make rat toys at home?

Question

What are some fun and easy toys for my rat that I can make at home??

Answer 1

The basic toys are things to hide in, climb in/on/up, chew up, or roll around.

You can make ladders, pouches, tunnels, dangly things to chew on or try to climb, etc.

I look for things around the home, shop, or store to try. I've done things like:
- pouches and tunnels of fleece scraps, hooked to the cage with simple metal clips.
- bones and dog chew sticks hung as swings or stuck in hard to get to areas.
- mazes and hidy boxes made by taking a shoebox and filling it with smaller boxes, cardboard, etc. for a simple maze. Cut a few homes, hide some food and let it explore.
- 'pinatas' of snacks wrapped in paper and hung in a hard to reach place within the cage.
- an area of the cage rigged up with a series of dowels jammed in at odd angles to make monkey bars.

Answer 2

My rats like dangly things that they can play with, fluffy things they can nest with, and things that they can climb through/under.

Here are some of the rats' favorites which I've made: A piece of rope tied to the top of the cage with wood blocks and pieces of rawhide tied to it, which they love to climb on and tear up. Also, they like when I leave things like ribbons laying on top of the cage. They have fun pulling it into the cage and chewing it beyond recognition, then using it to line their nest. Sometimes I'll get a rat pulling at each end of the ribbon in a tug-of-war!

Also popular was an old sneaker with the laces still on it, which I cut the toe out of, and a piece of PVC pipe which I drilled some 2" holes through so they could climb in and out at different spots. The rats also enjoy being let out of the cage and onto the bed, where they have fun tunnelling underneath the covers. Don't leave them too long, though, because they tend to chew when they get bored!

Answer 3

You're asking an expert here ^.^ .

If you have stuff in your home, the rats will love it! What I do is I cut up old pop bottles and hang them from the cage with twist ties or with paper clip bent into hooks. Sometimes I'll tape several together to form a large play tunnel or I'll tape them together to form a see-through maze. I'll cut doors into large bottles and hang them on the walls of the cage or the ceiling so they can crawl and play on several levels. I do the same with cereal boxes.

Paper towel rolls cut with access holes and stuffed with food are fun games. You fold in the ends and the rats have to either stick their hands in to pull the food out through the holes or they just take the easy way out and chew a large hole in it. I keep aside small boxes and use them in the exact same way. Or I'll use a plastic milk jug, stuff it full of hay or shredded paper and toss some food in there for them to discover.

The digging box was the most popular thing among my early rats. I took a large box - one big enough that they couldn't escape from - put a large margarine tub in it and poured a lot of dirt in the margarine tub. Then I'd toss some dried pasta in the dirt for the rats to find. Silly brats couldn't get enough of the thing! I'd also stick rocks in there for the rats to pick out and shove about. Every so often you have to toss everything and wash off the rocks but it was worth it.

What's popular with my monsters these days is a cheap storage tray that I get from a dollar store. I use shower curtain hooks (plastic type) and hang them from the roof of the cage. The larger ones I tie together with plastic cable ties and I hang them from the ceiling, too, as a hanging 'box'. The rats LOVE them! They use 'em as beds, as toilets and in the case of the hanging box, they'll stuff 'em full with newspaper and food ^.^ .You can use milk cartons on the floor and juice jugs as hanging beds. It's a wonderful way to recycle, too ^.^ .

Answer 4

I've never had one. but I've heard they like chewing on a empty roll from toilet tissue