# My rats chew EVERYTHING



## gingerspice (Oct 29, 2015)

My 1 year-old boys, Lucifer and Jasper, chew on everything!!! My partner and I give them things to chew on & help wear down their teeth (toilet paper rolls/paper towel rolls, pieces of cardboard, rope, wood sticks from the pet store, etc) but apparently that's not good enough for them! Lol. I've had to replace my laptop charger and phone charger cord 3 times since getting them, pretty much every other electrical cord in our apartment is chewed up, they've eaten the corners off of our carpet, they chew on the corners of our walls, and now they've wreaked havoc on our duvet cover! I want to buy a new cover as there are several holes all over the blanket and feathers are starting to come out of it but I don't want to spend $100+ on a new cover every couple months! Do any of you have any tips on how to get them to stop chewing on all of our expensive things? Maybe different options of "chew toys" or rat-proofing? This is my first time owning rats and although I've read up on what goes into having pet rats, I'm sure I'm missing some of the expertise you guys have. Thanks in advance!


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Rats chew stuff, there's not much you can do about it besides rat proofing. Protect your electrical cords, and anything else that is valuable. Maybe do a rat playpen? Rats don't need chew toys to wear down their teeth- they wear down their teeth by bruxing. Rats are attracted to electrical cords, they can actually "hear" electromagnetic fields.


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## gingerspice (Oct 29, 2015)

Okay, would wrapping the cords in electrical tape help at all? Is there any other way I can protect them?


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Can you put the cords out of their way at all? Wrapping them in tape won't help- they will still chew them.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

You could try cord covers but if they are made out of plastic, rats can chew them. However, that could still work if it distracts them from the buzzing they hear from the cords...unlikely. I haven't tried those. I just put ALL my cords away. You could try to turn off your stuff, might work- never tried.


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## GijitsMom (Jun 11, 2015)

If you are unable to place the cords out of their reach here are some ideas you can try: 

Find a long PVC pipe just wide enough to thread the cord through. We have even used the PVC elbows so we can run it up to the outlet. Works well for computer and cell phone chargers.

Another option is to tape the cord up your wall and down to the outlet. That way it doesn't touch the floor where they can get to it. Must admit it is not aesthetically pretty, but it does work.

These are just suggestions. Good luck.


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## JAnimal (Jul 23, 2014)

This won't help your problem but it is a fact; rat actually wear down their own teeth by grinding them. They still love to chew though. I put cardboard in front of the wires when I take mine out.


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## gingerspice (Oct 29, 2015)

I can put away the cords, but they chew on so much more than that. They've recently been chewing the corners of every wall in my apartment, every door, even our carpet!


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## Katrianah (Apr 13, 2016)

As others have said rats chew. It's part of owning rats. With that said, if they're chewing all the time, non-stop you may have a bordom issue causing them to take it to an extreme even for rats. Are they getting plenty of mental stimulation?


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

gingerspice said:


> I can put away the cords, but they chew on so much more than that. They've recently been chewing the corners of every wall in my apartment, every door, even our carpet!


Ooh boy, those rats are NOT fun. These little "monsters" make you get very creative and they always are one step ahead of you  Bitter sprays taste wonderful, hot sauce is delicious on floor boards LOL


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## BlackAce (Apr 18, 2013)

lilspaz68 said:


> Ooh boy, those rats are NOT fun. These little "monsters" make you get very creative and they always are one step ahead of you  Bitter sprays taste wonderful, hot sauce is delicious on floor boards LOL


And getting spritzed with the water is a fun opportunity to take a bath 

But to the OP, it might be something to try if your rats aren't too fond of water. Spritz them with a spray bottle of water, I've heard that it's worked well for others.


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