# Help with very stubborn rat



## moonkissed (Dec 26, 2011)

I am so hoping someone can help me before I lose my mind. 

My rat khaleesi is being the most stubborn brat on the planet and I'm beyond frustrated.

I have recently cleaned and organized my bedroom to be a rat playland lol so my girls can be out of their cage often. They have lots of open room to run and play. I have lots of different objects for them to climb in, over, on. And it is all newly set up so its not like they r bored with it already.

But all khaleesi is focused on is getting where she isn't allowed. Like she is obsessed so much that it is all she wants to do. Out of the entire room I have one small corner blocked off so they can't get behind the TV and chew cords.

It is her life mission to get back there and she is a smart girl. I am using a cardboard barrier with hand weights holding it in place so she can't move it. So she is just trying to tear a whole right through it! 

When I tell her no she throws a huge fit and has even nipped at me. This is my sweet heart rat. So it is really sad. 

Does anyone have any advice?


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## Jessiferatu (Apr 30, 2014)

Um. No, I really don't have any advice. Lol. Sookie is my naughty, determined, escape-artist rat. So far all I have been able to do is retrieve her constantly.


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## AdequateRat (Mar 12, 2015)

Is she name trained? (I've heard that's very important.) A stern "NO!" and pick her up.. Maybe she'll get the picture. x) Treats to bribe her away. 

Bear Ninja (How he got his name) is my escape artist. 
They were playing on my bed last night and I had the cage up against it, so they could drink their water bottle and Bear Ninja will climb up my double critter nation to the top and I absolutely hate it when he does it. 

I yelled at him, very loud... and he got the hint (only for a short period of time, though.) Just a lot of patience is due, I guess.

I'm going to begin name training them when I get home from work this evening. 

Best of luck to you, doll.


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## JAnimal (Jul 23, 2014)

Well you can teach her to come when called and give her a really nice treat so she is distracted. Or if you have anyother tricks she has learned you can distracted her with thoses. As for the chewing maybe you can use some bitter apple spray to stop that.


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## moonkissed (Dec 26, 2011)

She is name trained but is stubborn, like my cats she will usually come but if she doesn't want to then..no lol She knows she is not allowed to do it so sometimes saying her name will make her stop and look at me like "what mommy? i'm being good" lol I have been telling her NO and picking her up but that is when she gets nippy. She doesn't really bite just little nips like stop. But she is such a sweetheart never biting so its frustrating. She is also literally throwing a tantrum when told no and throwing things around lol

So far it has been a nonstop fight. She does it, I tell her no &/or pick her up and 5 mins later she is back. She is literally obsessed to the point that it is all she wants to do. 

I have reinforced the cardboard with more ducttape and more cardboard lol so I don't think she can get through now so I am trying to ignore her and when she discovers it isn't working maybe she will give up.


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## AdequateRat (Mar 12, 2015)

HAHAHAHA. Honestly, that's kind of frustratingly adorable. (My Bear Ninja is the EXACT same way.) I think it's just their personalities.. Persistance, patience and stronger barriers may be your only hope. xP


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## Hey-Fay (Jul 8, 2013)

The first thing I learned as a new rat owner is that if they decide they're going to get somewhere, they will. I'll tell you what my solution was, and still is, when I get one that just has to be where they're not supposed to; Let them. Let her in the corner, with you supervising, once she see's that it's boring back there her curiosity will be sated and you wont have a mad rat throwing a tantrum. Now sometimes mine will want to look in the forbidden zone again and if your bratrat decides she needs another peek, just let her. And once she knows whats back there and deems it boring she'll quit trying to kill the cardboard 

I've found that if you treat them like you would treat children things go much smoother. They're highly intelligent. So I treat mine like little humans and the relationship is much more rewarding for both parties.


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## moonkissed (Dec 26, 2011)

She is adorable as annoying as it is lol when she started throwing things around I couldn't help but laugh. She is such a brat! I should try to video it lol

I can't just let her go back there. I let them back there before and they chewed through one of the wires to my Wii and i don't want them chewing through a cord and getting hurt either. It is behind the tv so lots of cords. I can't really see back there very well either so its hard to supervise. I think Khaleesi would get bored of it quickly if I let her back there but my other rats are not quite adventure bound and they like to go in dark little corners and...never come out lol 

She is very smart and I like treating her like she is  But its like telling the toddler not to touch the oven its hot and then all they wanna do is touch it!


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## Grotesque (Mar 19, 2014)

Sounds exactly like my Oreo Cookie. A harness is the only way I can prevent her from escaping. I just have to keep her close to me. Unfortunately, its the only thing that has worked.


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## Fu-Inle (Jan 22, 2015)

sounds so much like my Merry. The more you tell her no the more determined she becomes.


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## AdequateRat (Mar 12, 2015)

I guess you just got to love the little guy/gal for who they are. Rofl The good and the bad. xD


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## raindear (Mar 3, 2015)

I have two thoughts. First, maybe she just wants to be more adventurous. Is trying trick training with her to engage her brain in something other than exploring new territory, or even outdoor activity an option?

Second, when I bought a new Brazilian Short-tailed Opossum two years ago, it was almost impossible to convince our cats to leave her alone. They were constantly peering into the cage or getting on top of it to see. Yelling and getting over there to bop them was really getting me down. My husband brought home a pellet gun, the type that shoots plastic pellets. In desperation, I shot the cats a few times. Now, two years later, they still challenge me over this, but if I just scrabble near my chair like I'm getting the gun out, they find somewhere else to be. Scattering pellets into the rat area might not be a good idea because they are small and a rat might get one stuck in her mouth, or something, but a ping pong ball gun would give khaleesia gentle bop and everyone else a nice ping pong ball to play with.


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## jensenee (Apr 4, 2015)

If you find something that works, let me know!! Lol. My Roman is obsessed with getting down from the bed, getting down from the couch, getting behind the TV when we're on the floor.. At my old house he used to be obsessed with crawling into the only hole in the couch and getting down in the frame... I'd spend hours fishing him out of the couch!! It was so annoying. It gets to the point where stern No's don't phase him. I even tried smacking his butt when he would obsess like that... Not super hard, it didn't hurt him. Nothing works! haha. When he gets like that I just put him back in the cage and let his brothers stay out. He hates that, so he usually tones it down if I leave him in the cage for like 20 minutes while he watches his brothers have a good time out of the cage with me. Maybe that would help you out? haha. When she obsesses over that corner, but her in the travel carrier or something so she has to see everybody else playing. It seems kind of mean, but I know how frustrating having a very determined, naughty rat can be! haha. Best of luck!


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