Running away rat

Question
I have a male rat who is about 6 months old.  He is very sweet and he used to be snuggly and calm and he used to love to be held, but a few weeks ago, he started acting very hyper and jumping down off out of my hands or off my lap and trying to explore my entire apartment.  This worries my husband and I because we don't want him to get hurt biting electrical wires or climbing into dangerous spots.  We've tried to train him out of this by putting him back in his cage as soon as he jumps off of us onto the floor, but this seems only to make him stay more away from us once he gets there.  We've also tried to preempt his escapes, but he is fast! I want to have his trust, but I also want him to be safe.  Is there a better way we can train him to calm down and stay around us when he's out of his cage?

Answer
No, rats want to explore and thats all there is to it. They need a place of their own. Your right to worry about him biting electric wires etc...  (read my website, Sandsycrittercity.com under the topic DANGERS OF FREE ROAMING on the page called HEALTH CARE.  There is a story about a little girl rat named Scampers that nearly died from biting into a lamp cord.  

Check out my page called GETTING STARTED. This will explain how to make a nice play area for your rat, complete with his own toys that are SAFE for rats!! Using cardboard that is at least 3 to  4 feet high, the cannot jump over that nor climb cardboard!  Its nice to have a play area. Check out my page, watch my boys grow and see the photos of my rats in their play area and the toys they have etc,,,