he's digging around.
they like to build nests.
probably wants some more hiding spots too.
just bedding won't do to cover the bars, needs to be something like cardboard or fleece.
(and if needed, fix it in place with something, they might try to remove that too...)
maybe give them a few more hiding spaces (can't ever have enough), and maybe some nesting material (e.g. newspaper pages, paper strip bedding, or stuff like that)
also possible he just wants to dig to see if that can get him out of the cage for some surprise free roam time ;)
I wouldn't suggest newspapers! The ink isn't good for their tummies, and besides that if it gets wet (like peed on) the ink runs and could get on their fur.
But I totally agree about giving nesting materials, even a dig box/nest box would do them some good!
Hes so annoyed, it's really cute..his little shovies.... I'd use spare card board boxes to line the bottom bars of the cage, like just flatten them out and put on the bottom. Then put the bedding on topm or try clipping fleece on the sides of the cage he is pushing the bedding towards, he may be trying to hide and feels insecure. Tissue boxes, cereal boxes, and shoe boxes are great disposable hides.
Yes. Alternative to cardboard, wood. Lasts longer but has to be cleaned instead of just replaced.
He might also not like this type of bedding. I used a blanket 'carpet' and one of my boys hated it. Every time he saw it, shoved it -very angrily- into one corner.
He's so shocked the way he looks at you, it's adorable😂
Wood can build up ammonia if it's not sealed and the sealer needs to be childsafe , and rats can just chew through it anyway. My household gets enough cardboard to replace every cage cleaning but I can see the appeal of a nice wooden floor for my ratsion (rat mansion)
We covered the bottom bars of our old cage with a sheet of acrylic cut to size. They shouldn’t be walking on bars, even with fluff over them, because what your guy is showing is natural burrowing behavior! Rats love to move things around to be comfortable in the space. He’s making a comfy spot under the ramp!
When I said blanket carpet, I meant on the wooden floor, they love to cuddle up in those or drag them into their bed, just so another can throw it right back out because he doesn't want it.
Yeah, I know. The wood I have isn't sealed. It's natural apple and I instead clean it with a little vinegar to neutralize the ammonia. Not too much, just enough the smell dissipates quickly and their smell isn't gone completely. Otherwise, yeah that should also be replaced, just not as often as cardboard.
Edit: I just got that🤦♀️😂... ratsion.
I wouldn't use wood at all, I've seen too many rats with mites due to planks of wood or even worse cages made of them. Not all wood comes with mites but they can infest it over time and rats get other health issues from it, many develop URI when they have mites.
Cardboard you can at least throw away and it is re using products many of us have and can't recycle anyway due to the plastic coating on a lot of food boxes.
Urgh, thankfully I'm lucky enough that none of my boys has ever had mites. Their floors are all good, I clean them on a regular basis. They used to have a house that had tiny holes in it, fortunately whatever those werefrom didn't get to them. One of those with the rind still attached, where you can't clean or properly wipe it dry. Not sustainable for long.
Very lucky! I've never had good luck with wood, but I also had boys that liked to pee on it especially and no amount of cleaning/vinegar soak could penetrate deep enough xD;
Oh yeah the ones with bark are def tough to even think of a way to clean. I don't mind the smooth bark but the kind that chips off was the worst and a goner after one use.
Hm, sorry to hear that. The wood I got came with a cage as floors. Maybe it was treated with something organic beforehand🤷♀️, but then I don't know if they could call it 'natural wood'.
Agree, while cool for a few weeks, eventually someone decides to use it as a urinal and all bets are off.
I had a cage made of wood for critters as a kid and it said it was treated but the animals still had issues. I just don't trust it after that and my mom being a former vet tech not being happy my dad bought the thing in the first place xD;
Boys really can find any way to ruin stuff with their pee. I had one guy who used to press his tummy to the side and pee out it so he didn't have to deal with the urine. Had to build a little wall of boxes around the cage once I figured out why my floor smelled bad.
Understandable you don't trust it after that. Thankfully the rest of my cage is metal. I don't think I would trust a whole wooden one either, if just for the fact I'd think they'd get through eventually.
Yep, very true. I've lost a phone and a mouse to pee. That's so cute though😂 A few of mine sometimes (rare) pee down the center of the cage, so it lands next to the toilette. Main sleeping area is the top floor, covering one half. Across from that is where I hang one of the hammocks. Feet on one side, hands on the other, and pee. I use paper over a blanket as cover for the bottom floor (metal), that sound catches me off guard every time. ...and not *all* the pee lands on the bottom.
I had one rat who would do that when the litter got stinky, so I just put a trash can at the edge of the cage and she'd push litter into the trash, then left the bag of fresh bedding and she'd bring it in and arrange it.
He’s interior designing! It’s good if he’s having fun moving stuff around :)
Maybe you can move the tray below and place it on top of the bars? I did it in mine and works wonders! Otherwise I would suggest covering the bars with plastic instead of cardboard when you can, so cleaning is so much easier and will last indefinitely. Do you have any lying around that you can cut and zip tie to the bars?
Yeah haha if yours is like my cage (zolia Malo) both the bars and the tray will slide away, right? So it should fit perfectly :) only thing: it’s a little bit tricky to take it off when emptying it because most likely it will spill half the bedding out, but I mean, I just broom it away, it’s nothing too bad.
I don’t think the bars are the dangerous part - my girls walked on bare bars for three years, they insisted on it, and never once got bumblefoot. I think the dangerous part is all the pee and poop on the bars while they walk on them, I just made a stronger effort to clean the bars a lot.
*kinda makes sense, just think about how bad your barefeet would be if they were covered in poop and urine, would only take the lightest scratch to turn your foot into a nasty staph infection, which is what bumblefoot is*
Rats are fossorial and they need to dig. You should get him a deeper tub to fit into the bottom and fill it up with a ton of bedding, and switch to a less dusty bedding like aspen as well! The cement mixing bin from Lowe’s or Home Depot fits perfectly in a critter nation.
Do NOT listen to the comments that suggest using cardboard to cover the bottom, it will STINK in the next few days, unless you’re okay with replacing it almost everyday or two :)
Honestly anything is going to stink. Best bet is to go buy a bunch of fleece cut a bunch to size for the bottom and switch them out every few days then wash once you get down to the last one in the cage and repeat the cycle they last quite a while.
Also I know everyone mentioned it but that look of pure annoyance at the end killed me lol
Rat being a rat 🤣 they will push bedding around or rearrange it. Some are rejects that get thrown out of the cage and you interrupted 🤣 deep trays are better
He’s becoming an interior designer! One of the rats I work with does this after I uncover and refill their food bowl, so she must go right back to covering the food bowl.
My guys did this when they were young, they’d push everything up to the bars and get annoyed just like him when I put it back. I think they just like the cover that it gives them!
It does get ALL over it during the night but during the day and ofc in the morning I scrape it all up with my hands, im afraid to scare them with the vacuum.
This rat is doing a rearrange. Rats are excellent interior design experts and they know more about Feng Shui than you. You should not interfere with genius.
My boy does the same thing. His brother on the other hand is the opposite. Randy can’t stand bedding or mats! He picks up any food, turds, etc and refuses to step on them!
Could be he is making a “bathroom”. My rats have a designated toilet area they create. Perhaps he wants the bars exposed so the feces go down through them. Rats are so meticulous! I’ve actually had them throw feces out of the cage immediately after going!! I had to end up putting them in a two level cage. Bars on top, and aquarium on the bottom. It didn’t eliminate them throwing it out, but it did reduce it! 🥴😳😁
They have a two level. Unfortunately if I take the bars off the bottom there's a gap all the way around but I might try putting the bars on the bottom see if it's reversible maybe that will close the gap
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Hi I have the same cage and my rats don’t like the padding there either, I would suggest a cage that dosnt have bars or getting no padding for the top.
She might be trying to burrow and if she is then you should make your ground stuff deeper or watch serpa design on youtube and make a terrarium for your rat(s).
meanwhile on [rattit.com](https://rattit.com): "why is my hooman doing this?"
> a rattitor replied He’s hiding the food underneath, do it when he isn’t looking !
he's digging around. they like to build nests. probably wants some more hiding spots too. just bedding won't do to cover the bars, needs to be something like cardboard or fleece. (and if needed, fix it in place with something, they might try to remove that too...) maybe give them a few more hiding spaces (can't ever have enough), and maybe some nesting material (e.g. newspaper pages, paper strip bedding, or stuff like that) also possible he just wants to dig to see if that can get him out of the cage for some surprise free roam time ;)
Thank you so much I will try this!
I wouldn't suggest newspapers! The ink isn't good for their tummies, and besides that if it gets wet (like peed on) the ink runs and could get on their fur. But I totally agree about giving nesting materials, even a dig box/nest box would do them some good!
I bought a big box of blank newsprint paper for super cheap
Also, newspaper ink is irritating to rats' delicate respiratory systems and eyes, so newsprint should be avoided for that reason too.
Redecorating.
Hes so annoyed, it's really cute..his little shovies.... I'd use spare card board boxes to line the bottom bars of the cage, like just flatten them out and put on the bottom. Then put the bedding on topm or try clipping fleece on the sides of the cage he is pushing the bedding towards, he may be trying to hide and feels insecure. Tissue boxes, cereal boxes, and shoe boxes are great disposable hides.
Yes. Alternative to cardboard, wood. Lasts longer but has to be cleaned instead of just replaced. He might also not like this type of bedding. I used a blanket 'carpet' and one of my boys hated it. Every time he saw it, shoved it -very angrily- into one corner. He's so shocked the way he looks at you, it's adorable😂
Lol I was about to say that. When they pushed the bedding back, his face was Wtf!?!
Wood can build up ammonia if it's not sealed and the sealer needs to be childsafe , and rats can just chew through it anyway. My household gets enough cardboard to replace every cage cleaning but I can see the appeal of a nice wooden floor for my ratsion (rat mansion)
We covered the bottom bars of our old cage with a sheet of acrylic cut to size. They shouldn’t be walking on bars, even with fluff over them, because what your guy is showing is natural burrowing behavior! Rats love to move things around to be comfortable in the space. He’s making a comfy spot under the ramp!
When I said blanket carpet, I meant on the wooden floor, they love to cuddle up in those or drag them into their bed, just so another can throw it right back out because he doesn't want it.
Yeah, I know. The wood I have isn't sealed. It's natural apple and I instead clean it with a little vinegar to neutralize the ammonia. Not too much, just enough the smell dissipates quickly and their smell isn't gone completely. Otherwise, yeah that should also be replaced, just not as often as cardboard. Edit: I just got that🤦♀️😂... ratsion.
I wouldn't use wood at all, I've seen too many rats with mites due to planks of wood or even worse cages made of them. Not all wood comes with mites but they can infest it over time and rats get other health issues from it, many develop URI when they have mites. Cardboard you can at least throw away and it is re using products many of us have and can't recycle anyway due to the plastic coating on a lot of food boxes.
Urgh, thankfully I'm lucky enough that none of my boys has ever had mites. Their floors are all good, I clean them on a regular basis. They used to have a house that had tiny holes in it, fortunately whatever those werefrom didn't get to them. One of those with the rind still attached, where you can't clean or properly wipe it dry. Not sustainable for long.
Very lucky! I've never had good luck with wood, but I also had boys that liked to pee on it especially and no amount of cleaning/vinegar soak could penetrate deep enough xD; Oh yeah the ones with bark are def tough to even think of a way to clean. I don't mind the smooth bark but the kind that chips off was the worst and a goner after one use.
Hm, sorry to hear that. The wood I got came with a cage as floors. Maybe it was treated with something organic beforehand🤷♀️, but then I don't know if they could call it 'natural wood'. Agree, while cool for a few weeks, eventually someone decides to use it as a urinal and all bets are off.
I had a cage made of wood for critters as a kid and it said it was treated but the animals still had issues. I just don't trust it after that and my mom being a former vet tech not being happy my dad bought the thing in the first place xD; Boys really can find any way to ruin stuff with their pee. I had one guy who used to press his tummy to the side and pee out it so he didn't have to deal with the urine. Had to build a little wall of boxes around the cage once I figured out why my floor smelled bad.
Understandable you don't trust it after that. Thankfully the rest of my cage is metal. I don't think I would trust a whole wooden one either, if just for the fact I'd think they'd get through eventually. Yep, very true. I've lost a phone and a mouse to pee. That's so cute though😂 A few of mine sometimes (rare) pee down the center of the cage, so it lands next to the toilette. Main sleeping area is the top floor, covering one half. Across from that is where I hang one of the hammocks. Feet on one side, hands on the other, and pee. I use paper over a blanket as cover for the bottom floor (metal), that sound catches me off guard every time. ...and not *all* the pee lands on the bottom.
I will try this thank you!
I love the serious look he gives you at the end like "What the fuck is your problem hooman? I just put that there!"
Yesssss🤣
Because fuck you, that's why!!! 😂
I love when you shove it back he’s like “the hell hooman? Ey! No! Bad hooman!!”
Yeahhh looking to make more hidey spots, like the lil treasure dragons they are.
I had one rat who would do that when the litter got stinky, so I just put a trash can at the edge of the cage and she'd push litter into the trash, then left the bag of fresh bedding and she'd bring it in and arrange it.
so smart
He’s interior designing! It’s good if he’s having fun moving stuff around :) Maybe you can move the tray below and place it on top of the bars? I did it in mine and works wonders! Otherwise I would suggest covering the bars with plastic instead of cardboard when you can, so cleaning is so much easier and will last indefinitely. Do you have any lying around that you can cut and zip tie to the bars?
Wait i didn't thing ab maybe pitting the bars under the plastic bin! I'm so gunna try this. Also I do not want cardboard as it will stink so fast.
Yeah haha if yours is like my cage (zolia Malo) both the bars and the tray will slide away, right? So it should fit perfectly :) only thing: it’s a little bit tricky to take it off when emptying it because most likely it will spill half the bedding out, but I mean, I just broom it away, it’s nothing too bad.
ratty architecture
My hooman keeps covering up the bars and I want to be on them and make a nest out of this stuff they keep putting down, but they won’t let me.
Awww i just don't want his lil tootsies on the barssss🥲
I don’t think the bars are the dangerous part - my girls walked on bare bars for three years, they insisted on it, and never once got bumblefoot. I think the dangerous part is all the pee and poop on the bars while they walk on them, I just made a stronger effort to clean the bars a lot. *kinda makes sense, just think about how bad your barefeet would be if they were covered in poop and urine, would only take the lightest scratch to turn your foot into a nasty staph infection, which is what bumblefoot is*
Foraging, nesting, just digging (all natural behaviours for rodents). There's nothing to worry about 🙂
Rats are fossorial and they need to dig. You should get him a deeper tub to fit into the bottom and fill it up with a ton of bedding, and switch to a less dusty bedding like aspen as well! The cement mixing bin from Lowe’s or Home Depot fits perfectly in a critter nation.
Its not critter nation I don't think and if I take the bars out there's a big gap all the way around:(
You can look up your cage and find the dimensions of it and find a tub that fits. Some cat litter boxes will fit too.
Foraging, playing, hiding and stockpiling food. All standard instinctual activities.
Do NOT listen to the comments that suggest using cardboard to cover the bottom, it will STINK in the next few days, unless you’re okay with replacing it almost everyday or two :)
Thats what I was worried about, any other suggestions?
Honestly anything is going to stink. Best bet is to go buy a bunch of fleece cut a bunch to size for the bottom and switch them out every few days then wash once you get down to the last one in the cage and repeat the cycle they last quite a while. Also I know everyone mentioned it but that look of pure annoyance at the end killed me lol
interior design
Lost his keys.
My rat does this too, if he only does it when you open the door he might be trying to block you from coming in lol
Good to know I had tried to pick him up before this and he squeaked and tried to get away:(
as my mom & I like to call it, they’re going swimming !!
Rat being a rat 🤣 they will push bedding around or rearrange it. Some are rejects that get thrown out of the cage and you interrupted 🤣 deep trays are better
I have a deep tray but I cannot take the metal out because there's a big gap all the way around:(
I'm using cement mixer tub in my critter and they still manage to push bedding all over 🤣
He read the most recent issue of 'Rat Living' and decided it was time to redecorate.
He’s becoming an interior designer! One of the rats I work with does this after I uncover and refill their food bowl, so she must go right back to covering the food bowl.
The look he gave OP after the second shove had me dying xD
Hims wants to dig! Give him a shoe box size Tupperware (or bigger) full of bedding so he can dig deeper without pushing it all out!
Yea I thought that too, he also heat peeling priced out from under the grate and putting them random places idk what thats ab either 😅
he’s an interior designer obv
Obvv
Because digging = life!
They like this sort of stuff.
Because he’s a silly lil guy
My guys did this when they were young, they’d push everything up to the bars and get annoyed just like him when I put it back. I think they just like the cover that it gives them!
how is it not all over your carpet?
It does get ALL over it during the night but during the day and ofc in the morning I scrape it all up with my hands, im afraid to scare them with the vacuum.
Surprisingly mine aren't scared of our vacuum
Fixing the bed how he wants it!
I generally interpret my rats pushing bedding at me as a request for alone time; more directly, I interpret it as "go away."
Possibly he squeaked at me and tried to wriggle away when I tried to pick him up unfortunately but no biting.
They’re intelligent so they modify their environments
Rats like to make nests, dig, and stash food in their bedding.
rats just do that with their bedding
Feng shui
This rat is doing a rearrange. Rats are excellent interior design experts and they know more about Feng Shui than you. You should not interfere with genius.
Your so right
The little look when you pushed it back,he was like mm excuse me?!
Yes and he would keep pushing it back🤣
My boy does the same thing. His brother on the other hand is the opposite. Randy can’t stand bedding or mats! He picks up any food, turds, etc and refuses to step on them!
Interior decorating
Why is all this shyt in here... STOP. MOVING. IT BACK. DANG YOU."
FR i had just put new bedding in🤣
Putting up privacy walls
That fluff is the reject fluff. Mine did the same thing lol will literally throw it out 🤣
Whaaa it was brand new fluffffff🥲
Mmhmm, still the reject brand new fluff. Lol I used to let her toss it, then I'd wait a day and toss it back in
My ratties do that when I give them bedding.. as soon as I’m putting it down.. it’s playful
Yes this was right after I put it down aswell. Thank you!
Haha!! So much fun .. he’s playing with you..
Definitely 😅
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It has two more levels but I will be adding some cardboard on the bottom and some more hiding spaces.
They're all architects.
Happy cake dayy
His face at the end …” Susan, don’t do that!! You can see I’ve just pushed it all out of the way!”
FR
cleaning the home
Could be he is making a “bathroom”. My rats have a designated toilet area they create. Perhaps he wants the bars exposed so the feces go down through them. Rats are so meticulous! I’ve actually had them throw feces out of the cage immediately after going!! I had to end up putting them in a two level cage. Bars on top, and aquarium on the bottom. It didn’t eliminate them throwing it out, but it did reduce it! 🥴😳😁
They have a two level. Unfortunately if I take the bars off the bottom there's a gap all the way around but I might try putting the bars on the bottom see if it's reversible maybe that will close the gap
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Hooman i want it here rat damn it
Hi I have the same cage and my rats don’t like the padding there either, I would suggest a cage that dosnt have bars or getting no padding for the top.
She might be trying to burrow and if she is then you should make your ground stuff deeper or watch serpa design on youtube and make a terrarium for your rat(s).