# Why are my rats scared of these things?



## lmhwaitress327 (Jun 26, 2008)

The cage that I bought them had a hammock in it, and they never use it, Ive moved it close to the top story so they can crawl into it but they still wont go in it..why? Also I recently bought my girls a wheel and put it on the second floor of their cage and they are so scared of it. They stand super still and then run away from it really fast. Actually My baby Trouble has tried to bite it a few times and when she gets nowhere she runs away from it so fast. I cant figure out what to do to get them to use the wheel or the hammock, any ideas?


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## A1APassion (Jul 29, 2007)

some rats don't care for hammocks

try baiting it with something yummy & leave them to figure out how to get the treats

you could also hang it over a level so that it touches the floor when they get in it

rats tend to panic a bit when they don't have all feet planted firmly on the ground when moving over unfamiliar territory... they will pace back & forth edging more & more onto the new area until they get to a point where they know they can do a 'hail mary' leap of faith to the other side in the event that the floor goes poof on them

the wheel... maybe it is a type that they don't like... my girls love a wheel but there are some wheels we have had that ended up being turned into hidey-houses because they wouldn't run them


what type of wheel is it?


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## lovinmyworm (Feb 18, 2008)

My rats all dislike the wheel. They used it when they were little, but have since abandoned it for the most part. Every now and then I catch one of them sleeping in it and Eva stashes food behind it, but that's about it. Hammocks take some time to get use to. I bribed my rats into theirs by making the hammock touch the floor, putting a treat in the hammock, and then putting their igloo onto the hammock. They finally decided to try it, and I slowly every week or so moved it up so it wasn't touching anymore and they started using it. Now they are use to walking on the hammocks so they get into all of them. Just takes time.


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## lmhwaitress327 (Jun 26, 2008)

Its a purple plastic wheel. And that sounds like a good idea, to put the hammock over a floor.


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## Forensic (Apr 12, 2007)

They all probably smell funny... eventually they will get used to them.


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## Nezumi (Jul 12, 2008)

My rats love their hammock. They never did use the wheel though. I don't think they understood what to do with it, or didn't really care. Give them some time and see if they get used to it or stop being afraid to be near the wheel.  I took the wheel out because my boys never did anything but sit and eat in it once in a while.


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## KayRatz (Apr 5, 2007)

how big's your wheel?

My rats LOVE their wheel.


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## Nezumi (Jul 12, 2008)

My rats have a yellow metal wheel that is about 10 inches across. It's wide enough for one rat to sit on comfortably. My Pustulio only used it once to sit and eat a sunflower seed.


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## KayRatz (Apr 5, 2007)

Not you, the original poster XD


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## Nezumi (Jul 12, 2008)

KayRatz said:


> Not you, the original poster XD


^^; Sorry.


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