My rat is too energetic!

Question

I have a pet rat which I've had from him being 4 weeks old. He has always been so energetic, running, jumping around the room. He's crazy and tries to jump into the TV sometimes too, lol. I was just wondering if there's anything that I can do to calm him down? He's almost a year old now, and is still as energetic as when I got him. I try stroking him and holding him but he just escapes and runs around the room. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Young rats can be very energetic.  It also might be a personality factor.  I have two rats and one is very spazzy and the other is much more sedate.  

You should really get your rat a buddy.  No matter how much you play with him, you're still not going to be around when you're at work/school or sleeping.  A friend will probably help him expend some of that energy.

If you decide to go that route, first check out your local humane society.  When they do get rats they are usually there for many months before getting adopted.  The cost is similar to what you would pay at a pet store, but your money would go toward helping other animals.  The animals will also be closer to the age of your current rat rather than another baby.

Here's a great site about how to best introduce rats to each other.  

http://www.fancy-rats.co.uk/information/...

Hope that helps!

Answer 2

u should get another rat. that may help. just so he can play even when he is in the cage. also, get him out more often. and let him have free run of a room that he cant destroy or get out of. even make him a "jungle gym" for him to climb around, run through, ya know just different activities. basically u need to let him release all of his energy, well most of it that is.

hope this helped and good luck!!

Answer 3

He'll slow down eventually. Young males are very energetic.

Females, never slow down! I have two that are a little over 2 1/2 yrs old, and STILL energetic & nonstop.

My boys, 6 & 11 months old, are still pretty energetic, but they have their lazy moments too. I wouldn't expect much different until closer to 1 1/2 years old.

P.S. Does your rat have a cage mate? How often does he get to come out of his cage? What is the size of his cage? All of this will factor into his energy level, as well. If he's caged alone in a relatively small cage, he'll run about like crazy when taken out of the cage, because he has pent up energy.

Answer 4

You should get him a friend, that will help a lot. And he should calm down as he gets older as male rats tend to get lazy faster then females. You might want to give him some more stuff to do in his cage while he is in there and you might want to give him some challenging obstacles when he is out for free time. I build a new obstacle course for mine every week and it seems to help them a lot and I also put a new toy in there cage every other day or so, a toy that will challenge them and keep them entertained for a few hours at least(I work long days and can only play with them at night and hate the fact of them sitting in the cage all day bored out of there minds) if none of that works then your just going to have to accept the fact that there is nothing you can do and be glad that you have a very active rat instead of a boring lazy one that just lays there all the time and is no fun at all.

Answer 5

that is great! you have an exceptionally active male rat! that is way cool i do not see why it bothers you though. my female rats are lazy bums and your male rat is what a female rat should be. and yes i would get another rat so he can share all that energy with the rat, but get a rat that is also energetic and about the same age and the same s*x

Answer 6

Maybe it's just an age thing. Older rats are much more calm and lazy. Just try to keep holding him, but rat-proof your room so he doesn't get hurt.

Answer 7

Just like people, every pet you will ever have will have different personalities. Have you considered getting your rat a companion (same s*x of course). I have had rats as pets on and off for about 10 years now, and always find that adding a friend into a single rat household helps calm the previous one down. Not only will your rat have a constant companion when you can't interact with him/her, but a friend could help get some of that energy out. It's odd that you have a male rat that is such a spaz, usually they are the more docile ones, but like I said you should always expect different personalities in every pet you own.