So Benny dove off my shoulder tonight and hit the carpet ground after missing the cage level (I have a Ferret Nation). I promptly panicked as I heard him hit the ground but there was no squeak of pain from him. I threw myself to the ground and peered under the cage to see where he was and if he was hurt only to find him trying to evade my capture with a cashew stuck in his mouth. I was worried sick when I fished him out from under the cage and promptly put him in the cage and gave him a fresh cashew which he ate after running downstairs and into the litter box. He are some pumpkin seeds after and then ran downstairs to then torture the cat.

So, you think he's ok? My mom says he's fine but I'm an over nervous mommy. Have any of your rats given you a heart attack by jumping without a parachute?

Yeah, my Tyrant used to tire of sitting on my shoulder and launch herself in the general direction of the cage. I'm 5'7".  She's tiny. Heart stopper for sure but she was always fine, if a bit shaken.

Sounds like Benny has no idea why you are fussing.  I'd watch him, but my guess is he's fine.

I'm 6'1" and when I first picked up Anborn, he took a swan dive from chest height into a bunch of junk, then ran under a shelf full of 50 pound bird seed bags! He was fine, but then, he didn't have to move all that bird seed!!!

I had a scare when Riff-Raff, my 2-1/2 year old, fell off the shelf of the upper level of my FN.  He and Cheese Lips were stretching out REALLY far to get some lettuce that I was getting ready to give them.  Both of them took a tumble all the way down to the floor.  Riff did a flip in the air, and was pretty freaked out at first when he hit the ground.  He ran to a corner to hide, and then he ran into his cage to recuperate.  He wouldn't even take any lettuce that I tried to offer him at first.  But after a few minutes, he settled down and everything was ok.  It took me a bit longer for my heart rate to get back to normal!

Deb

I would definitely keep an eye on him, but don't worry to much.  Our little fellas are pretty resiliant when it comes to nose dives.  Claymore got into the habit of diving off my shoulder whenever he felt he should be allowed to roam the living room.  Most of the time he would hit a smaller cage on the way down, and I was always afraid he'd break his neck, but he always bounced well and was never the worse for wear, he would just go about his free range, no running or anything.

I used to have floor-to-ceiling drapes in front of my closet, and my Ratley would climb up to the top and then let herself go, skidding down the drapes to the floor. Freaked me out! But she kept doing it, so I just started putting pillows at the landing.

But yeah, keep an eye on your little guy for evidence of pain. If he acts normally, though, I wouldn't be too worried.