First time rat owner, new chewing issues

[Emy]

Hey Y'all, I'm a new rat owner and I have some questions if any of y'all can help me.

Firstly, I did a little research before I got a rat and I asked the pet store lady (who is a rat owner personally) for pointers but anyway, I guess I'm saying please be gentle with me because I know I might not be doing everything right but I'm trying lol.

I only have 1 rat (which some people are seriously against so I want to get that out of the way) I did get one with the thought that I may need another but I just got one to make sure I could handle it first and two, the pet store lady said if we planned on spending lots of time with the rat that I didn't necessarily need 2. (My husband is disabled and spends his whole days at home, he is in fact, who I got the rat for)

Anywho, my main issue is this: we've had her about a month now and she has been getting near constant out of cage time. The only time she was in her cage was when we were asleep and couldn't watch her. (And until last week she was kept in a large closet at night because she could fit out of her cage and escape so we let her pretty much have her own room but now I have a smaller barred cage she can't get out of)

Well the last week she has been getting into more stuff than usual. And actually destroying things she never touched before. (Cords and stuff being the main issue) I'm beginning to wonder if it's because we give her too much out time and overstimulate her with all the things she can get into outside the cage? She hardly chews on her chew toys (which she has a lot of) and has decided she wants to chew on literally everything else outside her cage.

I guess my main questions are: are we giving her too much freedom and is this why she's getting into things she didn't before? Would having a friend calm her down or will I end up with 2 demon rats? (lol, she's a badass but we still love her), and is there something I can do to discourage chewing of things she shouldn't?

I have tried shouting no and clapping/snapping loudly as I was told rats will learn like dogs because they don't like loud noises and associate the doing something bad with loud and scary. And she sometimes stops but will go right back to it and then just becomes immune to my yelling and just keeps doing it. We've removed her from the area over and over and sometimes she will stay away for a but but she eventually goes back to it. And I say the area but I mean just what see in at the moment. She can literally get on and to anything in out room and we have no way to stop her.

Please help.

 

[oasisandbambi]

Rats can NOT be alone. Please get your baby a mate. They are extremely social animals and when alone for a long time they can become aggressive, get depressed and eventually stop eating and drinking and can even selfharm. What the lady said is not true, human company is great and rats love attention but it can never replace the kind of bond a rat can have with another and the way they understand their needs. They groom eachother, cuddle, some even help when their mates are sick and stay by their side or bring them food. Please dont let your baby be alone. I can also assure you that its way more fun to have two ratties! As for the chewing, get her more stuff to do, build her a cardbox house with a lot of levels to climb on, get her a digging box (do some research on this before you do it) just basically get more stuff to keep her entertained. Shes probably chewing cuz she gets bored. Also I suggest you do a little more research on ratties so you can give your baby everything she needs

 

[Emy]

I have literally built her a rat palace out of 3 card board boxes (it is huge, a chair came in the biggest box on the bottom and takes up half the extra space in our room), and she gets all the trash paper and cardboard we don't need. She has lots of toys, a wheel and we play with her. Idk what else to do on that end, she doesn't use the wheel and barely nibbled her toys.

 

[Emy]

And I will get another rat for her then. That's why I came here to ask about it. I'll get her a friend today after work.

 

[SQ]

Welcome to the forum!!
There are a lot of ideas and some good info on this forum.

Rats are chewers …… chewing things is normal behaviour and you can not change this. Since you can not change it, it is important that she does not have access to thing that are unsafe or that you do not want her to chew.
Rats are a lot like dogs and cats and can be trained using positive reinforcement (see joinrats.com) or clicker trained, however, the methods you are using will not be effective, plus you can not teach her to not chew things because that is normal rat behaviour …… we have all have numerous items chewed due to not making sure they were not assessable to rats - things like computer cords, curtains etc

When she is out, she needs to be supervised and only allowed to run around in an area that is contained and is safe for rats - some people use the couch, a bed, a table, a playpen, or a room ….. because rats can chew electric cords, swallow poison, eat toxic plants or toxic food, get trapped into tiny spaces etc.
Once I had a girl (Hannah) who enlisted her rattie friends in constructing a new, small doorway through the living room wall into the bathroom ...…. Hannah was a very creative little girl
When I had an apartment, I made my living room into a rat play area, lining the walls with overlapping connected coroplast panels, and having only things I did not mind getting chewed inside the play area - such as their cages, their toys, and my couch ….. the tv was outside of the play area so I could watch it from the couch but they had no access to the electrical cord …… because the room was carpeted I covered the floor with thick linoleum to protect it from urine, etc

Glad you are getting another same sex rat because rats need to live with at least one other rat.
I hope that you are able to get another rat from the same place, maybe one of her sisters.
If all rats are under 12 weeks old, then you can just put them together because babies see other rats as new playmates.
If any rats are over 12 weeks old then there are gradual intro steps that you can follow to help ensure no one is hurt See https://www.ratshackforum.com/threa...ps-used-when-putting-new-rats-together.32368/ and joinrats.com has info as well
There is always a concern about bring in new rats because they may have one of the serious, airborn diseases that rats can get, so a quarantine is recommended. Hopefully getting another rat from the same place will reduce the risk

Here is a cute video that shows why you need at least 2 rats


Btw, in case the person at the pet store did not mention it, having a good vet with the knowledge and experience to treat rats - or at least the willingness to learn, research and consult with other vets is essential for rat owners …. because rats become ill and die fast without medical care and medication such as antibiotics. Since you have girls, you may also want to consider having them spayed for health reasons, if you gave access to a good vet with the knowledge and experience to do it safely https://www.ratshackforum.com/threads/why-spay-or-neuter-rats.35402/

btw, rats need huge cages ….. you need a cage that is at least 4 cubic feet in size (bigger is better), with a base of at least 30 inches by 18 inches and height with large levels - but bigger is better - and it is important to cover all wire floors. There are cage calculators on the internet that you can use re size of the cage. I would suggest a martins R695 powder coated (paint is baked on to prevent rusting) with large doors and a flip top lid (assemble with hundreds of zip ties not the c-rings because they rust) martinscages.com or a Midwest critter nation cage ……………. they are large cages and both have small bar spacing. I would suggest that you not waste your money by buying a starter cage.
If you already have a good cage that is suitable but has bar spacing that is too large for babies ….. you can cover the outside (Not the inside) of the cage with hardware cloth - a type of small grid wire from a hardware store …. I have never done this and I imagine it is difficult to keep clean, but some people have done it until their rats are large enough for the cage they are in.

I hope this info helps

 

[oasisandbambi]

I have literally built her a rat palace out of 3 card board boxes (it is huge, a chair came in the biggest box on the bottom and takes up half the extra space in our room), and she gets all the trash paper and cardboard we don't need. She has lots of toys, a wheel and we play with her. Idk what else to do on that end, she doesn't use the wheel and barely nibbled her toys.

Much like one of my girls! She will chew on everything and get so grumpy when I tell her to stop then go do it again! I hope someone else has better advice for you!

 

[Emy]

Thank you for all the info! I guess I could look into a playpen or something. I feel like I was really mislead at the pet store lol. But that's ok, we love our rat and I'll figure all this out. I'm not one to abandon my animals.

I have kept the bigger cage she could get out of in hopes that one day she won't be able to and I may can attach the smaller cage on top. She is in a smaller cage now (a rat manor, at recommendation from said pet store) but it's got 3 levels in height. I actually am going to buy another one because the sides can be put together and make one large cage. (I can't afford a $200+ cage right now but I want them to be happy so I'm doing what I can with my budget).

I don't have a vet right near me (I live in the middle of no where) but the closest one is 30 mins away and trained for small animals including rodents.

I appreciate everyone's resources!

 

[oasisandbambi]

Thank you for all the info! I guess I could look into a playpen or something. I feel like I was really mislead at the pet store lol. But that's ok, we love our rat and I'll figure all this out. I'm not one to abandon my animals.

I have kept the bigger cage she could get out of in hopes that one day she won't be able to and I may can attach the smaller cage on top. She is in a smaller cage now (a rat manor, at recommendation from said pet store) but it's got 3 levels in height. I actually am going to buy another one because the sides can be put together and make one large cage. (I can't afford a $200+ cage right now but I want them to be happy so I'm doing what I can with my budget).

I don't have a vet right near me (I live in the middle of no where) but the closest one is 30 mins away and trained for small animals including rodents.

I appreciate everyone's resources!

Its very sweet that you are trying to become a better mom/dad for your baby! Im sure her and your new baby will have great lives c: btw I got my cage for 60, its not the biggest but it can fit at least 3 rats (according to the rat calculator )So I think that if you do try different places and or try to get one second hand you can get a good deal!

 

[Emy]

Its very sweet that you are trying to become a better mom/dad for your baby! Im sure her and your new baby will have great lives c: btw I got my cage for 60, its not the biggest but it can fit at least 3 rats (according to the rat calculator )So I think that if you do try different places and or try to get one second hand you can get a good deal!

What kind of cage do you have? And where did you get it if you don't mind me asking?

 

[SQ]

You can cover the small levels in the rat manor with dollar store dish drain trays cut to fit and attached using zip ties, and the large level could be covered with something like a piece of thick linoleum cut to fit (urine and chewing will require these to be replaced from time to time)

According to a cage calculator, the rat manor cage is large enough but imo the base is way too small ….
If the pan is metal, attaching two would likely work …….. but I think you would be happier with one of the two cages I suggested ……. a one section Critter nation and the martins R695 powder coated, with flip top lid are both more expensive then the rat manor but are under $200 (petsmart, ferret,com, martinscages.com) ........ But no cage is perfect.

Just so you are aware, Martins.com has a nice powder coated play pen for rats with hinged lid, but is not large enough for people to sit inside.
It will fold for easy storage. Here are 2 pictures of my large (44" x 44" x 24") one - they do sell a smaller one with a bottom pan

** Note: A chew log appears in these pictures. The chew log has honey in it so some rats will think it is food and instead of just chewing it, they will eat it and may get an intestinal blockage and die ….. I have some of those logs in my pictures but I have since thrown them out because I decided that I did not want to take the risk.

 

[Emy]

You can cover the small levels in the rat manor with dollar store dish drain trays cut to fit and attached using zip ties, and the large level could be covered with something like a piece of thick linoleum cut to fit (urine and chewing will require these to be replaced from time to time)

According to a cage calculator, the rat manor cage is large enough but imo the base is way too small ….
If the pan is metal, attaching two would likely work …….. but I think you would be happier with one of the two cages I suggested ……. a one section Critter nation and the martins R695 powder coated, with flip top lid are both more expensive then the rat manor but are under $200 (petsmart, ferret,com, martinscages.com) ........ But no cage is perfect.

Just so you are aware, Martins.com has a nice powder coated play pen for rats with hinged lid, but is not large enough for people to sit inside.
It will fold for easy storage. Here are 2 pictures of my large (44" x 44" x 24") one - they do sell a smaller one with a bottom pan

View attachment 10871

View attachment 10872

Awesome! Thank you for sharing! I was thinking of cutting the wire on 2 rat manors and attaching them together from one side, with wire and putting a fleece cage liner in the bottom with a litter tray. I feel like that would be plenty big for 2 rata and give more room to run in.

I'll talk with my husband and see what his thoughts on a playpen or some how rat proofing our room.

Eventually I will upgrade and get them a nice big non Jerry rigged cage lol

 

[SQ]

It is wonderful that your husband spends so much time with her
It is important that people spend at least 1 to 2 hours a day playing and interacting with their rats so you little girl s very fortunate to have that much interaction and to have a wonderful large play area to run, and climb and explore and interact with her owner
The boxes sound great, I imagine she must love that

Sometimes people are able to get good cages second hand so if you ever decide to get a different cage you might want to see if that is possible

 

[SQ]

Awesome! Thank you for sharing! I was thinking of cutting the wire on 2 rat manors and attaching them together from one side, with wire and putting a fleece cage liner in the bottom with a litter tray. I feel like that would be plenty big for 2 rata and give more room to run in.

You are welcome.
That would probably work and would be large enough ….. you could remove the entire side or just the top half if that would work better with your pans
EDIT: It shouldn't be too difficult as it looks like you would just need to remove the c-rings. (If needed you can purchase c-ring removers or just use wire cutters or something to twist the c-rings apart ). I tend to use a lot of zip ties to attach things - they do get chewed sometimes but if you use a lot of them, it works

(btw according to the martinscages.com website, some people use their smaller play pen that comes with a bottom pan, as a cage - I have no idea if that is a good idea or not and have never seen it done)

Looking forward to seeing pics of your girls and you creative cage

 

[Emy]

Thank you again! Y'all are such a blessing, I'm super happy I found this forum. I'm going to check the Martin cages and I'll post a pic on the thread after I get my rigged mess in place

 

[SQ]

Personally, I prefer a rat safe area or room because I can play with my rats or let them run around while I lay on the couch and they climb and snuggle etc on me …….. but the martins playpen has been very useful and I am so glad that I have one …. I used to have martins cages (I now have several critter nations) and the levels in the martins cages, like the levels in your rat manor need to be covered.

btw, cages need to be a foot or more above the floor because drafts can cause illness in rats

 

[oasisandbambi]

What kind of cage do you have? And where did you get it if you don't mind me asking?

I got it from a store named Tibi, im from Portugal, not sure if you know it.

 

[Emy]

Personally, I prefer a rat safe area or room because I can play with my rats or let them run around while I lay on the couch and they climb and snuggle etc on me …….. but the martins playpen has been very useful and I am so glad that I have one …. I used to have martins cages (I now have several critter nations) and the levels in the martins cages, like the levels in your rat manor need to be covered.

btw, cages need to be a foot or more above the floor because drafts can cause illness in rats

Yea that's what we were going for by letting her out in our room but you know how that's going lol. We currently share the house with roommates with 4 small kids so we don't really have any other option but our room.

And thank you for telling me about the cage needing to be up, because I had no idea.

 

[Emy]

I got it from a store named Tibi, im from Portugal, not sure if you know it.View attachment 10873

That is an awesome cage for $60! I'm not familiar with tibi, except the clothing store, so I guess it's regional unfortunately.

 

[SQ]

Yea that's what we were going for by letting her out in our room but you know how that's going lol. We currently share the house with roommates with 4 small kids so we don't really have any other option but our room.

And thank you for telling me about the cage needing to be up, because I had no idea.

If you put a fleece blanket on your bed to protect it (rats mark urine mark their territory, so if they pee on you it means you belong to them - definitely a compliment ) and add boxes. toys, tubes, a litter box etc then it can make a nice play area ….. your husband could lay on the bed too and they can climb on him and interact with him

** Note: A chew log appears in the pictures I posted. The chew log has honey in it so some rats will think it is food and instead of just chewing it, they will eat it and may get an intestinal blockage and die ….. I have some of those logs in my pictures but I have since thrown them out because I decided that I did not want to take the risk.​

 

[Emy]

Here's what I've got going on. Idk if it's going to last because NiNi (the problem child lol) is already trying to destroy it. I've distracted her with a rat cookie for now lol.

I haven't been able to get her a friend yet because the store only has males. I'm suppose to call Wednesday though to checked on females.