# Cage Climbing=Safe?



## splinter90 (Apr 7, 2015)

Sabrina started getting bored and pulling up the fleece again, so I took her out and put her on an exercise wheel we bought that won't fit in the cage. I figured since she was bored, she would just run on the wheel and be happy (she liked to run on one in the store). Instead, though, she got out of the wheel and started climbing down the sides of the cage, and me being me, I basically had an anxiety attack (I'm prone to those), caught her, and put her back in the cage. She was, seriously, screaming at me when I did. I tried to apologize to her by offering her granola as a treat, but she just wasn't going for it. I'm worried I may be back to square one with her as far as trust training goes. 
Should be I worried if she tries to do this again?


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## Sabatea (Aug 23, 2014)

My rats climb the cage all the time. I just leave a door open so they can crawl back in and go down to the bottom safer. Neera had an ear infection a few months ago that threw off her balance, but she has no problems climbing the cage. :3


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## splinter90 (Apr 7, 2015)

Really? I was freaking out cause I was worried about her getting stuck in between the cage and the wall. I just got done holding her, though, and after some hugging and cuddles, she seemed a lot better. But then I put Sabrina back in the cage and offered her some granola as a treat, she stuck her nose up in the air, went to down the first level, dove in the ball pit, and then popped back out with a piece of granola in her mouth. Not sure if that means she's mad at me or not.


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## Grotesque (Mar 19, 2014)

HaHa When I open the cage doors, the first thing mine do is spring out and climb all over the cage. The only one I am careful with is Chai. She is prone to walking straight off the edge of the top of the cage because she's pretty much blind and WAY too trusting that someone will catch her. 

She never holds on to anything. She just assumes your hand will cradle her when she decides to let go.

Everyone else, though... no problem with cage climbing! Rats are expert climbers.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

When Fuzzy Rat grew too many tumors to climb down off my desk, she would walk to the edge and just roll off it, letting herself fall to the floor... she was over 2 years old and in my opinion pretty frail... That didn't stop her from dragging herself to her secret nesting places by her front paws. Rats do what they want to do because they are very determined animals. They take risks. "In nature" they live in the most dangerous places on earth...

Now if you wonder why this sick, tired old rat would risk injury letting herself fall to the floor... 











consider this was her when she was younger... tree top and no hands...









Rats will be rats... and yes it was just a little bit disconcerting when she let go of the branch with her forepaws and started preening on a breezy day. As in "Look daddy, No HANDS!" I'm pretty sure I was holding the camera so steady because my heart had already stopped beating.

Rats are born acrobats, I can't say you ever get used to it, but sometimes you have to let them be who they are.

Best luck.


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## Kuildeous (Dec 26, 2014)

Yeah, I've stopped worrying about my rats climbing the outside of the cage. If the cage was on the floor, I may be more concerned that a rat would be loose in my nonratproofed home, but they've shown an unwillingness to risk jumping the one-foot gap between the DCN and the floor. 

On the other hand, they love to climb up top and wander around the items I have stored on top of the cage. I even have a starter cage up there that I leave open so they can go in there and wander. I really should make that cage more interesting for them.

But when the top of the cage isn't interesting enough, they'll climb the outside, including the gap between the cage and the wall. I generally discourage them from getting too far down the backside by shaking my Cheerios. They know that when all three are in the cage, I give them treats, so they scrabble back up top and then climb back into the cage when I shake the box. 

We did witness one rat trying a daring move. She climbed to the top of the starter cage on top of the DCN. All of a sudden, she launched herself at the wall, bounced off, and caught herself on the cage bars as she fell. The only thing we could figure that happened was that she saw the shadow of the cage on the wall. With her poor eyesight, she thought it was another ledge that was within reach. I'm sure it was a valuable lesson for her.


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## splinter90 (Apr 7, 2015)

Thanks for all the advice. I've pretty much mellowed out about this whole issue, and last night I let Sabrina out again, so she could climb the cage if she wanted to. I made sure to watch her carefully and I tried to be ready in case she fell, but it went great. She climbed down and around and went back inside her cage. I've learned to trust her so much more now, although I don't think I've be letting her climb any trees too soon. Especially considering the ones in my front yard are palm trees >.<
Thanks again!


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

I've had a couple of rats that were good tree climbers, but yes, in general Fuzzy Rat was pretty extreme, she always went for the top and the thinnest branch she could find.

She was pretty much the exception that proved the rule and after living a life with her, even I sometimes wonder, in retrospect, why she never got herself killed. For most people, I post the pics because rats are more than just little fur balls, they are actually very competent animals with abilities that go well beyond the average cage pet. I encourage people to help their rats become more competent and outgoing, but that doesn't necessarily mean they should put their rats in harms way. We actually tried to keep things under control and safe, but Fuzzy Rat had a way of manipulating any situation into an extreme adventure... Finally we pretty much gave up trying... She never tried anything she couldn't actually pull off.


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## Grotesque (Mar 19, 2014)

Rat Daddy said:


> I've had a couple of rats that were good tree climbers, but yes, in general Fuzzy Rat was pretty extreme, she always went for the top and the thinnest branch she could find.
> 
> She was pretty much the exception that proved the rule and after living a life with her, even I sometimes wonder, in retrospect, why she never got herself killed. For most people, I post the pics because rats are more than just little fur balls, they are actually very competent animals with abilities that go well beyond the average cage pet. I encourage people to help their rats become more competent and outgoing, but that doesn't necessarily mean they should put their rats in harms way. We actually tried to keep things under control and safe, but Fuzzy Rat had a way of manipulating any situation into an extreme adventure... Finally we pretty much gave up trying... She never tried anything she couldn't actually pull off.


Great way of putting it, Rat Daddy.


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## splinter90 (Apr 7, 2015)

I think Fuzzy Rat might have been something an extremist. Lol. Kiki just enjoyed her first climb around the cage. It lasted for nearly twenty minutes. She seemed quite unhappy with the fact that there wasn't the same amount of distance between the cage and the walls of the room it's in on both sides. I could practically see her calculating it inside her teeny rat head. She's so smart! <3


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## LittleBird (Jun 22, 2014)

My girls love climbing around on the top of their cage too. Most of them, I don't worry about, but I do have one klutzy rat, Anya, who's fallen more than once. I plan to devise some sort of barrier around the edges of the top of the cage and then put some interesting play things up there. I'm hoping that will keep them occupied and keep their minds off trying to pretend they're spider man and going down the back of the cage head first.


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