But with this litter, Gracie's three kits, I've been keeping them inside the box. It's still too cold at night for them to be unattended outside the box. And once I let them explore their cage, the nest will know longer be an option. Most of the time they'll go into the box (when it's flipped on its side), when they get cold, but then you'll have that one baby that gets too interested in something and doesn't listen to his body telling him to take a nap in a warm place. That's never happened to me but I'm not taking any chances! Anyway, keeping them inside the box has worked for now. There's one that has tried to get out - but for the most part they are all content to stay in their warm, fluffy nest where their food comes to them and mom is just a squeak away.
Generally I flip the box on its side at 2 weeks because the babies have the potential of getting out, but being unable to get back in because of the high box front. But with this litter, I've been keeping them on lock down. They don't know the rest of the cage exists yet. And luckily they haven't been curious enough to try and discover something outside the tiny box they call home - for now.
What I've noticed is that this litter is pretty different from my other, more independent litters. I think that them having more freedom at an earlier age makes them more independent. But they also get more energy out, so when you hold them they love just settling down and letting you pet them, whereas these guys are the completely opposite...lol!
So far, the only exposure outside of the nest box has been on mine and my sister's laps, where we play with them and cuddle them and socialize them. As soon as their eyes opened, a few days ago, they have NOT wanted to settle down and want to nibble and lick EVERYTHING and explore all the edges of our laps. Soon enough their behavior will change, when we let them roam outside of the nest box at 3 weeks and they have a chance to get out some of their energy.