# Where do your rats play out of the cage?



## Zoomom (Aug 1, 2016)

As my new girls get really settled in and outgoing, I would like to let them have more playtime outside of the cage. However, my house is a very open floor plan so I don't have one closed off room for them to roam in. Also, their cage is in the living room, with two big couches that sit low to the floor. Yesterday one of them got under the couch and I just had to sit there and wait for her to come out because there was no way to move it or get to her without risking hurting her. I tried to let them play on the couches, but she just climbed right down to the floor. The best luck I have had so far was with an old plastic playpen (like an x-pen, except sturdy plastic sides) thing that I had for my kids, but it is huge and they seemed overwhelmed with all the space, and when I tried to not unfold the whole thing I couldn't close it properly and she immediately slipped out the open spot. I will try it a different way tonight, but what do you all do?

On another note, the more outgoing rat, Millie's, favorite game currently is jumping out of the open door to her cage onto the couch that it is right next to, bouncing around up and down the couch for about thirty seconds, and then leaping back into the cage, only to turn around and do it all over again. She did that like ten times this morning, it was so funny.


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## moonkissed (Dec 26, 2011)

I am lucky enough to have a ratroom, a whole room dedicated to them. 

Before that I would keep them in my bedroom. 

I think a large playpen would be great. The large space is actually great, they just need time to adjust to it  Make sure to fill it with fun stuff!


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## keeta0 (Jun 28, 2016)

mine play on my bed with an old comforter on it, but ive seen someone make a big playpin out of trifold posters that seemed nice


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## iloveme88999 (Aug 5, 2015)

I have a large room that my boys are in that the door closes off in. It is also an office so I have to hide cords from them but it is an overall nice space to have for your rats. Before this I had a large cardboard playpen they could go in.


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## Veileddreamer (Sep 21, 2015)

Mine have out time on my bed, but we may have to switch that up, because the new rat I just got is skittish and leaves lovely pee puddles for me.  That's a lot of laundry if she keeps doing that every day.


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## Bumble-Bee (Apr 21, 2016)

I have rat proofed my bedroom so they can free range when I am home. I like playing with them on my bed too. I usually put an old blanket down for them because one of my girls will scent mark and I don't want to wash my sheets every time.


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## Asteria (Jul 6, 2016)

My bathroom is super easy to ratproof, because there is just a shower and a sink. The rest of my house is riddled with cords and other chewable things.
However I have one rat that is absolutely fascinated by toilet paper. Once he gets his hands on it, you best believe he'll shred it all in minutes  he's a strange little thing


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## Heyyouguys (Jun 19, 2016)

I guess I'm lucky that my boys aren't chewers, I let them out of their cage in the living room/dining area (it's open plan but my kitchen is round the corner) and their favourite game is hide and seek in the curtains! I have no idea why they are facinated with the curtains but they have such a great time running from one to the other and pouncing on each other in the middle haha. I left them on their own for an hour the other day as I hung up shopping and all they did was play with a leaf they found behind the sofa. One of my boys Chunk throws a tantrum if I put them back in the cage though and starts kicking out his litter and running really fast at the cage door! He knows I'll reach back in and give him a fuss every time


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## Kai (Nov 17, 2014)

Right now my rat Miyoko plays on 2 large desks that are in front of a window so she also loves running along the windowsill too. It's great because she has a lot of space to run and climb and she stays on the desks/windowsill. Except when my desk chair is there where she can walk onto the arms, then she plays on the desk chair/my body too. 

Plus she's completely litter trained (she taught herself) so she occasionally goes back to her cage (well, her old cage really, her actual cage is located somewhere else) to pee/poo. Or I assume so anyway, as she never goes while out and she does jump into her cage every so often.

And my roof rat Kichiro plays in our large bathroom as that's the only place that's Kichiro proof currently. I want to proof my bedroom though and have cat condos and big parrot playgyms and rope nets and stuff for him to climb. Make it like a really fun playroom in the eyes of a roof rat.


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## Lucozade126 (Jul 31, 2016)

Ours either play on the sofa covered with an old cloth, or we let them run round in the bathroom. We have to watch them in the bathroom though, they've both taken a liking to the carpet and keep trying to eat it  I probably wouldn't mind too much if it wasn't the ONLY nice carpet in the house we rent at the moment.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

It depends. I set different playgrounds usually in my living room and a spare bathroom- I have two mischiefs. For instance, here I had one on a table in my living room. http://www.ratforum.com/showthread.php?326626-Rat-fun-playground-with-cardboard-boxes-and-tunnels


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## Fu-Inle (Jan 22, 2015)

They live in my bedroom and roam in my bedroom, I've had to make some sacrifices like not having the luxery of having a tv, gaming consoles, computers or anything with a cable in my room. The room is also tiled so I don't have to worry about carpet chewing. I have to say, the do a good job of not pooping outside the cage, which is one of the most pleasantly supising things I found from rat owning. When i first started I thought I'd be cleaning up poops every 5 minutes like you have to with a bird or mouse. I also let them run around the bathroom while I'm having a shower. Its pretty funny when I atep out, they all come crowding around my feet and try lickinf my ankles dry. If they could talk I'm pretty sure they'd say somethibg along the lines of "silly human, what have you done now? Nevermind, I'll clean you myself. You're hopeless"


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## PastelRat (Jul 28, 2016)

You could try getting a playpen. Large ones can be pricey, but if you look at them secondhand you may be able to score a good deal. My hamster just plays in my room, I barricade everything with cardboard, books, and towels.


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## MrsT (Aug 22, 2016)

I have only had my rats for a week - I have found that closing all the doors to the landing and letting them have the run of it is the best plan for now. It's a big enough space that they can exercise and explore, but small enough that they aren't too hard to find and put back. Not that I need to with 2 of my boys, but I have one that HATES being picked up.


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