Letting Your Rats Free Roam?

[SunflowerPop]

Like dogs or cats

Does anyone else do it? I haven’t really done it because it makes me kind of nervous to not be entirely sure where they are at all times, but I’ve seen that some people just let their rats run around everywhere.

I’ve been kind of curious about it, it sounds fun to have on of my little guys running around with me while I do stuff at home.

 

[BoBa]

Sounds kind of fun to me too but I wouldn't recommend it. You can let them roam in a single room for playtime considering you are supervising them but definitely not through the whole house. Rats are escape artists and they will be able to squeeze through the tiny holes that you may not be aware of and the last thing you want is them to be outside alone.
Letting them out in a room like I said is brilliant for them to get a chance of running around- you could even use the bathroom. But make sure there are no chords that they could chew on and holes where they could escape through. Also you could do work while they run around but just make sure you are watching them so they are safe.
As long as you give them plenty of playtime they will be happy. And you can do stuff around the house while they are in your shoulder if you want as well.
Hope that helped

 

[SunflowerPop]

Sounds kind of fun to me too but I wouldn't recommend it. You can let them roam in a single room for playtime considering you are supervising them but definitely not through the whole house. Rats are escape artists and they will be able to squeeze through the tiny holes that you may not be aware of and the last thing you want is them to be outside alone.
Letting them out in a room like I said is brilliant for them to get a chance of running around- you could even use the bathroom. But make sure there are no chords that they could chew on and holes where they could escape through. Also you could do work while they run around but just make sure you are watching them so they are safe.
As long as you give them plenty of playtime they will be happy. And you can do stuff around the house while they are in your shoulder if you want as well.
Hope that helped

I had the same thoughts! My fear is that they're going to squeeze some place I can't follow and I won't be able to find them!
My guys all enjoy sitting on my shoulder and regular playtime so I'll probably just stick to that mostly

 

[SQ]

you can let them free roam in a rat safe area where they have access to their cage
For example when I lived in apartments (I covered the carpet with a thick piece of thick linoleum) I lined my living room with sheets of overlapping coroplast attached with zip ties, used a shorter coroplast panel attached with stick on Velcro as the entryway into the play area, put all electronics outside the coroplast, kept their cages, the futon couch, and their toys, their cat climber, their tubes etc inside the coroplast and they had a huge play area (ie the living room) where they could play for hours a day - when I was present - usually on the couch reading, watching TV or interacting with them

 

[Lilah]

The entire living room was barricaded for them to roam safely and enter and exit their cage as they liked (Double Critter Nation, on the ground). They didn't have access to the bathroom, bedroom, any heating vents etc. The living room was a hard wood floor which I covered in fleece blankets so they wouldn't slip and it could all be washed easily. There were litter trays inside and outside the cage, water and food stations, box castles, toys and hammocks everywhere.

It's very important that all the barricades are solid and safe and they can't get out at all. If it's truly secure, and your home is secure, they can have that freedom when you're out too. Essentially my living room was their cage, with a DCN in it as their central apartment.

 

[Trosit]

Free roaming time brought my girls closer to me than anything. My boy is good with cuddles but the girls get so restless when they have restricted access. When we do set up the room for free roaming suddenly the girls become much more interested in getting close to us (after some exploring). Hopefully it works out for you too If you have a shower-only bathroom let the faucet run at room temp and they may just love their new splash pad. Our rats have a ball.