# For those of you who let your mice/gerbils/hamsters out totally



## polishrose (Oct 26, 2011)

How do you know they won't try and escape? I let mine out but only into a huge cardboard box where they can run around, or an exercise ball on a stand(they bump into things if it's rolling around and I'm always worried they'll hurt themselves-please tell me if this is the wrong thing to do), but I've seen pics of yours running around on floors,sofas etc...how do you get them that tame that they won't run off?


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## Guest (Sep 8, 2012)

polishrose said:


> How do you know they won't try and escape? I let mine out but only into a huge cardboard box where they can run around, or an exercise ball on a stand(they bump into things if it's rolling around and I'm always worried they'll hurt themselves-please tell me if this is the wrong thing to do), but I've seen pics of yours running around on floors,sofas etc...how do you get them that tame that they won't run off?


Mine are allowed free range in a completely enclosed space until I'm 100% certain they are tame, and even when they are, I only free range in secure rooms 

I'm not a big fan of the exercise balls, but that is just personal opinion


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## Golgotha_tramp (Feb 27, 2011)

My rats get free range in their bedroom (which has been checked for any risks) so there is little risk of them getting away.

In the old house (before we had Mitzi) they would free range in the front room. Again we rat proofed it and most of them respond to their name. The ones that didn't soon come running when they see all the others getting treats with Mummy.

Not sure about hammies etc. can they be trained to come to call?


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## AnnB (Nov 6, 2011)

My mice free range on the bed (on an old sheet). They don't ever try and jump off when they get to the edge although I did have one accident where a nervous mouse jumped backwards off the bed (he was ok thankfully).

My hamster on the other hand, is completely daft and will speed up towards the edge of the bed so I wouldn't trust him not to take a flying leap. I have a play pen and a barricade of pillows that slow down his attempts to escape and I keep a very careful eye on him.


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## K1nS (Feb 8, 2010)

You can buy a small pet run for around £15, its a perfect size for hammies  I don't like Nibbs out though, she goes in her ball every night and ill sometimes let her run around on my desk and stroke her, but our house isn't pet proofed so its not safe to let her out fully... I also let her run around in the bath with her toys  Obv without water :thumbup1:


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## Micky93 (May 15, 2012)

When we first got Bolt (our 20 week old Syrian Hamster) I started off letting him climb in his exercise ball and taking him to the bath with a towel in the bottom (empty of course!). I would sit in with him and just let him play and explore and he started to get use to using me to climb etc. This way there was no worry of him running off or freaking out etc. I did this for a couple of weeks in the evening and by then he was happy to come out in my hands, be held etc. 

Then I made him a 'playpen' out of a large cardboard box, like you have. This was fine for the next few weeks but soon started to get bored of being in the box. By this point he was tame so I let him run around on the bed and just keep a close eye on him. I like to put cushions or 'obstacles' in the way of the edges or myself & OH lay either either side of the bed and he can have free range of all the inside and us, and we just stop him if he tries to climb over us completly. I've found this works pretty well :thumbup:

And good luck! It's all about confidence and patience


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## polishrose (Oct 26, 2011)

Thank you all. The house were in currently isn't very safe for small animals at all but we're moving into a brand new one on October with an upstairs where the dog won't be allowed to go and the cats will also be kept out so it will be much safer to try and let them out and play. The bath idea wouldn't really work as I'm quite overweight :-( but I could sit beside the bath and get them used to crawling up my hands more. Or put one of the kids in with them. Our hamster will sit in my hands while I put her in the box or ball to play but the gerbil is another matter. She bites. Hard. Drawling blood. (hence being called Damon from the vampire diaries). But she will go in her ball to be put in the box. 
I could do with a playpen lol


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## peter0 (Oct 4, 2011)

I let my chipmunks free range in my bedroom but not so sure for my mice and hamsters they go in their play pen which they seem to like and they enjoy playing with different toys. I would probably be able to trust the hamster to free range as my room is rodent proof and she is tame but i'd never try with my mice

I don't really like the balls either, but that's just my preference.


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## polishrose (Oct 26, 2011)

I know how to child proof a room( after 6 kids I'm an expert) but could you talk me through rodent proofing please? I know the obvious one is to make sure there are no holes in the walls/floor but what else? My mum never allowed me to let our gerbils run free. I'd sit on the floor with my sister making a diamond shape with our legs and the gerbils would play there. And try and escape under our knees all the time lol. I made a huge maze out of toilet rolls once too.

What toys can I give them to play with so it's different to what they have in their cages? Can I give them soil/grass to play in? Sand?


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## peter0 (Oct 4, 2011)

I just make sure there is nowhere in my room that they could squeeze out of or hide away from me and anywhere the could escape is covered so they can't get out the room. I also make sure there is nowhere in the room that they can hide away from me and stay hidden so that i can't catch them.

For the playpen i use some of the toys from their cage but i also have spare toys like huts, various wheels and tubes. 

My hamster also has a large sand bath for her free range time and i'm sure gerbils like sand baths too? The mice get a cat litter tray filled with soil and i grew cat grass in it which is safe for them and they enjoy destroying it. Also old kids toys make good things too, I have a small Tracey Island from Thunderbirds from when i was younger they play on


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## AnnB (Nov 6, 2011)

Polishrose, I bet you have a load of good toys already. Have a look at some of your kids' old toys, some of them are great for mice.

Here are some examples


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## rainstars (May 3, 2012)

That toy slide looks so cute! I need one.


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## AnnB (Nov 6, 2011)

The slide is part of a set, there is also a swing and a roundabout. 50p at a car boot sale for the three.
















I've seen great big castles and treehouses at car boots that I'd love to bring home for the mice but there's only so much stuff I can fit in the house.


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## Lavenderb (Jan 27, 2009)

Oh good god, wait til Gill (TDM) sees those swings and slide....another shopping trip on the cards


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## tinktinktinkerbell (Nov 15, 2008)

mine are either on the settee with me (i put my legs up so they dont get off) and im watching them all the time, doesnt stop them sometimes trying to get off but im watching

or they are in a ball on a stand, i dont like letting them roam free in a ball in case they bang into something and hurt themselves, the neighbours dont like the banging either lol if they are free in the ball they are on the ham track 

if i really trust them then they get free run of the floor in the living room but i only do this in winter as i can shut the door, if i shut it in summer it gets too hot and i only do this if REALLY trust the ham

my OH is doing the passageway up atm and when its done we will give a ham free run of that

we have let them have free run of the kitchen being watched by us at all times, its so funny, they throw a child like hissy fit when you pick them up and put them back in their cage :rofl:


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## polishrose (Oct 26, 2011)

Is cat grass better than normal garden grass?Can gerbils and hammies play in it too?


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## polishrose (Oct 26, 2011)

AnnB said:


> Polishrose, I bet you have a load of good toys already. Have a look at some of your kids' old toys, some of them are great for mice.
> 
> Here are some examples


omg that's so cute


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## peter0 (Oct 4, 2011)

I don't know if normal garden grass is safe as the seeds might have stuff in to help them grow and was recommended cat grass as it's definitely safe and it was, my mice munched the lot.

You can get it in Instore/£stretcher and it's only cheap, i buy 2 packets and fill one normal sized cat litter tray for them. Don't know if they have them still with summer being over but you can always check. I'm not sure what it's like for hamsters and gerbils but i cant' really see why not


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## WelshYorkieLover (Oct 16, 2011)

Keek our hamster gets to run around our sofa or bed until his first "jump off" attempt lol then he's put in the bath with toys to free range in there or put into his exercise ball. Always supervised!

My mice get to run around the bath with toys and my rats are too damn lazy to make any escape attempts! They run around my lounge sometimes but mostly my bed and they go straight under the duvet and curl up and sleep the whole time they're out! They enjoy their creature comforts too much to leave home lol!


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

Make sure there are no wires about!

Watch your carpets,wallpaper and any clothes lying around.


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## WelshYorkieLover (Oct 16, 2011)

I'll second that!! Holes everywhere in my all my duvet covers!!! And they've chewed my iPhone cover!! Lol!


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## tinktinktinkerbell (Nov 15, 2008)

oh yes definitely watch clothes! ham shaped holes in almost everything i own :lol:


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## polishrose (Oct 26, 2011)

Lol I'll remember that


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## momentofmadness (Jul 19, 2008)

When I hjust had Hammies.. Our Nibs used to be let out in the living room in the eve.. and she would always come back to her cage after about and hour.. If not used to tap on floor and shout her.. xxx

The rats used to just come to me when I call.. Rats love people and love cuddles and titbits..


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## zany_toon (Jan 30, 2009)

My meeces get to play on my bed with a massive fleece blanket on it to keep my duvet cover mouse pee free :lol:With where my bed is they actually run from my bed, over the cat box, onto the computer desk and onto the roof of a cage next to it, so they have oodles of room. I've had a couple who have fallen off the bed when they try to jump onto my leg (for the few occasions I'm not already sitting on the bed), but other than that they are all very happy to play on the bed  As for toys, mine get whatever is in the charity shop (and then some  ) including their favourite toy - the castle (which also doubles as a prison for cage cleaning :lol: ):


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## polishrose (Oct 26, 2011)

That castle is great


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## tinktinktinkerbell (Nov 15, 2008)

that castle is brilliant! 

mouse in the second pic looks like my lilly :001_wub:


mouse in the last pic = LUSH!!!


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## zany_toon (Jan 30, 2009)

THe castle is my favourite and bestest mousie buy - £5.99 unused from a charity shop and it would cost £40 new from the ELC :thumbup: Mouse in the second pic (also in the first one) was Percy, who passed away earlier in the year  and the last one is Houdini my escape artist


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## davidc (Dec 15, 2010)

I use the living room, I unplug everything but the fish tank stuff (heater filter etc) but they are on a socket mounted high up on a wall, and Spice doesn't chew plugs anyway, much prefers my hoover, although she did that when she let herself out!  There was a small hole, nowhere near gerbil sized in the wood on the tank, so she and her sister have been chewing it until it was gerbil sized unknown to me and I found her running around the living room. Looks like a small dog has chewed it not a gerbil. 
I tried putting a heavy book over one of the holes temporarily, ok it was paperback but it was a thick A4 sized cookbook, somehow, she moved that out of the way and got out, I caught her that time on top of the tank.

Just make sure nothing is plugged in if you let your rodents out (danger of electric shock), all doors are closed so you are all shut in the room you are using, they can't get through any gaps in the doors, they can't get in/under anything that could be dangerous etc.

I used to use the hallway for Sandy and Dusky's runs. They were in a gerbilarium at the time. Sandy used to just jump back in the gerbilarium herself when she was ready. And because Dusky copied her, she did the same eventually, so I just waited for them to put themselves back after their run. What thoughtful gerbils.  lol


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## R4360 (Nov 1, 2012)

My gerbils are fairly new to me and are coming along pretty well. I allow them to play on my computer desk while I am sitting here and they seem to love it! I have cardboard taped around the sides and the back is against the wall so the can only get to the edge next to me. Thy don't seem to want to try the jump and pretty much stay away from the edge. They will however crawl all over my keyboard while I am typing and climb on top of my speakers and stare at me! One will stand up and try to climb the monitor. All my cords are going directly behind the desk and they cannot get to them. I learned my lesson the first time I had them there when one found the cord for the speakers and bit it in half in an instant before I could shoo him away! I have wireless keyboard, but have to watch them with my mouse cord. I have a wireless mouse ordered. They will crawl all over my mouse while I am using it too. Goes to show you that a gerbil and mouse can get along together!! I have a large cardboard box they use to play and I put them in the tub some too. They love to get out and play!


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## Steven1 (Aug 5, 2018)

polishrose said:


> How do you know they won't try and escape? I let mine out but only into a huge cardboard box where they can run around, or an exercise ball on a stand(they bump into things if it's rolling around and I'm always worried they'll hurt themselves-please tell me if this is the wrong thing to do), but I've seen pics of yours running around on floors,sofas etc...how do you get them that tame that they won't run off?


Hi, I'm from the US and I've let my gerbil run free basically like a cat for the past 3-4 months. I haven't had any problems besides a few chewed wires. I don't like to keep her in a cage and she seems happy to be free. I keep her cage open Incase she wants to go in but for the most part she is very smart and knows where not to go. She hasn't gotten lost if I thought she wasn't safe I wouldn't let her go free range. The only bad thing is she don't like being locked in her cage. The few times I had to close her in the cage she tried to chew her way out.


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