What should i put in the cage with my rats?

Question

I know the basics, rats!!, food dish, hammock, feeding bowl, ladder, rope across the top of the cage, but should i put anyting alse in their to keep them occupied?

And what shops in the uk sell Carefresh or Biocatloet??

Answer 1

Wow, you're on a roll :) Kudos to you for choosing rats as pets.

I see everything on your list of basics except for a hidey hut and a *Glass* water bottle like Lixit-brand bottles. Hidey huts need not be those expensive igloos, try these stackable storage bins:
http://www.shelving.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=SHELV01&Category_Code=BINS
And I can't emphasize glass bottles enough. I can't even count how many chewed plastic bottles I have gone through until I found the Lixits
http://www.lixit.com/products/disp_prod.asp?id=370

Toys/chew materials can be as cheap as stuff you find around your house like straws, popcicle sticks, ping pong balls, empty paper rolls, empty tissue boxes, cooked chicken and meat bones (rats gnaw so they don't have the issue of bones that pertains to dogs and cats), nuts in their shell, blocks of wood, etc.

Little known facts about rats that will help you with their care:
Even though rats like to chew, they don't need to chew to keep their teeth trim like other rodents. Rats keep their teeth in shape by bruxing (the act of grinding the teeth together).
Rats don't need wheels, wheels make them neurotic. Rats would prefer to be free-ranging, as in time to play outside of their cage and interact with you.
Treat rats more like small dogs then rodents and you'll have happy rats.

Sandra Beasley and the Spaz Rats
(Rattery, Rescue, and Rat-care Expert)
http://spazrats.tripod.com

Answer 2

Yes, it's fine to put some stones in or a bit of old patio slab (just make sure there are no sharp edges) and like someone above me mentions put it on the ground floor and away from anywhere they might fall from. As long as they have other areas which are soft there shouldn't be any problem with it hurting their feet. Also whatever you do don't use sandpaper, it will be too rough on the soles of their feet. My rats love their stones as it is something different for them to investigate but they do have a habit of peeing all over them so make sure you change them every few weeks!

Answer 3

The day before you clean the cage give them a cold hard boiled egg, don't peel it but just crack the shell, they love it.
If you have a garden, grow sunflowers in the summer and when the heads are ripe just cut them off the stem and put them in.
If you can find a carpet shop near you, go ask them nicely for one of the huge cardboard inner rolls they get the carpet on, they're usually glad to get rid of them. Cut it up with a jigsaw and they can hide inside, climb on it and chew it.
Keep putting new things in and taking old things out on a rota so they don't get bored with their toys.

Answer 4

Rat's love toys like small balls, you know the ones you give a cat to play with. Also make sure you've got something in there for tem to chew on like a small wooden box, they will chew on anythng to keep the teeth in trim, i would advise to buy a wooden box from a pet store as they are alreasy sterilised.

Some people on here are saying to put a wheel in, If you are going to do this make sure the wheel does not have spokes in, leaving gaps in between, as their tails can become caught in here and can end up being painfull. If you are going to buy a wheel make sure its a solid plastic wheel with no gaps.

Hope this helps :)

Answer 5

A water bottle-hope you just forgot to mention that!

They also like wheels(solid are best rather than barred so they don't hurt their feet or long tails)balls of paper or wood,lots of things to chew on-cardboard tubes from the middle or toilet rolls, wood chews from pet shops etc.Also some tissue nesting you can buy from many pet shops as some rats like to build a nest to sleep in.

Answer 6

They like stuff they can bite on - mine enjoyed having wood chews....(though I always thought they weren't quite right....)

Also they are pretty intelligent and seem to enjoy having something in the cage to keep them occupied such as a wheel, or if you have the room, getting them out somewhere they cannot escape from will give them the opportunity to have a run around and keep them happy. (A landing with the stairs blocked off and doors shut for example)

Answer 7

ive kept rats and many other rodents for many years and alot of these answers are good, Rats are very intelligent animals and it takes alot to keep them entertained, but if you have the time they can be trained almost like a dog... i used to roll cotten reels along the floor for my rats and they'd roll it bk to me like a game of fetch, i also used to take my rats out into town on my shoulder they always seemed to enjoy the fresh air... but if you havent got that much time treat balls are good as they have to work out how to get the food out. another good toy for rats is tubes and the big marbles you can get. my rats would play for hours...another good way of keeping them busy is to hide treats around the cage this stimulates their minds and its more natural for them to scavenge for food after all they are rodents.... i really hope this helps!!!

Answer 8

Get them a wheel - My rats always loved it!

Answer 9

How bout a Porsche

Answer 10

something to chew on.