I see a lot of posts and pictures around Social Media asking if it’s okay to take your rat outside., whether carrying them in your arms or letting them down to roam around. While there are a few possible benefits to this I believe the negatives massively outweigh any positives on this subject so will go into a little more detail on the matter for those either interested in this or have considered doing this themselves just to clear a few points up.
Potential Benefits
So for the sake of fairness on this subject I’ll go into a few “Potential” benefits. I use that word very sparingly as these are not guaranteed to be beneficial to rats and there they still would be perfectly happy without the experience but I will go into it a little anyway.
The only real potential benefits I can think of for doing this is the new environment could be interesting for them. As long as they felt safe and reacted positively to it then all the new sights and sounds and smells could give them a bit of enrichment. They could plod around and explore and things like the suns warmth and the smells passed around in the wind would be very new sensations and might be fun to experience. However it also could be scary and could do the exact opposite too which is risky trying.
Risks
Now onto the risks. Get comfy because unfortunately there is a lot more of them. This isn’t a case of being biased and going overboard to discourage people from something fun either, these are all the genuine risks of taking them outside.
Firstly as I mentioned above the smells being wafted around in the wind and the new sensations might not actually be enjoyable for them. Depending on the rat this could be very overwhelming and even if they nothing bad happens from it, just putting them through unnecessary stress isn’t worth it for little to no benefit really. Especially when they can feel safe and secure in their cages with the rest of their ratty friends.
Escaping
This can happen so quickly it’s really worrying to think about. All it takes is them to get a little stressed and scared for them to bolt somewhere where you can’t get to them. You can think your outside space is totally safe but rats can fit through the smallest of gaps and are excellent climbers. They are also much faster than we can even keep up with when they fully go for it so don’t let it be underestimated that they can probably get out of any garden no matter how well you think you have safe proofed it. There are risks of them slipping into something in the ground like open drains or hidden pipes that you might not know about or even into a thick bush, under a shed or some other place when it’s hard to retrieve them. Rats will instinctively head to safe spaces anyway but especially if they are scared. There is also the curiosity and mischievousness in rats that will also fuel their drive to explore and potentially get lost to consider.
Predation
The next thing to consider is predators. Rats are prey animals so will always be hyper aware that they might not be safe all the time. Even domesticated rats still have the prey instinct so having them outside in a totally new environment with a lot more going on could kick this prey instinct off and scare them or potentially make them want to run away and hide. On top of just causing them extra stress there is the genuine risk that there might actually be an animal round higher in the food chain that will cause them harm. This can happen either from the air with larger birds or birds of prey snatching them away or something like a cat which can hide well and come out of nowhere. Your rats really wouldn’t have much chance. Not only that but even other wild rats that are usually much bigger and used to the outside more could strike too and pose a serious risk to your smaller and more defenceless rats.
Risk of Injury
Having them wander around on the ground can pose all sorts of injury risks. Things like log piles, bricks, slabs and other loose objects could fall on them in disturbed or move slightly and trap feet and tails. There is also the chance they could get caught on something sharp or rusty and cause further injury. You never know at any time when a neighbour or somebody walking past your house could throw something dangerous over the fence either. It’s so much easier to keep a safe and controlled environment when keeping rats inside than gambling on nothing changing on the outside between visits. Even if you don’t put them down and think its not risky if you just have them on your shoulder or in your arms this isn’t totally correct. If they get scared and jump from you and land on the hard ground this can cause broken bones or much worse. Then the panic of hitting the floor can cause them run scared and potentially injure themselves further.
Bacteria & Parasites
There is a big risk of picking up unwanted things you can’t even see when exposed to the outside world. The potential to pick up internal or external parasites is quite high and most of the time there will be no obvious symptoms for you to tell. They will need to be treated every time they are exposed to this which isn’t ideal at all. Common infections like Leptospirosis can be picked up from contaminated outside sources like water and soil and also wild rats can spread it in their urine. This can then be spread to your other rats, any other animals in your household and also to humans. In humans this can turn into Weils disease that presents as cold/flu like symptoms but has also been known to be fatal in bad cases.
Poisoning
Lots of harmful plants, trees and bushes that could potentially harm them. We know examples of wood that may be unsafe to them who knows what other plants or bushes might be. Wild rats may know from experience what to leave alone but your domesticated ones might not realise as well. There is not just the risk of natural things that can harm them too. Who knows if a neighbour has laid some rat poison down somewhere and it’s made it through to your garden that can be eaten or made it into a water source that they then drink.
Other points
Bright light can hurt their sensitive eyes. Especially red/pink eyed rats that can be more sensitive to bright light anyway. When exposed to the sun on a very summery day this could be uncomfortable for them and potentially harm their eyesight further.
Most people think harnesses are a good option for taking rats outside. Even if these worked you still have all the other factors listed above that a harness would not protect against. However the reality of harnesses is they are still very easy for a rat to escape from especially if panicked. Harnesses are either too loose so they are easy to wriggle out of or they tighten up badly and can be quite uncomfortable for them. They will likely already be worked up because of badly fitting harnesses before they are taken outside so won’t likely be in a good mood for a relaxed explore.
Even secure runs are not recommended outside either. The light, stress and potential for picking up mites, infections and other bacteria’s is still there. Unless this has a solid bottom they will most likely try and dig out, most runs are wooden which they will chew through pretty quickly and the wire used in runs can be quite sharp and potentially harm them as well as rust too. Again this isn’t really a good option.
Summary
Apologies that was a bit of a long one but as you can see there are a lot of risks in taking your rats outside. There is both the mental stresses to consider as well as the physical dangers to constantly watch out for. There are many more risks than actual benefits, if any. To me it’s just not worth putting them through it all even if nothing may happen the chances something could is very high. Keep them safe, secure and happy by keeping them in their normal environment. There is nothing stopping you from taking them to different rooms of the house if you want to give them new places to explore they will love that or keep changing free roam setups with different layouts and items to keep it interesting for them.
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