# How high (or low) are rats willing to jump?



## Topple (Jan 11, 2018)

Not sure where to post this, exactly. Hope this is the right place!

I have been taking my rats out for free-range in my "storage room" which is really just a closet that I use to keep a lot of cardboard boxes and empty bottles. It is a lot of effort to empty it out and take them in and then store it back up.

So, I've been thinking about taking them out in the main room of my apartment. I have two options.

One is a cardboard pen (made of those poster boards used for science fairs, if you know what I mean) and it is maybe 2 feet tall at maximum. If I take them out how likely is it that they will jump over a wall that high or lift up the cardboard and escape? Obviously I will be watching them the entire time so if it an escape that takes a few minutes to accomplish I figure I will see it and be able to stop them. They are quite cowardly rats, so I think it might be safe, but I don't want one to escape and then have to chase them around the apartment for hours to get them back into the cage.

My other option is to lay blankets on my huge counter-height table (maybe 2.5 feet off the ground) and interact with them that way. Will rats jump down from that height? In an unfamiliar area?

I'm hesitant only because my room is NOT rat-proof (I live in small apartment, and this is my main living space) so there are wires plugged into the wall everywhere, a couch with a zipper-back they could probably fit inside, etc.

I do want to be able to take them out for play time with less effort because I can't find the time every single day to clear out the storage room and take them inside. And I know they need to come out more often than every few days. I'm just struggling with the balance of ease/safety at the moment!

Any input is appreciated


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## Steffy (Oct 6, 2017)

I'd start with the table just because it involves less effort on your side. My two are quite used to running on the kitchen counter and very reluctant to jump off - one of them would actually not do it at all, the other only if she has found something precious that needs stashing immediately and she cannot possibly wait for me to give her a lift down, otherwise she would wait for my hand to lower her safely to the ground. 

If the area is not familiar to them, they will not jump. You'll have to watch them - they may do something clumsy or have a scuffle and fall off, though. They may become braver and curious and inventive with time and find a way down (chairs in the vicinity, back rests of chairs, anything near the table), so you can't leave them unattended. 

Could you install shelves in your store room for the boxes and other thins that are in there so you won't have to move them for the rats every time?


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## Shadow <3 (Jan 25, 2017)

Rats are quite good at jumping, and I've had rats clear 3 feet pretty easily. If your rats want out, 2 feet is definitely not going to stop them from leaping out of the playpen.


That being said, I myself use a cardboard playpen and I used to deal with all the issues of trying to keep my rats inside. But a few months back, I was able to train my rats to actually stay inside their playpen and tell me when they are done playing! This was pretty easy to do, and something I really wished I thought of early on (when my older girl berry, who I swear is the rat Houdini, managed to dig, chew, and jump her way out of any enclosure!).


Anyway, to train this is pretty simple. My goal was to teach my rats that when they want out of the playpen, they just needed to jump onto my shoulder and I would transport them out. So to do this, I first used food to get them used to jumping onto my shoulder. After doing this a few times, they started jumping onto my shoulder for treats all on their own. At this point, I began to put them back into their cage for 30 or so seconds each time they jumped up (still giving them a treat first). After 30 seconds, I took them right back out again. Over the next 2 days, I began to progressively put them back for longer and longer periods of time. This training combined with proper prevention (if a rat jumps out even once, they are 100 times more likely to try again and believe me when I say that rats never forget how they were able to escape in the past!) has resulted in mutual communication that makes free-range much more relaxing for me.


Now my girls are very reliable in the playpen, and as long as I'm sitting in it they will always jump onto my shoulder when they want out. No more digging, jumping, chewing, or any of the other behaviors I used to deal with! Its really great - and not only do I love this communication method, but the rats do as well! I've noticed that my less confident girls have become much more confident in the area itself, as well as much friendlier towards me ever since I implemented this method. 




Anyway, sorry for that tangent. But if you plan on using a cardboard playpen like I do, I really think training your rats to stay inside is one of the best things you can do to make free-range time more fun for both you and the rats.




As for the table, its a similar deal. As long as the rats never fall/jump down once, your good. But if they every fall or decide to try jumping down once and end up relatively unharmed, from then on they will know its okay to jump down and it will be difficult to stop them from constantly trying to do so (personal experience with free-ranging rats on a bed, table, and couch speaking here - once they find a way down, they never forget it).


But as someone who free-ranges her rats in a room that is anything but rat safe, I can say that using a playpen has worked just fine for me. Even before I taught my girls to stay inside it, I rarely ever had one escape before I caught them and even if they did, catching them usually only took a minute or so. Now that my girls have this way of communicating with me and now that they all have a pretty good come when called, escapes have dwindled to zero (seriously, the rats don't even try anymore!)


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## Phoene (Dec 21, 2017)

I think that after a few tries they could jump two feet, but like when my Phoebe jumped up onto the gate, they probably would then try to figure out if they should jump down. As for the table, I think that you would be safe their unless they fall off accidentally and learn that jumping down is not scary. Often I take my rats on the couch which is about a foot from the ground and though Lark has thought about jumping I can get her to stop my disturbing a pillow (which is very scary) and making her run back to me for safety.


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## Mizzely (Sep 4, 2012)

I use a cardboard pen made from the display boards. They are 3 feet tall and my rats are unable to jump it from the floor. Stark I know can jump 2 feet from a standstill if he wants to, so I just keep stuff away from the edges so he can't get height. 

The only time I've had one be able to wiggle under it was when I had a portion running partially on a rug and partially on my laminate floor. The unlevel surface made just a big enough spot for Parker to wiggle his nose under.Otherwise, I've been using it for a month with no escapees.


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## Topple (Jan 11, 2018)

These are all super-helpful responses!

I think my plan going forward is to just empty out my storage room (Steffy - your comment about using shelves made me actually think about it for the first time, and realize that most of the stuff I keep in there is garbage and not worth keeping. I've just been too lazy up until now. I should take a few hours to recycle the cardboard and bottles and then we will have a really convenient place to play) and then use that for a little while.

And Shadow! That sounds really useful as a way to be able to use the playpen with low-effort, and that definitely sounds like an ideal situation. I've never taught my rats anything before but I think it might be worth trying. Not sure how long it will take, which is why I'll stick to the storage room for the near future while I try to teach them, but as soon as they seem to be picking it up I will move them to the playpen in the main room.


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## Zindi (Jan 6, 2017)

My rats are good jumpers but are afraid of heights, i regulary set them free on the bed and they don't want to jump, i had 2 occasions of falling rats, both from the same, his eyes are red and his vision is not crystal clear, once he fell from my lap because he was just neutered and still high off his a** on sleeping gas so walked right off my lap without thinking twice, his legs were slipping away so i picked him up and closed him in his carrying box, after a good sleep he was fine.
Another timke he misjudged the distance he wanted to jump from my shoulder (i was sitting) to his cage and basicaly landed between the 2 in a spread eagle pose ending up on the carrying box, again he was uninjured.
So i doubt they woul jump WILLINGLY but if they misjudge the height or length of the jump they might give it a try.


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## Topple (Jan 11, 2018)

Thanks! I find the rats really hard to read - they almost constantly look ready to jump, but so far, never have (except within the cage where they know the layout really well)

I've gone back to the storage closet for now just to ease my own anxiety because I know they can't escape it. But I think once they are more comfortable with me and being picked up, I'll try a table top or a bed or couch. At least then if one falls and then bolts, I'll be able to catch him a little bit easier!


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