Can i make homade toys for my rats

Question

my rat are really board all the time and I'm not home enough to take them out all the time but is there something can make that will occupy them

Answer 1

yeh......

an old flannel can be a perch / bed

toilet rolls

empthy pringle pots

PVC pipe connecters

If you go check out your neighborhood hardware store, you will find that they have PVC pipe connecters in a wide variety of sizes and interesting shapes. I suggest buying the largest available size that will fit in your cage. At the very least, do not buy anything that the largest rat in the cage could possibly get stuck in. This stuff is practically indestructible and can be sanitized with soap and hot water, bleach solution, or Parvosol. The rats will lie on top of it, use it as a little hideaway while eating a particularly desirable treat, or race through it while playing with other rats.

My solution is to go back to the hardware store and buy cotton clothesline. It is nontoxic, chewable, fairly sturdy, and can be braided or knotted into wonderful climbing ropes, which I crisscross through the cage for the rats' climbing enjoyment. Make your ropes four or so strands thick, so they are easy to walk on, and knot them at regular intervals. You can even do fancy things like braiding in a piece of domestically produced rawhide, clean untreated wood (perhaps wooden clothespins without springs), and even occasionally a pre-washed piece of sugar cane

Since you're stringing rope anyway, run upstairs or downstairs or whatever and get some of those old jeans legs you have left over from making cutoffs. Surely you didn't throw those away? Oh, good! Now, run two parallel ropes through a nice big pant leg, and hang it high! And if you run out of pant legs, use a nice thick cardboard mailing tube or a sweatshirt sleeve. Congratulations, you have just created a rattie "hang-out" par excellence! A fun variation on the basic hanging tube is an empty, washed coconut shell with 3 holes drilled in it. You can tie it just like one of those rotating tire swings where the tire hangs parallel to the ground. This should be placed just a little out of reach, so it's challenging to get into. A nice treat in the bottom should make everyone curious about this new "nest".

This is an inexpensive pet shop toy that the rats like. It is plastic and a bit bigger than a golf ball. It looks like a little round plastic cage. You can open it and put a couple yogurt drops or other treats in it, and it provides a challenge to the rats, who will do anything to get at the treats inside the ball. It will usually inspire a tugging match followed by rats racing around the cage with it to keep it away from the other rats. Eventually, they settle down to the business of figuring out how the heck to get the treats out of the ball. It seems to hold their interest quite well. Don't go too heavy on oily or high-protein treats, though--a few in the ball every 2-4 days is plenty, and I have also seen rats play with the ball when it is empty.

small brown paper bags - for shredding by the rats

ball of crumpled up paper maybee with treat inside

Wood is good for chewing (and rats need to chew on to keep their teeth in good condition). Make sure wood is untreated, not painted, and non-toxic. Branches from apple or willow trees are good as well (make sure no pesticides have been used).

Digging Box

Most rats love a digging box. Take a small cat litter pan or other shallow plastic box and fill it halfway with plain sterilized potting soil (not treated with any chemicals or fertilizer, and with no additives like vermiculite). Plant some birdseed or wheat grass and water it for a while to let the seeds sprout and grow for a bit, then let your rats go crazy in the box. To minimize the mess, don't water the box for a day or two before offering it to your rats, and place it a bathtub or spread a tablecloth or newspapers around the box to contain the mess. Your rats will love to dig in the soil and snack on the sprouts or unsprouted seeds

Clean jars and clay plant pots placed on their sides make neat hiding spots for rats. Mini stacking bins (like those meant for office or workshop supplies) make great hiding spots too.