Training and Games

Rats are incredibly intelligent animals and therefore require much stimulation in their lives. Psychologists used to believe that only apes and man had the ability of reasoning or abstract thought, and when ‘lower’ animals displayed these processes, it was purely instinct. However, it became evident that this was not the case when Loh Seng Tsai started to experiment with laboratory rats in 1929. In one of the tests there were two shelves, one above the other. The lower shelf had a ladder going to it, but from this platform there was no ladder to the top. After thinking this through the rat pulled the ladder up, using a simple pulley system, so he could reach the top and get the treat.
In another test, the rat climbs a ladder up to a platform that is opposite a platform with cheese on it, and there is a basket in between the platforms. The rat finds the rope attached to the basket and pulls it towards him, climbs on it and swings to the platform with the cheese.

In more every day life, we gave one of our rats some cardboard strips to chew up for her nest (she had a thing about cardboard), only to wake up to find that she had arranged them around her nesting box to make it darker!
Rats can also learn. Another test by B Frederick Skinner had a hungry brown rat in an enclosed box with no food and a lever. The rat came to learn that when he pressed the lever, he was rewarded with food through a little chute. Eventually, he was conditioned to wait for a light to come on in the box before he could get any food.

This just goes to show that not all laboratory animals are treated cruelly. The rats in these tests probably had a more fulfilling life than a lot of pets - they had things to learn and do to challenge their mind. Rats love to learn things but, it must be noted, that they can have just as good a life with no training but with toys and people/rats to play with. However, teaching your rat things is not just beneficial to the rat, it can be a very rewarding process.

A very useful thing to teach your rat is her own name. All rats should be taught this because it is safe. If the rat escapes or is let out for a bit, you only have to call her and she’ll come back. Also, if you want to take her somewhere you can just say her name to ask her to come out of her nest. Rats are, as I’ve said repeatedly, very clever. Once they grasp what you want they are very co-operative. Teaching a rat her name is easy. Every time you approach her cage to get her out, call her name, but only when you are getting her out. Then take her somewhere like the bed and every time she goes to the other end, call her. When she comes back, give her a tiny treat. Surprisingly soon, she’ll make the connection and will start to come back immediately. Pretty soon you won’t need treats to tempt her. Try not to use her name when you want to put her in the cage, unless she won’t come out from under the sofa, as she will associate this with the end of playtime and may not respond.

Even if you don’t want to teach her tricks, there are all sorts of games you can play. You can wrestle with your rat using your hand. Move your hand along the floor like another rat. When the rat follows it, turn around and tickle her sides, making any kind of excited noise. Then ‘run away’ again. She will grab your hand, rolling over and mock biting you. She will come to love this game and will get quite excited and carried away. Just pretend you’re another rat and use your imagination.

If you want to teach her some things, it is best to let her play for half an hour so she uses up all her excited energy. After that she will be willing to pay attention and learn all sorts of tricks and mind games. One mind game is to make three doors in a box, marking them with a different shape. Colour is not important as rats only see in black and white, and they see high-contrasting tones best. Then put food in one of them, say a triangle. Ring a bell or make some noise (high-pitched is best) and let her go off to find the food. When she finds the food in the triangle, call her back and try again. When you think she has got it, move the doors around so it is in a different place. Then ring the bell again. She should go straight to the triangle. Then try it with a different shape and a different noise.

Rats will happily learn circus tricks. Jumping through a hoop is an impressive one. Use a hoop more than five inches diameter and place it on the surface of your training ground. Coax her through it with some food and say a word or make a noise. When she goes through happily, repeat the process but with the hoop a centimetre off the ground. Keep repeating this until the hoop is quite a way off the ground, rewarding her all the time. Eventually she’ll do this whenever she hears the sound, and even just for fun. Rats are also natural tightrope walkers, so this is easy to teach as well. Get a piece of rope about an inch wide and hold it in such a way that it is just longer than her body so she is not able to simply reach over. Hold a treat at the opposite end so she has to step on the rope to reach it. Then make it a little longer and so on. Try putting her trick toys in her cage so she can practise, and practise she will. Through pretty much the same methods she can be taught anything, from standing on her back legs on a podium with her nose in the air, to playing fetch. The key to all training is patience. She might pick up the easy tricks in one day, but the more difficult ones take time, as with everything any animal, even humans, learn. Always remember that she cannot mind read, and also be aware of any distress she may be in from some of the tricks. People may think it is cruel to make animals perform tricks, but a rat will not do anything they don’t want to, and all rats find good mental and physical stimulation through learning. However, do not abuse or endanger the animal, as she will turn from you. Always remember to reward every little step forward and never punish her. Rats learn much better from positive rewards for their actions than they do from negative ones. They don’t understand why you are hurting them, and they will become stressed and unhappy.

Shoulder walking is a feat that rats, but females in particular, are naturally good at. Start with a little bit each day, and always be on the look out for her falling. Very soon your rat will be a shoulder walking pro. As with any trick, though, if she doesn’t like it, stop.

Back to Previous Page