[KyraWolf92]

So I got my rats two days ago. So far everything seems to be going fine. The sisters love one another and they really seem to enjoy our presence. Noodle is a cuddly type and loves getting petted while crawling in the corners of your shirt. Cookie is less relaxed but does love to groom both Noodle and the rest of my family and me.

When playing with them in their carton-circle, they seem to get really excited to the point where they dare to do more than I want them to. I've already noticed that when I am not in the circle myself, the rats really dislike playing on their own (The toys don't seem interesting enough for them) and so they start to jump on the edge of the carton, which can sometimes be dangerous. (Cookie jumped today and even got stuck with her behind legs over the edge. I took her off as soon as possible and checked if she was okay and luckily she seems to be). When I am in the circle tho, they get really excited and crawl on top of me the entire time. I don't mind them doing that, but they often tend to crawl on my back where I have a hard time grabbing them, so if they then decide to jump on the edge of the carton, it could be even more dangerous.

They don't do anything other than crawling on me, and I would love for them to just play while carefully crawling on top of me every once in a while. How do I calm a rat down? I don't need them to be all cuddly and sleepy because they are enough times, I just don't want them to keep crawling on my back, and crawl right back up when I place them down. Picking them up and firmly saying "No!" doesn't seem to help very well either.

 

[Tinytoes]

Hello and welcome! How old are your rats? The younger they are, the more energy. They calm down as they get older. Or if these two are full grown, they could just be overly excited about their new home and free roaming. If you are concerned with them jumping the wall (I have a potential jail-breaker right now) then perhaps make your area bigger and sit in the middle so they can't use you to jump.

 

[lfraser06]

Rats do what rats do. 😊
That being said ... you may have to build their carton circle higher. Or you can look into those plastic squares to make an area they can't easily climb. Something like this :

I have taught my rats to understand "no", but not by scolding. When they were climbing where I didn't want them to, I would use a finger to gently push them down and say "no". Evenually they understood. They listen about 80% of the time. I would worry that if they learned "no" in your context - they would related that to other times when it's ok to climb on you. It would be confusing for them.

 

[KyraWolf92]

Hello and welcome! How old are your rats? The younger they are, the more energy. They calm down as they get older. Or if these two are full grown, they could just be overly excited about their new home and free roaming. If you are concerned with them jumping the wall (I have a potential jail-breaker right now) then perhaps make your area bigger and sit in the middle so they can't use you to jump.

They are both 5 months old. Their behavior indeed probably has to do with their age, and it's just the start of their nurturing. We're trying to give them treats when they don't crawl around too hastily. So far it seems to help a little, but what can I say, we've only had them for 3 days now. I guess the carton ring still just makes them a little nervous, especially without one of us sitting in the middle. We thought about actually buying a plastic shield like those, that should be the best solution. Thank you for your reply!

 

[KyraWolf92]

Rats do what rats do. 😊
That being said ... you may have to build their carton circle higher. Or you can look into those plastic squares to make an area they can't easily climb. Something like this :
View attachment 303411
View attachment 303410

I have taught my rats to understand "no", but not by scolding. When they were climbing where I didn't want them to, I would use a finger to gently push them down and say "no". Evenually they understood. They listen about 80% of the time. I would worry that if they learned "no" in your context - they would related that to other times when it's ok to climb on you. It would be confusing for them.

Yep, those are the ones we are probably gonna buy. And don't worry, I don't say no when they jump on me, only when I can actually see them embracing themselves to jump on the edge (not when they sniff something outside or anything, only when I actually see them scootching their back paws back a little bit and placing their front paws low on the ground).I also hold them up a little and then say "no" when they actually jumped.

I must say I am new to handling rats, but I'm trying my best. So if it doesn't seem right, don't be scared to tell me.