young rats are exhausting

It's not exactly that I had forgotten already how much energy and destructive initiative young rats have once they've gotten over their initial shyness, but there definitely was rose-tinted nostalgia blurring those memories. In any case I now remember why the free playtime outside I give younger rats has always been only an hour or two at most, whereas I let older ones out as much as they like as long as I'm home.

I also need to come up with more entertainment to occupy them now that they feel secure outside. Currently Noah in particular expends most of his not inconsiderable energy trying to get out of their play enclosure (simple wood panels held together with cable binders), that I put up for their safety while they are this young and reckless. Though even with the escape attempts, it still makes watching them easier. And the ferret climbing tree I bought for them has been a big hit, but clearly I now need to do some more landscaping to satisfy their exploratory drive.