Free roaming Ratties

[adreabri]

I would love to let my ratties have some free roam time while I'm home doing homework or eating dinner or doing something. But I'm finding its near impossible.

http://www.amazon.com/Super-Pet-First-D ... 313&sr=8-1

I currently have this cage but I have it filled to the brim with boxes and hammocks and hanging containers so I doubt they will ever get board. I just feel guilty sometimes about them being in there all day and all night... Silly? Most likely. I would just like to be able to get them out when I get home and let them play for a few hours. If we had a CN they would have lots of floor space plus lots of height but we don't have that luxury at the moment..

I just spent about 2 hours pulling an old cage apart and putting cardboard against the wires to keep them from climbing up the wires only to put them in and within two minutes Gizmo jumped straight to the top... :gaah: :rant:

What else could I do for this problem? Or what do you do?
Do your ratties free roam? Or play pen?

And just because I was flipping through the smillies...
:hithorse: I laughed...

 

[Rachael]

Mine have always had playtime. They have a play area at the moment, I used to set up pens for them using cage bars and toys rather than buy one. Somewhere like the hall or bathroom would be okay if you sat with them, a few boxes, tubes, and treats, just a change of the enviroment.

 

[Kimber]

My fosters are out between 1 and 3 hours a day...we alternate between the upstairs bathroom, livingroom couch and spare room (they live in the diningroom which is not referred to as the rodent room lol). This rotation is based on a couple things: if we're watching TV they're on the couch, if I'm cleaning their cage and no one else is home they go in the bathroom (safe) and if we're out playing they're in the whole spare room.....helps keep them interested in the places too

 

[lizmo1221]

You can buy an 8'x4' sheet of courrogated plastic, called Coroplast, at Home Depot for like 20 bucks, cut it in quarters (they will likely do it for you if you ask), and zip tie it together to make an unclimbable, 4'x4' playpen. Its great cause it will fold up to store, and its big enough to put all their toys in, and you can even fit in too!!

Thats what my girls have to play in, and its great. I don't have to worry about them getting into anything they shouldn't.

 

[jorats]

Rats really should have out time for physical and mental stimulation. I use coroplast to coral my rats. You can cut it down to size and attach together using zipties.

 

[SQ]

I also use coroplast to create a safe envirnmenbt for my ratties to play.
It is important to make it large enough for you to get in there and play with them ... people make great climbing toys
When I had an apartment, my living room, surrounded with coroplast to contain them and to protect the walls was their play area.
They especially loved the couch.
I am now renting a room so their free range area is much smaller ... but still large enough for their toys and for me to join them.

 

[rhapsody]

Hehe, I let my ratties have their playtime on my bed - so far, they've been smart enough to stay away from the edges. To keep my bedding clean, I put a vinyl sheet protector over my stuff, and then cover it with the ratties' personal blankets. I usually putz on the laptop while in bed, so its great to have company.

Mind you, this only works if you don't have intrepid jumper rats though.

 

[PitLuvs]

I never knew about the coroplast, my parents used to have it by the truck load for making signs. Duh! That's perfect. Now I know what to go out and buy after the holidays. Ours currently play on the sectional sofa, on our bed and sometimes we let them run loose in my sons bedroom when he's not home. He has lots of toys the rats love to play with. But yay for crorplast! Mine get about 45mins of out time a day, since they cannot come out until the kids are in bed, and with 3 cages at 45mins each, it's usually bedtime after that. Of course if I'm up all night anyways sewing, they are out all night with me.

 

[abazoo]

Out time makes for happy, confident ratters
I like to start out all my rats on the bed with me and teach them to stay close for a week or so. When ready, I allow them to walk down me to the floor to explore if they wish.. This teaches them I'm a safe place to run to when they spook and need back to the bed asap, hah.
After a while they love to climb off the bed on their own to free roam on the floor and climb up/down their cage. Keeping them corraled was a losing battle, so this works so much better-less stress and I just hang out too.

 

[MooLlama]

My ratties also have playtime on my bed! It works out really well and gives me some relaxing time before bed and they get 2-3 hours out of there cage every night (plus all the other times I pull them out to spoil them haha)
I totally encourage you to try to find a way for them to get out and play so they can get some stimulation and you'll get to know even more quirky things about them!

 

[adreabri]

they get at least an hour or two a night on the bed. They have a blast on the bed but I would like to do more for them. I would love for them to have some playtime while I can do homework or like now wrap presents.

I'm getting a fN for christmas so i can push it up to the bed so they can go back and forth.

 

[MaryCayden]

My Bobby is never in his cage when i'm home. He's been out since last Thursday. So a week and there was no mess nothing. I'm so proud of him. I just started to let Ben out to now that I can get him. He loved it but I think im gonna make a play pen for them. :cloud9: