# problem children (rats)



## underwhere759 (Aug 14, 2007)

I have two rats that are under a year old. we have had them for 7 months and I have been unable to control some of their behavior. 

They came from a pet store so some of their mental disabilities (such as not understanding that when i pick them up they can fall, and they desperately try and get down) seem to be expected. but they pee on the rugs, their sleeping surfaces, boxes and toys constantly. And chew our stuff uncontrollably when we let them out. I used to let them run up and down the stairs and blocked it off, but they chewed up tons of carpet in the corners 

we recently moved and they had to do some travelling, they have gotten worse since. 

they have already started trying to chew the carpet in their new space, and anything else they see. 

We say no, make loud noises and put them away but they wont stop. 

Any suggestions?


----------



## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

It sounds like you have very destructive ratties.... they could be bored? The only thing I could suggest is building them a large enclosed play area (with wire sides for good ventilation), put lots of toys and hammocks, branches, boxes, treats etc all around it and let them play. Maybe add things like a pot of wheat grass, or peas in a bowl of water so they actually have activities to stimulate them. Instead of feeding in a bowl you could hide or bury it so they have to find it. Think of ways to challenge them.


----------



## underwhere759 (Aug 14, 2007)

Thanks I will try this! They have a ton of toys but they seem more interested in destroying them than playing, but maybe I just havent found the right ones yet. 

I tried slowly introducing them to the tub and water to see if they liked swimming but they were terrified. 

If anyone else has some good suggestions on toys let me know!


----------



## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

Pinata's, get a toilet roll tube and stuff it with dried fruit, nuts and seeds etc. Add lots of tissue and let your destructive children do what they do best  

I also give them the occasional full roll of toilet roll and hang it off the side of their cage. They have fun pulling it all over their cage and it doubles up as extra bedding. 

You could make fruit kebabs and hang them in hard to reach places, or even hang a cob of raw corn for them to knaw on. Left over bones etc.


----------



## clarry (May 19, 2008)

Yeh hiding food is usually agreat one to get my babies going  Mine love the pinata thing


----------



## Nienor (May 1, 2010)

But be carefull with toilet role tubes, some rats might get stuck in it .. If they are thin enough, they might not choke until you rescue them. Some rats already died due to toilet roll tubes 
When you want to use them it is best to cut it open so a rat crawling through it can not get stuck.
I use little cartons to put in food wrapped up in papers. That is more work than a cut up toilet role tube but as save as it.

How did you introduce them to water and how often ? My rats have days when they don't want do get in touch with water and on other days they just love it. Start with a small bowl with not more than one cm of water in it an put some treats in it may sweet corn or peas. And give them time.

What do you have to play with when you let them out ?
My rats love the snackball, but not all rats understand how it works .. But it might be worth trying.
I also have lots of big cartons for hiding and gnawing and they love to interact with me.
I train them with the clicker. The follow the target to get some treats and don't even thing about being problem children  

You could also thread some vegetable and fruit on a string and hang it up somewhere for example between to chairs so they work to get their food.
Just use your fantasy and think about what rats might love to do 
And change something everyday so they have something new to explore (they forget quite soon so something they played with earlier can be new and interesting again  ) so they don't get bored. Bored rats become rascals


----------



## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

Ive never heard of rats getting stuck in toliet tubes... are yours the same as ours? Surely any rat can chew through 1 layer of cardboard. All of my rats get them at some point. From 2 weeks old, to three years old. Big, fat, long, skinny.... all sorts of rats! Zero problems.


----------



## toby (May 11, 2009)

thats interesting about toilet roll tubes.. ive never had a rat get stuck in one.


----------



## Nienor (May 1, 2010)

The problem occours when they don't chew it but walk through it. So the tube is around there bellies front legs on one side, hindlegs on die other .. like a sausage in a role .. and they are to stiff to get out by themselves ..
It will probably look like this but this is a hamster it is not long enough to have the legs outside and it is thinner so it probably does not get stuck.

http://bilder.net/hamster,klopapierrolle.m.jpg

One of my rats got stuck in one tube and she was screaming like ****. Unfortunately she is pretty slim so she had some space to breath but I had tu cut her out .. she only had a shock and I cut my finger but that was enough for me I will never put toilet paper tubes in the cage again without cutting them open on one site. I don't want my rats to die that way .. but maybe your tubes differ ?


----------



## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

If someone leaves their rat stuck in a toilet roll long enough for it to starve to death.... that's just absurd. Unless it was in the middle of the night or the owner was out, but even then, I don't think they would starve overnight... And I think they'd make quite a ruckus if they got stuck. Leno got stuck in one of their bird ladders in the middle of the night a couple days ago. Had it stuck around his waist and was walking around with it banging into stuff. Guess he had given up on trying to get out of it lol, but with some squeaking and struggling I managed to help him out of it.

I think it's just a particular age group you have to watch out for that... None of my rats have ever actually went inside their toilet paper rolls, but they have carried them around and shredded them up to nest with. Either they were little and not long enough to get stuck, or too big to fit in the roll lol. I dont think my girls could squeeze in one if they tried. Ours are the same, but they are VERY thin cardboard... I could see how they could get stuck like that, but I don't see them getting stuck and being completely unable to get out. I don't give them to my rats anymore because the girls ignore them and the boys just shred them up... But thanks for the warning


----------



## Nienor (May 1, 2010)

It's not the starving no-one would leave a rat alone for so long that it could starve. It is because they cannot breath properly the belly is so squeezed so the belly movement when breathing is hart to do. (sorry I can't describe it properly I miss the words  )
Just imagin you being underneath a box you cannot lift. It is pushing against your belly and it becomes hard to breath. You are in panik but no-one is there to help you. You might remember to calm down for you are a human and know that this might help. But rats will just produce more and more adrenalin and go mad for they cannot breath probably are stuck and so on .. I don't know how long it might take but I believe they could die in this - of course I don't know exactly why other rats died whil stuck in such a tube.

Well, what age group would you suggest ? I had toilett tubes with my rats for more than one year an nothing happened until my girl thought it might be funny to squeez in one of them. Happily I was at home at that time.

Ours are pretty hard. You cannot tear them easily, you must cut them oven with scissors or a knife. When you buy a writing pad the last sheet is hard paperboard. It is approximately the same thickness and consistence .. So a rat could never destroy it will stuck in it. The only way to get out for a rat is the same as they got in.


----------



## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

Hmm... My girls are just over 3 months old and I don't think that they could fit in a toilet paper roll even if they really tried. They'd get their head in and then be stuck. Now that I look at the hamster picture, yeah ours are not nearly that thick. I'll take a picture.


----------



## underwhere759 (Aug 14, 2007)

Thanks for the great advice everyone!!! 

I am going to try a lot of these ideas. I think it will help. 

They seem to like tissue boxes and shoe boxes but they ruin them pretty quickly with their peeing problems lol. 

I got them one of those kebab things and stuck some wood chews and etc on it a few months ago, but they were terrified of it. I tried to show them it was fine by laying it down in their cage so it didnt swing around but they buried it under their bedding and looked at me with little terrified faces. 

I introduced them to water in a bowl with peas a few times and they wouldnt touch it. 
One of them liked the shower once, she was a little congested sounding and I took her in with me, but now shes not interested. Ive tried the bath tub too but they seemed panicked and pooped a bit. so i gave up. I usually dont put them in the bit of water til after the water is done running because they seemed scared of the noise. 

Maybe they are just big fraidy rats. 


Ive had a bunch of rats in the past and never the chewing, peeing, destroying problems but maybe these girls are just get bored easily.


----------



## flox (Apr 12, 2010)

Mine used to be able to fit through a toilet roll tube. That didn't last long!

I should think any rat who doesn't know how to use his whiskers to judge his own size has bigger worries than toilet roll accidents ;D That said, I did laugh out loud at the hamster photo, so I'm probably a Terrible Person and you shouldn't listen to me.

Mine love their hay rack - or hate it, I'm not sure - either way, it keeps them very busy. I pack it full of tissue. One spends half the night pulling the tissue in through the bars, the other spends the rest of the night stuffing it back out again. They obviously have very different ideas about housekeeping, but it keeps them busy


----------

