Rat Proofing Your Play Area It is essential to use proper safety around your rats and to keep their play area safe. Rats are small animals. They are easy to injure if your not careful. Rats are also very curious animals. If there is trouble left to find, they will find it. Follow These Steps When Applicable... Cover any drains. Close the toilet lid. Remove any reachable electric cords. Secure any cupboards, because rats can open some types of cupboards. Remove anything which is toxic, such as chemicals, soaps, toothpaste, cleaners, shampoos, etc... Check VERY carefully through the entire room (including under beds, etc...), and block off any holes or areas you don't want them to get into. They can fit through anything as small as a quarter, such as; under doors, under closets, holes in walls or floors, some heating vents, the gaps under cabinets, etc... Remove anything you don't want to see get chewed up. My rats have never chewed on my furniture, but they have chewed on everything else. :) In general, try to keep their play area free of clutter or anything which could be dangerous. Remove or cover any containers full of water (such as vases), which your rats could fall into and drown. Be sure there are no poisonous plants. Be sure to block off, or remove, any furniture your rats can get caught up in or be hurt by, such as couches, rockers, dressers, etc... Block, empty, or remove any trash cans. Keep smoke and cigarettes away from your rats. Be sure windows are closed. Your rats can chew through screens. Make sure access to any food or candy is removed. Remove any thing that your rats could pull down on top of themselves. You should be constantly vigilant in watching to see for any possible missed rat proofing in your rats' play area. Your rats will be certain to let you know how good of a job you did. Rats do not always get into mischief right away. They could go weeks before they notice a particular spot to escape or object to destroy. Keep in mind that rats are small, mischievous, smart, quick at learning how to open things (including Tupperware and some cage doors), have extreme athletic ability (they can climb right up a smooth metal pole with no effort), and will eat anything! So try and account for ANYTHING when rat proofing your play area. You can never be too cautious or safe! Follow These Rules of Conduct When Out With Your Rats... We recommend you wear old clothes that you don't care about. Little rats love to redesign your clothes by adding all kinds of air holes to them! ;) Rats love to be around you, climb on you and under you, and be under foot. Never wear shoes! When walking, always shuffle your feet along the floor. Be cautious when sitting down. (I've checked first and seen my rats on the other side of the room, yet by the time my butt hit the floor, they were under it! So never just plunk down! Always do it slowly, even if you think they are no where near you.) In general be aware of where your rats are. Never leave them unattended. If you absolutely need to leave the room, be VERY careful not to shut a rat in the door. Keep other pets away from your rats. Inform other family members when your rats are out to play so that they know to be cautious too. We recommend teaching your rats how to come to the sound of their name for safety. (Learn how to do this by going to the "Reviews" section of this site.)