B. albopilosum in a rain forrest setup with humidifier...

[boina]

Your rats choose easy food and it's likely they didn't assess the situation beyond that. They, like field rats and house mice, go where the food is. Had you left a pile of food outside the shed or outside in a catch trap (and they found it) they would have turned up there until it ran out. Since they are very trainable (regardless if you tired to or not) just a regular feeding routine in the same spot would cause them to show up there at feeding time where they know food will be. We kept most of our grain feeds in one barn on the farm. It was nothing to see rats show up in the feed room day after day (till the cats/traps got them). They were not looking to give up their freedom for a kind safe home. Just easy access to food same as yours.

And how does that disprove my point? Yes, rats like easy food. They like things to be easy. If rats were humans they's spend their days sitting on the couch with a coke in one hand and a fork in the other, playing computer games when they actually put down the fork. They wouldn't go exploring in the Himalaya or anything - too exhausting and, as you said, no food. And I'm pretty sure my rats knew the door would close behind them once they went back inside the cage and they didn't care.

Even though ours is a great zoo, with a lot more room than most I have seen, few of those animals would choose to live confined like that.

I don't really disagree with that, but, as I said before, most animals require more stimulation and entertainment than a tarantula. I never said all animals are better off in a zoo or similar. But some animals can live extremely well in captivity, like a tarantula, for example. I don't agree on the wild always being better and freedom being the ultimate goal of any animal.

 

[Trenor]

And how does that disprove my point? Yes, rats like easy food. They like things to be easy. If rats were humans they's spend their days sitting on the couch with a coke in one hand and a fork in the other, playing computer games when they actually put down the fork. They wouldn't go exploring in the Himalaya or anything - too exhausting and, as you said, no food.

I just pointed out they would go to where the food was be it in cage or trap or cat. They aren't making big life considerations like: Hey, it's a lot safer in here than the big outside so lets stay here. Their natural instincts are to go get food when they can and try to avoid being eaten. It's more likely they just went on base instinct and tried for the food not really considering much else.

My rats chose the cage.

And I'm pretty sure my rats knew the door would close behind them once they went back inside the cage and they didn't care.

Did they though? This is the point I was trying to make. Do you really think your rats thought everything through and choose to live in captivity because it was better then the fields behind your shed?

For example. We set traps in the barn for rats when we need to. I've seen three traps a few feet apart all get a rats in an hour. Did the first one just not know better and the next two think: What they hey, lets jump in a trap too. If they really thought things that far then those other two rats that died to the traps after the 1st one had to be suicidal. Why else would they throw themselves into traps right after their companion just died right in front of them? Or were they just operating on instincts of acquire the food. They can choose to go left or right or to the food or dodge the thing trying to get them. But for them to choose the cage (or captivity) would imply they knew what that meant and thought about it then decided it was for the best that they live in captivity. I really don't think they did that.

I don't really disagree with that, but, as I said before, most animals require more stimulation and entertainment than a tarantula. I never said all animals are better off in a zoo or similar. But some animals can live extremely well in captivity, like a tarantula, for example. I don't agree on the wild always being better and freedom being the ultimate goal of any animal.

I never said they couldn't live good lives in our care. If I didn't think it was possible then I wouldn't own them. I just think they have access to more things they may need and can care for themselves better in their native habitats. I also don't believe a simulated habitat can ever cover all the variables that a natural habitat has and we are limited because we don't know every detail of what they might need. Does that out weigh predators or natural disasters or other challenges they face in the wild? Who can say.