How to tire out young boys?

[lewil]

So I have two sweet boys that will turn 6 months old in few days (Whoo!). These are my first rats, so I'm not entirely sure when they start to mellow out. I try to get them as much free roaming time as I can, which is in my bathroom where I have a few cardboard boxes containing crinkled paper, tp/paper towel rolls, and sometimes treats, and also scattered around the floor are a tunnel, an old blanket, and some cat toys. They also have access to food, water, and a litter box. They enjoy playing with that stuff for a while, but after about an hour (usually a little less) they seem to get bored and restless. They'll start to sniff under the door and get destructive by chewing on the bottom of the door and cabinets and such, which I take to mean they're bored and tired of the bathroom. I'd really like if I could tire them out before they get to that point! They're not very cuddly with me (yet?), and I'd love if they'd get sleepy and pass out on my lap (it's alright if they don't, we'll still have fun the way we are ). I do think they're comfortable with me though, as they climb all over me and will groom my fingers. Anyway, I'd like for them to feel content and tired out from playtime rather than bored and wanting more!

They don't seem to enjoy my attempts at hand-wrestling, and they're not super interested in chasing the cat toys. Any suggestions for how to get their energy out?

On a related note, does anyone have any suggestions on a deterrent I could put on the bottom of my door and cabinets so they won't chew them? Maybe an essential oil they don't like? I rent an apartment and would rather not destroy the bathroom!

 

[ViciousCurse]

They should hopefully mellow out soon. My rats started slowing down around that age. All my old men enjoy sleeping on my chest, but they're nearly two.

If you can, try getting them new toys and switching it up every so often. Rats get bored just like we do. Try offering more interactive toys, such as foraging toys. I'd also get them a wooden hide or something else that is wooden for them to chew on. Baby toys can be a great way for cheap toys, but it's also up to you to determine if it's safe for your rats (ie can they swallow and chokeon anything). Bird toys and some small animal toys are a great way to find toys for them. My rats don't seem to enjoy the cat toys either, except to push them around if they're in the way.

I used to have one rat who loved hand wrestling, but none of my other boys have seemed to enjoy it. Trick training is a great alternative to being hands on with them and also working their minds. Shadow the Rat on Youtube has great videos!

Personally, I'd recommend also watching them during free time, just to avoid the accidental I-can't-find-my-rat situation, and to prevent anything bad from happening. I love sitting on the floor with my guys. Some will crawl behind me, under me, nibble me, jump up on my lap, etc. etc.

 

[lewil]

Good to know! I will try getting some new toys, and some more wooden ones. They have some in their cage currently but haven't expressed too much interest in them; maybe switching it up will help.

Oh I love Shadow the Rat! I actually just taught them to spin from her videos But I haven't been as good as keeping up with it--I'll try doing it more often and switching up the training so they don't get bored.

And oh yeah I'm always there with them supervising With their interest in the door and cabinets I wouldn't trust them alone haha. They do enjoy using me as their own personal climbing wall.

Thanks for the advice!

I actually have an interesting if slightly disappointing update--Charlie bit me! I was totally taken aback as he's never shown any signs of aggression before. He and his brother were extra keen on chewing the bottom of the door this time, so I sat in the way and blocked it with my leg. Well, that just made him more determined than ever to get to the bottom of the door, and when I tried moving him he bit my hand a few times. Once I moved him away he tried to go back but on my other side, and again when I put my hand there to block and gently move him away he bit me a few more times. He never drew blood so I know it wasn't full strength, but the third one or so did break skin, and he seemed to be doing it progressively harder each time. Honestly, I'm a bit disappointed because he's never been aggressive before and I always thought of him as a sweet little boy (if a bit strange) who would never bite. He's always been a little erratic and stubborn/determined--if he wanted to do something/go somewhere and I'd move him away he'd just run right back and try again. But he's never resorted to biting! Any thoughts on this? Once he started biting I picked him up (he continued to bite at first; I was almost afraid to carry him anywhere) and put him back in his cage and left the room. After a few minutes I went back and let him out on my arm again to hold him and pet him and he seemed back to normal. Could he just have been riled up from playing? The fact that he continued to do it the second time and when I picked him up make it seem like it might be more?

I'd love any thoughts/advice on this.

 

[SQ]

It sounds like he was nipping you to tell you to move, and when you didn't understand he did it a bit harder to try to make you understand …. breaking the skin was an accident
Edit: of course you also do not do what they wanted (at least not for a few minutes) because you do not want to reinforce the behaviour

When a rat nips you, eeeeep and pull away. That lets them know that you do not like it

I would suggest you create a play area surrounded in coroplast - in your bathroom or else where. (See the Reference Thread for examples and pictures.)
This will protect the doors, cabinets etc few being chewed
Also adding toys and activities for them to climb, explore etc will help
Such as boxes filled with crumpled paper and having 3 doorways cut into them, a fisher price garage (pic of my favorite below), cat climber, tubes, etc

Please see the Reference Thread for ideas of what other people have done https://www.ratshackforum.com/threads/reference-thread-read-only.35894/
Also if you ever decide to get a play area where they can play unsupervised, the large martins powder coated play pen is wonderful (martinscages.com)

 

[lewil]

It sounds like he was nipping you to tell you to move, and when you didn't understand he did it a bit harder to try to make you understand …. breaking the skin was an accident

Ehen a rat nips you, eeeeep and pull away That lets them know that you do not like it
View attachment 11939

That makes total sense--thanks for the insight!

I'll look into the coroplast; maybe I could put it in a different room and expand the play area with that so they'd have more room. That fisher price toy is adorable, I never would have thought of that!