# Taking Rats Outside?



## lindzmichelle (Jan 2, 2014)

I keep hearing on here that people take their rats outside and i'm just wondering how I can do that safely. I'm not sure if that's ok in other states? Cause here in california we have a lot of snakes, hawks, feral cats. I dunno I feel like if I walk around outside with them on my shoulder some bird will swoop down and grab them. Especially since they are still relatively small at 6 months old. Thanks for any feedback!


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## saratherussiandog (Aug 9, 2013)

I'm sure you can just take them out out in the pocket of your hoodie, that's what I do, because we have a lot of birds here and I have two cats that are (almost) always outside. You just pop them in your pocket and they can peek out and breathe the fresh air when they want in a pretty safe place. Having them on your shoulder is fine, I haven't heard any horror stories about predators snatching rats on here, but be careful.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

I wrote a thread a while back on shoulder rats and all outdoor activities...




You start at a safe site like this one... Fuzzy Rat is on the ground and hiking towards me, Amelia is hiding somewhere in the tree. 











And work your way to fireworks at the town fair at night like this... This was Max's final test as a true shoulder rat. Luckily our mayor is big on fireworks.









Now, if you shortcut the process and/or screw up, you will get your rat lost or killed.

As to the dangers involved, you bet they are abundant and learning to manage them is pretty much the name of the game.... rats outdoors is risk management, not risk avoidance. You are intentionally putting your rats in harms way. But to be honest, what will kill your rats fastest are the things you don't think about like doors, toddlers and things that don't appear threatening to you.... That's why you work at a safe site until your rats and you are both competent to explore farther. And by the way, you can usually see hawks and eagles from miles away, it's owls you have to watch out for... Our favorite park is in a red tailed hawk migrational flyway so a couple days each year it's no rat's land, but even with the sky full of hawks, we've never had one stupid enough to swoop down on a human holding a rat. But you always look up before putting a rat down.

Start by reading the thread and finding a safe site. Remember most rats can't be true shoulder rats and should never go beyond the safe site. If you have a rat with potential, I'll be happy to help you to be safer.... But remember, things go wrong and no matter how well trained your rat is or how experienced you are, it's a dangerous world for rats out there. It takes a commitment on your part to learn to keep your rat alive and a very special rat. When a true shoulder rat dies of old age or infirmity it's an accomplishment and a rat you can be very proud of.

The venerable Fuzzy Rat, almost 2 1/2 years old and about half tumors... this was her last trip to the safe site... and one of her last public appearances. She passed away less than two weeks after entertaining adults and children and saying farewell to some of her long term human friends at the 2013 town Fourth of July celebration and fireworks show.









She didn't want to go outside after that and died indoors at home. She was a very accomplished true shoulder rat and a wonderful friend.


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## lindzmichelle (Jan 2, 2014)

Thank You for your feed back Rat Daddy! I think i might be too paranoid to let them roam out in the open though. I'm thinking i might set up a dig box and some small planters out on my enclosed balcony atached to the bedroom. that way they can choose if they want to go outside or not. if you have any outdoor activities your rats like, such as digg boxes etc. that I could put in an enclosed area that would be great!


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## Snowwhite (Jan 11, 2014)

Tears.. 





Rat Daddy said:


> I wrote a thread a while back on shoulder rats and all outdoor activities...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## kjgannon09 (Oct 16, 2013)

They do have little rat harnesses and leashes you can buy that might alleviate some worries. Until you can trust them to come when called and know how easily they spook, I would definitely keep them on a leash or in a pocket for safety.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

As the very proud trainer of two true shoulder rats, I'll say one thing... outdoors your rats will get away from you. They are smart fast agile and determined. Then if they are the right rats and well trained they will come back to you. The shoulder rat is your safety net when you screw up.

Rats are built to escape things like leashes... when and whenever that happens you will find out if your rat will come back or not. I take risks with rats that have proven that they come back to me over and over... with a leash you are betting on a piece of string to keep your rat safe.. I suppose it's how someone sees risk management, but taking an untrained and unpredictable rat outdoors tethered by a string sounds risky to the guy who takes his rats to fireworks shows at night in the park surrounded by a crowd of people... because I trust a trained rat more than a length of string.

As to dong outdoor things indoors... that's really too complicated to answer fairly... suffice it to say it's like practicing walking on the moon in your basement... yes walking is a lot alike in both places but everything else is different... I can't really do a fair analogy that would make any sense to someone that hasn't been swimming in a lake with their rats or jogged around a park with one or been surrounded by mobs of people that want to meet your rat and had your rat walk around a crowd hand to hand entertaining people...


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## lindzmichelle (Jan 2, 2014)

Yeah that makes sense, I guess maybe I mean more along the lines of activities for them to do. I've done fishing for peas but I just want them to be sufficiently stimulated mentally. Here is southern California I don't think people are as open to rats hanging out on your shoulder when your walking around at the park. As much as I wish that was the norm!


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## Lesti (Jun 25, 2013)

Yep, I would NOT take Stitch outside on a leash, but I do let him run around at the track with me. I've taken him to the park on a walk once, but he stayed on my shoulder the whole time. My neighbors actually LOVE my boys, especially the old ladies across the street. They think they're adorable...but everyone else probably thinks I'm quite the character, walking down the street barefoot with my rats on my shoulders XD Rat Daddy, how do you always manage to write the most amazing posts? Really, they're incredible. Thanks for telling us about the great life of Fuzzy Rat and updating us on the latest antics of Max and your other girls 


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

I suppose it was about a week after we brought Fuzzy Rat home that we took her in the front yard and my daughter let her go by the street and I called her and she ran to me 9 out of 9 times, then my daughter said one more time...

This time Fuzzy Rat dashed into the hostas and then into the bushes and hedges along the side of the property. The house next door had just been torn down and there was a field of tall grass beyond the bushes... 

My daughter thinking her new rat was gone started tearing up and me of course realizing that she was absolutely right, I did the only thing I could think to do.... LIE! (its a wonderful trick every parent does around Christmas and by the time your child is 5 years old you get pretty good at it.) I told her with every confidence I could muster that Fuzzy Rat would be right back because she loved us and she had just gone exploring for a little while... (so I got a rake and raked around under the shrubs telling my daughter I was just clearing the path for Fuzzy Rat to come back more easily... and I think she was believing me less and less as time went by... Then suddenly, to my absolute disbelief, a little nose poked out from under the bushes exactly where Fuzzy Rat had gone in. So I called my daughter and Fuzzy Rat jumped up into her hands... Of course I explained that I was confident all along and right again, (every dad takes of these few opportunities to remind their child that they are always right so they can be referred to at some later occasion when he needs to lie again).

To be entirely honest... I was probably thinking that $2.49 wasn't too bad for a pet that lasted a whole week and how am I going to explain what happened to Fuzzy Rat to my 5 year old daughter and desperately trying to think my way out of this fine mess... 

But I was *really impressed* when Fuzzy Rat actually did come back. I mean she saved my credibility as a dad, and I owed her one for that, but this little rat, barely 4 weeks old, ranged off into the "wilderness" and found her way back on her own, even after I raked the leaves and re-arranged any scent trail she might have left... I didn't know anything about rats outdoors back then, but Fuzzy Rat really captured my interest that day and I came up with the safe site concept that evening to further test and train the strange alien creature that was living in our home. I kind of went from cheap hamster to small puppy pretty quickly from that point forward and she would continue to amaze me and most of the people she met until the very last day of her life. And by that point she was more of a best friend than a pet. She had learned to understand people to a level few dogs master and she could communicate with us to a level I would never have thought possible...

Following in Fuzzy Rat's footsteps, poor Max isn't breaking a lot of new ground, we almost expect her to be amazing too, which is slightly unfair because she can do most of what Fuzzy Rat could at her age. 

But in the end... it's easy to write amazing posts when you are just retelling stories from scenes burned in your heart and mind by rats that are in themselves amazing... 

Few rats can be true shoulder rats, but just about every rat can be amazing. I think that one of the most amazing photos I've ever taken of Fuzzy Rat was one of the very last ones, it was such a common sight around the house I didn't think to ever take one before and I didn't think it was very special at the time....

But after two and a half years, thousands of miles, countless adventures and meeting hundreds of people, co-founding immersion and changing countless minds and hearts of strangers...


__
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it all boiled down to this. When I looked back at the photos and vids I took of our rats doing amazing things these stood out. This is what a great rat looks like when she's being truly amazing.


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## lindzmichelle (Jan 2, 2014)

awe! yes you really do have great stories! Thank you for always writing back with those great stories and experiences. I sometimes need to just take a break from worrying about them and just hangout and really enjoy their company.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

There's a fine line between being reckless and letting rats become more competent, having seen it from both sides. When my daughter was small we placed her seat between the stove and the kitchen table, as she got taller and her hair got longer the proximity between the stove burners and her hair narrowed so the wife moved my daughter's chair to the other side of the table and pushed the table against the stove... Well our rats often eat on the kitchen table with us... 

I didn't like the new arrangement, but honestly wasn't sure why. Mostly guys don't like change, but somehow it seemed like a bad idea.

Max being about 6 weeks old easily made the 3 inch jump from the table to the stove where dinner was cooking and was taken in by the nifty blue rosettes. Long story short, rats whiskers take about 5 weeks to grow back and Max is now competent around fire and stays off the stove. 

So now you know how to teach your rats to be safe around stoves and fire, it's just how little kids learn... And certainly it's a great idea for your rats to be safe around open flames and the stove. But... I'm thinking I wouldn't have taught Max this lesson on purpose.

Pretty much true shoulder rats get more competent by not getting killed over and over again. Fuzzy Rat was the master of brinkmanship and she would find bazaar things to get into like one day she found a female snapping turtle coming back to the lake after laying her eggs. She ran off to explore a crunching noise in the woods and we followed to find out rat inspecting a 30 lb turtle that could easily take off a human hand. But she did keep her distance and we recovered her and the turtle slid back into the lake generally unmolested and unfed. After that we kept Fuzzy Rat in the grass closer to us where she picked up about a dozen larval deer ticks. 

Almost every trip out was a learning experience, sometimes for her and sometimes for us, but by the time she was an old rat she was amazingly competent and we were a lot better rat handlers.

So yes, I suppose it's good to worry about your rats, but sometimes you just have to let go and enjoy. The real dangers are things like doors closing on your rat or stepping on them in the dark or things you take for granted like stoves, sinks or tubs full of water they can't get out of and can drown in and all of the things you take for granted. Short grass seemed like a safe place for rats, then we learned that larval deer ticks feed on rodents not deer so you have to check for ticks when you come back inside... I mean you immediately think about hawks, but one night we heard a very angry owl screeching overhead because Fuzzy Rat wouldn't get off our shoulders and we looked up into the night sky and couldn't see the owl even though we could hear it right above us. I suspect Fuzzy Rat had heard the owl and knew it was there before we did. 

A few years ago, I had a friend named Mike Rosenthal, he was one of those guys who puts your name on his e-mail list and sends you a copy of every funny e-mail he comes across. It's annoying but not enough to ask someone to stop, and some of the e-mails were funny... One evening we were working an auction together and Mike was making change and ran out of singles. He was down to his lucky $2.00 bill and exchanged it with me for singles. I told him I would hold it and give it back to him the next time I saw him in exchange for two singles. I folded it up and stuffed it into a small compartment in my wallet. I didn't see him for several months and forgot about the bill tucked in my wallet. Then at a club meeting it was announced that Mike got out of a train on his way home from Manhattan one evening and took a shortcut across the tracks to the parking lot. The express train was early that day and Mike literally never knew what hit him. He landed over 60 feet away from the point of impact and was killed instantly. Mike was always in a hurry and I suppose he had been cutting across those tracks every day for a long time, but that particular day circumstances conspired against him. I looked and found his lucky $2.00 bill still in my wallet and it's now up on my office wall as a reminder that pretty much everything we do is more dependent on luck than planning. You can't protect yourself or your rats from everything so you just have to try and be as careful as you can, then take your chances and hope for the best. 

I've said this before, but it's the things you don't think about or take into account that will kill your rats not the things you are worrying about. So you might as well have some fun and live a little, I'm sure Mike was worrying about getting home late or being somewhere when he crossed path's with that express train and if he was more relaxed and less worried about being late or whatever, he would still be alive... or not... but at least he would have had more fun while he was alive. Rats live very short lives, that are wasted in a cage, take them out and play with them, enrich their lives and yours while you can and try to worry less... you really can't hold on to them for very long anyway so try and make every day as interesting and fun for you rats and yourself as you can.


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## LauraSFantasy (Jan 17, 2014)

Birds won't swoop them off your shoulder, or from the ground right around you, but if they're a few feet away or more, watch out!


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

From the sound of the "shrieks" I'd say the bird wasn't much more than 20 feet above me. And no it didn't try to take Fuzzy Rat from my shoulder... but the freaky part was that I couldn't make out even an outline of the owl against the night sky. The park had lights that might have partially impacted our vision, but still, thinking a predator can actually get that close to your rat and still be invisible and silent in it's approach was a real wake up call. If that owl hadn't screeched we might have been more careless after dark and given another one a better chance. 

That was right around the time that Fuzzy Rat started heading for the car or the house at twilight. I've always blamed it on her vision getting worse, but perhaps the owl scared her as much as it did us.

It's kind of hard to explain, but after a while you sort of walk around swiveling your head, like radar, looking for danger. You sweep the sky and treetops when you get out of the car, and your eyes naturally watch the area around you for holes, shrubs, fences, tall grass, parked or moving cars and other places your rat might run to or something can pop out of. The more things you encounter, the more things light up on your mental radar. You actually become hyper aware of your surroundings and after a while you get pretty relaxed about it. Your first trips out are pretty paranoid experiences as you see all of the dangers for the first time, then you start to trust your rat more and get better at predicting what she will do and won't do and get pretty comfortable.

The problem is that you really don't know how to predict the unexpected. The brain works based on experience, so the first time you encounter something or start working with a new rat with different behaviors, new challenges are always a surprise. For example most people don't even realize there are owls patrolling their urban or suburban neighborhood all night long. It's the stuff you don't notice or predict that gets rats killed or lost.


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## annoellyn (Sep 19, 2013)

I take my rat Iden out for walks on my shoulder when its nice out but he's the only one that i will do that with. I started off small and just ventured out further as time went on. walking around my apartment with him on my shoulder, then around the halls of my biulding, then standing just outside the door, then around the biulding, then off for progressively longer walks. he's never tried to climb down or jump off. Igor i may start working with next, he has a similar personality to Iden but slightly more shy. the other two never. even walking them around my apartment, there constantly trying to jump onto furniture and climb down.


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## Mball77 (Jul 3, 2013)

I have been taking baby steps with my hyper Nimbus, he loves new places and people. He will try to meet every dog he sees so I have to be super careful. The last time I took him outside in my yard he found this hole in a stone wall that I didn't know existed. He just...disappeared. My heart sank and I desperately shook the treat container (if he decides not to come when called that normally works) and sat next to the wall almost near tears, kicking myself at how stupid I was. He did come back out but it was a scary lesson. We go to a dog free park now or pre rat proofed places. He has his limits and will not sit still on my shoulder when there is exploring to do. You can see how quick a situation can go unexpectedly. If we don't take him somewhere once a week he starts destroying things. This winter has been harsh.


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## ratsoff2ya (Aug 19, 2013)

for the record - i wouldn't count on predators NOT approaching you for your tasty rat friend! i live in so cal as well and have several friends who have had pretty horrible experiences - like the friend whose chihuahua was scooped up by a hawk (or some type of raptor, i don't remember) right before her eyes, or another friend who had a coyote run into her backyard in the middle of the day, grab her small terrier-type dog by the scruff of his neck, and booked it.

obviously these are insane and atypical but you never know what could happen so don't be careless!!!!


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## RattyDaddy (Dec 8, 2013)

I too wanted to thank Rat Daddy, once again, for his amazing posts. They are almost always the highlight of my daily Ratforum browsing 

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## tori_m (Mar 5, 2013)

I guess it depends on what kind of area you live in, as well. I have a large private back yard, no snakes or anything in my area, but there are hawks. So what I do on nice days is bring out their 'traveling" cage (it's a hamster cage that the top comes off of) and I put the top part of the cage on the grass, so they can play in the grass and smell the fresh air without worry of anything getting at them. Of course, I don't leave their side while I'm doing this, and I only take two at a time (enough that I can scoop up quickly if need be)


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

At our safe site we engineer all kinds of escape and play scenarios. We once worked with a rat that wouldn't explore, so being she never ran away during training, she also never came back during training. We thought she was too good to be true... rather, when she did run off in the real world, she never came back. It's a lesson we learned the hard way. We now test our rats right up to and including fireworks shows, I'm less concerned with them running off and more concerned with them coming back and never panicking. I'm not sure if that makes sense... But once you know your rat doesn't panic and comes back when called, you can go more places with more confidence. Naturally your tests should be done in a controlled environment as much as possible.

As to back yards... some are great safe sites and other's are not. The problem is that we feel safe in our own yards and don't look at them objectively. Porches rats can crawl under, chain link fences rats can slip through and shrubs and hedges rats can disappear into are big dangers we take for granted around our own homes. They certainly aren't dangerous to humans. Before you consider your yard a safe place, really look at it objectively... if you rat takes off on you and can outrun you for about 50 feet where might it wind up? In a neighbor's yard with his dogs? Under your porch? Out in the street? In a hole under a wall? Humans are usually faster than rats over the long run, but in a short distance race, rats will usually win, especially as you might be sitting down or be unprepared for a chase... 

Nimbus actually sounds like he has some serious shoulder rat potential. He explored a hole and then came back... that's exactly what shoulder rats are supposed to do. Nimbus didn't panic and freeze up in the hole or do something to get himself hurt, rather he had some fun and rejoined his trainer just like he was supposed to do.

Mball77... Every time your rat runs off to explore on his own, where you can't get him back you are going to feel a particularly hollow feeling inside. It's one of the worst feelings a rat owner ever gets. For a certain time, you are absolutely sure you have lost your rat and you know it is your fault. And you feel so horrible you can't even give it words... Boy do I know this feeling... And usually there's a crowd of people around watching you calling and shaking your can for your rat to come back. So you have the added benefit of looking stupid while you dread having lost your rat.

The first time we lost Fuzzy Rat she was only 3 weeks old and we lost her in the front yard. And my then 5 year old daughter was on the verge of tears... I calmly reassured her that Fuzzy Rat loved her and would come back on her own. I seriously had my doubts... Then suddenly after 45 minutes out from under the hedges and shrubs a tiny little nose poked out followed by the rest of a little rat pup... Fuzzy Rat actually did come back on her own! (saving my bacon) That's where the safe site idea came to mind, and within a week Fuzzy Rat jumped over a wall at our safe site and dove into a large shrub planting... and she was gone again. This time I was just a little more comfortable. First of all we could search the planting if we had to, there was no way out and second of all she had already come back once. We waited nearly 45 minutes again and she came out exactly at the same place where she went in. 

As time went on, we learned to trust Fuzzy Rat more and more with every trip out... Yes, every time I couldn't find her I got the same hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach, but after a while it felt less and less bad. We got better at predicting her behavior and knew where she would tend to roam, so we lost her less and she got better at waiting for us to follow her when she wanted to explore. 

Working with Max as she gets more competent has been equally stressful. But every time she proves herself more capable I get more relaxed.

And as to being trapped inside, Max is pretty much alright with it, she was born in July and didn't have that much outdoor time last year.. but Fuzzy Rat was a terror indoors, slicing wires and shredding papers and generally tearing the place up when she felt neglected and got bored. 

The fact is... that rats move so fast and are so agile you can't control them 100% outdoors... things go sideways so fast you can't prevent them... that's when you have to rely on your rat's good judgement... If she's a competent true shoulder rat, everything will work out fine, if not you have lost or killed your rat. A dog free park sounds like a great safe site, as you get more comfortable and you know Nimbus can be trusted more, you carefully push your limits... but it's always better to be safe than sorry.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

And by the way... even when your shoulder rat is competent, you still have to watch out for trouble....

One fine day we were walking Fuzzy Rat along the footpath in Waterfront Park and she made a left turn across the beach volleyball court then under the split rail fence and across a parking lot... we decided to follow her and let her lead us. Her nose was in the breeze and she had a real dreamy look, so if she was happy why not be happy too... she turned and followed the road behind some food warehouses and then crossed the street and marched right up to a freshly baited box rat trap/bait station. We snagged her before she walked in and she was very upset with us... We looked around and realized that the entire warehouse was surrounded by outdoor rat traps and it was right next to the park we played at. Amazingly enough Fuzzy Rat could find a freshly baited rat trap from nearly half a mile away given the right breeze.

Luckily humans are lazy and either Fuzzy Rat got the message not to go into rat traps or no one ever baited them again, which makes sense... But after that experience I started looking for rat bait stations and I've found them all over the place.... They are around factories, truck docks, warehouses and even kiddie playgrounds. Most aren't baited and aren't really likely to catch or kill any rats, people set them up and forget them... but some might be baited and they are something to be very wary of as they are often hidden in places rats are likely to explore. It's the things you don't expect that will kill your rat, that's why you become a better rat handler with more experience and your rat gets more competent. Fuzzy Rat was leading and wasn't running away, we were following, which is an OK arrangement we liked to do, It gave her a chance to explore safely and we got to share in her interests, usually she would find picnic grounds or places where there was food leftover on the ground.. sometimes she liked to go after wild boy rats, which we also had to discourage and sometimes she just wanted to squeeze through tight spots and forage about in shrubby places... Max has a fetish for yellow construction equipment and loves to crawl around inside the machinery... Both rats like(d) trees and can/could be relied upon to come back... but still a good rat trainer stays alert for trouble and constantly needs to assess risks. As soon as you get too complacent you put your rat at risk. Sometimes when you stop getting the hollow sinking feeling when you don't see your rat, is when you start being careless... There's a fine line between trusting a super competent shoulder rat and being reckless... The greatest fun is right on the fine line... and the greatest tragedy is often inches or seconds away. It takes a great rat and lots of experience to walk the edge and bring your furry friend home alive. Your rat will make up for most of your mistakes, but you have to be there to protect him or her from hers... it really is a beautiful partnership.


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## Mball77 (Jul 3, 2013)

Wow Rat Daddy, that really means a lot. When I came to this forum all your stories about Fuzzy Rat floored me. I would think how awesome it would if my boys could be like her. At first I didn't think my boys had potential to come close. They were "teenagers" when I took them home, unruly, fighting and Loki was straight up terrified of us, it was stressful all around. My goal those first few weeks was to get them to like me, acknowledge my presence for more then the bringer of food. All your advice on immersion training and how to deal with a rat with pent up energy has really helped my rats and I grow in a way I didn't think was possible those first few months. Now I have two super affectionate boys who I can trust to run around the apt with limited supervision and one of them fit for outings. 

I know most of my outdoor issues comes from my lack of confidence and fear of what might happen, especially invisible enemies like disease and mites. Every time our outings had always had at least one terrifying event happen....well for me. The wall, some other animals burrow in the ground, hiding in the steering column of the car and a confused and startled jogger. The rat has a wonderful good time. I have never seen Nimbus scared, not once. Not when we first took him home, not at the vets, not when I dropped him off at the rat sitter. Hes also full of pent up energy, as I write this I just found a toilet brush he just rendered to a stick and a pile of bristles. I'm sure I need to trust myself more. I wouldn't have tried if it wasn't for your advice back when he was destroying my cabinets for attention. The idea of losing Nimbus hurts and is always in the back of my mind but what you posted before about how a rat's (well this rat) short life is wasted in a cage is what pushes me to take the risks. He always comes home happier then when we left and even behaves for a few days. Still...he come when he feels like coming. He listens when its convenient to him. I've noticed rats are a bit more...willful then dogs I've had. This has dampened our progress. 

Also I know it FEELS right with Nimbus but I would never attempt the same with Loki. Loki is very smart, he manipulates his environment (and his owners) to his advantage and sends Nimbus first to examine anything new while he waits and observes to see if its safe. But Loki also hides from guests, fears open windows and new places...even within the apt. I feel he would hid in a hole and never come out if he went outside. Loki has become a content lap rat and its all he seems to want. 

Anywho...thank you again Rat Daddy, and Fuzzy Rat, Max, and your daughter.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

I tend to recall when you first posted about Nimbus he struck me as both special and bored. As you now know, shoulder rats are different from other rats. No it's not something you can weigh on a scale but once you learn to recognize it, it's like they are wired like no other rat. They have a more acute posture, a sharper look, a crisper decision making process and a more demanding personality. They don't panic, in fact they actually respond to stress that would freak any other rat out and act sharper and more alert.

Someone once asked me why we took so many chances with Fuzzy Rat when we loved her so much. The answer was simple, because she was a true shoulder rat, it wasn't something she did... it was who she was. Don't get me wrong, Max is terrific too and if I didn't know Fuzzy Rat I'd say she was the perfect true shoulder rat, but Fuzzy Rat was one mark above at least so far... but Max is still young.

And about the steering column, that's nothing... wait until your driving on the Turnpike and you look out the window to see your rat car surfing on top of the side view mirror.... I mean you see the car behind you... a big fat rat butt on top... nose pointed forwards and whiskers and tail blowing in the breeze... Trust me, that will stop your heart on the spot... It's funny afterwards but for those few very long seconds as we were coasting to a stop on the shoulder across from Newark Airport I'm pretty sure my heart didn't beat once until I had her back inside the car again. Fuzzy Rat liked to ride with her head out the window like a dog, and that was cute, so it never crossed my mind that unlike a dog, where a rat's nose goes the tail soon follows. With the a/c in the car broken we drive with the windows open in summer and had several less dramatic close calls. She would often climb onto my shoulder harness off my head rest to poke her nose out the window, and I wouldn't notice because I was driving and looking forwards. One day I stopped at the McDonalds drive through and I look out to give the nice man change and Fuzzy Rat was walking along the top of the window glass to greet the fellow taking the money. I'm not sure who was more surprised.

And yes... even at a safe site Nimbus is going to find new ways to terrify you almost every time you go out. He's going to push the envelope and you are going to find yourself on the very edge of your own sanity... That's the steep learning curve I talk about. With every close call, you get smarter, sharper and faster and Nimbus gets more competent. After a while I knew exactly what Fuzzy Rat was thinking about doing next and when she was planning to get herself into trouble. She would sniff about, preen, smell the air and get all glassy eyed and I knew that there was a wild boy rat waiting for her in the bushes and we'd have to be all over her before she picked up too much speed. And seriously, you can't hold that against your rat... Dating is natural for teen age rat girls and not something you can train away. I'm sure she would have come back for a cigarette afterwards. (no she didn't actually smoke and didn't much like when I did, but then we never let her go on a date)

As to commands... shoulder rats are about as likely to do them inside as they are to ignore you... they know what you want, but they decide if it's what they want to do. When you are outside you should expect better. The higher level of stress should make Nimbus more likely to follow your lead and obey your commands. There's a relationship between how comfortable Nimbus is at a place and how quick he will be to follow your commands. When we were somewhere new, Fuzzy Rat responded just like a well trained dog. As she got the lay of the land and knew her way around she didn't need us to tell her where she could go and what to do. The more relaxed she was the more independent she got. We've seen the same with Max except she gets acclimated even faster to a new place. Nimbus will also learn the difference between _come_ because you want him to come and *come* because someone let a bobcat lose in the park. You think you are giving he command the exact same way, but rats can hear the difference.

So will you ever go outside without being horrified? Eventually, it gets better, you are always going to find something new to shock you, but as Nimbus gets older and more laid back and you learn most of his tricks you will get used to the occasional less frequent heart stoppages. You will also learn to trust Nimbus more over time... still don't get too relaxed.

As to Loki... some day you might find the perfect safe site and on a nice warm spring day you can take him there, near a nice sheltered bush or shrub and sit with him until he explores a little and sniffs the fresh air and then you will bring him home where he feels safe... that's most likely as far as he's going to go. Amelia will hang out in a tree while we play with Max and will let us tote her around while Max frolics at the safe site. I can carry her on our quiet street and as long as I cover her with my coat or hand she's ok... but that's about it. If I put her down she will panic and get all desperate and that isn't any fun for her. Seriously, she takes 10 times the work to handle as Fuzzy Rat or Max. As you become a better rat handler, you will even be able to manage Loki, but only safely to a degree and to certain places at certain times. As you get more confident with Nimbus you start thinking you can handle any rat, and to some degree that will become true... but arrogance gets the wrong rats killed. 

One last heads up... rats HATE the sound of air tools and air brakes, auto shops and big trucks will test your rat to his limit. They are perhaps even harder for rats to take than fireworks. Until Nimbus is rock steady and you are really confident steer clear of shops and trucks or you might get blindsided. 

Also take this to heart.... *Car Doors Kill Rats!* Rats like to poke their heads out open car doors... 'nuff said. No one ever closes a car door until Nimbus is accounted for and safely under control. This is not a mistake you get to make twice.

Yes, you and Nimbus have come a long way. Remember it's all about managing risks. Every day you take Nimbus outside you both get better and smarter. Your eyes see more dangers and your brain focuses more quickly and Nimbus becomes more trustworthy, but it's a very steep learning curve once you go beyond the safe site... so don't get complacent.


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## RattyDaddy (Dec 8, 2013)

Rat Daddy said:


> Dating is natural for teen age rat girls and not something you can train away. I'm sure she would have come back for a cigarette afterwards.


I just LOL'ed so loud that I woke up my wife next to me!  

When can we expect an "8 Simple Rules For Dating My Rat Daughter" post Rat Daddy?? 

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## Mball77 (Jul 3, 2013)

I'm actually kinda mad at myself, we named him Nimbus because we thought he was air headed like a cloud when we first got him. He was reckless, antagonized his much bigger cagemate all the time(till he got hurt), plowed into every new experience without thinking while his brother was the exact opposite. I took fearlessness for innocent stupidity and he ended up being the one who tried to communicate first. 

We also now know Nimbus' eye site is not great but he didn't act like it. He wasn't fearful, and only swayed his head when we called him (after he learned his name) On top of that after working with many types of bedding and the Vet for a while (and lots of vet bills) it had been concluded that he has allergies or permanent congestion, cleared the URI but he's never stopped sneezing. He has a clear bill of health otherwise, active and gaining weight, eating, ect. but it has affected his sense of smell. Its great he's still a friendly trusting rat after that (too trusting when it comes to other animals) but I have to keep triple aware. I'm sure his hearing is pronominal, he has no trouble finding me or other people if we make the slightest noise. He wont see hawks or owls. Unlike Loki he just plows out in the open in a straight line till he bumps into something. He can see moving objects, but will plow right into or off stationary ones. Its...kinda funny. 

I kinda feel like i'm hovering over him to much, he's never far from me but that might encourage that he's invincible which is a problem when he does manage to slip somewhere I can't get to. I seriously think he doesn't understand what fear or death is.

I'll keep note of all those things you warned me about, the rat trap one scared me. Didn't even think of that one. I never forgot the car door story.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Rat's abilities to sense things are all over the place from what I can tell. Fuzzy Rat could see about as well as a dog, if I had to guess. And her sense of smell was freakish. If I came upstairs with food she was waiting at the door, if I had no food she wouldn't bother to move... She could smell a fortune cookie opened from two rooms away but once she got within two feet of it she had to run a search pattern to find it. Her sense of smell was overwhelmed when she got close to things... Max pretty much doesn't react to smells at all and her eyesight is above average, but not nearly remarkable as she doesn't like wide open spaces. She can distinguish large objects like yellow construction equipment, trees and houses from a distance, but people need to be pretty close for her to tell who is who. Amelia has black ruby eyes and can see about well enough to navigate indoors but is lost outdoors. Her sense of smell will take her right on target. All rats I've had so far have had pretty good hearing from what I can tell.

Visual ability does have an impact on how comfortable a rat feels outdoors in wide open spaces, but there was a PEW shoulder rat that someone wrote about having, here several months ago. While I would obviously be careful to keep a pink eyed rat out of bright sunlight, I suspect personality is more important than eyesight in being a shoulder rat. This is where a trainer and handler has to learn to work within his or her rats limits and abilities. A rat that can see and recognize you from 50 feet away is less likely to lose you than a rat that can only see 6 or 7 feet. Outdoors Amelia scent marks everything to make up for her relatively poor eyesight, but as she can't see well she is very easily spooked and panics at the drop of a hat, often running in the wrong direction. When Max is farther away from me, it seems to help her see me when I flap my arms when I call her, it might look silly but by flapping she can make me out from a much greater distance.

I think what I've learned from working with several rats is that there is no hard and fast rule as to what a rat can sense... the variability is far broader than we have been lead to believe. Not all rats have poor vision and not all rats have a good sense of smell, and that to some extent a rat's personality can be impacted by how keen it's senses are.

Most rat traps/bait stations look like black plastic shoe boxes although there are still some metal ones out there. They are made to blend in and not draw attention, they are all over the place here in NJ. The advantage is that most never get baited once they are set out so they are pretty inert. Apparently like everyone else, exterminators are a lazy breed. And I suspect they wouldn't really want to kill off the rats... that would put them out of work.

As to 8 rules for dating my rat daughter... Fuzzy Rat loved the wild boys. I'm thinking her spawn would have tested me to the limits. The part wild rat we had was likely at least two generations removed from totally wild genes and she was a liability nightmare with a quirky personality. I can't imagine a whole house full of half wild rats, and a rat phobic wife. If they turned out to be as smart as Fuzzy Rat and as capable as a wild rat I suppose you could just call me Willard and stick a fork in my marriage.

Actually Fuzzy Rat died of multiple massive mammary tumors. It might have been nice to perpetuate her intelligence, personality and fantastic eyesight and sense of smell, but genetically, with the great came the awful. It was a hard choice not to breed a rat as fantastic as she was, but in the end I think it was the right one.

There is a reason for not breeding rats of unknown lineage and it may not show up until it's too late, so no 8 rules around here.


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