Bringing home new baby rats

[rat.queen]

Tommorow is the day I go to pick up my five week old boys. Kinda nervous, but very excited. But what do I do when thier home. Stick them in the cage right away and leave them, and if I leave them for how long?. Or do I take them from the travel box the lady is giving me and just let them roam in my bedroom on the carpet?.

These will be my first ever rats. I decided to name them Volos and Vodnik hehe, Slavic mythology and me being a geek lol. Anyways I just evrything to be 100% right, and who's better to ask them people who have experianced it.

 

[PitLuvs]

Personally I always put my rats into cages, let them explore and eat/drink and perhaps have a nap. When they seem interested in the outside world, I pet them in the cage, offer treats and see how they react. If all goes well, we have some outtime on the sofa or bed, somewhere they cannot hide (Dean got under the fridge yesterday, booger!). But thats just how I always did it. I gotta trust my ratties before I let them have freedom haha Congrats on your boys! Cannot wait for pics!

 

[SQ]

I would put them into the cage so they can get used to their new home and feel safe.
The rat cage is usually kept in a well used area of the home so they get lots of interaction, company from you, etc.

 

[Cigar]

I always found that the bathroom was a secure area to get to know ratties without exposing them to your furniture, etc. in case they like to chew. Most bathrooms aren't very big so they'll be investigating your legs and nibbling your toes. There's usually nothing they can get into if you lower the toilet seat and put the garbage up high.

 

[jorats]

When mine come home, I put them in their cage for about an hour or so. Then I pull them out and keep them with me to start the bonding process.

 

[rat.queen]

Ah ok thanks guys and I'll try my best to get pictures of the little guys soon. The bathroom is a really god idea. So when I get home I'll leae them in thier cage for about an hour, hten see if they want to come out to play etc.

 

[MissGuardian]

just beware if you have a washing machine in the bathroom.. we do.. they can easily get behind it.. luckily it was my oldest one that got there(my current ones have never been there)

 

[rat.queen]

I don't have a washing machine in my bathroom lol. I've never heard of that before haha. Sounds kinda cool.

 

[MissGuardian]

I don't have a washing machine in my bathroom lol. I've never heard of that before haha. Sounds kinda cool.

it´s just more convenient for us.. here it´s fairly common..
we have a washing room, but the clothes had to be carried down for washing, up for drying and down again to be put away

 

[rat.queen]

Also I'll be using polyester fleece for lining the cage, but is it ok if I put flyers underneath to absorb the rest of the urine?. It's the flyers you get in your mailbox a few times a week, would the ink and stuff fro mthat be alright or wreck the cage and the fleece when wet?.

 

[smilez_n_hugs]

I'm not sure where you are getting your boys from but I would take a quick second to check for sure that they are indeed boys (its a good idea just to be safe). At 5 weeks males should have visible testicles and females should have nipples. As for the flyers I would be worried about them sticking to the cage when they got wet. I've heard of some people on here putting old towels under their fleece to absorb the urine although I personally don't bother with anything under my fleece.

 

[Cigar]

If you use a newspaper it really should have soy based ink for their safety.

 

[mamarat]

Congrats on the new boys! I always give them ripped newspaper to play with, I don't put anything under the fleece. Make sure the ink is vegetable based, I called my newspaper to find out.