Question about my rat...

Question

My rat will sit in the corner of its cage, allll the time.

My dad & I just built an extra level out of fencing and cardboard, TEMPORARILY.

We put outdoor carpet on the ramp made of cardboard and led it up to the second floor. There lie toilet paper, her edible hiding log, and a few pieces of cloth. I put her on the top of the ladder. She sniffed around, but still seemed uninterested in the entire second floor, went down to the first, and went in the back left corner, (where the ramp is) and just sat there cleaning herself, and did nothing.

I'm being so impatient but I love her to death, keep that in mind, but she's a bit boring. She's calm, and just stands in one spot. Not active through the night.

She'll run around out of the cage and sniff EVERYTHING and get herself into tons of mischief (I'm saying she's healthy, lol)

But her cage just doesn't do it for her :/

I've only had her for 2 days.

But shouldn't she be exploring her cage instead of just sitting in one place?

How can I encourage her to seek other levels of the cage and explore?

The milkbone dog treats are in the car right now, and its pouring down rain or I'd get them.

Celery maybe?

Answer 1

maybe it is adjusting to its new cage and rats like to lay around alot!

Answer 2

Give her more time. She might just still be unsure of her sorroundings. You could put good tasting things like smear a very small amount of chocolate on the flooring of the level of the cage you want her to go to. That might get her to come to where you want her to go and then she might start exploring.

Answer 3

you should get another rat, then she wont be lonely and bored.  

Answer 4

There may be several reasons why your rat is acting that way. First, and probably the most obvious, is that she has only been in the cage two days!! She still has not adjusted to it yet, and it will probably be at least a week or two before she finally settles in. Give her some time to get used to her new environment. Second, she could be lonely, but I doubt lonliness would set in if you've only had her two days, however, you really really need to look into getting another rat friend for her soon. Lonliness and depression in rats is VERY serious and can often result in death. The most responsible thing you can do is get another rat so that she won't be lonely. Lastly, some rats really aren't very active at night anyways, mine aren't very much. If you are that concerned about her, you could probably just keep an eye on her for a few days and see if there are other changes in her behavior. If there are, you should take her to see a vet. For the most part, I also believe that she is perfectly healthy and you have nothing to worry about, just please get her a friend and you will most likely see a change in her activity levels. Goodluck!