# Rats and Car Journey's



## Lyon209 (Apr 12, 2011)

Can Rats go for car journey's? Or will it scare/harm them?

How long should they be in the car maximum?

Is there any tips for taking a rat in car?


The last thread I posted got deleted I think, because I can't find it. If it is still hanging around somewhere sorry, just remove this one.


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## smesyna (Nov 22, 2010)

My apologies, your post was in between two spam posts and I accidentally deleted it.

They can go for car rides, but most rats get scared by them.

Have a small carrier, secure it with a seat belt. Give them a comfy spot to hide/lay in in the carrier. Water bottles leak in the car so give watery fruits/veggies like cucumber, watermelon, grapes, etc.


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## riotfox (Apr 16, 2010)

Rats can go on car journeys . 

it wont hurt them, but it may scare them a bit. 

id say that the max if they are in a small carrier would be an hour without a break, not so much because of the car ride but theyll get stressed being confined for too long. if possible, they would need to have at least as much time outside of the carrier as in it, if you need to take them for more than an hour. if you can have them in a normal sized cage, then it should be fine for as long as you need. of course sometimes you might need to take them for longer car rides and may not be able to give them larger enclosures or breaks, in which case that would be alright. 

make sure they are secure and try to make them as comfortable as possible. take out any loose toys or shelves.


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## A.ngelF.eathers (Jul 6, 2011)

Mine loved it. Granted, I was a passenger. I could only take one rat with me but I couldn't leave them both at home due to the care situation. (L.S.S., my mom's boyfriend doesn't like my rats).

He traveled in a tank which I kept buckled up beside me so I could constantly check temperatures and make sure he had shade. 
I only gave him water a couple of times when we stopped. Mostly on the trip I gave him some chilled grapes because they're very juicy. 

Most of the time he slept or stared at me or ate his grapes. A few times I got him out to sit on my shoulder and he looked out the window at other people, which was a riot to the other people in cars ;D


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## ReBel*AnGeL* (Feb 10, 2010)

Just maybe leave them to relax in their cage for a couple hours, in a nice cool dark room, fresh water, good food, cage covered, quiet...after the car ride. That is if they were terrified by the ride, mine got terrified just of the short ride to the vet's, so that's what I did to let them wind down.

Maybe it's not necessary to do that, but I kept Betta fish and some treatments I did to them I use for my rats.


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## Lyon209 (Apr 12, 2011)

The car ride we are going on is going to be relatively long. Yet we will have frequent stops and a long stop halfway through because we are switching cars.

I am just worried that the stress of it may kill them or something :/

I don't even know if that is possible but my Mum said that taking them would kill them ><


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

fill up their cage up with lots of nesting materials and hidey boxes. give them lots of food, especially high moisture foods like cucumber and celery, as water bottles will leak and bowls will get tipped. put a towel over the cage, and try to keep it as low noise/movement as possible. they'll be fine. my old girls had made a 4 hour straight trip twice, and my boys are about to make the same one in august


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## Lyon209 (Apr 12, 2011)

Thank you, I will certainly look into decking out the two traveling cages with hidey holes and bedding. I have decided to use two cages instead of one because I want to make sure they have enough room as possible. 

The towel idea sounds good too.


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