How often do you get your Rodents out?

**Whisk_Luva** · 05-28-2007, 04:31 AM

How often do you take your rodents out of its cage?

**Miss Z** · 05-28-2007, 06:20 AM

Tia is out and about for at least 2 or 3 hours per day. Usually she'll have an hour free roaming either in my room or one of the bathrooms (as there aren't any wires or electrical sockets in there!) under supervision. She also gets time to run around in her ball or just being held by a member of my family, which is most often me. She gets some private time in her cage to do her daily rat stuff, like sort out her bed, pretend to be a JCB and chuck sawdust everywhere, etc.

The gerbils don't get quite as much time out. If I let them run around I would have virtually no hope of catching them! They're too small to move a ball on their own, and in the past I tried putting all three into Foxy's (my past hamster) old ball. But it really isn't easy, you need at least five hands to do it.

So the gerbils get more handling time really, about 30 mins for each of them. The gerbils amuse each other, mostly, so they don't need quite as much attention as Tia, who is on her own.

**Hellow** · 05-28-2007, 10:06 AM

I handle my Gerbil almost every day. When he is out i let him rome my desk and chew on things. He loves to rome the confusion my desk is currently in. Heres the latest pic of my desk:

**Whisk_Luva** · 05-28-2007, 11:44 AM

Every day- for about 10-15 mins at a time but a lot of times in the day. Adds up to a long time

**Chilli** · 05-28-2007, 01:42 PM

With everything added up, the rats all get around 1 1/2 hours out of their cages each day.
The mouse gets around 15 minutes a day. She's getting rather old and has a few medical issues(nothing major) that usually makes her not in the mood to socialize.
The ferrets get around 5 hours out of their cage a day.

**CathyBogart** · 05-28-2007, 02:39 PM

Hazel didn't like being handled at all, and when I let her out she would run back to her cage (I guess I kept it entertaining enough for her!) so I pretty much only took her out for cage cleaning after awhile. I'd still try to let her out for playtime sometimes, but she never seemed to like it.

I guess I'm glad I never had to worry about her running away!

**Whisk_Luva** · 05-28-2007, 03:14 PM

What animal was Hazel?

**Hellow** · 05-28-2007, 03:19 PM

Originally Posted by CathyBogart

Hazel didn't like being handled at all, and when I let her out she would run back to her cage (I guess I kept it entertaining enough for her!) so I pretty much only took her out for cage cleaning after awhile. I'd still try to let her out for playtime sometimes, but she never seemed to like it.

I guess I'm glad I never had to worry about her running away!

LOL!

**Zippy** · 05-28-2007, 03:33 PM

My mom and I usually get Piglet out in a big blue kiddy pool for around 30-60 mins.

**Kalei** · 05-28-2007, 05:12 PM

Well I had to honestly put not every day for my rabbit. She usually gets out everyday, but once and awhile she goes a day without getting out because of my busy life with work and whatnot. But I will anyday now be getting some wood to block the entrance to under the bed, and then she is going to have free roam of my room 24/7 just like a cat would

**IRescue452** · 05-28-2007, 10:07 PM

I have a play table for my mice that they get a few hours on each day.

**CathyBogart** · 05-29-2007, 01:12 AM

Originally Posted by Whisk_Luva

What animal was Hazel?

Hazel was a syrian hamster who recently passed away(The exotics vet at my clinic told me she had an enlarged kidney, indicating either diabetes or a kidney infection). I don't know how old she was but I had her for close to two years and she was already an adult when I got her. I tried to get her accustomed to handling, and while she never once bit me she made it very clear that it stressed her out. so I gave her lots of toys to keep life interesting and let her enjoy herself.

**BitsyNaceyDog** · 05-29-2007, 08:36 AM

Before Nathan was born Wyatt would get time out just about everyday, there'd be the occasional day that he'd not get time out though. Since Nathan's been born he's been getting less time out. Things are starting to get back to normal now that we're settling into a better routine though.

The chinchillas are getting less time out too. They don't seem to really care though. Of the 3 Lola likes to come out the most. Annie sometimes likes to come out and sometimes would rather stay in their cage. Daphne prefers to stay in the cage and doesn't come out as often as the others.

I don't let the rodents out when Nathan is in the room with me, but when Justin watches Nathan I can let them out of their cages. The birds are much easier and I can let them out of their cages when Nathan is with me.

**moosmom** · 05-29-2007, 08:39 AM

Winkie loves hanging out with me in bed. He'll sit on my shoulder and groom himself (or me). Sometimes he'll even curl up behind me on the pillow and fall asleep. I just wish I could let him run around the room. Unfortunately, that's almost impossible since I've got 5 cats and a VERY small bathroom.