if you want your rats to be happy....

your play area must have at least these two things:
something you do not want them to play with

and
some place you do not want them to go

cuz they will spend more time and have more fun trying to play with that one thing you don't want them to play with
or trying to get into the place or places where you do not want them to go

as shown in these photos

no, please do not play with my jacket hanging on the door.......

no, don't............. *facepalm*

the last photo is of Kate and Haskell who joined Pippa in her quest to conquer the jacket, but at least had the decency to look in my direction when I asked them to stop playing with the jacket

and of course, the spot or spots where you do NOT want them to go

Pippa seems to find them all,like behind the coroplast and squeezed up against the wall (put there to keep her from getting to the closet)
or up on the higher shelves where I try to keep things I don't want rattie-fied....

if she's not supposed to be there, *that* is where Pippa wants to be the most

the others do the same thing but not with as much persistence as Pippa does

Pippa is also the rat who must be hunted down and caught at the end of play time. It's a big game to her. It usually takes at least 15 mins of chasing her around the room before she "lets me" catch her. and she really does just that, she stops running, goes inside a box or tube and lets me pick that up to bring her "home".
she's a wild one, that girl.

LOL LOL LOL

Aren't you right about that! If your saying is true, my rats must be VERY happy! LOL

I assume it's Pippa who was climbing up your jacket??? Love that one!!!! :rofl4:

Haha gotta love them! They really are like having toddlers..No, don't put that in your mouth! No, don't mess with that! No, don't climb on that! Be careful!!! But those little faces..you just can't get mad at those tiny little squishy faces

Unepuce said:

LOL LOL LOL

Aren't you right about that! If your saying is true, my rats must be VERY happy! LOL

I assume it's Pippa who was climbing up your jacket??? Love that one!!!! :rofl4:

Click to expand...

oh yeh, that's my Pippa! she's a pip, all right lol.

she will be bopping around just checking things out and then it's like someone flicked a switch and she goes into overdrive, starts racing around or jumping up on things.
That's what happened with the jacket, she was just calming checking it out when suddenly she leaps up and climbs up it.

both girls will climb all the way from the floor to my head without warning if I am standing still long enough. No warming ahead of time, I have no clue what is going thru their minds when they suddenly decide, ooh a leg, let's climb this and see where it goes hahahaha!! they don't just climb though, they RACE up my body. Sometimes they are acting this way because they're in heat, but other times, I don't know......
it's like a bolt of lightening hits or something and they just zoom around like their butts on fire lol

nutballs!!

RatPack said:

Haha gotta love them! They really are like having toddlers..No, don't put that in your mouth! No, don't mess with that! No, don't climb on that! Be careful!!! But those little faces..you just can't get mad at those tiny little squishy faces

Click to expand...

so true! at least the girls, if I tell them to stop, they usually listen.

Haskell, however, when he decides he wants to do something, like dig at the carpet, he does not listen to "no", he does not learn from being removed to another area, he does not stop if I scold him, nothing works. Haskell is one very very spoiled boy! lol

his brother Ernie is too but Ernie is shy and timid. Ernie will squeak if I pick him up when he wants to play but that's about it. He doesn't usually get into any trouble. he does get mad when it's time to leave the play room but he gets over it fast.

So sweet and cute!
Love that pic of the baby hanging onto that jacket for dear life lol.

Pippa sounds very entertaining!

love all the pics of her getting into trouble

Haha hilarious! Gotta love the lil buggers. It's one of the things I find most endearing about them!

Love the photo of her climbing up the jacket. Great shot!
And you're absolutely right. Their favorite toys are always the stuff that's supposed to be off limits. Rats love a challenge!

Hahaha, you are so right! For me, it is when the oldies decide they want to scale up the side of the Double Critter Nation. "No, you're too old and fat - you will just fall down!" I have blankets and a pad around the outside in case someone comes off. Last time I was sitting and watching and caught Albert in my hands as he slipped off and came down. "See?! I TOLD you not to do that!" Kids never listen...

LOL! In my current crew, I don't have any real adventurers, except maybe Boon and Frey a little bit. I love the brave ones, they keep you on your toes.

It's been too long since I've had young ones! They are a challenge, but lots of fun.
Patti is my only adventurer now. She still goes on top of the cage looking for something to knock down or chew. She had a field day with a roll of paper towel. Many nests were made!