| Rat Toy Ideas |
| Rats need toys to keep them stimulated and entertained while they are in their cages and while they are out. The great thing is, the most simple things usually make the best toys. |
| If you have enough carboard boxes lying around you can build yourself a rattie fort. Your rats will love exploring, and nibbling the boxes. They can even be used as temporary houses. (they won't last long against ratty teeth...or urine....) Old sheets or clothes (you know, the holey ones your rats already got a hold of) are great for them to play in. They will lose themselves in the covers and then have to find their way back out. (This usually involves creating a new escape route, ie. a new rattie hole) As long as you don't mind 'ventilated' sheets this is great fun for your rats. |
| BOXES, OLD SHEETS ETC. |
| BIRD TOYS |
| Parrot toys are a great source of entertainment. You can buy the toys with thick wooden blocks that can be hung up in the cage. Branches and ropes are also a good choice to buy. They can be quite expensive though so you might want to wait until a sale. Or you could try eBay. Its great for selling cheap parrt toys. |
| PAPER |
| Paper...yup thats right, paper! Rip some pieces of paper and place a treat in the middle before scrunching it into a ball. Simple to do and your rats will love it. I put choc drops or dried fruit in it. The rats will have to shread the paper to get the treat and then more than likely will use the paper as bedding. |
| FEATHERS |
| Yup, feathers. I bought a large purple feather from a costume shop and my girls love it! You can let them chase it inside or outside the cage, they will go crazy. Remember though, let them get a hold of it once in a while! |
| RAT HAMMOCKS |
| Rats just love to laze about the place so why not provide them with a hammock? You can atempt to built your own or to be on the safe side just buy one. I've got multiple ones so that when one is in the wash, I can hang another one up in its place. If you have a few rats you'll have fun watching them all trying to fit on at once! |
| FIND THE TREAT |
| Monkey loves to play this game with me. Get a chocolate drop and let your rat know you have it. Then hide it in one of your clenched fists and let her sniff out which hand its in. Monkey is pretty quick at working it out and stuffs her face into my hand and uses her paws to open my fist. It's really cute! Try it yourself. |
| PET RAT BOREDOM BUSTER |
| This is a rat shaped toy that you hang up in the cage. You can fill it with whatever you want and your rat has to work for its treat. It also has a bell in it which could be annoying if they play with it early in the morning... |
| YOGURT POT |
| Once you have finished your yogurt give the tub to your rats. They will lick it clean...and then shred it... Just remember and leave them something to lick up. |
| EBAY!!! |
| I just love ebay! Not only can you find loads of neat toys, you can get them usually quite cheap too. They also sell some huge cages for a good price but they are usually collection only. Who knows, you might happen to live near to one of the sellers ;) I bought a cheap parrot chew toy for the babies and it cost me under �3 and thats including the P+P. If you don't already know, parrot toys are very expensive so that was a good bargain!! Go on, take a look! |
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| TOILET TUBES/SOCKS |
| The cardboard inning of toilet roll is a very handy toy. If you still have small rats they will fit through them. I close in one end and fill with cereal. Close the other end and chuck in the cage. If you have an old sock (without any holes!!) fill this with goodied then tie in a knot to close. My rats played tug of war with the one I gave them. Two cheap but very effective toys. |
| CRITTER KABOB |
| A critter kabob is a great toy you can get. It's basically a metal skewer on which you can put what you like or buy the toys made for it. They are available from Pets At Home and ratwarehouse has some too. I like to put some fruit and veg on it and most days they get a whole apple on it. |