# Sleep, I need sleep!



## RattieKupo (Feb 2, 2014)

I love my girls. They are my babies and I want them around more than most things. 
But recently, their noise at night and playing and chewing are driving me insane!! To the point that I am close to looking into rehoming options. I have chronic insomnia as is, add onto it playful ratties and I may get 10 hours of sleep all week! And sleep is also crucial to my emotional health as someone with bipolar disorder.

The chewing is not boredom chewing, they are playing and just being rats. I can't get mad at them for that. It is their instinct. But some nights I have to put them in their smaller cage and hide them in the bathroom, and even that rarely works now. I play with them as much as time allows and they have things to do, so they aren't bored, just being rats.

But I don't know what to do anymore. I live in a studio apartment so every room is one room, I can't just move them! And I refuse to put them in the smaller cage now because it is unfair to them.
I am picking up earplugs tonight, but any other suggestions?!?
Please, my health is dependent on it at this point.


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## darkiss4428 (May 31, 2014)

you could try keeping them awake ALL day and allow them to sleep at night to train them not to be so active at night since most rats are nocturnal


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## RattieKupo (Feb 2, 2014)

I could try that, if I were at home all day. But since I work during the majority of their sleep schedule, it is not a likely thing for me to try. 
Has anyone tried putting a soundproof blanket over the cage?


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

I'd either get a couple thick blankets (which I would be wary since they absolutely will be chewed to **** quickly so don't spend big bucks or use sentimental ones) to cover the cage or look into some folding walls. I nabbed three for about two hundred and that would make a nice "wall" in your studio that would buffer sound. 

If it's things like toys with bells, the rattle of a wheel, or clanging of levels when they're bouncing aroun those can be fixed. I'd take the toys and wheel out at night and weigh levels down where they're bouncing. 

I would also start doing free range at night before you go to bed for a couple of hours, ending whn they wear down. That'll buy you four hours at least. 


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Oh and I don't know if your studio is the same, but ours had a HUUUGE walk in closet that you could keep their cage inside - that also gives a quick, easy free range space. 


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## RattieKupo (Feb 2, 2014)

I wish I had a walk in closet for their cage! Luckily, what ever the answer is, just has to work for a year. Well, only 10 months actually. I got a raise right after I moved in, meaning I could have gotten a one bedroom, or even a 2, but I had already signed the lease, uhg. 
I will try changing free range time around, and rat proofing the floor, so they can run around on more than just the bed, couch, or me and my BF. 
Thanks for the suggestions!


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## Capistrono (Apr 12, 2010)

Maybe you could devote a weekend to changing their sleep schedule? I read that you need to get them up every 30 minutes and keep them awake for 5, then you can put them back in their cage. If you could spend a Saturday and Sunday doing that, maybe those two days would be enough to change their schedule around completely.


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## kksrats (Jul 25, 2014)

I had to do as nanashi suggested as far as taking wheels and toys out at night which I felt horrible about, but I'm a very light sleeper and once something has woken me up I'm awake for good which is no fun. If you've got a cage with multiple levels that are rattling, you could also try putting a little more padding under them (such as towels under your fleece or whatever), this will weigh them down a little more. If they're constantly chewing dry food all night, you could try giving them something softer at night just before bed (you'll have to look into food items that will stay good overnight if they don't eat them all at once), and take out their normal dry food. Some of my rats are like toddlers and just like to hear themselves make noise I think lol, but you could probably find a pretty decent combination of these ideas to, at the very least, help a little with the noise problem.


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## deedeeiam (Apr 8, 2014)

Change the light schedule. Rats are nocturnal. Evolution has made them that way. You want them to think it's night time early in the evening. You'll need to make their enclosure area darker at a certain point (say 5 or 6). You can use black out curtains or sheets over part of the enclosure. Play with them like normal, get their energy out, but move that night routine up further and further each day. 

You might consider investing n a slightly larger night cage that fits in h bathroom. I don't see anything wrong with that. After they get into a routine, it won't bother them.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

As a former competitive skeet shooter, I got pretty used to wearing earplugs all day. Don't panic, I don't shoot living things, just clay targets. So I have no trouble sleeping with earplugs... Spend the extra 50 cents and get the good foam ones, they work better and are more comfy. They should be about -32db and cost about $2.99 for a six pack.

I take them along when I go to the hospital and I get to sleep when no one else seems to. I once traded a pair to a nurse for illicit coffee... then my IV screwed up and I was dripping blood on the floor and I buzzed and no one came... Never give your nurse earplugs... Just a heads up.

But once you get used to the earplugs you will sleep like a log, rats or no rats.

Best luck.


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## Gannyaan (Dec 7, 2012)

Wow, I have the identical problem!

At night, I take out their wheel, and I am going to get a night time dish that attaches to the side for their water... Its the wheel and the water that wake me up the most, and if my insomnia is really bad, then its the crunch of their food and the running around and squeaking that can get me too... 

On those nights, I wear ear plugs. I think I'm going to start buying them in bulk, lol. Since I need to take allergy meds every day anyways, I am going to try 50 mg of diphenhydramine on those days in addition to the ear plugs. 

My girls used to be in the bathroom because that was the only place for them... now I upgraded their cage and they are like a few feet away because they dont fit in the bathroom anymore >.< .
I am also in a studio apartment. The kitchen doesnt have a door, and theres no room in there anyways. 

Can you switch to a cage that makes use of vertical space, like a rat manor? My critter nation is just slightly too big for my closet (grrrrrrr). Then you can put them in the closet or washroom and close the door at night 

I understand your pain completely!!! I wake up from even the slightest noise, and I wont sleep at all if someone is having a party or talking at night. I rarely, if ever, get a good nights sleep. A glass of red wine on an empty tummy makes me sleep, but I wake up wide away like 4 hours later... >.<.


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## Gannyaan (Dec 7, 2012)

nanashi7 said:


> I would also start doing free range at night before you go to bed for a couple of hours, ending whn they wear down. That'll buy you four hours at least.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


forgot to mention this. It helps a lot!


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## abratforarat (Jan 12, 2014)

Move them at night, don't give them paper before bed, wear them out, these will all help. Or, if that isn't possible, feed them very soft food before bed. That will keep them busy while you're busy falling asleep. I hope this helps!


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## RattieKupo (Feb 2, 2014)

Thanks so much for all the suggestions!
Here is what I did for last night:
I picked up new toys for them, ones that are softer to chew but still will help their teeth and such. I took out things that they constantly knock over which make noise. I also tried earplugs last night, BEST DECISION EVER!
They will take some getting used to, but I couldn't even hear my BF say goodnight xD I suggest them highly!
My girls also got a cage redecoration and cleaning, meaning they had to explore and wear themselves out right before bed (This gives me at least one night a week of full sleep!) 
I would look into getting another cage to put in the restroom or my closet, but A: I really don't have room for it at the moment and B: I may be expecting and need to save some money, so unfortunately a new cage is not an option.

Thanks again everyone!


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

If it weren't for those ear plugs I'd be deaf as a door nail... Just remember to set your alarm clock on loud or you will oversleep it... And make sure your smoke detectors are close enough to hear... They will also come in handy if you are having a baby when it's dad's turn to get up at night. They are not recommended for single moms living alone with an infant. But yes they are a great investment.


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## deedeeiam (Apr 8, 2014)

I have a vibrating fire alarm and alarm clock.


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