I love your videos 😃 I have 4 rats and you’ve given me some really good ideas here for future reference. I definitely want to get a cat tree now and make it into a cool playing area for them.
My wee girls I have had them for 2 weeks, they are only babies, coco freezes but after 15 minutes of trying her unfrozen she does came around fudge is very confident little girl just started to handle her outside of her cage so it’s very interesting watching your videos for advice for the next step in the progress
Here's a fun little video I shot of my two pigs. The smaller one is my sow Dorothy and the bigger one is my boar named Bam. Enjoy 👍🙂 czcams.com/video/A0bL2LbadCc/video.html I rescued them seperatly, I bonded them myself, they were both lonely single pigs, Dorothy is 4 and bam is around 1.5 to 2 years old. A few months after I got him neutered, dot had to have an emergency full spay operation, so he lost his plums for no reason in the end 😂🤦♂️
They are gorgeous, I do think Guinea pigs are amongst the cutest animals. I struggled when I looked after my brothers though with there lack of intelligence being used to rats lol, I think his were worse than most though as they had a really poor start as classroom pets so all this enrichment I tried for them they just didn’t understand (apparently scatter feeding means instance loss of all food ever as does introducing a hay rack...)
@@IsamuRatCare my first 2 were ex abused classroom pets and sound pretty much the same. The 2 I have now I've had both from when they were 9 weeks old and they are pretty clever little animals. Rats I think are more intelligent and the fact they can grab stuff with their front paws and have really good agility just adds to that. I just wish rats lived a little longer, even sort of 4 or 5 isn't too much to ask lol. I've had Guinea pigs go to 6 and 7, 7 is normally when bit health issues start. Alot of people lose Guinea from about 5 to 7 years old I do want to keep having rats I think, but I have my eye on degus for the future, not too sure though 🤔
How about a pair of gambians? Though to be fair they are a long way off domesticated pet yet. I would personally like ferrets too but my hubby wouldn’t be able to cope with the smell
@@IsamuRatCare don't know what Gambians are so will Google that later lol. Ferrets id like, but yea.. I had a friend who had Ferrets and he actually just smelt of ferret
My rats have their own room and ate out for about 4/5 hours a day. They go back in their cage when they're ready. They have loads to do in there. It's not a big room, just big enough. Two of mine absolutely hate being touched and they try and bite me, but my third one is so confident and loves being with me. I don't know how I'm going to get the other two the same as her, I've tried so many things.
I would try going back to basics for a while and not free range then in a large area. Try interacting directly with them in the cage and maybe on a chair or sofa they can't get off. Too much space encourages them to avoid learning your a good thing
I knew he was a good rat under all his stress over moving house. He's got a lovely nature and clearly wants to be friends. He's still a little hand shy but does enjoy himself
I'm thinking about getting a group of rats in the future and I was thinking I could free range them in the bath tub for the small space and when they get used to me I will just let them run around my room. Would that be alright. Also I love your videos and have given me a lot of ideas to put in my future rat cage.
My rat picks up random pieces of dropped bread, seeds, peas, and empty food wrappers while she is free ranging, and hoards them under a giant plush monkey. Smh...😂
This is such a great resource, thank you! I have one question though: free range makes me quite a bit nervous (danger of escape), so while I do always meet the minimum time per day, I often chop free range time up in segments of around 10-15 minutes. is there any problem with that?
It depends, if the rats are up to full speed and active in that time then that’s fine, if they take a while to get going better to try a longer spell. But in reality you don’t need to tick a perfect box every day, not get there straight away. So if it takes you time to get confidence to give a long free range doing with
@@IsamuRatCare Ah great thank you very much! They are very active and running about from the first second, so that should be okay:) And I try to increase the duration every time. thank you!!
Thanks for some extra tips i havent thought about. Is feathers ok, i thought they might chew on them and choke? And for the cat tree what did you use for the landings? Do you take it off for washing or are you able to just wash it on the cat tree? I havent gotten a cat tree for the fact of peeing on the carpeted areas. How do you keep the garage cool in the summer? What kind of heater do you use? Sorry for all the questions but i love your rat room and wish to have my own full room for my rats someday.
Feathers are fine, they don't eat them as much as destroy them. A cat wand is a great toy for chasing though mine happily chase my hands too. The cat tree is covered in pvc cloth (wipe down), I just stapled and taped it in place. It's great for cleaning. The garage is brick built and insulated/dry lined so is as good as the top part of our house at heat in summer. It gets hotter than I'd like but I have windows I can open when the outside air is cooler and use a fan plus pleanty of frozen Dr squiggles and veg when it gets hot. The heater is an oil filled plug in radiator with thermostat so it doesn't heat heavily but keeps it topped up to a reasonable amount. I aim for around 12-14 over winter unless I have litters then I go a little warmer. It really is a good environment for them. I am very lucky.
@@IsamuRatCare thanks so much. I think i will be keeping an eye out for a cat tree this summer. Never thought of using a cat wand. Your rat room is awesome!
You need to make sure you block off access to anything dangerous to them or that you don't want damaging. Creating a play pen can be a good idea or free ranging in a room with less stuff to rat proof likes a hall way or some bathrooms (always check behind the toilet and sink for holes)
Late reply but I use my hallway and shut every door and just make sure the radiator is off in the winter month. Then after wards I have to mop up and spray down loads of urine dribble 😂 One of my rats caught me off guard though, he jumped off of my shoulder and onto a towel that was hanging up on a hanger on the door frame...nutter
A lot of the enrichment they get from free roam is being able to go where they want and explore and interact with things. Whilst you could in theory harness train them (bearing in mind not every rat enjoys this and you should never force them) to enable them to explore an area that isn’t otherwise safe it’s worth bearing in mind I’ve never seen a harness a determined rat couldn’t get out of (so it can’t be an area they could escape in) and you don’t so much walk them as they walk you
I have a question. I've made a playpen for my ratties and they can get out of the cage and go into the pen by themselves (they seemed to feel more safe that way, and I had one that I could not catch and didn't want him to miss out on playing outside). It's also where I have space, as I live in a student room. However, I did myself a bad favour there it seems, because they are only calm if they've got access to their cage. If they don't it is instant panic and they don't care about anything else, treats or hiding places, they just wanna go back to the cage. This really doesn't work as I want to take them on the bed or a chair to socialise a bit with just me. I'm trying the walking around with them you showed in the socialising video, do you think that will work? What else can I do? I tried the bed (they can still see the cage and desperately try to get to there) and the bathroom, which they just hate and spend all the time trying to get under the door and out :( And, thank you for all your great videos!
Have you tried throwing a blanket over the cage when they are out, see if that helps them. Also take something out of the cage, maybe a tube or basket and pop it into the bed. Another useful thing is to have a specific throw you use to cover the floor which you don’t wash too often. Rats use urine scent marking to mark a place as safe and once it’s marked they will feel safer and more relaxed in it
@@IsamuRatCare thank you so much for the advice! I never thought about covering the cage, I'll try that! I tried bringing stuff from their cage to the bathroom, though not to the bed. I have one tiny boy (most submissive one) that is actually very confident and comes out of the playpen and walks around my whole room, and he has scent marked thw whole bed already XD I always take him on the bed with the otegr hoping he can show them that's it's safe. He tries to lay with them but they aren't having any of it XD I'll try a blanket that they all walked on/marked. I think I also really need to build trust between me and then, as they sometimes will come to the bed and take a look by themselves, but just hate it if I've put them there :/ I did they them from an awful place, and they've come a long way since then, it's just that I'm really busy atm and don't spend as much time with them as before, which is why it would really help if they can explore and play around me if I am resting :)
It’s always great to see one of Isamu Rat Care videos
I love your videos 😃 I have 4 rats and you’ve given me some really good ideas here for future reference. I definitely want to get a cat tree now and make it into a cool playing area for them.
I'm really glad your getting a lot out of them 😁
This is awesome! Your rats have a life of luxury as they should
My wee girls I have had them for 2 weeks, they are only babies, coco freezes but after 15 minutes of trying her unfrozen she does came around fudge is very confident little girl just started to handle her outside of her cage so it’s very interesting watching your videos for advice for the next step in the progress
My rats are free-ranging as I watch this. They've skipped the video forward and back about ten times now, they're so nosy :')
Lol I've had the odd incident where mine have stopped the video mid record. Keepd me busy
I'm binge watching these videos whilst my rats are out on free range time. I really need to improve free range 🤔
Here's a fun little video I shot of my two pigs. The smaller one is my sow Dorothy and the bigger one is my boar named Bam. Enjoy 👍🙂
czcams.com/video/A0bL2LbadCc/video.html
I rescued them seperatly, I bonded them myself, they were both lonely single pigs, Dorothy is 4 and bam is around 1.5 to 2 years old. A few months after I got him neutered, dot had to have an emergency full spay operation, so he lost his plums for no reason in the end 😂🤦♂️
They are gorgeous, I do think Guinea pigs are amongst the cutest animals. I struggled when I looked after my brothers though with there lack of intelligence being used to rats lol, I think his were worse than most though as they had a really poor start as classroom pets so all this enrichment I tried for them they just didn’t understand (apparently scatter feeding means instance loss of all food ever as does introducing a hay rack...)
@@IsamuRatCare my first 2 were ex abused classroom pets and sound pretty much the same. The 2 I have now I've had both from when they were 9 weeks old and they are pretty clever little animals. Rats I think are more intelligent and the fact they can grab stuff with their front paws and have really good agility just adds to that. I just wish rats lived a little longer, even sort of 4 or 5 isn't too much to ask lol. I've had Guinea pigs go to 6 and 7, 7 is normally when bit health issues start. Alot of people lose Guinea from about 5 to 7 years old
I do want to keep having rats I think, but I have my eye on degus for the future, not too sure though 🤔
How about a pair of gambians? Though to be fair they are a long way off domesticated pet yet. I would personally like ferrets too but my hubby wouldn’t be able to cope with the smell
@@IsamuRatCare don't know what Gambians are so will Google that later lol. Ferrets id like, but yea.. I had a friend who had Ferrets and he actually just smelt of ferret
Awsome video thanks so much 😀😊
I'm really glad it was useful for you
I love your giant cage
Thank you. I do love it. It's a little zoo venturer triple
My rat does not want to get out of his cage. He is super friendly with me, licks me, etc.. doesnt want to come out at all.
My rats have their own room and ate out for about 4/5 hours a day. They go back in their cage when they're ready. They have loads to do in there. It's not a big room, just big enough. Two of mine absolutely hate being touched and they try and bite me, but my third one is so confident and loves being with me. I don't know how I'm going to get the other two the same as her, I've tried so many things.
I would try going back to basics for a while and not free range then in a large area. Try interacting directly with them in the cage and maybe on a chair or sofa they can't get off. Too much space encourages them to avoid learning your a good thing
Oh my gosh look at Burko interacting with you! 😮 might have made me tear up 😳
I knew he was a good rat under all his stress over moving house. He's got a lovely nature and clearly wants to be friends. He's still a little hand shy but does enjoy himself
Isamu Rat Care they all are underneath, just need a good person to bring them out of themselves. 💜
They are. I've never yet owned a rat who wasn't a wonderful person, regardless of whether they were people rats or not
Isamu Rat Care same. It’s about accepting they all have different personalities and working with that!
I'm thinking about getting a group of rats in the future and I was thinking I could free range them in the bath tub for the small space and when they get used to me I will just let them run around my room. Would that be alright. Also I love your videos and have given me a lot of ideas to put in my future rat cage.
Yep if you use the bath though out a couple towels down at the bottom other y they can find it a bit slippy
My rat picks up random pieces of dropped bread, seeds, peas, and empty food wrappers while she is free ranging, and hoards them under a giant plush monkey. Smh...😂
That is a great free range game lol
This is such a great resource, thank you!
I have one question though: free range makes me quite a bit nervous (danger of escape), so while I do always meet the minimum time per day, I often chop free range time up in segments of around 10-15 minutes. is there any problem with that?
It depends, if the rats are up to full speed and active in that time then that’s fine, if they take a while to get going better to try a longer spell. But in reality you don’t need to tick a perfect box every day, not get there straight away. So if it takes you time to get confidence to give a long free range doing with
@@IsamuRatCare Ah great thank you very much! They are very active and running about from the first second, so that should be okay:)
And I try to increase the duration every time. thank you!!
These are the luckiest ratties in the known universe!
Thank you, I do try and give them a good life
I love how you become a junction for your ratties! 😂
They've got me very well trained
Thanks for some extra tips i havent thought about. Is feathers ok, i thought they might chew on them and choke? And for the cat tree what did you use for the landings? Do you take it off for washing or are you able to just wash it on the cat tree? I havent gotten a cat tree for the fact of peeing on the carpeted areas. How do you keep the garage cool in the summer? What kind of heater do you use? Sorry for all the questions but i love your rat room and wish to have my own full room for my rats someday.
Feathers are fine, they don't eat them as much as destroy them. A cat wand is a great toy for chasing though mine happily chase my hands too.
The cat tree is covered in pvc cloth (wipe down), I just stapled and taped it in place. It's great for cleaning.
The garage is brick built and insulated/dry lined so is as good as the top part of our house at heat in summer. It gets hotter than I'd like but I have windows I can open when the outside air is cooler and use a fan plus pleanty of frozen Dr squiggles and veg when it gets hot. The heater is an oil filled plug in radiator with thermostat so it doesn't heat heavily but keeps it topped up to a reasonable amount. I aim for around 12-14 over winter unless I have litters then I go a little warmer.
It really is a good environment for them. I am very lucky.
@@IsamuRatCare thanks so much. I think i will be keeping an eye out for a cat tree this summer. Never thought of using a cat wand. Your rat room is awesome!
How do you safely free range rats when you share a room?
You need to make sure you block off access to anything dangerous to them or that you don't want damaging. Creating a play pen can be a good idea or free ranging in a room with less stuff to rat proof likes a hall way or some bathrooms (always check behind the toilet and sink for holes)
Late reply but I use my hallway and shut every door and just make sure the radiator is off in the winter month. Then after wards I have to mop up and spray down loads of urine dribble 😂
One of my rats caught me off guard though, he jumped off of my shoulder and onto a towel that was hanging up on a hanger on the door frame...nutter
Is there a problem to "walk" rats instead of free-ranging sometimes?
A lot of the enrichment they get from free roam is being able to go where they want and explore and interact with things. Whilst you could in theory harness train them (bearing in mind not every rat enjoys this and you should never force them) to enable them to explore an area that isn’t otherwise safe it’s worth bearing in mind I’ve never seen a harness a determined rat couldn’t get out of (so it can’t be an area they could escape in) and you don’t so much walk them as they walk you
I have a question. I've made a playpen for my ratties and they can get out of the cage and go into the pen by themselves (they seemed to feel more safe that way, and I had one that I could not catch and didn't want him to miss out on playing outside). It's also where I have space, as I live in a student room. However, I did myself a bad favour there it seems, because they are only calm if they've got access to their cage. If they don't it is instant panic and they don't care about anything else, treats or hiding places, they just wanna go back to the cage. This really doesn't work as I want to take them on the bed or a chair to socialise a bit with just me. I'm trying the walking around with them you showed in the socialising video, do you think that will work? What else can I do? I tried the bed (they can still see the cage and desperately try to get to there) and the bathroom, which they just hate and spend all the time trying to get under the door and out :(
And, thank you for all your great videos!
Have you tried throwing a blanket over the cage when they are out, see if that helps them. Also take something out of the cage, maybe a tube or basket and pop it into the bed.
Another useful thing is to have a specific throw you use to cover the floor which you don’t wash too often. Rats use urine scent marking to mark a place as safe and once it’s marked they will feel safer and more relaxed in it
@@IsamuRatCare thank you so much for the advice! I never thought about covering the cage, I'll try that! I tried bringing stuff from their cage to the bathroom, though not to the bed. I have one tiny boy (most submissive one) that is actually very confident and comes out of the playpen and walks around my whole room, and he has scent marked thw whole bed already XD I always take him on the bed with the otegr hoping he can show them that's it's safe. He tries to lay with them but they aren't having any of it XD I'll try a blanket that they all walked on/marked. I think I also really need to build trust between me and then, as they sometimes will come to the bed and take a look by themselves, but just hate it if I've put them there :/ I did they them from an awful place, and they've come a long way since then, it's just that I'm really busy atm and don't spend as much time with them as before, which is why it would really help if they can explore and play around me if I am resting :)
I am free ranging my rat girls on my bed right now. Mostly wrestle time for the girls
Mine do enjoy that occasionally too. Not so good for pea fishing though, get a bit damp