "chase" them....it [quoted text clipped - 36 lines] > > > -- > > > Mariette > >i'll just have to rat-proof the basement area where my office is. > >i used to let them run free all day while i work and they seemed to really [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > Just love 'em so much. :) yes, they are mighty cute. we have one that always seems to find the best hiding places. a few times we wrote him off as lost or escaped, but once things quiet down she gives herself away with little scratching sounds and the dog hunts her down. BTW - the dog loves em. thinks they're her pups. Florence has the run of the house 24/7 now; it gets easier as they get older. They get less active, sleep more, less interested in chewing stuff, less likely to explore behing cupboards and slower so easier not to tread on them. Cheers, Robin > do most of you all let your rats run free on occaision? There have been 1 or 2 rats we have had that we have let roam free for hours on end, but the majority have supervised visits outside the cage :g: I don't trust our current ratties enough yet to let them out unnattended. > i did for a while but started finding headphone, telephone, stereo, > etc cables with little chomps removed from them. Heh, you should have seen what happened when our gerbils escaped a few years back - I found a mobile phone charger cord in several pieces, clothing, carpeting, bedding, the lot all had little gerbil chew marks ;) If any of our ratties chew anything they are not supposed to, I tap them on their nose and loudly say "Bad Rattie" which works well with some of them, but not others. > what's the word - do they need it? Free ranging is quite good for them as they love to explore and tunnel from what I have seen :) > their cage is an old 6' booshelf with a chicken wire door. > just the two of 'em. Wow :) Seems quite groovy :) Do you have any pics online? We are currently trying to see if our latest rattie Myst will be friendly enough to be let out. Oooh, and Annabelle [my favourite rattie who passed years ago] used to love being thrown [not hard or too far!] from me to my partners' shoulder - Annabelle would run down her arm, come to my foot and wait to be picked up for it to happen again :g: She was the most social rat we ever had :g: We tried it as our old housemate had said that her dad used to do something similar except he would gently toss them towards the velvet curtains - the rattie would cling on, run to the top, run along the rail, find his way down and go back to her dad :g: [their whole family kept ratties! Rawr!] Basically - if you can rat-proof your room for cables etc [wireless keyboard and mouse are a godsend :g:] - you could always use trunking etc - then I would say "go for it". But rat-proofing is a must :g: Oh, and try and train them to use a litter tray/area. I know a few people who have managed it to make sure they don't find "little presents" about the place ;) Okay, I will shush now as I have rambled on for faaaaar too long :) Jon "mcnewsxp" <mcourter@mindspring.com> wrote in news:RLeRb.26564$i4.12905 @newsread1.news.atl.earthlink.net: > do most of you all let your rats run free on occaision? > i did for a while but started finding headphone, telephone, stereo, etc > cables with little chomps removed from them. > what's the word - do they need it? > their cage is an old 6' booshelf with a chicken wire door. > just the two of 'em. The odd thing is that we let ours roam the bedroom. We have a PC, Stereo (with long speaker cables) and sundry bits & Pieces, but they appear to never chew cables. I find this remarkable given our furry friend's reputation for doing so. Maybe I'm speaking too soon - or maybe they're reading this post from a distance, and getting ideas. Mind you, we do have an issue with cigarettes, antacid tablets, matches, duvet covers (the more expensive the better, it seems), actual duvets, socks, underpants, cups of tea, printer paper, newspapers etc.... And then there's the "let's see if we can pull that piece of material into the cage" game. SignatureRegards, Dave dave_ryman@hotmailNOSPAM.com http://welcome.to/daves.website http://travel.to/formula.one > what's the word - do they need it? The first time you see ratties running around, jumping up with all 4 feet in the air like lambs on a spring day, you know they need it! My rats cage is on a big table. First thing I do when I get up in the morning is opening their cage so they can run around on the table. Same when I come home at night. And then almost every night I take them on the sofa, i just throw an old cover over and we have a great time! They run around at first and then go to sleep by my side. They can be there for hours without a poop or a dribble. Klary How wonderful the cover idea has worked for you..:) We use to throw a very large sheet over the sofa but these sneaks use to pull the edge up enough so they could then get under it, chew their way through and into the sofa..:(( Wasn't such a major problem until we bought our new Lounge Suite and tried the same thing... They did the same thing..:(( they also never stayed on the sofa..they would line up and jump off onto the floor then under the sofa and up into it again..LOL. A very expensive lesson..:( I would love a Rattie to fall asleep by me but I guess they just prefer their own house for that... Regards Kate SignatureToday I may meet with injustice, ignorance, denial, all of which are due entirely to the other,s lack of knowledge of good and evil and the difference thereof. > > what's the word - do they need it? > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > Klary > How wonderful the cover idea has worked for you..:) > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > Regards Kate Yep, tried the cover thing too. Once I put it on, it seems the ratties get all excited and figures it's a new playland... they all scurry underneath and play peek a boo with me as I scold them... it seems "get out of there" is actually "peek a boo" in rattie language. LOL My 18 months old boys will just crawl up the couch and lay next to me and have a nap. I just love that, look over and see one squished on a the couch. Talk about putting a woman in kissing mode... "aw, sweetie is going to have a nap? aw, mommy kiss sweetie...LOL SignatureJoanne Mom to 14 rats http://community.webshots.com/user/joanneb70 j-s.b@nospamsympatico.ca remove "no spam" > How wonderful the cover idea has worked for you..:) > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > Regards Kate I do have to stay with them all the time when they are on the sofa, otherwise they tend to gnaw their way through everything as well! Also, for extended rattie out-time I dress up (well, down actually) in some very old jogging pants or my old bathrobe. Then I don't have to worry about them chewing up my clothes, which they love to do! klary yeah, my husband STILL hasn't learned his lesson with clothes. We've had to buy at least 4 new pairs of jeans for him since we've had the boys. He gets kinda upset, but I tell him he brings it on himself. Oh well. Sam used to love getting in the couch, but we found this couch cover that is stretchable velvet.......it wraps the couch in elastic basically. Sam still chews on it, in the corners, but he hasn't been inside the couch in forever. I found it online at Linensource.com. I highly recommend it. Lately, Sam has really enjoyed sitting on mommy's shoulder or preferably on her chest and taking a bath. Or if he's sleepy, he'll curl up around my neck and hair to snooze. Its sooooooooooooooooooooo cute. I'll sit there for hours for him. The boys trained themselves to poop in the litter pan in their house, and that's the only place they will go. Of course, they prefer us or some favorite item to wee on if they are out. It really doesn't bother me though. I feel like they are just claiming me as theirs! And what rat parent doesn't get warm fuzzies from that thought? Jamie > > How wonderful the cover idea has worked for you..:) > > [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > > klary > yeah, my husband STILL hasn't learned his lesson with clothes. We've had to > buy at least 4 new pairs of jeans for him since we've had the boys. He gets [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > get warm fuzzies from that thought? > Jamie Your little guys sound darling...yep, I don't mind the lovely pee sprinkles on me. lol SignatureJoanne Mom to 14 rats http://community.webshots.com/user/joanneb70 j-s.b@nospamsympatico.ca remove "no spam" |
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