# rat Always escaping??



## minkamuffin (Sep 12, 2010)

Okay, so around August 25th I bought two cute ratties to smother with love.

Problem is, my hooded rat Donna _only wants to escape._ She doesn't care about food, she doesn't care about attention, she doesn't care about other rats...

I bought a ferret cage because I wanted to make sure that they had plenty of room, but that turned out to be a problem because they can slip right through the bars... And only, mmm, 3-5 days after I'd gotten her, she was climbing out her cage and standing on top gazing all around. Well I figured maybe she just would like to roam and one night when her romping was keeping me awake, I took her cage in the bathroom and closed the door so she could have fun exploring all night. I put down empty boxes and little treats to keep her entertained.

It was only about a couple hours later that she was behind my furniture and I did not have fun trying to get her back...
So the next night, I put her back in the bathroom, but this time I stuffed a towel nice and tight under the door so she couldn't escape. Of course it didn't work and I was moving furniture again...

So I just put her back in her cage and put the cage up on the table that is high up and away from anything she could grab onto, anddd once again a couple hours later she is out. :/

Soooo, when I caught her this time, I was like 'screw it' and put her cage on the ground, opened the door and let her free roam, thinking if she got some exercise she'd go back in her cage or at least be easier to catch later... Wrong!
Now during this period of time, my second rat Trixie was sick and at the vet, so I thought 'well maybe she's bored/depressed' so I came up with a solution of buying a temp small cage with smaller bars and housing her in the bathtub where she would always have a more open space to run until Trixie came back. It worked pretty well, the bathtub was inescapable and I could go about my day without worrying about her going under the TV cabinet again.. -___-

I finally came up with a more permanent solution, which was to cover the cage with hardware cloth to get rid of all the spaces she can get through. I spent like three days working on it, making sure to cover all four walls and the ceiling, including the doors. I got scratched up from head to toe, but was very happy with the result. She spent the night alone in the cage, very grumpy but unable to escape.
The next day I was able to take Trixie back home and they reunited without a hitch. I left the cage in the bathroom since I picked her up late and I knew they'd be running around all night.

Next morning I am awoken by, hmm, guess whooo??

Donna was out again, catching her is easier now that I've done it a dozen times, but it still leaves me quite unhappy... I rezip-tied some areas and went in the kitchen for a while and when I came back she had re-escaped... Even as I type she is trying to find a new way out..

I spend time with her every day, giving her fruit pieces and crickets (the Only food item she has any real interest in) but the ONLY thing she is interested in is finding a new way to get out.

I'm at my wits end, I don't know why she can't be cooperative and I'm almost to the point of giving her back even though I highly disapprove of taking back pets like they are merchandise... 

Please, can someone help me? :[[


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## lashes (Sep 12, 2010)

Don't you think it's time to just rat proof your home then? Cover all your wires with PVC, baby lock off chemical cleaners and put the plastic plugs in unused outlets. I just got 2 female rats a week and a half ago and we almost bought a ferret cage, but we went with the chinchilla one. The spacing of the bars are about the same between the two and we as well figured we'd like to give our ratty's more room than less.

Funny enough though, they aren't escape artists. The first night we had them, we just watched them explore the cage and climb all over the walls. Around the top of the cage, the spacing between the bars is a lot more, so we ended up putting a small squared fence on top and securing it with twist ties. I was told that when they're young their bones are super flexible because it's all still cartilage, so they can squeeze through the bars.

We had a bit of a panic attack the other day though when one of our rats, Daisy, explored a little too far away from us and ended up behind her cage between a radiator and us. She's still very timid, and isn't always easily bribed to come to us by food, so she actually ended up slipping back INTO her cage through the bars. We were a little worried, but nothing has happend since. They seem to prefer coming out when they're invited anyway. 

I wouldn't use zip ties in any event, you should be using some sort of metal to secure your chicken wire. They can chew through plastic. I've found that just normal garbage bag twist ties work, but if I had a serious escape artist, I'd just use the outright metal fence ties. Also, make sure you're giving them at least an hour outside of the cage a day to explore, maybe they'll be more exhausted and less interested in escaping at night.


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## lashes (Sep 12, 2010)

I was just reading some other forums and there was a link for The Grrreat Wall. You could wrap that around the cage so that even if they get out, they aren't going anywhere.

http://www.grrreatwall.com/


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

It sounds to me like your girl is just being a girl. Girls live to explore, especially while they are young you'll find she mellows out a bit once she reaches a year old. However, its very important your cage is secure, so she is exploring only when you know she is and you can supervise/monitor her.

Chicken wire tends to have too big of holes and they can still slip through. You need hardwire cloth, with tiny holes. 








Make sure the cage is completely secure..... and then there you go. You don't have to compromise on space and buy a small cage. 

As for free ranging. Its best to do it in a tidy rat proofed area. As babies, its the easiest to loose them. You could get a play pen, but make sure its escape proof. As they get older and more used to you.... they will learn their names and come when called and it won't be as much as a big deal.


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## minkamuffin (Sep 12, 2010)

@lashes - It's good to know that another factor is in my favor. =P I know she'll get bigger as she gets older (she's around 10 weeks I think) but it's nice to know that even if she doesn't get too much fatter, she will become less able to squeeze through.
She also is still a bit timid, hence why it's not fun having her escape. Getting her back is a game of wits and barriers.
If she looks like she can chew through the zip-ties, I'll switch to twist-ties, so thanks for that tip. :]
I also originally was using metal to tie it with but it was so sharp and hard on my hands, I had to switch over. It turned the cage into a death trap.
Also, thats the other thing, I take her out as much as I can! When she was in the smaller cage, she had the whole bathtub to run in, and I'd give her surpervised time on the bathroom floor with me! Nothing satisfies this girl! X___X
I also did see the link for the Grrreat Wall earlier, but I don't even want to know how much it is, I've spent so much on these girls already. X___X

@ema-leigh - Yea, I've heard girls are 'adventurous' until they get older, but Trixie is no where like Donna. She's content to only come out when I take her out, she loves any food I give her, and she's just not a trouble-maker in general...
Also, I actually am using what you showed, so I will update that in my original post.
*But*, that brings up the big point of my post that I have covered my entire cage with this stuff, but she is STILL finding holes and squeezing out! There are small areas where I can't put the 'cloth' like where the doors close shut, and she is just getting right through even with zip-ties in the way...
Right now I'm trying an experiment where I set up a ladder to let her climb out of the cage, blocked off all the furniture that I DONT want her under and am basically just letting her run amuk because I can't think of any other way to let her exhaust her curiousities AND let her know I'm not just trying to be mean and chase her whenever she is out.
My intial "plan" was to let her get used to me, get used to my hand, get used to picking her up, get used to running on my bed, learn to let me get her when she's exploring and then eventually let her free-roam as she pleases when I'm here.
Guess my plan is going to be majorly revised. xD


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

I don't have any pictures to explain, but you can cover the doors as well. This is likely where shes getting out. Theres no way any rat can escape through those holes!! As a rule of thumb, if their head can fit through... they can. You need to cut it down the size of the door and attach it to the door flap itself. You cage may look like Frankenstein when your done, but it'll be worth it! 

Having a free ranged rat 24/7 is not good. She will get up to mischief and redecorate how she sees fit. They can chew through walls, easily be stepped on or squished, come into contact with household pets, tear up the carpet, be let out accidentally, get out of an open window etc. Is the room even rat proofed? Exposed plug sockets, furniture she can hurt herself on etc. Does she always have access to clean water while shes out, food? She'll be stashing and peeing everywhere! You'll find moldy food weeks later and have to steam any fabrics once a week to stop it smelling. Its just not practical. You also may find she'll HATE being caged or associate you with being put back in the cage and learn to avoid you.


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## eddricksmommy101 (Jul 16, 2010)

minkamuffin said:


> @lashes - It's good to know that another factor is in my favor. =P I know she'll get bigger as she gets older (she's around 10 weeks I think) but it's nice to know that even if she doesn't get too much fatter, she will become less able to squeeze through.
> She also is still a bit timid, hence why it's not fun having her escape. Getting her back is a game of wits and barriers.
> If she looks like she can chew through the zip-ties, I'll switch to twist-ties, so thanks for that tip. :]
> I also originally was using metal to tie it with but it was so sharp and hard on my hands, I had to switch over. It turned the cage into a death trap.
> ...


Ema, she/he said they were gonna change their plan. LOL
But i totally agree


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## minkamuffin (Sep 12, 2010)

@ema-leigh - I'm sure I already said this, but the doors are already covered! Everything is covered! The problem stems from spaces I CANT cover, such as where the door attaches to the cage wall, I have to have some space so I can open it, lol.
I might post pics later, the cage IS a monster, believe me.

And I didn't mean 24/7 dear. I meant in that when I decide it's play-time, I'll lower the door, put up the ladder and let her run around my room and then when I need to go out or eat dinner, I'll scoop her up and put her back.
And like I said, I've blocked off furniture I don't want her crawling under, and I live in a casida, so it's just my room and the bathroom, so there are no other people to leave doors open, no appliances to crawl into, and the ladder will always be up, so she can always crawl back up to eat, drink etc. (Which in my hour or so experiment, she did.)
She never pees or poos when she's out, even when I had her in the bathtub, her peeing outside of her cage was extremely rare, and I've never found even one poo behind the furniture out of all the times she's escaped.
She's not a food motivated rat, so not only will she not take food out with her, theres nothing for her to eat when she's out. All of the electrical plugs are too high up, and I've moved most cords out of the way so she's not tempted to chew them.

That's the thing I don't think you are getting, she ALREADY hates being caged. And when it is time for her to go back (or capture her when she escapes) she does avoid me, hence the battle of wits and blockades to get her back.

I'm looking for a solution that will calm her curiosities/give her the free-roaming she is craving, while at the same time, not making her hate me when I have to return her to her cage.
She's not satisfied with the huge cage I give her, nor the time I spend with her, nor with running on the bathroom floor with me; she's always trying to get out. :/


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## lashes (Sep 12, 2010)

How long have you had her? I'm lucky enough that my timid rat that isn't comfortable with me is happy to stay in the cage. I know for **** sure though that if she got out of the cage and got away behind furniture, she'd be there for quite some time before I could lure her away from it and back into the cage. Just work on gaining her trust. You said she isn't motivated by food, maybe try playing?

I know that my timid little Daisy won't play with me on her own because she's too scared to get touched, but when her pal is playing with me, she's happy to join in. It's a good way to get some contact in. Other times I just put food on my hand for her to lick off while I pet her. 

They discovered an amazing toy today, that could also help you to get your rat back within arms length.. a piece of thin string with a small square of red duct tape on the end. Wholy cow do they loooove to chase it.


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## minkamuffin (Sep 12, 2010)

@lashes I've had her since the 25th as I said in the original post.
I'll have to try the string trick.


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## hshelton (Feb 23, 2010)

Sounds like my girls lol. They kept getting through where the doors were latched as well even though it was covered in hardware cloth. I used zip ties all around the cage to keep the hardware cloth in place and they never touched them. I gave up on keeping them in the cage and took off the hardware cloth once my girl Darla almost took off her ear when squeezing throught the handle on the door.


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## minkamuffin (Sep 12, 2010)

*@hshelton* - if you've given up with the wire, what does that mean? You let them run amok in the house??


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## hshelton (Feb 23, 2010)

Two of them are too big to get out of the cage but the other two roam my room all day. They pretty much have taken up residency in my dresser so I took out all of my clothes and let them have at it.


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