Hello,
Thanks so much in advance for reading this.
I am going to Poland with my brother for 10 days (but almost two weeks total with flying 20 hrs each way, unfortunately) to visit my grandmother who is struggling after a knee injury.
My parents will be caring for the rats, but they are very timid even after bonding (I'm genuinely trying my best), and only come to me when they feel comfortable. Normally they get time outside the cage pretty much every day in my room--however, my parents are renovating the upstairs and I have moved the rat cage to a safe and quiet location in our basement.
I just let them out and they no longer come to me on demand the way they usually do. New location, they're scared, makes sense I suppose. I will let them out for longer periods during the week and see what happens.
My concern is that I'm not sure whether my parents, who are well-intentioned but also nervous, will be able to take them out to play. My dad enjoys handling them on his shoulders and giving them food, but that's only a few minutes each day. I'm scared that if they let them out, they will be stuck with rats running around a room with plenty of hiding spots and difficult to get back.
I will also be making some boredom breakers and instructing my mother to give them some whimzees chews on a regular basis, rub some peanut butter onto the wooden objects in their cage, etc. to prevent them from being too destructive. They also have a wheel.
I'm wondering whether it would be extremely inhumane to keep them just with human voices/hand interactions daily for a maximum of two weeks? I know it's not a great situation and I'm really worried about them. Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks so much in advance for reading this.
I am going to Poland with my brother for 10 days (but almost two weeks total with flying 20 hrs each way, unfortunately) to visit my grandmother who is struggling after a knee injury.
My parents will be caring for the rats, but they are very timid even after bonding (I'm genuinely trying my best), and only come to me when they feel comfortable. Normally they get time outside the cage pretty much every day in my room--however, my parents are renovating the upstairs and I have moved the rat cage to a safe and quiet location in our basement.
I just let them out and they no longer come to me on demand the way they usually do. New location, they're scared, makes sense I suppose. I will let them out for longer periods during the week and see what happens.
My concern is that I'm not sure whether my parents, who are well-intentioned but also nervous, will be able to take them out to play. My dad enjoys handling them on his shoulders and giving them food, but that's only a few minutes each day. I'm scared that if they let them out, they will be stuck with rats running around a room with plenty of hiding spots and difficult to get back.
I will also be making some boredom breakers and instructing my mother to give them some whimzees chews on a regular basis, rub some peanut butter onto the wooden objects in their cage, etc. to prevent them from being too destructive. They also have a wheel.
I'm wondering whether it would be extremely inhumane to keep them just with human voices/hand interactions daily for a maximum of two weeks? I know it's not a great situation and I'm really worried about them. Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.