# worried that my rats will get lost when they come out!



## keiralaw (Apr 11, 2007)

Well i will soon be purchasing some rats from a local breeders, however i am worried that when i let them out of the cage (Female rats im talking about) that they will jump out of my hands and get lost.

I do have my hallway set up so they can run around but will they jump out of my hand when i take them there?

thankyou

please tell me what you have experienced?


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## JennieLove (Jan 2, 2007)

I dont believe they will wander too far, and will stick close to their cage or YOU, since thats where they feel more comfortable. Even when my 2 boys, who are now 2 years old, wonder far off they come right back if something spooks them ...lol. Even if your new babies take off, you'll be able to catch them just fine! There not all that fast when there babies.  Dont worry about it, you and your new ratties will be fine!


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## Night (Feb 23, 2007)

I agree - rats are homebodies! You shouldn't have issues at all


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## 2manyrats (Apr 10, 2007)

I would advise all rat owners to teach their rats a "come" command so that if they do run off, it's easy to retrieve them. All of mine are trained (or are in training) to come to a clicking sound, "tkkk tkkk tkkk," since they recognize that much more easily than a voice command.

It's very easy to teach this - first, pick a sound that you want to use. Then, give your rats a treat in the cage, paired with this sound. Essentially, you're using classical conditioning to teach them that the sound means food. Once they'll consistently respond to the noise, you can start doing this outside of the cage. Also, then you can gradually move farther and farther from your rat, teaching them to come to you from a distance. Once they've learned this command, you only need to give them treats intermittently to keep them trained. 

For treats, only use a tiny bit of food, like 1/3 of a cheerio, or a droplet of fruit juice on your finger. That way they won't get to be fatties.  Also, mix up what you use for treats, so that they don't get bored with a particular food.


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## Forensic (Apr 12, 2007)

My boys don't really jump about much.

They'll contemplate it sometimes, but staying on nice, warm, stable Mommy is more appealing, I suppose. :lol:


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