Stimulation, playtime and free roam / free range

Introduction

Pouched Rats are active creatures and have a lot of energy to burn. Time spent in the cage alone is not enough for these guys and they need a good amount of time outside the cage each today. Between an hour and two hours of free range time is generally acceptable. This can be a lot to ask but is something they need to bond to their owners.

During free range time your Pouched Rat will scale up and down the stairs, exploring any rooms they are allowed in and investigating every nook and cranny. For this reason, keep your rats accessable rooms rat proof.

Keep your out times consistant. If you maintain the same coming out times, you will find your Pouched Rat goes back home on time. It’s this consistant playtime that can allow you to train your Pouchie to use the toliet, or learn tricks.

Most Pouched Rats will begin to wake up and become active at around 7pm – 9pm so this is a good starting point.

What to do during Freerange?

In most cases you will merely need to keep an eye on your Pouched Rats, be present, talk to them and interact with them while they fly around the house.

There are many toys such as cat toys you can use to play with them. Cat stands and trees make great play centres for Pouched Rats to run, climb and hide in.

It’s a good idea to supervise your Pouched Rat as they explore the house. Any rooms which may contain something dangerious should become “no go zones” this should probably include the kitchen, any rooms with holes or broken floor boards.

It’s also useful to have some “no go zones” just to ensure your Pouched Rat does not seen the entire house as theirs and knows there are boundarys.

Should i supervise them at all times?

Not always, when they are first learning to explore, and you are learning what they seem to develope an interest in, it’s a good time to follow them around for the whole time they are out. As time progresses you can give them a little more freedom.

Will they destroy my house?

In likleyhood no. Pouched Rats are not hugely chewy animals. Although saying this, all Pouched Rats are individuals and some may develope fixations on certain things.

Experience has taught us that they may develope this fixation in for example,

• Plug socket switches
• corners of carpet
• Door frames and architrave
• Wires

Something to also be aware of is that Pouched Rats enjoy stealing! this can be anything from paper to chargers. Keep track of what they have and what they have taken back to their cage.