# Does anyone's else's rats live outside of a cage?



## Smilebud (Jul 31, 2012)

My boys haven't had a cage since I got them. They live on a desk that has a fabric mat on it. They come with me wherever I go, in the rat purse. I have a Double Ferret Nation, but I don't have it with me. They never jump off, and it has boxes and bags and toys to play with. I guess eventually when I expand my mischief I'll have no choice but to use it, unless I get a larger pigeonhole desk or one with shelves. I like just having them out. Still, the DFN was a gift and I'd hate to waste it.. 

Just wondering, does anyone else trust their rats to live like this? Rat Daddy has his houserats, but I don't think I've heard of anyone else.


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## MelancholyMarionette (May 5, 2015)

I'd love to have them like that but I don't know if I could. You never leave them home alone? I think I'd be a worrying mess whenever I slept or anything


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## Smilebud (Jul 31, 2012)

For short trips to the store, or if it's hot out I leave them at home. Otherwise they just chill in the rat purse! Work, resteraunts, the bus, friends houses. If I don't let them out they just sleep in the purse.

They have a fabric floor, and have a litter box so there's not much of a mess. Some tissue paper and the odd raisin end up on the floor but I can just clean it up, easy peasy.


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## Smilebud (Jul 31, 2012)

They don't come off the desk, for them there's no discernible floor after the edge. Once they flew into one of their boxes and ended up on the floor, but I woke up and put them back. I was thinking of making a plastic comb bumper so that didn't happen..


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## raindear (Mar 3, 2015)

I have cats, so I couldn't do that, but I would love to have my DCN connected to a play table like that that they could play on when I could supervise.


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## Smilebud (Jul 31, 2012)

This is what it looks like right now. If the messy boys hadn't spilled their food it'd be cleaner! 

The mat I have is folded over so they can run underneath it, they love their bag and the pizza pizza box has a few stale crusts in it. They love playing with bottle caps for some reason..


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## Amph (Apr 14, 2015)

My rat Freddy lives free... He has a double critter nation but the doors are always open 24/7. There is a large correx barrier to stop him getting onto my bed at night. I need the barrier because he kept waking me up during the first night by jumping all over my head and it allows me to cover my bed before hes able to climb up on it during the daytime. I have thought about selling the critter nation as it's kinda pointless now and buying a small cage just to contain the basics. I also considered modding my room a little but as I'm not a kid anymore.. I get the inner guilt of "it should look like a normal adult room" inside me that makes me hesitate... why do we have to grow up? ???


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## AdequateRat (Mar 12, 2015)

Smilebud said:


> This is what it looks like right now. If the messy boys hadn't spilled their food it'd be cleaner!
> 
> The mat I have is folded over so they can run underneath it, they love their bag and the pizza pizza box has a few stale crusts in it. They love playing with bottle caps for some reason..


I totally just got one of those paper bags with a gift!
It instantly went into the rat cage, my boys love it. Hahahaha!


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## Smilebud (Jul 31, 2012)

My mom gave it to me! All night I can hear it rustling


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## AdequateRat (Mar 12, 2015)

Also, when I had my mischief down to 4.. I had let them free range my room, for the most part.
But now my rat pack is at 8 (soon to be 9.. maybe 10 >_>) and half of the mischief are little and I don't trust them yet.. They stay in their CN + my extension me and my dad built for them, over night.

However, if I'm too lazy to put them away.. Some nights, I'll let them sleep on my recliner (covered in blankets) and they don't leave it because I have conditioned them to be even more fat/lazy than they naturally are.. So, it's pretty much like so so. 

When I'm not at work they're out 24/7. But I have a cat too, I feel like the rats would eat her. x) She's very nervous/panicky.


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## moonkissed (Dec 26, 2011)

My bedroom is like a rat room where they get to play outside of their cage most of the day. I have both boys & girls so the time is split between them. They pretty much just sleep in their cage. I put them away when I go to bed because they drive me crazy and I can't sleep lol But I am moving soon and they will have their own room.

I could never let my rats have free range of my home. I have 5 cats & a dog. So not a good idea. And I would be terrified that they would get injured or into something or somehow got out. No way I could keep them on a desk either. My rats are crazy and would get down lol

I strongly suggest you do NOT take your rats out with you to places where pets are not allowed. It is very disrespectful IMO to businesses, even if they do not know they are there. There are health code laws that don't allow them in those places and can get the business in trouble.


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## Mojojuju (Nov 15, 2014)

My girls broke out of their cage one night (I had neglected to fully latch one of the top doors and they nosed it open). We discovered this because, unlike a hamster or gerbil that would have fled, they both came into our room, climbed up on the bed, and woke us up with snuffles and kisses. Mommy! Daddy! Look what we did!

Hee hee. I wish I could let them free range, but they'd definitely chew up stuff they shouldn't. They're VERY chewy girls, and I don't know how to train them not to be. Plus, I am scared I would hurt them. 

Same reason I don't own a chihuahua, actually.


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## AdequateRat (Mar 12, 2015)

Mojojuju said:


> My girls broke out of their cage one night (I had neglected to fully latch one of the top doors and they nosed it open). We discovered this because, unlike a hamster or gerbil that would have fled, they both came into our room, climbed up on the bed, and woke us up with snuffles and kisses. Mommy! Daddy! Look what we did!
> 
> Hee hee. I wish I could let them free range, but they'd definitely chew up stuff they shouldn't. They're VERY chewy girls, and I don't know how to train them not to be. Plus, I am scared I would hurt them.
> 
> Same reason I don't own a chihuahua, actually.


Thant's super adorable!

My rats would get halfway and probably pass out because they're lazy men. x)


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## Smilebud (Jul 31, 2012)

moonkissed said:


> I strongly suggest you do NOT take your rats out with you to places where pets are not allowed. It is very disrespectful IMO to businesses, even if they do not know they are there. There are health code laws that don't allow them in those places and can get the business in trouble.


I have developed severe anxiety and depression since becoming homeless. Without my rats I can't function.. I can't even leave the room at the hotel we're staying at without them or being physically forced by my boyfriend. Going out, going to a resteraunts, going to work; I can't do it on my own. I can't even walk down the street. Today was the first time I've left in a week. My rats are Companion Animals and are afforded similar allowences as Guide Dogs.


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## Flicky (May 14, 2015)

I actually love that you take them everywhere and see them as Companions  I can only dream my crazy girls would let me do this with them haha!


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## moonkissed (Dec 26, 2011)

Smilebud said:


> I have developed severe anxiety and depression since becoming homeless. Without my rats I can't function.. I can't even leave the room at the hotel we're staying at without them or being physically forced by my boyfriend. Going out, going to a resteraunts, going to work; I can't do it on my own. I can't even walk down the street. Today was the first time I've left in a week. My rats are Companion Animals and are afforded similar allowences as Guide Dogs.


Sorry, we have much different laws regarding service animals in the US, you are lucky & it can be a touchy subject with people bringing their pets in public  I have a service dog & an ESA myself for severe anxiety & agoraphobia


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## Smilebud (Jul 31, 2012)

moonkissed said:


> Sorry, we have much different laws regarding service animals in the US, you are lucky & it can be a touchy subject with people bringing their pets in public
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I see we're in the same boat  some people get upset, which is why I mostly keep them tucked away. I always have a doctors note with me just in case! 

I can see why it would suck to be eating your steak and staring a a fat rat bum. Don't bring your average rats to no pet places! But you'll be surprised where they're allowed, here it's only restaurants where it's no pets.


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

This is old, but.. my rats just live in my room! It's the best. They've taken over an old loveseat in my room, which now smells awful so it's gotta go to the dump.


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## madihicks4 (Jul 2, 2014)

My rats, tend to be little shits. I have four but I only have 2 smaller cages so I would put the cages side by side and leave the doors open. Of course then my rats decided to fucking eat the wall. Oh and my one rat, Phoebe, will literally jump from all heights. They just don't do well outside cages.


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## Amph (Apr 14, 2015)

Fraido said:


> This is old, but.. my rats just live in my room! It's the best. They've taken over an old loveseat in my room, which now smells awful so it's gotta go to the dump.


You should have coverd it with a thick plastic sheet and then put fleece over the top.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

If you never trust your teenager to drive a car, they will never learn. If you don't trust your rat to live free range they won't ever learn how to. Some teens never do learn to drive a car and some rats seem to have trouble learning to free range non destructively... But many rats can become great house pets. 

Traveling outdoors is a bit trickier as most rats are agoraphobic. Again training makes a big difference, I can also see where a travel bag helps. The issue is that sooner or later you have to put your rats down to go potty if you travel a lot, that's where things can get really hairy. When you put your rat down in a busy Walmart parking lot, one of two things happens and one option is a lot less good than the other. But the right rats with the right training can make superb travel companions for people who are willing or need to put in the effort.


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## Smilebud (Jul 31, 2012)

Rat Daddy said:


> If you never trust your teenager to drive a car, they will never learn. If you don't trust your rat to live free range they won't ever learn how to. Some teens never do learn to drive a car and some rats seem to have trouble learning to free range non destructively... But many rats can become great house pets.
> 
> Traveling outdoors is a bit trickier as most rats are agoraphobic. Again training makes a big difference, I can also see where a travel bag helps. The issue is that sooner or later you have to put your rats down to go potty if you travel a lot, that's where things can get really hairy. When you put your rat down in a busy Walmart parking lot, one of two things happens and one option is a lot less good than the other. But the right rats with the right training can make superb travel companions for people who are willing or need to put in the effort.


The bag I used was lined, so they could go potty in there. Not the ideal situation, of course, so now I have a larger carrier that straps over my shoulder. It's still not perfect, but it'll do.


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## Smilebud (Jul 31, 2012)

Oh yeah, UPDATE: my boys now live in a Double Ferret Nation, we recently moved (yay not homeless anymore!) and it's not fair to the landlord to have rats running around or on a table. When we have our own place I'm going to set them up with a table again, but it'll then they're cage rats.


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## Amph (Apr 14, 2015)

That's great news


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

Amph said:


> Fraido said:
> 
> 
> > This is old, but.. my rats just live in my room! It's the best. They've taken over an old loveseat in my room, which now smells awful so it's gotta go to the dump.
> ...


Ehhhh, it was dumpworthy before they got into it. (They were literally in it, the back of the cushions were ripped off so they climbed right on in there and slept in the stuffing.) Just gotta get someone to help me take it to the dump!


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## JAnimal (Jul 23, 2014)

I'll go. Maybe I can find another chair for my cat to rip up. Then he may let me sit on his while I watch TV. Lol


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