How to lift a rat without stressing it: what a survey of 249 handlers found
Published by Planète Pets · managing editor: Clément Lacaille · how our guides are written
Before placing a rat in a travel carrier, it first has to come out of its cage. That gesture, often done without a second thought, was the subject of an international survey comparing the methods used and their measured effects on the animal’s behaviour. Our other guidance on this moment is gathered in the rodent travel and safety section.
Contents · 5 sections
A survey of 249 handlers across 26 countries
Published in 2023 in Applied Animal Behaviour Science by Burn, Camacho and Hockenhull, the study collected 249 valid responses from rat handlers across 26 countries via an online questionnaire covering handling methods, the reasons behind them, and the behavioural reactions observed in the rats (see the study, doi 10.1016/j.applanim.2023.106077). Eight distinct methods were recorded, the three most cited being shoulder-saddle carrying (39% of respondents), combined chest-and-hindquarters support (20%), and tail lifting (11%).
Tail lifting linked to more signs of discomfort
On reported reactions, rats lifted by the tail defecated significantly more often, and sniffed the handler’s hand less, than those lifted with chest-and-hindquarters support. Conversely, respondents using two cupped hands reported that their rats approached, sniffed and climbed onto the hand noticeably more often than for several other recorded methods — signs usually linked to lower handling aversion.
A gesture right before the trip
This result echoes a principle already documented in mice: lifting a rodent without going through the tail limits immediate signs of discomfort, including right before a trip that is stressful in itself. The topic is distinct from the nuance added in 2025 about weekly mouse handling, covered in our article on tunnel or tail handling in mice, and it complements our guidance on measured transport stress in rats.
The practical takeaway
Before putting a pet rat into its travel carrier, supporting it with both hands — one under the hindquarters, one under the chest — rather than grabbing it by the tail remains the best-documented gesture. Cupped hands, once the animal is already used to being handled, point the same way. Nothing suggests a single method suits every rat, though: the survey notes considerable individual variation in the reactions respondents reported.
Frequently asked questions
Should tail lifting be banned outright?
The survey doesn’t forbid it, but links it to more signs of discomfort in rats; supporting the whole body remains preferable whenever the animal allows it.
Do these results come from a physiological stress measurement?
No, they are behavioural reactions reported by the handlers themselves, not hormone assays. Find all our guides on the rodent hub.
An accessory from our shop for this use: Double-layer plush hammock for rats, squirrels or ferrets (€18.90) · the whole shop
This guide is part of Planète Pets’s Rodents universe. Our advice is general in nature: for any health concern, your veterinarian remains the only reference.
