Rat Proofing As you can see here, our house is not entirely rat proof. We tolerate a certain amount of damage to our possessions as a trade off against the fun of having our pets. To rat proof your surroundings, first ensure that there is no exit to an unsafe area from the area you are going to let your rats out in. Check the skirting boards inside presses and in low cupboards, to make sure it is all sealed. Also pay attention to all wiring: rats will test bite everything (even you when they are young) and nibbling live wiring could have the extremely dangerous consequences of death for your rat, you, or pose a fire threat. Even if you think they are safe, still be vigilant when they are loose.

When you first let them loose, they will probably stay close to their cage: always leave the cage doors open so that they can return quickly to it if they get startled. After a few days they will become familiar with the room, and you will notice that they develop their own 'favourite' places. Spock loves the window ledge, and will sit happily for hours there. They will also learn to climb everything so remove fragile objects from all high places. Rats seem oblivious to their tail, and it tends to knock things down as they move about. They will also have a tenancy to urinate on objects, especially the alpha rat. This seems to be some territorial or possessive marking habit. It also seems to stop after adolescence, or perhaps when they encounter the object frequently enough to consider it to be 'theirs'. For this reason its a good idea when they are younger to keep an old top to wear when handling them.

Biting When they were younger, I was nipped several times by gentle Kirk. This usually happened when I woke him or startled him, and I think maybe it was just a 'reaction' on his part. The best thing to do is to handle you rats as often as possible. It will seem for a long time that they hate it (because they do, initially!) but eventually they will grow used to it, and some will come to enjoy your attention.

Rat IQ Rats are extremely intelligent creatures. They are clean social animals, and they have the ability to learn from one another. You will often find that as soon as one rat has learned some new trick, within a day all of the pack can do it. Although our rats certainly do not come when called, they do respond to their names individually. I had heard about this from other rat owners, but when Spock, Bones and Kirk were younger I thought this unlikely. But if you give them enough attention, and use their names continuously, it becomes true. This morning I went to take a picture of Spock building a house for himself inside the cage. He had his tail facing me, and I couldn't get the picture I wanted. When I called his name, he stopped and turned towards me, allowing me to get my snapshot. If you want your rats to know their own names then make sure to give them short and unique names, and to use it whenever you pick up and handle that rat.