# I think he is trying to communicate with me



## gotchea (May 4, 2013)

Wilder is not a chewer, I trust him so much that he isn't even cage bound. Last night my cat had to come in the house. She is outside by choice, but had a vets appointment today so I needed to be sure I could find her. Since she was in the house, I put Wilder in his cage and figured he would be fine for the night. Today I woke up to find my shirt half way in his cage all chewed up. I don't even know how he reached it! It wasn't really far from his cage, but it was far enough that I didn't think he could reach it. Maybe he was just a little unhappy about being in his cage. haha

My chewed up shirt! It is upside down. not sure how to fix that, sorry!

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"There goes the rest of your shirt"

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And look! I caught a cute little lizard.
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## ksaxton (Apr 20, 2014)

Ugh I hate it when they do that, I had to separate two of mine and they got pissed off and decided to destroy the cage liners. They also like to climb inside my clothes hamper during free range time and chew my clothes -_- 


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## gotchea (May 4, 2013)

ksaxton said:


> Ugh I hate it when they do that, I had to separate two of mine and they got pissed off and decided to destroy the cage liners. They also like to climb inside my clothes hamper during free range time and chew my clothes -_-
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


That would kill me! I felt like this was my fault in a way, but if he did it all the time I would cry. I like my clothes and I don't care to spend money buying new clothes. I am still wearing that shirt! I am going to buy a huge patch for it or something. haha


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## ksaxton (Apr 20, 2014)

I agree, clothes these days are too expensive to throw away. Idk if this is your style, but you could just cut the shirt and make it a crop top to salvage it. A few weeks ago I found that my rats had destroyed this shirt that was really special to me Because my boyfriend of over 3 years gave it to me :/ 


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## ksaxton (Apr 20, 2014)

Looking again, it might be a bit short for an everyday crop top, but maybe a good shirt to wear for a day at the beach or something 


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## gotchea (May 4, 2013)

ksaxton said:


> I agree, clothes these days are too expensive to throw away. Idk if this is your style, but you could just cut the shirt and make it a crop top to salvage it. A few weeks ago I found that my rats had destroyed this shirt that was really special to me Because my boyfriend of over 3 years gave it to me :/
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


That is a good idea. I am not sure it would work on this shirt though. I was thinking of letting him chew up the other side to make it even. haha. But that sucks! I would have kept the pieces. Sewed them to a blanket or something


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## PawsandClaws (Jul 22, 2014)

My boys only chew when they want to communicate annoyance. One particular fuzzball, Elijah, obsessively chews and digs at the liners where the doors meet on the DCN right after I put them back from a free-roaming session. It is his way of saying he is angry at me and wants to be let back out and he is so obsessive about his habit that his brothers have to come over to tell him to relax and he eeps at them furiously as if to say 'You're messing me up!' and continues to dig into the liners. They never chew on my clothes but there is a first time for everything ;D


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## kksrats (Jul 25, 2014)

I think that almost all of my shirts have at least one tiny little hole where my babies decided they wanted to see what they tasted like lol. Luckily it's never been anything major or else I might have to have a wardrobe devoted specifically to rat time


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## abratforarat (Jan 12, 2014)

That's cute, but sorry about your shirt! All three animals are adorable!


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## gotchea (May 4, 2013)

Haha my poor Tshirt. At least I'm not alone! Haha sharing stories and having sympathy helps. My friend's response was "ew god why!" Abratforarat, thank you! I think my ponies are the cutest! she is a baby so she still chews on my clothes. Maybe my shirt just tastes really good!


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## Mrs.Brisby (Jan 4, 2014)

Just yesterday I bought a new shirt and my two older girls decided it needed some slight altercations. I put it on this morning and found out it was missing an entire sleeve. It's so hard to stay mad at them though!


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## kksrats (Jul 25, 2014)

sheesh I wants ponies now >.<


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## gotchea (May 4, 2013)

Mrs.Brisby said:


> Just yesterday I bought a new shirt and my two older girls decided it needed some slight altercations. I put it on this morning and found out it was missing an entire sleeve. It's so hard to stay mad at them though!


 haha a new shirt! That sucks big time. It is hard to stay mad. I got more of a darn! Oh no! Feeling. He totally rules me, if my dogs tried this it would be awhole different story!


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## gotchea (May 4, 2013)

My mom always scolds me for putting Wilder on the ponies and giving him pony rides. Haha she doesn't want the animals to get used to having wild rats on them. 20 something years old and my mom is still telling how to take care of my animals. Hehe she has a good point though.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

It's kind of strange, but the more intelligent a rat is, the more destructive it can get. I was laid back listening to some tunes when Fuzzy Rat snipped my headphone wires, too much time on the PC and she cut my monitor or keyboard cables and too much time on the phone she sliced my phone wires... Somehow she figured out cutting the wires disconnected me from something that was keeping me from being with her. During the great blackout from superstorm Sandy. She was free range all of the time and no wires were cut. It wasn't just a taste for rubber.

I'm guessing Wilder was bored and wanted out of the cage and making his point known. I've heard stories from parents that send their kids to their rooms when they misbehave only to find the kid's rooms demolished when they go check. Kids act out in frustration and boredom, I suppose so do rats. Wilder didn't do anything wrong, and he was locked up so he just acted out. Is he communicating, sure, he's saying "Get me the heck out of here Mommy!"


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## Hey-Fay (Jul 8, 2013)

Thistle and Violet are what i like to call Fleeceaters. They will tear up brand new fleece liners like it's wrapping paper on Christmas presents. I know that it's because they're board and because they're in one half of the cage while Jude is in the other. Once everyone has done intros and the cage is opened up they will more than likely cut back on shredding everything


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## gotchea (May 4, 2013)

all of our smart little rats! Fuzzy rat was so funny. That's so cute/frustrating. Cutting all my wires would drive me nutty. Haha hey fay, it's really crazy how they communicate huh? Your poor girls are just all "give us our cage back!" They will be happy again soon enough! Wilder defiantly made his point loud and clear! Haha I'm going to have to make his cage extra fun if I ever put him in again.


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## cccgina1 (Nov 11, 2012)

When my rats were on free range 24/7 they chomped everything. I have holes in clothes and I just say, wasn't that nice of those rats to put in air conditioning for me? Lol chomped headphone wires, chomped everything. It was neat watching them make nests though. Those girls had some fun, but when they went through the cable wire for the TV, I had to lock them up. They adjusted pretty well.


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## Bronte18 (Jun 2, 2014)

Cuddles kept getting into my drawer despite me blocking off every possible way, my pyjama drawer became his and now all of my clothes are in cases and not in the drawer anymore, it sucks! I also found the ear of my earphones in the drawer also and didn't even know!!! Rats are just crazy sometimes, anything they can pull into the cage, they will! Sorry about your top haha!


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

It's just sort of sad when a mature fellow like myself walks around with rat holes in their clothes... but depending on the size and placement of the holes some of you young ladies might be able to pull it off...

Have any of you tried converting an old t-shirt into a fashion statement by just putting a little peanut butter when you want the openings... Back in the early 1980's patches and holes became popular in jeans. I was broke and in college and suddenly became quite fashionable. 

Rather than throw out your rat eaten clothes we'll just open the first Rat Forum Boutique... I'd model some of my rats' alterations, but that unfortunately goes to mature guys with rat eaten clothes....


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## gotchea (May 4, 2013)

Haha All my jeans have holes in them because I am too lazy to ever buy new ones! I hate jean shopping. We should open a boutique! haha


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## Dan203 (Jul 10, 2014)

The sweat pants I wear around the house have little holes along the bottom where one of mine chewed them trying to get inside my pant leg. (the elastic around the bottom was keeping him out)


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## Dan203 (Jul 10, 2014)

gotchea said:


> Haha All my jeans have holes in them because I am too lazy to ever buy new ones! I hate jean shopping. We should open a boutique! haha


Amazon! Free returns on all clothes. If you're unsure about size or color just buy one of each and return the ones you don't want.


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## gotchea (May 4, 2013)

Really? That's crazy I never knew that. I'll have to check into that.


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