# My rat is always trying to escape



## rabidfangirl90 (Sep 13, 2011)

I have two pet rats, Marbles and Twiggy. Both two month old girls. I have a playpen set up for them, made of solid white foam board duct taped together, set on a flat sheet to protect the hardwood floors. I put them in there with some boxes, toys, food, water, and stuff to climb on, and then I go about doing my own business. I sit next to them in the living room while they play to monitor them. Recently, Twiggy has started to do this thing where she launches herself at the playpen wall, splats against and slides down, only to try again and again.

I assume this means that she wants to play with me, so I take her out to play with her, but when i get her in my arms, she seems genuinely disinterested in me, instead crawling over my desk and trying to get to the floor. I don't allow them to get to the floor because it is impossible for me to rat-proof this room, and I am paranoid that she'll get hurt or get stuck somewhere where I cannot get to her. 

When she isn't jumping at the playpen walls, she's pulling at the sheet at the corners of the playpen to get to the hardwood floor, or, I assume, to try and escape.

I am extremely frustrated and upset when she does this; it makes me feel like she isn't happy. Can anyone please try to give some sort of insight into this behavior?


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## 1a1a (May 6, 2011)

They can be determined little buggers when they want to get some where. I have a girl who has been known to rip fibers out of the carpet by the doorway in the lounge room in an attempt to leave. In her case, it was because she was scared (I think) and wanted to get back to her cage. I fixed this by putting her down on the ground for free range inside her cage, then leaving the door of the cage open. She could leave and explore on her own terms and was generally much less up tight as a result.

They also get bored of spaces quickly (mine get bored of the lounge room or my bedroom with all it's nooks and crannies so imagine how quick they'd get bored of a playpen). Two solutions, sit in the play pen with them and engage their attention, rearrange what ever is in it and or try changing up free range locations a bit, I for one have become a bit of a fan of the bathroom free range.


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