Pet Rat Care

Question
Hello! I have a one and a half year old very large male rat who needs to lose some weight and exercise more. I feed him very healthfully but he simply doesn't get the exercise he needs, so I just bought a silent 11-inch wheel that attaches to the side of his cage, hoping it'll aid in an increase in activity. I am wondering- how do I train him to use it? I know some rats like wheels and some do not, but he could really use the benefits from it, and I don't know if it's just a matter of him figuring it out on his own, or if I should 'train' him to use it and how. Thank you!!

Answer
 Hi, Dana!  Unfortunately a lot of rats don't like to use wheels; in my experience I've only ever had two that did out of probably 70 or so rats I've owned.  Usually they will only like to use it if they are introduced to it at a young age.  You can try to train him to use it by putting treats on the top, so he has to spin the wheel to get them.  Even if he doesn't run in the wheel at least he'll have some exercise spinning it!

 To burn off some more calories you can take him out and let him free range a bit; most rats like to explore and running around can help keep him trim.  Even just allowing him to run around on the couch with you while you watch TV (put a blanket down to catch any pees or poos) or on a table or even on the outside of his cage if his cage is in a safe location can give him some more running time.

 If he loves food, you can try teaching him to follow your finger by putting a bit of liquidy treat such as baby food or applesauce and leading him around, giving him occasional licks of it to urge him to follow.  If he gets good at following your finger you can try teaching him rat agility (similar to dog agility but with smaller obstacles of course!).  More about rat agility here: http://careguide.evergreenrattery.com/agility.html and http://www.theagilerat.com

 Well I hope that helps answer your question, good luck with your rat!