Can I just say thank you for being real and stating it’s okay not to be able to free roam your rats each and every day for hours at a time.. I think this “you must allow them to free roam for 2-3 hours everyday otherwise you’re the worst pet owner in the world” is quite a damaging statement that I see a lot of people preach on rat care websites online and this overwhelms people and or makes them feel so crappy as a pet owner, so thank you so much 🧡 also really important though to ensure cages are active, enriching and stimulating for the animals exactly as you said! 🥰 X
This this this. Rats should definitely come out multiple times a week, especially when they're young, but not being able to do absolutely every single day you have them, especially for hours, is so very valid. For me for example, one big issue can sometimes be the noise they make, as well as the noise of the room itself (our fridge is kinda broken and super loud and audible in the free roam area). I'm autistic and very sensitive to sound and wear ANC headphones a lot, but that's not an option in free roam, the girls would 100% chew them. So some days I have to decide between letting them out and having a meltdown later or taking care of my own sensory needs. Soma days that means skipping free roam, others it's just doing it for a shorter amount of time. On good days with lots of time in the other hand, they'll get several hours to enjoy outside too, keeping the balance with those days where they can't come out for long or at all. And I think that's working pretty well
I already knew this before getting them, but honestly everytime I tried they didn’t want to come out, one girl is amazing and will come out a lot but the other two not so much. They just don’t like it, but I’m trying my best to get them out more and more without them feeling uncomfortable
Mine are quite small, I got them less than a week ago and I feel like sometimes they just don't want to explore. I definitely don't want to force them out tho. I built a cardboard wall that I can sit in and they can climb on my legs and arms if they want. But they are still quite shy and tend to hide when I pick them up and put them outside
I free-roamed my rats for the first time yesterday, I've had them for a little over a month but they kept biting and scratching so I didn't wanna make them come out of the cage yet, as every time I walked in they hid. I have a little closet in my room and cleaned it out and put blankets and shoeboxes with tissue paper down inside. I wore a big hoodie, they were hiding in the blankets and clothes I put down but most of the time they were climbing all over me and playing with my hair. I'm so happy I waited because every time I tried to pick them up before they didn't like it.
This is so helpful. I’ve just gotten my first rats after a break of about four years, and now we have a dog! Free roam time looks very different for this generation of rats and your videos are helping so much.
Honestly you are the best rat creator. So kind to people who use different techniques than you, and willing to admit that even though the most ideal situation is one way, a rat can thrive in less than ideal situations. It's not neglect to have a less-than-perfect animal care! When I saw you talk about hormonal aggression a while back, combined with the fact you've said not being able to free-roam every day is fine, it made me so grateful. I struggled so hard with three rats who couldn't be together for months, at the same time as I was ranking up vet bills faster than I could pay them (no job at the time) and your honesty helped me calm down and see solutions rather than wallow in self-pity. Knowing someone with as great rat care and many resources can also struggle with things made me feel so much better. We like to come off as perfect, but truth is that most of us went through phases of life where we had to prioritise. Again, thank you so much. You have inspired me so much to give these little cretins the best life possible! And I love your free-roam area.
So many good tips! When you were saying bathroom free roaming, my mind immediately jumped to bath.. then I remembered rats are MUCH bigger than gerbils, somehow I don't think they'd be too impressed with just a bath to roam in 😅
I tend to freedom 4 or 5 days a week but for around 2 hours a time - fellow POTS lady here! 🙌 They have a big liberta explorer cage, and a group of 6 to entertain each other. Some days I open the cage and within 20 mins they're all back in asleep!
in 2 days im getting two rats as u have inspired me to! my mum had 1 rat as a child an it lived 3 years not depressed and very happy from what ive heard so my mum knows a lot and 1 year ago i started watching you but now i watch u daily tomoz i am tidying my room for them and today i made them toys with cardboard😁😁😁❣❣❣
Your free roam area Is so cool!! I can't wait to work for my own money so I can make a cool free roam room like yours! Thank you for posting videos I love your content! 😊💜💙❤️
I have to say that you should be so proud of what you have created for your rats, not just free roam which is AMAZING, but their enclosures also, you should become a designer for massive houses for the rodents, I am so impressed! Your mouse enclosures are also amazing, you obviously have the flair!🐇🐀🤳🐀🧸
You're so knowledgeable and caring..... And your sweet rats are just the cutest!!!! I'm in love 💕🥰💕 I have 2 rescue bunnies that free roam and I got a lot of great enrichment ideas from your video! Thank you so much for sharing. Much love.
Thank you so much for this video Emi, with a small house I have a lot of trouble finding good ways and places to free roam my rats, and now I have a better idea on how to.
I just want to say, thank you Emi. Me and my girlfriend recently adopted two beautiful boys, and are waiting for our two other boys (Brother's to those two we have) and your videos have really helped us understanding our rats a lot more. Very good content that in my opinion deserves more views and attention!! Thank you!!!
Me and my boyfriend have two female rats (Breadstick and Pickle), we have their cage in the front room and have some cardboard barrier we put up to ensure they cant get to any wires. We free roam them every evening just while watching TV. They started chewing up our carpet but they are so cute I don't mind 😂we have formed a really nice bond with them and have recently started teaching them tricks, so far they know spin and we are working on walk. Malt paste has been a saviour so thanks for the recommendation! Super exciting about your rescue as well. All the best to you and your animals
Put chew toys everywhere so they don't chew up the carpet. And squirt them with a water bottle when they chew the carpet. No, it won't hurt them but they'll understand that it's a no-no and move on.
@Emiology it's like you read my mind this was the exact video I was hoping for. 😁 I have babies, well they are about 10 weeks and 12 weeks and I have a room for them that has been rat proofed. And I have been saving a million boxes to diy some stuff, but am never getting to it. I can't wait to see the website of the sponsor of this video. Thank you for a fresh look at your free roam area. I would love love love it if you could do a video on setting up a rat cage again. Just explaining how you put all the things in there to make it flow so they never have to just slide down the bars of the cage. I have a bunch of perches and ladders and tie organizers and space pods but I cannot make a cage setup that I'm completely happy with.
I’m sure maybe you’ve already explored this option, but Pinterest has saved my life. I go on there and look up “naturalistic rat cage”, get so many ideas, see how their cages flow, helps so much :)
My dog is really scared of hamsters and mice and rats last time I showed him my hamster I ran out side and hid under the out side decking it’s was so funny but now I know not to do that with rats thank u (my hamster past away last year) - keep up the great content.
I just want to say thank you so much for this video I have a Degu and his brother passed away recently but he is four so I don’t think I’m going to be Getting him a budy so I didn’t want him to get bored or lonely so I wanted to try to have free roam time but I didn’t know how to thank you so much for this video
My girls are soooooo happy when they come out for fun. I don’t get them free out for everyday. But I do let them come to me to hang out on my shoulder every day.
This is so helpful, thank you! It's particularly reassuring to hear how you free roam in smaller spaces. If anyone sees this: does anyone have an opinion on how high a fence might be high enough to deter a rat? The easiest way for me to free roam would be to fence off the TV/wires area. I don't have rats yet but I like to be VERY prepared...
in my opinion the fence needs to be about 1,2 meters so the rat can't jump over it, also if they are able to climb up the fence they will get out regardless :D
When I saw the photos I immediately failed in love. Unfortunately Iive too far away so I did not have possibility to take them. Magpie looks exactly like my mice. And I still look for the mice who will be in the same colours as Robin. I am very happy they found the new home and hope they will be happy.
That forraging wheel is amazing! I ordered two from your website and they are such a good quality! 🥰 The best I've ever found! My rats are obsessed! Boys even more then girls which is surprisingly intriguing 😂😇
This gives me a few ideas, my girls and boys enclosures are both in the living room/dining room, and unfortunately, we have 2 cats and a dog but I plan on getting grids or a pen to put them in so they can stretch their legs, for now they have big enclosures with lots of enrichment in them until i can give them free roam time safely
I lay mine go free on bed with their own thick blanket to cover. With big pillows. The whole room is proofed for them but they have never left the bed. They may yet though. Getting very curious lately. Lol
my good rats would always figure out on their own how to get out of the cage. some even figured out how to close the gate afterwards. really stealth missions^^ they would hide inside my clothes when i walk around or went outside and hold their butts outside my sleeves to go poop or pee.
I will openly say i had a scenario in the summer where we creaked the balcony door slightly while the rats were out and i didn’t think they’d wander out as it’s a new flooring and environment. Little did i know
So this is a bit extra but you can pretty easly diy a wooden frame with a rodent proof mesh and clamp it into your window frame, i did that about two years ago and it lasts. my rats love sitting on my window ledge and smelling the outside, it`s their little balcony.
EDIT: Nevermind, you answered exactly this 😂 My new comment is just going to lament that a lot of your recommendations aren't available in Canada so it's a challenge to find alternatives. Thank you for all your info and recommendations regardless though ❤️ What type of varnish do you use for your wooden items? I imagine some are pet safe and some are not.
I once had free roam rats. They RARELY left their cage except for when I got home, they met me at the door, or if something was cooking in the kitchen.
I remember free roaming my first rats on my bed, that was so cosy, they would hide under my pillows haha Sadly with my disabilities it's really really hard to freeroam at all right now so I think rather than beating myself up about it maybe I should take a break from having rats
@@kitsunexoxo6309they just didn't jump off the bed at all because it was too far down but if you're worried you can make a cardboard barrier or put a tall pen next to the bed
This is a great video to get inspiration for my three girls ❤ Also, I was wondering, what type of wood are the branches that you use, and where do you get these? I think some wood types can be poisonous for rats if they eat it, and even though some people say that rats are smart enough to not digest poisonous foods/materials, probably some are but my girls happily eat the plastic/rubber arm rests of my chair (and not leave pieces behind) if I'm not careful 😅 So I would really like to get some bigger branches that I know are safe (I also live in a rural area, so I can't get them from woods nearby). Any help with this would be great! 🤩
Hi, I love your videos, I have just ordered a new cage for my 4 females, the PetPlanet ferret and rat cage. Right now I am using paper bedding but it constantly gets peed on and need to change it all the time, I have seen some of your videos and noticed about 4 years ago you had what looked like cardboard bedding and then 2 years ago you were using a hemp bedding. Can I ask your opinion on what bedding to use please, what are you using now? Many thanks :)
Have you talked more about how to prepare the wood against the rat's pee in previous videos? I didn't know that's possible, and I would love to learn how to do that so the wood habitats can last longer !
Video idea! Can you make a video for rats and getting rats but on a budget? I want rats but I calculated everything I need at first and it came out to almost 500 pounds! ❤❤❤
I build my 24/7 playarea out of 90cm hogh Ikea pictureframes with plexiglas its not the cheapest option but its pretty and mine werent able to escape yet
Hey emi! This is off topic for this video but do you think you could make a little video going over how to find rat breeders? I want rats but i really dont want to get some from petco or petsmart. Im having a hard time finding breeders in my area.
Thank you so much!! I picked up my foster rats 2 days ago (first time having rats) and I was looking for a good Free roaming video! If it's ok, I'd like to ask when a good time to start free roaming them would be? They don't let me pick them up yet, so should I wait or try to pick them up anyway?
emi has two very good videos about bonding with rats, you should check those out i found them pretty helpfull :) in short my opinion is you should give them a few days to settle in before you start picking them up (if they are scared give them about a week, if they're pretty confindent 2 days are enough). while they're setteling in you can let them sniff your hand and talk to them a lot so they get used to you. in my experience if you wait to long (more than a week) to start picking them up they will fight you a lot about it. So once they're ready you wanna pick them up a lot, about ten times a day, i do it like this: i let them sniff my hands and touch them, then i pick them up very confindently and very firm (if a rat ist bitey i recommend starting with garden gloves on so you won't get hurt) and i hold them for abbout 10 seconds, put them back and then immediatly reward them with a treat. in my experience if you do this every day for a couple of weeks your rats will let you pick them up without a problem. my recommendation for when to start freeroaming would be to just open their cage and if they come out they're ready for freeroam :D
Hi, how do you clean the cat tower? I always thought I‘m limited to those with removable covers, so Im curious; how dies it work with the normal ones? :)
Hi, thank you for your videos, they’re really helping educate me before I get my first rats. I was wondering, I just bought a cage and it came with some wooden shelves, would you recommend me varnishing them before I put them in the cage? I’m worried if they chew the wood the varnish wouldn’t be good for them to consume, but I also think they’ll get ruined from rat pee really quickly if I don’t varnish them?
I would! Either take them out or varnish them as they’ll stink very quickly. They’ll be fine if they chew it as they’re not ingesting it, but anywhere they chew will then become exposed and need covering so it can be a bit of a pain
I have a question. Can I use a dehumidifier for my rats? I have a air purifier for them now. I have to take them to the vet I'm pretty sure they have respriory infection. But I was thinking a dehumidifier will help with not breathing in their urine mold etc.? I thought it might help prevent any upper respiratory infections. I haven't seen you mention it. I have seen other owners have purifiers.
i dont have loads of space plus my parents just bought a new carpet and wont let them go on the carpet for obvious reasons. i tried to let them out in the kitchen but theres way to many places for them to escape and one of them got stuck behind the entire kitchen unit now shes super skittish 🙁
Shute I also wanted to ask u something! We recently got a new puppy from a pretty nasty situation. We didn’t notice at first but after a couple of days we realized that she had fleas. I am wondering how common it is for rats to get dog fleas and what to do if this happens? Thank you so much!
You mentioned that you have to varnish the wine rack to protect it. What do you mean by this? I would love to do something to mine so it doesn't get so nasty!
i have a question! how do you deal with the rats peeing on the cat tree? i really wanna get one for my boys but im scared it's gonna smell bad. or is there a way to clean it?
Unrelated but shipping to Georgia, USA is like $30 for about $10 of items on your website right now! I wanted to order a Christmas haul for my new ratties but can’t justify spending 3x the price of products on shipping :( is this because of the holiday season making shipping more expensive? If so I totally get it, it’s just a bummer for now!
Would it be okay to free roam mice? I have a female deer mouse named Salem and I want to let her free roam my bedroom with maze, barricades, block off no no spots, etc. But I want to make sure it okay first.
i was wondering, i have some rats and when i free roam them they just sleep or hide. it’s hard to do it at night because i have school and can’t stay up late. is there anything i can do or is it fine that i at least got them out?
I tried to free roam mine, they even had an entire room just for them to free roam, full of toys and they would just go and find a spot to sleep.. now I don’t free roam anymore as I have 3 rats left and they don’t seem interested at all lol (4.5, 1.5, 1.5)
i always wanted rats and i have the money and excitment for it. i am only 15 and i have split parents, i cant always be with the rats every day if i have them and that really hurts me, i am questioning myself if i should get some now when i have money since its been a long dream for me. Any tips???
It depends how your time is split, if you’re one day there the next day not, as long as the parent who’s house they live at is okay to just check their water and throw some food in they’ll be fine having lots of attention and enrichment on the alternative days 😊
@@Emiology thanks a lot! i will try my pets to try and visit the parent their at after school. though its a bit difficult due to my parents living quite far away from each other. Also i love your vids and im excited to try and have rats!
@@Emiology im mostly at my mom's which is where im planning on having just two to start with. My mom and dad have a week each, my mom have a full week and my dad had a tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday and saturday. think i would be able to be available tuesday, thursday and friday for about 2-3 hours after school. Could that be good enough for them? it would leave them alone for wednesday and saturday which my mom would feed and water them.
Sorry for your loss, no it’s never okay to keep them alone you’ll need to either get more asap or rehome it to someone who can keep them with more rats
Could you also do a video on how to train rats basic training such as spin and agility etc? I already know how to and have done but would be a fun video to watch and inspire others! X
I like free roaming but they didn't want to come back to the cage. I don't mind this but if i have to go somewhere. They were rat popcorn trained but now that is not a good incentive for them. Help?
My old rats used to be trained to come when I shook their treat jar but I forgot to carry that on with these ones and it is a bit of a nightmare getting them back in. If you free roam them before they get fed their main food and they hear you throw it in their cage that usually helps them to come running back in
All of this is important but you don't even think about how a lot of people have house prints and a lot of the time the house plants aren't safe for rats
I'm going to be 100 percent honest with you all We NEVER lock our little boys open ever . We have even had to buy a VAX pet carpet cleaner to clean our home every week because we just cannot see them in a prison cell lol 😂😂
I'm getting 2 rats this summer but my mom is really worried about my dog, what a suprise, he's a mix and part of that mix is a breed made to KILL rodents, wow what a shocker😐 I never let him in my room, I always close my door when I leave, and my door gap is very small. Thankfully my dog isn't very big so he's easier to shoo away from my door. Just want to be sure though, any more advice? I'm honestly a little scared myself but yk😞
You could put a baby gate on your door just for the added level of protection / ease of getting in without your dog. I’ve seen ones used for front doors where it folds open and you can open your door without the dog going through
Hi, I know this is a bit late, but does anybody have tips about free roaming rats when your cage and your play area (my bathroom right now, they always jump out of their playpen) are in separate rooms? I have had a lot of struggle with getting them out and trying a whole bunch of playpens, but I think my only option is my bathroom, as I have two cats and I don’t want anything to happen to my rats. It’s quite difficult to transfer them from one room to another without making it a stressful experience. I tried a box a couple of times, but it’s hard to grab them and put them in there, and I think it’s stressful. I would love free roam to be an exciting and fun time for them. I would really, really appreciate any tips from anyone. Thank you so much for reading.
@@Emiology Hi again! This didn’t seem to work too well. They looked at it a few times, but ignored it. They seemed to have zero interest in going in there. Is there something else i’m supposed to be doing?
@squid2400 Hii! Sorry for the really late response, I have been busy. As for your question, I did find a solution. I was able to squeeze the rat cage through my doorway and into my bathroom (right across the hallway). I have the double critter nation and it just (luckily) barely fits through. I use a small tile to block off the bottom so my cats cannot accidentally hurt the rats in any way. I also keep this tile in the hole whenever my cats are allowed in my room (almost always). Let me know if you have any other questions and again, sorry for the late response.
It's pretty easy to tame them- at least I think so. the only downside is you have to wait days... maybe months and give them LOTS of attention. stick your hand in their cage maybe an 30 minutes to an hour every day when you can (treats are recommended). get them use to your voice defenitely. and after a few days of them settling in their surroundings, gently hold them. keep doing it until they start to calm down in your hands (they shouldn't give up from exhaustion, they should relax).
So i don't know how long you have your rats but if you don't have them that long maybe you just need time, anyways i have tamed a lot of difficult rats and i'm happy to give advice :) so i start with giving them a lot of treats (small treats so the don`t get chonky) and talking to them while they're in their cage, i do that a lot so they get used to having me around. i let them sniff my hands and touch them very briefly and then reward being touched with a treat. basically i just sit in front of the cage for hours and talk to them and when they come up to me i touch them and them give them a treat immediatly. when you notice that they're calm around you it's time to get used to getting picked up. you wanna pick them up a lot, about ten times a day, i do it like this: i let them sniff my hands and touch them, then i pick them up very confindently and very firm (if a rat ist bitey i recommend starting with garden gloves on so you won't get hurt) and i hold them for abbout 10 seconds, put them back and then immediatly reward them with a treat. in my experience if you do this every day for a couple of weeks your rats will let you pick them up without a problem.
I will be forever sad that PETSGANG sell hamster cages as small as 33x23x20 cm and think that's okay. I have actually never seen such small cages on any website! Their wooden products look great, but I cannot get behind a company that sells such small cages for hamster that are waaaaaaaaay below the minimum requirement. Sad.
Can I just say thank you for being real and stating it’s okay not to be able to free roam your rats each and every day for hours at a time.. I think this “you must allow them to free roam for 2-3 hours everyday otherwise you’re the worst pet owner in the world” is quite a damaging statement that I see a lot of people preach on rat care websites online and this overwhelms people and or makes them feel so crappy as a pet owner, so thank you so much 🧡 also really important though to ensure cages are active, enriching and stimulating for the animals exactly as you said! 🥰 X
This this this. Rats should definitely come out multiple times a week, especially when they're young, but not being able to do absolutely every single day you have them, especially for hours, is so very valid. For me for example, one big issue can sometimes be the noise they make, as well as the noise of the room itself (our fridge is kinda broken and super loud and audible in the free roam area). I'm autistic and very sensitive to sound and wear ANC headphones a lot, but that's not an option in free roam, the girls would 100% chew them. So some days I have to decide between letting them out and having a meltdown later or taking care of my own sensory needs. Soma days that means skipping free roam, others it's just doing it for a shorter amount of time. On good days with lots of time in the other hand, they'll get several hours to enjoy outside too, keeping the balance with those days where they can't come out for long or at all. And I think that's working pretty well
I already knew this before getting them, but honestly everytime I tried they didn’t want to come out, one girl is amazing and will come out a lot but the other two not so much. They just don’t like it, but I’m trying my best to get them out more and more without them feeling uncomfortable
It's funny because when I let mine free roam, within a couple of hours they're all laying in their cage sleepy
Mine are quite small, I got them less than a week ago and I feel like sometimes they just don't want to explore. I definitely don't want to force them out tho. I built a cardboard wall that I can sit in and they can climb on my legs and arms if they want. But they are still quite shy and tend to hide when I pick them up and put them outside
ive been carrying this guilt for years
I free-roamed my rats for the first time yesterday, I've had them for a little over a month but they kept biting and scratching so I didn't wanna make them come out of the cage yet, as every time I walked in they hid. I have a little closet in my room and cleaned it out and put blankets and shoeboxes with tissue paper down inside. I wore a big hoodie, they were hiding in the blankets and clothes I put down but most of the time they were climbing all over me and playing with my hair. I'm so happy I waited because every time I tried to pick them up before they didn't like it.
This is so helpful. I’ve just gotten my first rats after a break of about four years, and now we have a dog! Free roam time looks very different for this generation of rats and your videos are helping so much.
Honestly you are the best rat creator. So kind to people who use different techniques than you, and willing to admit that even though the most ideal situation is one way, a rat can thrive in less than ideal situations. It's not neglect to have a less-than-perfect animal care!
When I saw you talk about hormonal aggression a while back, combined with the fact you've said not being able to free-roam every day is fine, it made me so grateful. I struggled so hard with three rats who couldn't be together for months, at the same time as I was ranking up vet bills faster than I could pay them (no job at the time) and your honesty helped me calm down and see solutions rather than wallow in self-pity. Knowing someone with as great rat care and many resources can also struggle with things made me feel so much better. We like to come off as perfect, but truth is that most of us went through phases of life where we had to prioritise. Again, thank you so much. You have inspired me so much to give these little cretins the best life possible! And I love your free-roam area.
So many good tips! When you were saying bathroom free roaming, my mind immediately jumped to bath.. then I remembered rats are MUCH bigger than gerbils, somehow I don't think they'd be too impressed with just a bath to roam in 😅
It works quite well for babies but once they learn to jump out once they can never be contained 😂
@@Emiology same for gerbils tbh, Timon managed it once and that was the end of that 😂
@@PetConnectionInternational Timon is such a cute name omg😭😭
@@casluvs They were called Timon & Pumbaa because they "dig a tunnel, dig dig a tunnel" 😆
Fabulous free roam area. The cat tree is a brilliant Idea and they have such a variety of bings to entertain them.
Was lovely seeing the boys free roam. When I had rats I use to have lots of fun times free roaming them
I tend to freedom 4 or 5 days a week but for around 2 hours a time - fellow POTS lady here! 🙌 They have a big liberta explorer cage, and a group of 6 to entertain each other. Some days I open the cage and within 20 mins they're all back in asleep!
I fell head over heels in love with the wooden castle. My girls are absolutely getting that one. You have just about the sweetest sweetest boys ever
A big box full of tissue and smaller boxes, straw/hay, tubes, your old junk mail will keep them happy for ages.
in 2 days im getting two rats as u have inspired me to! my mum had 1 rat as a child an it lived 3 years not depressed and very happy from what ive heard so my mum knows a lot and 1 year ago i started watching you but now i watch u daily tomoz i am tidying my room for them and today i made them toys with cardboard😁😁😁❣❣❣
What did y’all name them?
I just got my rats two days ago and your channel has really helped me
Your free roam area Is so cool!! I can't wait to work for my own money so I can make a cool free roam room like yours! Thank you for posting videos I love your content! 😊💜💙❤️
Omg the rats have such a nice room they must be so happy! ❤
I have to say that you should be so proud of what you have created for your rats, not just free roam which is AMAZING, but their enclosures also, you should become a designer for massive houses for the rodents, I am so impressed! Your mouse enclosures are also amazing, you obviously have the flair!🐇🐀🤳🐀🧸
You're so knowledgeable and caring..... And your sweet rats are just the cutest!!!! I'm in love 💕🥰💕 I have 2 rescue bunnies that free roam and I got a lot of great enrichment ideas from your video! Thank you so much for sharing. Much love.
Thank you that's so kind!
Thank you so much for this video Emi, with a small house I have a lot of trouble finding good ways and places to free roam my rats, and now I have a better idea on how to.
That rat “aquarium” habitat is sweet !!
I want to do the same thing. I just made them a 24” x 24” maze out of cardboard and they loved it :)
I just want to say, thank you Emi. Me and my girlfriend recently adopted two beautiful boys, and are waiting for our two other boys (Brother's to those two we have) and your videos have really helped us understanding our rats a lot more. Very good content that in my opinion deserves more views and attention!! Thank you!!!
Me and my boyfriend have two female rats (Breadstick and Pickle), we have their cage in the front room and have some cardboard barrier we put up to ensure they cant get to any wires. We free roam them every evening just while watching TV. They started chewing up our carpet but they are so cute I don't mind 😂we have formed a really nice bond with them and have recently started teaching them tricks, so far they know spin and we are working on walk. Malt paste has been a saviour so thanks for the recommendation! Super exciting about your rescue as well. All the best to you and your animals
Put chew toys everywhere so they don't chew up the carpet. And squirt them with a water bottle when they chew the carpet. No, it won't hurt them but they'll understand that it's a no-no and move on.
your animals must be the happiest
Watching this while my rats are free roaming. 😆
Edit: Aero is such a character, I loved the clip of him digging in dirt! ❤
@Emiology it's like you read my mind this was the exact video I was hoping for. 😁 I have babies, well they are about 10 weeks and 12 weeks and I have a room for them that has been rat proofed. And I have been saving a million boxes to diy some stuff, but am never getting to it. I can't wait to see the website of the sponsor of this video. Thank you for a fresh look at your free roam area. I would love love love it if you could do a video on setting up a rat cage again. Just explaining how you put all the things in there to make it flow so they never have to just slide down the bars of the cage. I have a bunch of perches and ladders and tie organizers and space pods but I cannot make a cage setup that I'm completely happy with.
I’m sure maybe you’ve already explored this option, but Pinterest has saved my life.
I go on there and look up “naturalistic rat cage”, get so many ideas, see how their cages flow, helps so much :)
You give such good advice I’m really glad for that bc I’m getting 2 rats 🐀 and now I already know some stuff so tysm
What’s their names? If you don’t mind me asking.
My dog is really scared of hamsters and mice and rats last time I showed him my hamster I ran out side and hid under the out side decking it’s was so funny but now I know not to do that with rats thank u (my hamster past away last year) - keep up the great content.
That's not funny the dog was scared..??
This is all so cute! The clear treat circle kinda reminds me of a vending machine…they know exactly what they want and the pay is the brain usage 😂
I just want to say thank you so much for this video I have a Degu and his brother passed away recently but he is four so I don’t think I’m going to be Getting him a budy so I didn’t want him to get bored or lonely so I wanted to try to have free roam time but I didn’t know how to thank you so much for this video
Great video! I am learning so much about rats from you. I had no idea they could pea fish!
Thank you! I will need to know how to free roam my rats since i just got them yesterday
and after they get bonded to me I will need to do this .
My girls are soooooo happy when they come out for fun. I don’t get them free out for everyday. But I do let them come to me to hang out on my shoulder every day.
This is so helpful, thank you! It's particularly reassuring to hear how you free roam in smaller spaces.
If anyone sees this: does anyone have an opinion on how high a fence might be high enough to deter a rat? The easiest way for me to free roam would be to fence off the TV/wires area. I don't have rats yet but I like to be VERY prepared...
in my opinion the fence needs to be about 1,2 meters so the rat can't jump over it, also if they are able to climb up the fence they will get out regardless :D
Another fab vid!
Love your imagination!
(Loving that castle too!)
When I saw the photos I immediately failed in love. Unfortunately Iive too far away so I did not have possibility to take them. Magpie looks exactly like my mice. And I still look for the mice who will be in the same colours as Robin.
I am very happy they found the new home and hope they will be happy.
That forraging wheel is amazing! I ordered two from your website and they are such a good quality! 🥰 The best I've ever found! My rats are obsessed! Boys even more then girls which is surprisingly intriguing 😂😇
"or you share that space with predators like dogs and cats or other family members" that killed me🤣
“If you share your house with predators like ... other family members” LOL
This gives me a few ideas, my girls and boys enclosures are both in the living room/dining room, and unfortunately, we have 2 cats and a dog but I plan on getting grids or a pen to put them in so they can stretch their legs, for now they have big enclosures with lots of enrichment in them until i can give them free roam time safely
I lay mine go free on bed with their own thick blanket to cover. With big pillows. The whole room is proofed for them but they have never left the bed. They may yet though. Getting very curious lately. Lol
my good rats would always figure out on their own how to get out of the cage. some even figured out how to close the gate afterwards. really stealth missions^^ they would hide inside my clothes when i walk around or went outside and hold their butts outside my sleeves to go poop or pee.
I will openly say i had a scenario in the summer where we creaked the balcony door slightly while the rats were out and i didn’t think they’d wander out as it’s a new flooring and environment. Little did i know
(They we’re fine, they wandered slightly out but not one rat was hurt)
So this is a bit extra but you can pretty easly diy a wooden frame with a rodent proof mesh and clamp it into your window frame, i did that about two years ago and it lasts. my rats love sitting on my window ledge and smelling the outside, it`s their little balcony.
EDIT: Nevermind, you answered exactly this 😂 My new comment is just going to lament that a lot of your recommendations aren't available in Canada so it's a challenge to find alternatives. Thank you for all your info and recommendations regardless though ❤️
What type of varnish do you use for your wooden items? I imagine some are pet safe and some are not.
this vid is so good
thanks for making this it helps so much
I once had free roam rats. They RARELY left their cage except for when I got home, they met me at the door, or if something was cooking in the kitchen.
Thank you for your videos, they’re so helpful! How often do you have to fully change the mud and packing materials? Thanks
It’s a very enriching space for free roam, it’s kind of like disney world but for rats, lol.
I remember free roaming my first rats on my bed, that was so cosy, they would hide under my pillows haha
Sadly with my disabilities it's really really hard to freeroam at all right now so I think rather than beating myself up about it maybe I should take a break from having rats
How did you do this without them jumping down on the floor?
@@kitsunexoxo6309they just didn't jump off the bed at all because it was too far down but if you're worried you can make a cardboard barrier or put a tall pen next to the bed
Our rats can go from the cage to the couch when we are out watching tv & they love it
I did that for a little while but then they figured out how to go down into the couch.
Excellent as always. What quality dried food do you advise,
i love your tips!!
I can't wait till I get my rats
This is amazing and so helpful! Can you make a video of how to make a painting with a rat? I love your little ones they're so cute
Any tips for rats that aren't potty trained? I have carpet in my room and my rats refuse to use a litter box
what are the plastic bits in their actual cage that you've placed on the sides of their cage to make their substrate deeper?
This is a great video to get inspiration for my three girls ❤ Also, I was wondering, what type of wood are the branches that you use, and where do you get these? I think some wood types can be poisonous for rats if they eat it, and even though some people say that rats are smart enough to not digest poisonous foods/materials, probably some are but my girls happily eat the plastic/rubber arm rests of my chair (and not leave pieces behind) if I'm not careful 😅 So I would really like to get some bigger branches that I know are safe (I also live in a rural area, so I can't get them from woods nearby). Any help with this would be great! 🤩
Hi, I love your videos, I have just ordered a new cage for my 4 females, the PetPlanet ferret and rat cage. Right now I am using paper bedding but it constantly gets peed on and need to change it all the time, I have seen some of your videos and noticed about 4 years ago you had what looked like cardboard bedding and then 2 years ago you were using a hemp bedding. Can I ask your opinion on what bedding to use please, what are you using now? Many thanks :)
Too cute!! I'm definitely gonna get some rats :))
will Aero and Kinder be doing their own rat paintings any time soon? thats a video id love to see if they haven't already done some x
Have you talked more about how to prepare the wood against the rat's pee in previous videos? I didn't know that's possible, and I would love to learn how to do that so the wood habitats can last longer !
I know this is a bit late, but she explained in one video that she uses some kind of varnish so they don’t stain it.
Do you have a video that goes more into the varnish and how to clean and reuse wood toys/shelves for rats?
is it okay to make something out of lego for rats? (not for in the cage but only when free roaming when i watch them)
Can you do a space easier to meet their needs. I only have 800 square feet and no storage.
Video idea!
Can you make a video for rats and getting rats but on a budget? I want rats but I calculated everything I need at first and it came out to almost 500 pounds! ❤❤❤
I build my 24/7 playarea out of 90cm hogh Ikea pictureframes with plexiglas its not the cheapest option but its pretty and mine werent able to escape yet
I am going to do this option, because I don’t have enough money for a tall rat cage, but I do for this =)
I had no idea this is going to be as much fun for them as me thank you so much> Doby and savior thank you too
Hey emi! This is off topic for this video but do you think you could make a little video going over how to find rat breeders? I want rats but i really dont want to get some from petco or petsmart. Im having a hard time finding breeders in my area.
Do you varnish your wooden branches and bridges too?
Thank you so much!! I picked up my foster rats 2 days ago (first time having rats) and I was looking for a good Free roaming video! If it's ok, I'd like to ask when a good time to start free roaming them would be? They don't let me pick them up yet, so should I wait or try to pick them up anyway?
emi has two very good videos about bonding with rats, you should check those out i found them pretty helpfull :) in short my opinion is you should give them a few days to settle in before you start picking them up (if they are scared give them about a week, if they're pretty confindent 2 days are enough). while they're setteling in you can let them sniff your hand and talk to them a lot so they get used to you. in my experience if you wait to long (more than a week) to start picking them up they will fight you a lot about it. So once they're ready you wanna pick them up a lot, about ten times a day, i do it like this: i let them sniff my hands and touch them, then i pick them up very confindently and very firm (if a rat ist bitey i recommend starting with garden gloves on so you won't get hurt) and i hold them for abbout 10 seconds, put them back and then immediatly reward them with a treat. in my experience if you do this every day for a couple of weeks your rats will let you pick them up without a problem.
my recommendation for when to start freeroaming would be to just open their cage and if they come out they're ready for freeroam :D
@@deineoma6244 Thank you!!!
I'm in the states using a Double Critter Nation cage but my boys seem to stay under the cage more than outside of it. anyway to help with that?
Hi, how do you clean the cat tower? I always thought I‘m limited to those with removable covers, so Im curious; how dies it work with the normal ones? :)
If it needs doing I either just use pet safe disinfectant and a sponge on certain areas or I have an upholstery cleaner that would work
Hi, thank you for your videos, they’re really helping educate me before I get my first rats. I was wondering, I just bought a cage and it came with some wooden shelves, would you recommend me varnishing them before I put them in the cage? I’m worried if they chew the wood the varnish wouldn’t be good for them to consume, but I also think they’ll get ruined from rat pee really quickly if I don’t varnish them?
I would! Either take them out or varnish them as they’ll stink very quickly. They’ll be fine if they chew it as they’re not ingesting it, but anywhere they chew will then become exposed and need covering so it can be a bit of a pain
@@Emiology thank you so much, that’s super helpful :)
I have a question. Can I use a dehumidifier for my rats? I have a air purifier for them now. I have to take them to the vet I'm pretty sure they have respriory infection. But I was thinking a dehumidifier will help with not breathing in their urine mold etc.? I thought it might help prevent any upper respiratory infections. I haven't seen you mention it. I have seen other owners have purifiers.
Rats do better in higher humidity of around 50-60%, having dryer air would probably worsen any breathing problems!
@@Emiology ok oh thank you! I'm so glad I didn't buy one. Should I get a humidifier? Or does that depend?
i dont have loads of space plus my parents just bought a new carpet and wont let them go on the carpet for obvious reasons. i tried to let them out in the kitchen but theres way to many places for them to escape and one of them got stuck behind the entire kitchen unit now shes super skittish 🙁
How do you do pea fishing?
Shute I also wanted to ask u something! We recently got a new puppy from a pretty nasty situation. We didn’t notice at first but after a couple of days we realized that she had fleas. I am wondering how common it is for rats to get dog fleas and what to do if this happens? Thank you so much!
I’ve got the wine rack but I’m not sure what varnish to use that’s safe.. which one do you use?
You mentioned that you have to varnish the wine rack to protect it. What do you mean by this? I would love to do something to mine so it doesn't get so nasty!
Same please! 😁 I want to make sure that I get the correct type for their sensitive noses.
i have a question!
how do you deal with the rats peeing on the cat tree? i really wanna get one for my boys but im scared it's gonna smell bad. or is there a way to clean it?
Unrelated but shipping to Georgia, USA is like $30 for about $10 of items on your website right now! I wanted to order a Christmas haul for my new ratties but can’t justify spending 3x the price of products on shipping :( is this because of the holiday season making shipping more expensive? If so I totally get it, it’s just a bummer for now!
Unfortunately that’s just the cost of sending orders to the US, the shipping is based on weight and there’s not much I can do about the price 🥲
@@Emiology I figured! I’ll just save up for the special goodies sometimes, of course my girls must have the malt paste :) thanks!
what kind of dirt or can I use yard dirt?
Would it be okay to free roam mice? I have a female deer mouse named Salem and I want to let her free roam my bedroom with maze, barricades, block off no no spots, etc. But I want to make sure it okay first.
If you feel your room is secure enough and she will come back, but I don’t personally risk it with my fancy mice because of their size
Do they go in a litter box? If not, how often do you have to clean up all the pee and poop?
In their cage they do, but they go back to the cage for that
@@Emiology I bet that stinks up the whole place.
Not really
Watching this as my 6 girls climb around on their cat/rat tree
i was wondering, i have some rats and when i free roam them they just sleep or hide. it’s hard to do it at night because i have school and can’t stay up late. is there anything i can do or is it fine that i at least got them out?
I tried to free roam mine, they even had an entire room just for them to free roam, full of toys and they would just go and find a spot to sleep.. now I don’t free roam anymore as I have 3 rats left and they don’t seem interested at all lol (4.5, 1.5, 1.5)
Is it possible for dogs and rats to get along with each other? Thanks
Is it possible? Yes? Should it be done? No
How do you stop the cat tree from stinking of pee
i always wanted rats and i have the money and excitment for it. i am only 15 and i have split parents, i cant always be with the rats every day if i have them and that really hurts me, i am questioning myself if i should get some now when i have money since its been a long dream for me. Any tips???
It depends how your time is split, if you’re one day there the next day not, as long as the parent who’s house they live at is okay to just check their water and throw some food in they’ll be fine having lots of attention and enrichment on the alternative days 😊
@@Emiology thanks a lot! i will try my pets to try and visit the parent their at after school. though its a bit difficult due to my parents living quite far away from each other. Also i love your vids and im excited to try and have rats!
@@Emiology im mostly at my mom's which is where im planning on having just two to start with. My mom and dad have a week each, my mom have a full week and my dad had a tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday and saturday. think i would be able to be available tuesday, thursday and friday for about 2-3 hours after school. Could that be good enough for them? it would leave them alone for wednesday and saturday which my mom would feed and water them.
Hi one of my two ratties died and I was wondering is it ok to keep one and just really spoil him?
Sorry for your loss, no it’s never okay to keep them alone you’ll need to either get more asap or rehome it to someone who can keep them with more rats
Could you also do a video on how to train rats basic training such as spin and agility etc? I already know how to and have done but would be a fun video to watch and inspire others! X
I did a long time ago! I don't have an agility kit anymore though
@@Emiology ah fair enough! I did actually think it sounded familiar when I was typing x
I like free roaming but they didn't want to come back to the cage. I don't mind this but if i have to go somewhere. They were rat popcorn trained but now that is not a good incentive for them. Help?
My old rats used to be trained to come when I shook their treat jar but I forgot to carry that on with these ones and it is a bit of a nightmare getting them back in. If you free roam them before they get fed their main food and they hear you throw it in their cage that usually helps them to come running back in
What is that behind you?
All of this is important but you don't even think about how a lot of people have house prints and a lot of the time the house plants aren't safe for rats
I'm going to be 100 percent honest with you all
We NEVER lock our little boys open ever . We have even had to buy a VAX pet carpet cleaner to clean our home every week because we just cannot see them in a prison cell lol 😂😂
I'm getting 2 rats this summer but my mom is really worried about my dog, what a suprise, he's a mix and part of that mix is a breed made to KILL rodents, wow what a shocker😐 I never let him in my room, I always close my door when I leave, and my door gap is very small. Thankfully my dog isn't very big so he's easier to shoo away from my door. Just want to be sure though, any more advice? I'm honestly a little scared myself but yk😞
You could put a baby gate on your door just for the added level of protection / ease of getting in without your dog. I’ve seen ones used for front doors where it folds open and you can open your door without the dog going through
@@Emiology ty for the advice :D
Can I keep two male rats together in the same cage and if so is it okay if one is younger than the other?
Yes you can, but young / baby rats need same age company
@@Emiology So it would be best to have the same age (mine is 11weeks now) as mine and not a younger one?
it would be best to get two youger rats and introduce them to the rat you have now, rats do better in groups of 3 or more then in pairs
Hi, I know this is a bit late, but does anybody have tips about free roaming rats when your cage and your play area (my bathroom right now, they always jump out of their playpen) are in separate rooms? I have had a lot of struggle with getting them out and trying a whole bunch of playpens, but I think my only option is my bathroom, as I have two cats and I don’t want anything to happen to my rats. It’s quite difficult to transfer them from one room to another without making it a stressful experience. I tried a box a couple of times, but it’s hard to grab them and put them in there, and I think it’s stressful. I would love free roam to be an exciting and fun time for them.
I would really, really appreciate any tips from anyone. Thank you so much for reading.
Have a tube you coax them into then into a carrier ☺️
Thank you so incredibly much for responding to me! I will try this as soon as I can!
@@Emiology Hi again! This didn’t seem to work too well. They looked at it a few times, but ignored it. They seemed to have zero interest in going in there. Is there something else i’m supposed to be doing?
@@RaticalRatsI'm having the same issue as u. did u find a solution?
@squid2400 Hii! Sorry for the really late response, I have been busy.
As for your question, I did find a solution. I was able to squeeze the rat cage through my doorway and into my bathroom (right across the hallway). I have the double critter nation and it just (luckily) barely fits through.
I use a small tile to block off the bottom so my cats cannot accidentally hurt the rats in any way. I also keep this tile in the hole whenever my cats are allowed in my room (almost always).
Let me know if you have any other questions and again, sorry for the late response.
my rats always hide, idk how to tame them 😢🐀
pls give advice 🤍
It's pretty easy to tame them- at least I think so. the only downside is you have to wait days... maybe months and give them LOTS of attention. stick your hand in their cage maybe an 30 minutes to an hour every day when you can (treats are recommended). get them use to your voice defenitely. and after a few days of them settling in their surroundings, gently hold them. keep doing it until they start to calm down in your hands (they shouldn't give up from exhaustion, they should relax).
So i don't know how long you have your rats but if you don't have them that long maybe you just need time, anyways i have tamed a lot of difficult rats and i'm happy to give advice :)
so i start with giving them a lot of treats (small treats so the don`t get chonky) and talking to them while they're in their cage, i do that a lot so they get used to having me around. i let them sniff my hands and touch them very briefly and then reward being touched with a treat. basically i just sit in front of the cage for hours and talk to them and when they come up to me i touch them and them give them a treat immediatly. when you notice that they're calm around you it's time to get used to getting picked up. you wanna pick them up a lot, about ten times a day, i do it like this: i let them sniff my hands and touch them, then i pick them up very confindently and very firm (if a rat ist bitey i recommend starting with garden gloves on so you won't get hurt) and i hold them for abbout 10 seconds, put them back and then immediatly reward them with a treat. in my experience if you do this every day for a couple of weeks your rats will let you pick them up without a problem.
I will be forever sad that PETSGANG sell hamster cages as small as 33x23x20 cm and think that's okay. I have actually never seen such small cages on any website! Their wooden products look great, but I cannot get behind a company that sells such small cages for hamster that are waaaaaaaaay below the minimum requirement. Sad.
On their Etsy?
@@Emiology On their website
@@Emiology And I checked it now, they sell those cages on their Etsy too...
I’ll have a look and have a word with them 😳