# Safe rat harness?



## Finnebon (Jul 15, 2013)

Does anyone know of a good safe rat harness, or instructions as to how to make my own? It would have to be very small as it's for one of my petite slim girls.

Bijou is an enthusiastic and avid explorer. She knows her name and "come" and listens 95% of the time to commands. I would love for her to be a shoulder rat, but she is so precious to me, I dare not risk it. Mostly because we have red tailed hawks that live in our neighborhood that I see and hear multiple times a day. We also have a large deck that she could quickly run underneath (when I was much younger I almost lost my first boy under there. Spend hours trying to get him out.), the occasional poisonous mushroom growing in the grass, and a decent mischief of wild rats living underneath the walkway concrete slabs and under the deck (there might also be rat poison sprinkled between the slats of wood on the deck for the wild rats, despite my protests  ). So there are many reasons why I cannot and will not trust Bijou to have free roam of my grandmother's back yard even under close supervision and even though Bijou listens very well.

I would like to let her run on the grass and take her for little walks around the backyard on some kind of ratty sized harness and leash. I often will take her on my shoulder if I need to get anything from outside and she seems to enjoy it. Today I put the top of a medium sized guinea pig cage on the grass and let her run inside. She seemed to really enjoy it and got excited rubbing her face in the grass and running around inside before realizing she was confined and trying to squeeze out between the bars to have more room to run and explore the wonderful smelling green stuff.

Any suggestions on a safe rat harness that isn't too constricting and isn't easy for a slippery, slim rat to squirm out of?


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

There is literally no harness that a frightened/determined/otherwise excited rat cannot slip out of in seconds. It simply doesn't exist.

Rat Daddy should be in soon to comment on outdoor adventures.


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## Finnebon (Jul 15, 2013)

I don't want to use it so much as a restraint, she's not skittish and I don't think she'd thrash around too much if over excited. I just want it to make sure she stays close. Just so I have a little bit more control over the situation than I would have if she was completely free ranging. But I understand that they're very squirmy and a harness is still not a fool proof method. Hopefully there is something I can do, she seemed really happy today running on the grass for the first time and I'd love to let her have fuller experiences like that more often! I hope Rat Daddy can offer some advice. I don't think I have access to any other "safe zone" that I'd feel comfortable letting her run free in.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

I just got back from the convenience store with Max... She seemed to want to meet the nice people there, and she's been there often enough that I can tell she wants to explore more, but I calmed her and she rested on my arm for the half hour or so I spent chatting with the staff about parrots... of all things. Max has been out a few times this spring and is starting to loosen up. In fact as I pulled into the parking lot at the store and the driveway at home she was right up on my lap ready to get out of the car... That by the way is a real nice touch for a shoulder rat.. not having to chase her to get her to come out of the car... or to have to call her. Knowing when we were about to pull into a familiar place before we got there was something Fuzzy Rat could do, and now Max is picking up the skill.

I wrote a thread on shoulder rats and all outdoor activities, it's based on a couple of years of traveling with Fuzzy Rat and our other rats. I think it's worth a read by anyone who doesn't want to get their rats killed. There's at least one pointer or perhaps two that could keep you out of trouble you might not otherwise see coming.

I don't like leashes. They can give you a false sense of confidence. Rats are designed to pull out of tight spots. Rats can even expand and collapse their ribs and shoulders to squeeze through places that are smaller than their nominal dimensions. I can't imagine a harness that's even marginally comfortable to a rat that will hold him or her.

That said, I train my rats at a safe site. And yes you do have one somewhere near you if you know where to look. Corporate parks, cemeteries, school yards, parks, playgrounds and all sorts of large areas exist almost everywhere. You just have to open your mind and look around.

Now, I'm not encouraging anyone to start training a true shoulder rat of their own... It's dangerous for your rat and only certain rats have the gift to be true shoulder rats.... This is what they look like...

This is Fuzzy Rat at the beach greeting a little girl that caught her eye...









And here she is walking along at heel behind me...








And here's Max passing her final true shoulder rat test and yes that is the fountain at the end of a town fireworks show... you can't hear the bomb blasts, but we were close and they were loud...








And here's our safe site; 40 acres of small trees and lawns surrounded on 3 sides by water... Fuzzy Rat is posing under the tree and Amelia is hiding between the branches...








And you may note there is no harness or leash in any of the photos. Basically, I know what our rats can handle and how they will act outdoors and handle them accordingly... Fuzzy Rat had no problem with wide open spaces, Max prefers more cover, but neither rat will run away and get lost. Fuzzy Rat jumped into the lake and went swimming with the kids while Max dug a burrow under the lifeguard stand... both rats had fun. And don't think Max got off too easy, she got dragged into the lake too and did quite a bit of swimming. In the photo Amelia is hiding in the tree because the outdoors pushed her to panic and she couldn't be trusted on the ground anywhere but the safe site or the park.

At the safe site you will determine if you can trust your rat outdoors and learn how to handle her. If you have the right rat, you won't need a leash. If you have the wrong rat, you shouldn't take her outdoors with one...

As to confidence... Yes, I was very confident in Fuzzy Rat, she was as good as any dog I've owned outdoors. Max has far less outdoor experience and still gets herself into dumb situations, so I have to keep a closer eye on her. Likely by the end of the summer she'll be as competent as Fuzzy Rat was. Max has a one off personality.. but serious skills and thinks fast on her feet.

Keep in mind all rats have their limits and taking your rats outdoors is never safe, it's all about how well you manage the risks and how well your rat deals with stress. Any rat that panics is a danger to herself.

Rely on training and not a leash and you will be far better off and more likely to bring your rat home more often... Confidence in a well trained rat is far better than betting your rats life on a piece of string...

Best luck... hope to see photos of your rats outdoor adventures soon.


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## Wendydp (Mar 3, 2014)

Hi!
I'm not a ratty expert, but I have been successfully taking my boys to the park on harnesses. I'm at school, and currently live in a dorm with a roommate that is not ok with the boys having free range of the room. So, I bought two harnesses via eBay. They work great! My boys seem to understand and don't try to wiggle out and if something startles them they head back to their carrier.


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## Hey-Fay (Jul 8, 2013)

I agree with Wendy! Here's a link to them:http://www.ebay.com/itm/Adjustable-...253?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53fe90586d

My girls loath them and Ruby chewed her's into little pieces then peed on it, but it took her a good twenty minutes to do it.

EDIT: I have to mention that I never used them outside, Lilly is the only shoulder trained girl I have and she doesn't need one. I'm not even sure why I bought them honestly :/


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Wendy,

Would your boys actually run away from you if they weren't on a tether? I think that most of the people that are looking into harnesses are those with rats that would otherwise run off or panic outdoors. Your guys sound like rats that seem pretty comfortable going outside with you already and would most likely make good shoulder rats even without being tied to you.

Do you think that if your rats were really terrified and trying to tear themselves away from you that a harness would make much sense? That they might not be able to squirm their way out? Or that without any training that you might ever get them back?

I don't question that what you are doing is working for you and I love that you are getting your rats outdoors. I'm also betting that you watch for birds of prey, poison mushrooms, rat traps and have chosen a pretty rat friendly park to take your boys to. You don't worry me at all. From the photos, I'll almost bet your rats don't need harnesses. They will likely free range around you and run to you when frightened. That's what any good shoulder rat should do. They most certainly wouldn't run away from you. But that's only my best guess, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

The problem is that there are folks that would look at your photos otherwise, they will take terrified rats to dangerous places relying on a piece of string to keep them safe. This frightens me more than just a little...


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## zmashd (Dec 25, 2013)

I used to take my girl Acácia out with a harness, but the point of it wasn't so much so that she wouldn't run away, but so that I could get her quick if a dog or something approached. I knew for a fact she wouldn't run away, and that's the only reason I ever took her outdoors in the first place. Like the others, I wouldn't trust any harness to keep a rat from running away, cause they definitely can get off if they really want to.


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