I feel it is very important to little developing rats to let them have exposure to alot of different things. Sounds, sights, smells, and touch. This is a key time in their life to not only learn and absorb all they can but to also teach them to be confident and unafraid of new things.
I do handle my babies every single day from birth, but at about 2 weeks old when their eyes have opened is where the fun really begins.
I take them into my living room where I have a small animal playpen set up. It is fairly good height for babies and the bars are thinly spaced so they can not squeeze through. I put it in the living room instead of the rat room so they can be exposed to new sights, smells, noises, animals and foot traffic.
**Note: Yes I do expose all of my babies to the cats and dog safely. I do not recommend this for those who are not 100% experienced and know their pets very well. It is always completely supervised and at a safe distance. I like the babies getting experience with the animal smells and having them being watched. I have done this with all of my litters, I know my pets very very well. I would never let them touch or be too close as accidents can occur.
Ok so I fill the playpen with a different variety of items each day. This lets them try out new things, textures, stuff to climb over, on, and inside. It challenges their brains.
Some things I have used: cat toy balls with bells, ribbons that they will tug and drag around, paper towel rolls, boxes, bowls, and parts of cages to climb on. When they are alittle bit older they will also get to experience very shallow bowls of water, pea fishing, and some new treats!
So here are some videos and pics!
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| 19 Days Old |
Their very first time in the playpen at 17 days old:
Playing with a kitty ball at 17 days old:
Now 19 Days old you can see they are much more active.
And have even learned to escape the playpen. Not even three weeks old yet!! What handfuls.
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