# Make them stop!



## lildea (Feb 28, 2007)

To start off I have 4 rats currently............the first one I got is about 2 1/2 - 3 months old, and the rest are younger yet. My oldest one is a jumper! We constructed a playpen sort of thing out of cardboard so that we could put it on the floor, and the girls could run around without us having to worry about them getting away, except my precious little saphire jumps! She will come crawl on you, pretending to be sweet when really she is attempting to get close enough to the wall to jump. It is over a foot high and she even manages to jump up and over from the floor. We have tried telling her a stern "no!" every time she does it, and tap her on the nose, but you put her back on the floor and immediately she does it agian. Now the other ones are trying it too, and my next oldest Jade is able to jump up and out. Help me train my little bratty rats! :?


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## nerdchick (Feb 26, 2007)

Negative reinforcement doesn't exactly work well with rats. Try rewarding her for staying in the play pen, and when you see her about to jump, grab her and occupy her. Also, I've found that when my rats are really misbehaving I have to prove I'm the alpha rat. I flip them over and tickle them a bit. They get the idea all the while thinking "omg she's scritching my neck!". Hope that makes sense. If I'm babbling or you need clarification, just let me know.

-Caty


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## Night (Feb 23, 2007)

Yeah... hitting a rat isn't going to teach them anything, and it's rather cruel, even if you're just "tapping" their nose. You should NEVER use negative reinforcement with _any _animal.

Most playpens without some sort of top just aren't going to cut it - the rats WILL jump out or will endlessly try to find a way to, no matter what you do. Personally, I have a large Martin's Playpen (which comes with a top), and my rats love it. You can take a look at it here.


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## nerdchick (Feb 26, 2007)

Chelsey, you know a lot about rats, is my flipping method good or bad? My ratties don't seem to mind as they get kisses and it distracts them from whatever naughty thing they were doing. Just want your $.02 as I trust you.

-Caty


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## JennieLove (Jan 2, 2007)

Dang! $52-64 for a playpen! I can make one exactly like that for less than 30. I love making cages and stuff like that, Keeps me busy and watching my ratties enjoy what I made them makes me so happy. I'm sure you feel the same making your ratties hammocks and things Night


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## Night (Feb 23, 2007)

Caty, I guess it would work if you're sitting right there with your rats the entire time and watching them intently. When I use my playpen, I'm usually cleaning their cage or busy doing something else equally as occupying, so if my pen didn't have a top, I'd end up turning around to find the ratties all escaping  Besides the pen, my bedroom's rat-proofed, so they also get to run around in there (which is a huge space).

Jennie, thankfully someone near me was selling their large Martin's playpen, so I ended up only paying $40 for it, even though it was like new. I don't even want to know what the shipping price is for one of the pens  It'd probably make the total over $100.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

I have a Martins Playpen for some real escapees and jumpers but these are not normal rats. For normal rats a 1 foot high barrier is not a jump but a hop. 

Your best bet is to buy sheets of Corplast at Home Depot or a signage shop. Corplast is sold in a 2' width, and then you use zip ties and tie the walls together. I call this a corplast ratty corrall, and it can keep in all but the most determined. If your girl is one who climbs onto her human to jump out, then you will have to lie down in there instead. keep yourself low and your toys low so she has less chance to get out. There is no way to stop her from jumping, just as there is no way to stop them chewing, etc...natural ratty behaviours.


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