# Constantly eating carpet during free range time..



## KennaBoo (Sep 22, 2015)

Hello everyone! I was just wondering what some of you may have done to "rat proof" your house or a specific room.

I own two cats and two (big) dogs so when I bring my rattie out to play for free range time I keep her in my room (with the doors shut and the other animals outside of the room, of course). However there's way too much stuff in my room for her to have full free range of it, if I did I'd probably lose her for a few days! So I bought some big packing boxes at Walmart for about a dollar each, duct taped them together, and set them up in a corner of my room where her cage is near (it's the only corner of my room that has open space, 2 of the other corners have my bed and night stands against them, and the other has a big stand with my TV on it), I mention this to add that it's basically the only place in my room that I can put the box up, cause the other corners are used and it's kind of a cluttered and small room until we downsize our bed. 

Anywho, I put the DIY play pen I made against the walls in the open corner (which is against my door that leads to the hallway), she tries to squeeze herself underneath the crack of the door to get out of my room but I'm pretty sure it's just too small for her because she can barely even squeeze half of her head through the crack. Now that she's figured out she could escape through there if she could fit under it, she goes to each corner of where the door ends and rips up the carpet.. One of the sides, she has ripped up the carpet a bit and is eating white stuff under it (which scares me senseless because I don't want her eating anything harmful or getting sick) and the other side of the door she's ripped up the carpet (to what looks almost like tile underneath?) and chews on it/tries to squeeze under the crack through it, but of course, it still isn't working.. Not to mention even when she's not messing with the carpet in the corners, she's just plain chewing and eating the carpet that's everywhere else. She rips it from the ground and just eats it..

So at this point I have no idea what to do because I've tried putting down towels and cloths underneath the crack of the door and in the corners to stop her (as well as just across the rest of the carpet in general), but she always throws them up and crawls under the towels and cloth, so we're back to square one. I've been sitting with her and each time she throws the towels/cloths up to rip up the carpet some more, I put the towels back but she just does it again, and we repeat this process for awhile until I have a headache and don't know what more to do. She chews on everything so I don't know if setting heavy objects on top of the towels and cloths would help or if she'd just chew it to pieces?

Does anyone have any thoughts or recommendations on this situation that might help me keep the rest of my carpet intact and not have her eat random (unknown) stuff underneath the carpet so she stays safe and healthy? 

Thank you in advance, much appreciated!! Have a great day/night!!


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## cookiebear<3 (Aug 2, 2013)

What do you have in the playpen? Sounds like she's bored to me. And put a rock on the area she's chewed on so she can't lift it back up.
Edit- is she a singular rat..? Some of the language makes it seem like she's alone


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## KennaBoo (Sep 22, 2015)

When I bring her out to play for free range time I have a plastic tub that she walks around in, a tuberware with some water and frozen veggies, paper towel & toilet paper rolls, and little balls I made from cutting strips of toilet paper rolls and placing them a certain way. I'm in the process of making other toys for her to, just waiting for some boxes and stuff so I can construct something fun for her. Do you think she might need more toys or activities?

And yes, she is a singular rat now.. I originally bought her and her sister Lily from PetSmart (I'm assuming they sold them to me sick actually because the other rats they still have there are showing signs of sickness, I noticed this when I went to get bedding last time). But my poor Lily died about a week ago one morning without showing legitimate signs of illness. Her sister is on medication at the moment. I asked the vet if I should get another rat for a playmate and they told me if she seems to be doing fine without a cage mate then I should be alright to just have her.


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## cookiebear<3 (Aug 2, 2013)

Inside the pen I would add some old blankets/towels kinda heaped around for hiding and exploring in. Boxes are good too- the ability to hide lends to confidence. You could also try playtime on the bed if it's high enough up or with a barrier. You being there is probably the best toy for now, but when she's recovered a bit I would absolutely definitely get her a friend. Social animals like rats can easily become depressed and destructive without companionship.


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## kksrats (Jul 25, 2014)

Getting her a friend might actually solve this problem altogether. I've had a few rats that either had to be kept alone due to illness, new rat quarantine, or aggression and they were extremely destructive when kept alone. In the meantime, if you've got more boxes, you could make a "floor" for your play area our of them. She may try to tear those up as well, but at least their inexpensive compared to carpet. I would definitely try to find more for her to do or play with as well and rotate things out often that way she's not getting bored with the same toys.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

I'd suggest a piece of plywood under your pen might slow your rat down a little bit. Pretty much each digging rat we've had has sooner or later hit the wooden floor and stopped digging.... yes they can chew through wood but domestic rats get bored easily and don't usually tunnel through wood unlike their wild cousins.

Now as a second approach, I've recently had a big blow out with our girl Misty for killing my answering machine by slashing the wires several times... I don't know why she hates the answering machine but she is leaving all of the other wires alone and just going after the two that go to that machine. So I yelled and bopped and so far she's left the machine alone for a whole week... It's basic communication and she got the message. I don't know how long it will last, but rats can be taught not to do certain things...

Lastly, your rat wants to explore. This is normal for a healthy rat. I've been taking the rats out every morning and letting them ride with me in the car when I drop my daughter off to school... They enjoy the little adventure and are at the door before me and a stop by the store is even more fun for them... After a little outing they tend to nap and seem more relaxed.... But keep in mind, both our rats are trained true shoulder rats and going outdoors is just something they do. It's a really bad idea for untrained rats and inexperienced rat handlers... Maybe you can explore your house together with your rat somehow. Now to be entirely honest, if I do let my girls loose on the first floor, it takes a wile before they will come back when called... but they do come back on command eventually... Remember, just because a rat is well trained doesn't mean they obey blindly... Actually to be honest, when I try to stop a rat from doing something stupid they usually give me that look like they think I've lost my mind... Like "daddy can't you tell I'm busy tunneling through the carpet to get under that door that someone has accidentally locked" or "if you just open the door, we won't have to go through your carpet."

Rats can be very determined to get what they want.


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## Amph (Apr 14, 2015)

Any gap above a carpet leads to rats trying to "dig" through the carpet. I've had the same issue with my bed and they never give in once they realize they can chew through the carpet. I would suggest making a playpen that has 4 sides so is more solid and put laminate flooring under it. That seemed to solve the problem when I had it.


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## StonerGirlandHerRatties (Aug 25, 2015)

The only way to save your carpet being chewed is to either not let your rats on it or cover it over with either a large sheet of fabric (old bedding works well) or some thin plastic sheeting, like what you use when you decorate although i would not suggest that. I tend to cover the floor with an old double duvet sheet then use either large cardboard or large thic plastic sheetings as a barrier around the duvet. Securing them with bulldog clips, parcel tape can work but not very well


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## KennaBoo (Sep 22, 2015)

Okay, thank you all for these great answers! It definitely helps me out a lot, I appreciate it a ton!!

So two more questions now, regarding some of the responses. 

First, if I get her a new rat friend I definitely don't want to buy from PetSmart again and just have another sick rat, but then if they're not in the same litter will they fight or injure each other? Like if I did that, would I have to do a split cage thing like what you do in the same situation but with gerbils? And for that matter, if the rat I get from a breeder is way younger than Luna will that cause problems as well?

Second, Rat Daddy, you said you yelled at her. Is that okay to do if she's really not supposed to do something? I read somewhere (it may have even been on here, I don't recall) that if you yell or bop them on the nose they won't learn what you're trying to teach them as well, and they can develop behavioral problems. Is that true, or is sometimes being firm with them a good option?


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## Lauraeliza (Aug 28, 2015)

I agree with Amph that once a rat starts trying to chew carpet to get under the door, they're not going to stop. One of my rats is relentless in her efforts. I bought a few bricks to place over the areas that she's gone after. Everything else I used, she managed to push away. A determined rat is hard (maybe impossible) to stop. My other girl is so different. I do have to watch the power cords but she never chews the carpet or insist on going behind closed doors. She just enjoys being able to run all over the place, wrestling with her sister every chance she gets. LOL


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## cookiebear<3 (Aug 2, 2013)

To your follow up questions: Rats, especially female just need introduced to be friends. ;D You can read a stickied thread about intros. Differing age doesn't matter, as long as the little one is big enough to hold her own. Or him if you want a neutered male for that matter. Rat daddy has a sticked thread on immersion training (basically convincing your rat you aren't a big dummy!) Which is basically what leads up to telling your rat no and having them get it. Stickied threads have a yellow sticky note on the left side, at the top of a category.


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## KennaBoo (Sep 22, 2015)

Okay, thank you so much! I really appreciate all the help I've received already on this forum  You guys are all really great, thank you for your time!


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Rats are learning animals and they can will make themselves be understood and they will try and understand you. Like when your rats climb all over the cage bars to tell you they want out or to get your attention... I mean, lets face it, you understand them perfectly. And when your rat digs the carpet, she's telling you she wants to get out of the pen.... mostly because she's doing it right in front of you... My rats wait by the door when they want me to open it and when I carry them they will point where they want to go. So not surprisingly they can understand you too.... The truly amazing Fuzzy Rat not only understood many of our behaviors and several words as well as commands she was a master manipulator of humans and even other rats. When I took her in the right direction she would give me kisses to reward me and stomp her feet if I went the wrong way.

Rats can understand when you are upset and they can understand when you are disciplining them for a reason. It's best to be very clear with you communication, catch them in the act and show them you are really upset about a certain behavior. Part of discipline or setting limits is that your rats understand why you are upset.

There are of course limits to discipline, just like with kids. A parent that's always beating up their kids isn't teaching them anything! Random cruelty will just make kids and animals distressed and sick. But when my daughter was about two years old she walked right into the street in front of a car without looking... I grabbed her and frankly lost my cool and she's never done it again. No I've never spanked or hit my daughter, but if she did something really stupid or dangerous or got me upset for good cause, I never pretended to be all calm and understanding about it... In other words she knew what got dad upset and she didn't do it again... Naturally, I always explained why I was upset and the reason she couldn't do certain things as soon as I gathered my composure.

My daughter and our rats know I'm a big soft touch... they all get away with murder when the wife isn't around. I'm anything but a control freak, but I have my limits... and I'm honest about them, I don't get upset easily or for show, but when I'm upset everyone is pretty much smart enough to know it.... It' actually funny because when I'm upset with Misty, Cloud will come out of hiding to snuggle with me and calm me down.... She's our big fluffy peace maker... misty has the sense to hide until I cool off. I don't think Cloud ever got bopped and Misty has only ever gotten bopped once... for killing my answering machine six times... Oddly... Fuzzy Rat never really took me seriously, but I'd say I'm going to call your mom (my daughter) and she's stop doing what she was doing... My daughter was actually more likely to shake or bop her than I was... and like I said she understood a lot of human words. 

So always use discipline sparing. Be real about it, express your real feelings. Try to be consistent and make sure your rat understands why you are upset. Remember, it's a form of communication your rats can understand and it will help them to become more competent and confident in the long run. 

Try and remember this isn't some behaviorist mind washing thing were you try to encourage a certain behavior with a reward and discourage some behavior with punishment... it's communication based on understanding. When rats understand they can't chew carpet they stop doing it, when they think it's a matter of you unreasonably punishing them when they munch carpet in front of you they will just wait until you aren't looking... My daughter understood why I was upset with her walking out into the street, so whether I am there or not, I know she won't do it. And lastly, yes, both kids and rats will test and push your limits... but in the end there have to be some limits and they have to understand or we all wind up living in cages. With freedom comes responsibility.


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## KennaBoo (Sep 22, 2015)

Rats really are quite intelligent! 
I'm also going to read up on the thread regarding immersion with your rats and all to get an even better idea of what I should and shouldn't be doing on a daily basis so we communicate better. Thank you Rat Daddy!


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

My education was in behavioral psychology at Rutgers University... I once thought I knew a whole lot about rats, then by random chance we adopted the truly amazing Fuzzy Rat for my daughter and I got a real education on rat intelligence. I learned that rats could not just learn, but understand and communicate in order to manipulate their environment and their humans and other rats. 

I've never met another rat quite like Fuzzy Rat, she was most likely a once in a lifetime friend. But every rat has similar abilities and can bond, learn, think and understand. Honestly, I think that the 'rat whisperers' knew this all along and all Fuzzy Rat and I did was to compile and document a more or less cohesive theory based on this understanding. But once you really start working with the premise that your rats is an intelligent thinking animal anything is possible.

This was Fuzzy Rat...


Being amazing...




















Climbing tall trees, meeting strangers and walking at heel, like few rats have ever done...

and just being Fuzzy Rat...







__
Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
Show Content








a best furry friend, just like every other rat can be.

Some folks might focus on the first three pics, but in retrospect it was the last two that really mattered most to us and likely her... 

She lived a legendary life... meeting hundreds of people and making hundreds of friends, she entertained handicapped children, she swam in the lake and explored outdoors on her own, she climbed tall trees and she could be very destructive when bored, she had a passion for tequila and hard liquor and she was stubborn as a mule... but she always came home with us at the end of every adventure... and when we snuggled with her, we knew we were loved like only the purest heart can love you...

I posted immersion in hopes that everyone else can find the same kind of joyful relationship with their rats as we have with ours through communication and understanding... Rats can be very frustrating, but they are well worth the trouble.


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## KennaBoo (Sep 22, 2015)

That's amazing! She sounds like a truly incredible rat! She's very pretty to. How long did she live for? &I know some people who can take their rats outside without them running off which is absolutely awesome! I wish I could take Luna out on nice days, but I'm sure she'd just run away and I'd never see her again, lol. That is best left to a "trained" rat, maybe some day. 

Thank you for posting this by the way, it gives me hope that one day I can bond with my rat just like you and your daughter did with the amazing Fuzzy Rat! As of right now my rat doesn't pay much attention to me while I'm free range time, besides walking all over me like a jungle gym to get places during her free range time. She's much more interested in trying to get out of the playpen or treats.. 

I read on your immersion guide a few weeks ago (so sorry if I misunderstood anything, I just remember general points) that you should get down to their level and try to play with them, show them that you're involved and want to communicate. However when I try this, Luna doesn't seem interested at all and just casually runs past me to try to find the treat bag I have hidden in the playpen or for escaping under the door (which she can't, but she's determined!). However I have noticed recently that when I open her cage to take out/give her food or medicine, she comes right to the door and crawls up my hand all the way to my shoulder and just sits there (usually without trying to jump) and hanging out with me until I put her back in the cage. So I think that is a good sign? Showing she wants to spend time with me maybe? Or maybe she just wants out and I'm taking it as a loving gesture.. Not quite sure.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Girl rats often can't stop their feet from moving... Misty our younger girl will climb on me get a skritch and then jump off only to come back 5 minutes later and repeat the process and she may do this several times in a row... Sometimes I grab her and snuggle her while she kicks and squirms, then I let her go to scurry off, only to come right back for more... She just can't sit still, but I know she comes to me for that little skritch or a hit and run hug... and that's her way of showing her love. And yes, if your girl is climbing up on you and sitting on you I think she wants to be with you and I think she might enjoy a tour around the house when and if it's safe... rat packs typically explore together so I'm sure she both wants to be with you and do some exploring.

Fuzzy Rat lived about 2 1/4 years... and those snugly photos were taken when she was older. For a female rat she was more snugly than most, but when she was young and full of energy, to be honest she was much happier chasing the kids around the playground than napping in my lap. To be honest, she was the sneakiest rat I ever knew and every rat is sneaky.... she would sometimes pretend to be napping on the bench next to me, so I'd stop watching her only to find her gone, off exploring on her own.

One of the common questions I used to get from the folks at the park was "Did you lose your rat again?" To which I'd usually respond, "she isn't lost, she knows exactly where she is... and she'll be back soon" And true to my word, she would turn up weeblng out of some dense clump of grass or hedge with the smell of something discarded and disgusting on her breath... Strangely, nothing made her happier than discovering a half eaten hot dog or a melted ice cream cone under the bleachers... it was like we never fed her at home the way she went after food debris she found in 'the wild'. And if she got onto the scent trail of a wild boy rat... we became entire invisible to her... even as an older cougar she loved the wild boys... to some degree we had to keep an eye on her if they were around and to some degree I think we just got lucky.

So even the most loving girl rats won't necessarily become snugly until they get older, if ever, and their minds will always be racing a mile a minute... sometimes I think some of the girls we raised would have split apart and gone in multiple directions at once if they weren't held together by their fur coats. Don't take it personal.


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## KennaBoo (Sep 22, 2015)

Aw, Fuzzy Rat sounds truly amazing! That's so great you had that special bond with her 

Thank you for reassuring me by the way! I had previously heard female rats would prefer to explore, while male rats would prefer to chill or cuddle. I just wasn't sure what exactly to expect, being a first time rat owner and all. Plus I know every rat's personality is different. I do what I can to make her happy though, between keeping her cage clean, giving her treats, taking her to the vet & getting medicine, playing with her, and spoiling her silly. 
Today I even went out to a small pet supply store that opened up recently by my house and bought her a bunch of new stuff for chews and cage accessories/furniture. One of the things I bought her is a little fuzzy leopard hammock, it's adorable and she loves it! So I just hope we can bond well, I know it's technically still early because I've barely had her for a month now. But I Love her to death, so from now on I won't take it personally when she'd rather run around than spend time just hanging out with me


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

I think, with girls, just because they aren't snuggling with you, they still are with you as far as they see it. When my daughter was 6 years old we ran into a pack of wild rats in the local zoo parking lot... they were all about the same size and overall small, so I'm guessing they were all female or perhaps juvenile. My daughter wanted another rat so she wanted to chase the rat she saw in the bushes. Realizing rats are a whole lot faster than 6 year olds, I told her sure she can have another rat if she catches one.... Then something really strange happened... As she chased the first one, another ran out crossed her path and distracted her so she chased it... then a third, a fourth and in a matter of minutes there were little rats darting out from all of the shrubs and bushes literally skipping across her feet and playing chase... I'm thinking my daughter very likely smelled like Fuzzy Rat and didn't look like a threat, so the wild girls were introducing themselves... They very clearly weren't being aggressive, just playful. Now I realize letting my daughter chase wild rats around pretty much disqualified me for father of the year for decades to come, but it was fascinating to watch. As soon as I realized that there were just so many rats around that my daughter's chances of actually grabbing one were getting too good I broke it up.

But if you think about it, her was an actual rat pack, outdoors in their natural environment, foraging and playing together and they weren't snuggling... they were running around like crazy popping up out of all different directions and running criss cross. I'm not going to pretend that I saw an alpha rat organizing the activity, because I didn't, nor that there was any kind of order to the chaos. But all of these girls were together, even though they weren't being snugly or touching each other. There was a strange sense of harmony to their chaos as they had my little girl running around in circles. 

So just because your rat isn't in your lap or snuggling with you... she is actually with you, she knows you are there. A pack of girl rats might spread out to forage, but they are still a pack and when something interesting happens they come together to check it out, or maybe protect each other from danger. When you take your girl out of the cage, it's foraging and exploring time, so she wants to explore and forage with you, not necessarily hang out on your arm...

Just a footnote, today I stopped by the soccer field with Misty to let her run a bit. She managed to find a few disgusting things to eat on the ground, and she ran around a bit, but every few minutes she climbed up my sweat pants and up under my sweat shirt for safety. Now I know that was nice... but really she doesn't do this indoors because she's more confident and competent in her own home. So, I'm working in my office, and Misty is napping in a drawer in the kitchen... I might be thinking I'm alone, but she's thinking I'm right nearby. And if I sit really quietly for a while she turns up to see if I'm still there. So just because your rat isn't sitting on your lap or submitting to skritches doesn't mean she doesn't want to be with you, rather she is very much with you even if she's not in your hand. This morning I took Misty downstairs and she jumped off my shoulder then off the kitchen table onto the floor, then under the stove, into the living room under the couch and then into my daughter's bedroom to say good morning to her. I suppose you could say she was running away from me, but in reality she went looking for my daughter who I suppose she heard in the other room. 

When you leave someone in the kitchen and go to the bedroom, it doesn't mean you are running away from them, because you know where they are and likewise they know where you are... I realize that rats look like small animals, but really they aren't. The can manage huge spaces and know exactly where everyone in the house is at any given time. I'm in my office working on the PC, the wife is in the living room watching TV and my daughter is in her bedroom playing games on her tablet... Cloud's in her metal cabinet napping and Misty is under the kitchen sink fluffing up some stolen paper towels into a new nest, but we are still one family all together, even if no one is in arm's reach of the other. Yes, maybe it might be better if we were all curled up on the same bed or couch, but lets face it, it's never going to happen short of a power and heat failure.

Actually during the great black out... our rats looted the Halloween candy and pretty much evaporated into the darkness for three weeks. When the SHTF you can pretty much count on your rats to loot anything they can and hunker down somewhere safe... And that's how they plan to survive the end of the world as we know it.... It's all part of their master plan to take over the world after us and rule over he cockroaches.


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## KennaBoo (Sep 22, 2015)

That's a good way of putting it  Do you think Luna will become even more adventurous when I adopt her some friends? I feel like (once they get to know each other and are comfortable) they'll be even more confident in all their activities! 

That black out story is absolutely hilarious by the way! I knew rats were scavengers but I've never heard of pet rats looting food from their humans, and chocolate non the less! Lol.

And again, I feel better knowing females are just the "run around like maniacs and play with everything" types. I originally wanted males because I heard they were more cuddly and calm (not to mention the whole mammary tumors issues), but I ended up with two amazing girls! Except now it's just one.. But I'm thankful still 

I have one other question though.. When I'm in the playpen with Luna, she still tries to get underneath the crack of the door and escape. When she does this (or is trying to dig up/eat carpet) I firmly tell her to stop (which she completely ignores me, of course) and then I usually try to grab her and take away from that area so she knows I don't like it when she does that. Most of the time when I touch or grab her when she's doing this stuff she just does crazy flips and jumps all over, trying to avoid my hand. To her, is that a form of playing? Or is she just trying to not get picked up by me? Sometimes she'll squeak, but it'll usually be when I'm not even picking her up, and just gently trying to scoot her in a different direction (so I know she's not in pain or anything, I think she just gets angry with me). Should I go about that situation a different way or continue what I'm doing and hope that she'll listen to me eventually?


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