# rats and grass



## nataliea (Oct 14, 2015)

ok so i fully intend to have my boys well trained enough to go outside in a controled safe area (already have one set up and ready) but i am worried about theam eating grass they litterally just attacked my salad (romaine lettice with sunflower seeds mushrooms boiled eggs and olive oil) their eagerness for the leafy greens was suprising and it has me wondering if grass is ok


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Our rats love to munch on tiny plants they find in the grass, they don't really eat the grass though. But do be aware that many domestic rats don't have the sense to taste something to test if it is safe before eating too much of it, like wild rats do... so keep them clear of poison mushrooms... 
we learned that one the hard way... I spent the night up with a very, very sick rat.


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## nataliea (Oct 14, 2015)

are most plants ok for them? the yard i have set up ive never seen any kind of mushrooms in but there is lots of different grass amd i think its dandylion plants but thats about it, and both thease boys are greedy eaters they dont test that ive seen they just eat (my salad was proof lol)


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Dandelions are OK for rats as are most plants. I suppose most toxic plants don't usually taste good either as I've never had an issue. I know there was a tiny weed that lived in the grass in the park that one of my rats loved. She also liked the tiny leaf buds on a particular tree. I might have seen one rat nibble a clover once, but no I've never seen a rat actually eat grass.

So for the most part the odds are in your favor, but the world is wide and the plants that are native here in NJ USA may be very different to where you live. I suppose you could consult a book on poison plants in your area... Basically what's toxic to humans is toxic to rats as a fast and dirty rule of thumb.


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## nataliea (Oct 14, 2015)

i live in mississippi usa, im gonna start my boys in my yard first then move to bigger areas after ive had them out a while


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

I wrote a thread some time back on shoulder rat training and outdoor activities... It's worth a read:

http://www.ratforum.com/showthread.php?51718-Shoulder-Rats-and-all-out-of-home-rat-activities

I cover our training methods and some of the basic dangers faced when taking rats outdoors. I'm not a huge fan of most back yards.... People just don't see dangers in places where they feel safe themselves. We use a 40 acre park surrounded on 3 sides by deep and wide water. Rats do swim but won't jump into water when they can't see the other side.

This is a photo taken at our safe site:









The tree is a little tall, but my daughter can climb as well as the rats if things go north. But yes there's acres of cut grass surrounding us.

At your safe site you will learn a lot about your rats and how they react to being outdoors.... A very few rats will try and escape you and some rats panic and run to shelter or just away from you... these should never be taken outdoors. Some rats get tweeky and can be handled outdoors but only up to a point and a very few rats become true shoulder rats... 

They look like this:









This was the truly amazing Fuzzy Rat, we could pretty much turn her loose and let her explore on her own... she always came back to us. Here she is after swimming with the kids meeting a shy little girl. We've trained 4 true shoulder rats, but she was by far the most competent.

Best luck, Be Safe


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## nataliea (Oct 14, 2015)

im confident my boys will be ok with being turned loose and coming back they spend a lot of time out of their cage i dream that one day i can let them loose like your pictures of fuzzy rat that is awesome! and my yard has a nice privacy fence and isnt too big but isnt small and the fence is about 3 feet in the ground i was setting up for rabbits when i did it but never got them i was going to do my whole yard bunbun safe i figure the rats can clinb the wood though but i want ti start off slow taking them out in a travel cage there used to as a safty point incase they spook or something they can hide where they know there safe instead of finding a place both are pretty outgoing though


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## amandad (Apr 20, 2015)

My girls love the alfalfa hay that comes in their Wild Flower Meadow mixture. They also like the Alfalfa with carrot blocks I buy too. I haven't tried Timothy hay though, but I am going to because I've heard they like to nest in it and I would like to try that with my girls.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

I pretty much covered the basics in my thread, try and stay one step ahead of things that can go wrong... always anticipate your rats next move and where you have to be and watch out for threats... 

And one last note... overconfidence gets rats killed... the day you get too confident is the day you come home one rat short... And trust me, that's a very bad day you won't ever forget.

Best luck.


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