Rats have a lot of energy (mental and physical) that cannot be burned in a cage. They need a daily break from their cage for enrichment, cuddles, and to stretch their legs! 1-2 hours a day is optimal. Busy days I’ll at least put them on my shoulder or in my hoodie as I do chores. Free roam is essential to bonding and if done properly, is the greatest form of enrichment you can offer.
(I’ve had someone reach out and say if your cage is extremely oversized for your number of rats and have it stuffed with enrichment, you can get away with not free roaming daily. In my professional opinion, this is extremely harmful to advocate for. Tumors, malocclusion, sprained ankles, respiratory issues, and many other illnesses can come down fast and be deadly if gone unchecked for even a few days. You want to catch illnesses as soon as they arise by letting your rats out daily and examining their entire body and monitor for any changes in their behavior to ensure you can book a vet appointment in time. This will save your rats’ lives!)
What happens if I don’t free roam? Not only may an injury or illness go unchecked and progress quickly, but not satisfying a rat’s need for enrichment may lead to behavioral issues such as aggression, depression, and poor social behavior such as timidity. From the article by Ishiwari et al., “rats housed in the enriched environment were able to filter out irrelevant stimuli more effectively and thereby regulate their behavior more efficiently than standard-housing rats.” In another article by K Landreth et al., “environmental enrichment is a viable treatment for cognitive deficits in rodent tests”.
The first step is establishing a safe space for your ratties. If you don’t have a lot of space I recommend your bed or couch (lay a blanket you don’t mind getting dirty down), your bathroom (make sure there’s no holes in the cabinets and exposed cords), keep bigger pets away, and supervise them especially when young! You can also buy “Tespo Pet Playpen” on amazon to create a big square in a room or around their cage for them.
Provide some type of enrichment. I recommend frozen pea fishing, a box with shredded paper or Pom Poms with treats hidden at the bottom, tunnels, or homemade box castles with doors and windows!
Sit with them and they will know you as the safe spot, if you don’t provide them with any hiding spots they will seek you out for safety and cuddle! This is excellent time to teach them tricks, start with teaching them to come when called. This is useful if they ever escape or it’s time for them to go back in the cage. Some rats will be very scared the first few times you try to free roam and that is okay, consistency is key. Wear a hoodie they can crawl into if scared or have a ramp that goes back into the cage if they aren’t confident yet.
(BONUS): Potty train them so they only go in the litter box, easy cleanup! If you are having issues with scent marking, lay a blanket or fitted sheet around your playpen down and wash it every couple free roams.
Sources
K Landreth, M Burgess, L Watson, et al. Handling prevents and reverses cognitive deficits induced by sub-chronic phencyclidine in a model for schizophrenia in rats. Physiology & Behavior, 263 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2023.114117.
Ishiwari, K., King, C.P., Martin, C.D. et al. Environmental enrichment promotes adaptive responding during tests of behavioral regulation in male heterogeneous stock rats. Sci Rep 14, 4182 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-53943-y.
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