Question about excercising rats outside

Question
I read from a post here, regarding that it was not wise to allow your rats to free roam inside.  I don't for the simple reason that my 6 year old often gets too rowdy and therefore becomes dangerously careless.

I recently discovered that rats grow rather quickly.  They outgrew the cage i had bought. Not having enough money to purchase the much needed cage I then constructed a large bin cage for them.  I will be purchasing a martins cage in the very near future.  To replace the exercise they used to get climbing the 4 levels and wire cage, I have been taking them out side later in the evening, when it is cooler and more shady, looking out for cats or any other potential dangers of course.  I go where they go and when they start resting I call it quits for the day and return them indoors to eat and drink. This is only temporary of course as winter is on it's way.  Is there any wrong in this, while i wait for the arrival of the new cage?

Answer
Hi Penny!!!


I think I may need to explain why I may have said its not wise to let rats roam free in the home.  Its fine during playtime as long as they are in a safe place,such as a play pen or a room that has a door to shut them in and the room is totally rat safe, but I was talking about people that allow their rats to live without being in a cage and have the entire house to roam free. Having them have access to every room in the house 24 hours a day or even for 12 hours, especially unsupervised, is a potential danger for rats or any tiny animal for that matter. I meant it more or less that people should not allow rats to roam free like a dog or cat does in the home without caging the rat ever.

You asked about letting them run outdoors and if there are dangers.

Yes there are many dangers outdoors if they are roaming free or even penned up. For starters, eating parasites in the ground or found in the grass can cause illness.  I do not know if you ever heard of the virus, SDA but this is a potentially fatal and highly contagious virus passed on from rodent to rodent, wild or domestic. This is one reason we always suggest to quarantine new rats for 3 weeks before allowing them around our existing rats. It can be carried from a wild mouse or rodent and can survive for hours on fomites and in the grass etc... if your rats come in contact with anything contaminated with this virus, they can catch it as easily as a human can pick up a cold virus from a contaminated door knob.  

Info on SDA here:

http://www.freewebs.com/crittercity/rathealthinformation.htm

Insects can also be a threat if our rats eat it. Remember, rats cannot vomit so if they ingest something that can be toxic to small rodents (there are many, you would be surprised) the rat can become ill. Mushrooms that you may not see in the grass can also be found. Even the trace of a fungus growing in the grass is a potential danger to rats.
Also, darting off into an area you cannot catch them, even an abandoned rabbit hole, and your rat could be lost.
Next, forget cats, you need to worry about a nice big bird that is on the look out for prey. A large bird wont hesitate to try to swoop down even with humans around to catch a rodent and carry it off. Some birds are so aggressive they have been known to swoop down and carry off small dogs such as a chihuahua or yorkie.  
I know this sounds paranoid but I have been doing this for so long I have seen alot. If you want them to have room to roam and play, its better to construct a safe play area indoors. You can construct a nice cardboard wall simply by using cardboard boxes, flatten them and cut them into one long strip. 3 feet will do and you can make it as big as you want and it folds up perfect after play time. I have a photo of it for you here, just click to enlarge. You can see it on my website too under GETTING STARTED.

http://www.freewebs.com/crittercity/gettingstarted.htm

The idea came from a wonderfully creative lady from the UK from the Dapper rat.

Hope this helps.