I'm about to make a rat run for my rats...what do they get pleasure out of using???

Question

two young, active rats, need about five or six main objects for them to play ion...any idaes???

Answer 1

i would gather they like pretty much the same sort of things as rebbits guinea pigs and hamsters etc. Things like tubes and places they can hide you never know but they may also play with u know the balls u get for cats to play with the ones wiv the little bells inside one of them as my guinea pig loves hers so does my hamster and also my friend has a rabbit that has 1 and plays wiv ya but i would suggest tunnels and hiding places.

Answer 2

Cardboard tubes, plastic tubes, you can get little swings and see-saw's for rats!!

www.petsathome.co.uk

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Answer 3

rat trap and poison

Answer 4

Digging box

My boys love their digging box more than any other toy!  They enjoy digging in the soil, they also love to forage for seeds that haven't sprouted, nibble on the grass and dig up roots to eat.  They also like to sleep in trenches dug in it during the heat of the day.  If you haven't given one of these to your rats yet then you should.

1.  Get a largish box or tray.  I use a 40 x 30 x 20 cm (16 x 12 x 8") plastic plant tub with drain holes in the bottom.  You could even use a tough cardboard box as a disposable one, I suppose.

2.  Half fill with clean soil.  Get a sterilised soil from the garden shop, with no added fertilisers, chemicals or stray bugs.

3.  Toss in a handful of birdseed (I use a parrot mix) and water lightly.

4.  Wait a few days until the seeds sprout.  You'll have a nice crop of "grass" in less than a week.  I prefer to give it to the rats when it's at least a little root bound, otherwise they fling soil everywhere.  And I don't water it for

the last two days so it's not muddy when the rats climb in.

5.  Place the digging box in an easy clean location (e.g.. bath, shower base or place down some plastic sheeting)

6.  Add rats



You may want to toss in (or bury) a few of their favourite treats to get them started.  They will chew on the grass and unsprouted seeds, frolic in the grass, lurk in the grass ready to pounce on unsuspecting cagemates, and dig fling dig fling dig fling...  Yes, they will end up with filthy feet and noses.  And yes, the room will be a mess afterwards, but the sheer joy with which they fling the soil around is well worth a little cleaning up.

For baby rats, you can create a safe clean "digging box" by filling a tub with fabric strips and tissues

This is a fun game for cooling rats down on hot summer days.

1.  Get a shallow tray big enough to fit your rats in.  A paint roller tray is perfect as it has a deep end and a handy slip free ramp into the "pool".

2.  Shallowly fill with water

3.  Place somewhere water-proof (like the bathroom floor or on a plastic sheet)

4.  Keep a towel handy to nab wet rats before they sneak off to sleep in a soggy pile on your antique leather sofa

5.  Toss in a few frozen peas (or corn, if your rats prefer)

6.  Add rats

The water loving rats (or those insatiable pea addicts) will jump/wade right into the pool and dive under to nab the peas.  The more nervous ones will fish for peas with their hands from the pool sides.  Either way they'll enjoy it

Ratty piñata

You know, those things you hang up at parties full of goodies and whack with a stick until the treats fall out.

1.  Get some paper towels and lay them out several layers thick.  When your rats are older/wiser/tougher you can use a cardboard toilet paper roll with the ends folded in to close it up.

2.  Place a pile of peas, corn, yogurt drops, sunflower seeds, cheerios, or whatever treats your rats love on the paper.

3.  Bundle it up and tie it closed with some string/tape.

4.  String it up high in the cage so that they can just reach it standing on their back feet and it can swing freely.

5.  Add rats

They will go wild when they smell the treats and get lots of exercise and have fun with the challenge.  A hard to get into one is great to give them just as you leave for work in the morning or go to bed at night... it gives them something productive to do in the cage while you're not there to play with them.

Decorations

Something fun to hang up in their cage for christmas, new years, birthdays, etc.

1.  Get a needle and strong cotton thread.

2.  Choose an assortment of threadable (and preferably non rapidly perishable) rat treats: like popcorn, grapes, dried fruit, cheerios, peanuts in their shell.  Even cheese, bread or fruit pieces if you don't plan to leave it up very long.

3.  Thread them onto the cotton, alternating to make it colourful and interesting.

4.  String up high in the cage

5.  Add rats

These will look festive and cheerful and the rats will have fun munching their favourite treats off them.

The Soft Tunnel

This is a very simple and cheaply made run through toy, although it does require basic sewing skills.

1. Buy some track suit fleece or other cheap fabric like calico or cotton knit.

2. Cut a 30 - 40 cm X 1-2m length, or whatever size you like as long as it fits a rat in when constructed.

3. Sew it into a long rat sized tube.  A sewing machine is good, but you could also just hand stitch it or even tape it together.

4.  If you're feeling inventive, add a few off-shoots, intersections, connecting loops, rooms, etc. to create more of a maze.

[If you're completely sewing impaired, you can simply buy a pair of kids tracksuit pants to use a a soft sewer]

5.  Cut a 10 cm length of mailing tube (or plastic drink bottle) and place it in the ends of the soft tunnel to hold the openings open.

6.  Add rats

The rats will enjoy chasing each other through it and can chew as many new openings in it as they like.  It can easily be folded up when not in use and tossed in the wash when the little furry ones pee in it.

Hammocks, etc.

Rats love hammocks!  There's so many ways to make them and use them differently for variety.  Here are a few simple ideas:

1.  The basic hammock:

Cut off an old jeans leg, thread two pieces of rope through it and tie up in the cage.  Or use an old face washer or cut a piece of tough fabric to size, punch holes in each corner, and feed through some rope/string/shoelaces to tie it up.  You could also attach it to the cage wire using safety pins or curtain hooks for easy removal for cleaning.

2.  The pocket hammock:

Cut a piece of tough fabric to size.  Fold it over so that the top covers 3/4 of the bottom.  Sew up the sides.  String/hook it up in the cage.  The rats can lounge on top, or burrow inside the pocket when it gets cold.  Ideal in winter when made from warm fluffy polar fleece.

2.  The cot shelf:

Cut two pieces of wooden dowel and indent the ends to exactly fit your cage like a bird perch.  Cut a jeans leg, or sew two hems along the edges of a piece of tough fabric.  Feed the dowel through and attach to cage.  With the fabric pulled tightly it will form a shelf, left loose it will form a hammock.

These are also handy for corner shelves.  Cut the dowel to fit across a corner.  Sew up a triangular piece of fabric with a hem for the dowel to fit through.  Tie a piece of string on the triangle apex and attach to the cage.

3.  Lofts:

Cut off an old jeans leg, feed two pieces of rope through and tie them relatively close together in the cage so that the jeans leg stays hanging open and the rats can climb inside.  Alternatively, punch four holes in the top part of the jeans leg and tie it up with rope.  You could even close in one end of the loft to make it more snug

4.  The slippery dip:

Cut a piece of tough fabric so that it will reach from a higher shelf down to a lower one.  Tie it to the shelves to it is tight.  The ratties can climb up it and slide down it.  A nice change from a ladder or ramp.

6.  The rat pouch:

Cut a tough piece of fabric to size.  Double it over so the top covers 3/4 of the bottom and sew up the sides (you may want to make the overlapped bit wider so that it hangs open when hung up).  Attach string to the two top corners and hang it up on the cage wall. The ratties can climb in for a hanging hidden nap.

7.  The Snuggle Sack:

These can be sewed from calico or fleece (as in the photo), or simply use a fabric shopping bag or old sack.  Sit the rat sack on the floor of the cage and attach a hook to the top so that it holds the entrance open for the rats to get in.  These are handy for placing underneath ladders and ramps.  The rats will love sleeping and playing and wrestling inside it.

One thing to consider:  when you're making your rats a hammock, make two.  It's always handy to have a spare when the first one is in the wash or they chew it to shreds

The Rat Bin

Rats love nothing better than to dig through boxes, hunt for food scraps, fling things around and shred paper, cardboard, etc.  In brief, they'd give their whiskers to be let loose in your trash bin for play time.  Of course, you don't want your ratty getting his/her teeth into the kind of icky stuff in your bin, so why not make them one of their own.

1.  Get a cardboard box or plastic bin

2.  Find some rat friendly trash like: screwed up newspaper, cardboard cereal boxes, paddle pop sticks, tissues, bits of scrap fabric, old paperback books, empty cut-off plastic bottles, wood block off cuts, old magazines, wine corks, etc.

3.  Toss in some non instantly perishable treats like: nuts in their shell, lab blocks, cheerios, yogurt drops, etc. Make sure to hide them well, like inside a screwed up piece of paper.

4.  Place in corner of rat room and say to them "No!  You can't play in this bin!"  :)

5.  Add rats

They will enjoy digging into the bin, flinging things around, shredding, gnawing, and stashing anything they find that looks interesting.  Then there's the added bonus of finding a treat.  Should keep them active and challenged (for awhile at least).

Ratty Beanbags

What rat doesn't love to laze around during the day?  Here's a simple, comfy spot for summer or winter.

1.  Cut some tough fabric (like denim) into a rectangle, size depending on your number of rats.

2.  Sew up the side seems so that it forms a pillow case, leaving one end open to put the filling in.

3.  Fill loosely with whole uncooked wheat grains, rice or small dried beans.

4.  Sew up the end to close it completely.

The wheat grains, rice or beans hold temperature very well.  For hot summer days, place the beanbag in the fridge/freezer to cool down before giving it to your rats to laze on.  In wi

Answer 5

they love tubes drain pipes are really good i wouldnt use cardboard tubes because they go soggy when weed on crumple mats to crawl under old sweatshirts they love going inside the sleeves

Answer 6

http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl...

scroll down and have a look! I thought they were great ideas!

Answer 7

i have two rats at the moment but have had 9 in my life, i have out of their cage lots of balls and tubes and hide boxes, i even get cardboard boxes and make use of them because my rats are my recyclers.