Safe to take outdoors?

[sawyer_gota_gun]

I've seen picsof people taking their rats outside but is it safe to? Because when i had my duckling outside he got snatched up by a hawk when I was like 5 ft away from him and so i'm afraid to take small animals outside now. predator birds can pick up like 5 pound animals so they'd be able to get a rat very easily.. You can't put a harness on a rat can you? That's really the only sure way I could make sure a bird didn't get them other than being in an enclosure with a top.

[Johnny_]

Yes, you can put a harness on a rat, although I don't think they would like it very much

[LastEchoes]

Whenever you take any animal outside there's a risk...be it in a form of a car, birds of prey, external parasites or what not. There are actually harnesses for rats but not all rats fit into them well or being flexible animals that they are they could get out if they really wanted to.
I, personally, am too paranoid to take my rats outside because most of them are dwarf or CAN escape from a harness(or just freak out if I put it on them)...without a harness, i'd never take them outside because I"m afraid that if something spooks them and they run off, I'll never be able to catch them.......plus we also have birds of prey in the area lol
Plus you have to remember that rats aren't big fans of direct sunlight...especially if you live in a hot area like I do.

[sawyer_gota_gun]

i'll play it safe then and only have them indoors. is taking them on short car rides ok? I've heard they like them like most dogs do.

[CinemaGeek]

Martin's sells a playpen with a top that I'm going to purchase soon for my little ones. It's the first one at the top of the page: http://www.martinscages.com/products/cages/rat/ The weather is too nice out to keep them from enjoying it, and with the enclosure they'll have a large area to romp in (always with supervision, or course). They'll be safe from wandering cats and birds of prey, which are my two biggest worries.

[ratgirl2]

I have a rat who will stay on the leash.  He doesn't seem to mind it, I guess he knows he gets to go outside.  He LOVES outside 

Here is a picture of him with the leash on in the house, just to get used to it.
We couldn't put the top part of the leash around his neck, he could get out of it, so I did it around the waist instead, much easier for him to wander and not get out.

[Oh!Rats!]

 

I love that picture, he looks perfectly happy! 

Well, when we take ours outside, we usually have them in a bonding pouch/purse; we take a couple of different ones to my son's coach pitch ball games a couple nights a week. The kids go crazy for them and the girls seems to like it! 

But I would be worried about only being on a lease; of course, in case they escaped.  I just wouldn't want anything to happen.   

[chiropteragirl]

My rats are fine on their leash. They don't mind the harness too much. I just check them every few minutes to make sure they haven't wriggled out, and they have lots of fun.

My rats start boggling and bruxing like crazy the minute they get outside and start sniffing the nice fresh air. They love running through the grass in the sun.

Personally, I think that yes, there is a small risk going outside, but as long as you watch them, and they are on their leash, it is totally fine, and the benefits far outweigh the risks.

[Addicted2Rats]

I guess I'm such a huge worry-wart.  I won't take my rats outdoors because of the risks of external/internal parasites, predators, etc.  I think the only thing I would do to let them get some fresh outdoor air is to bring their cage outside for a little bit.  Here in southern Indiana, there are ALOT of hawks flying around.  Even if I had a rat on a leash or harness, it still would not be safe.  There's nothing to stop a hawk from swooping down and snatching up my rat while I'm holding the other end of the leash.

So, my guys may not like it but they live a safe but sheltered life.

Deb

[WS]

Yup. We have a lot of hawks here too.   We know a couple who lost two of their small dogs ( and SAW IT happen!) to hawks   - so I'm scared of that too.
The perils of outdoors are very real to me.

  When I was 19, my boyfriend took one of our rats Clementine out for a walk in the park next to our apartment.    He was very good at watching her... and had a handle on her the whole time but she slipped away and he could not find her. Came home, almost in tears, "I lost Clementine!"   -- it was so heartbreaking - we searched for hours and hours and couldn't find her and then had a sudden hail storm -- the worst of the century.         I still could cry when I hear that song, "You are lost and gone forever, oh my darlin' Clementine"

I've always been careful -- I've had a few rats who would walk with a harness (and who chose not to take it off... they can, ya know!) but too afraid to risk it outside after the Clementine incident.  I sometimes take my rats out in cages and stay with them while they're sniffing around, or put the cage top on the grass so they can dig or walk around in the grass.   Always supervised.  Yup, I'm a worry wart too.

[Addicted2Rats]

Whew...good to hear that I'm not alone in being a worry-wart!   

Deb