toys...
The Dapper Rat has a huge list of great toys and fun things to make and do for your rats! I'll list and describe a few that I've used and the experiences that I've had with them!
fishing for peas...
Fishing for peas is so much fun! If your rats are like mine, they HATE water, and bath time is just the most horrible thing. My rats sook around for the whole day, its actually quite funny. But anyways, fishing for peas is a great activity to do when it's hot outside to cool down your ratties. Or its great for a fun little activity any day.
All you need is a shallow dish that your rats can play in and splash in (you can use a baking tray, a bowl, or a paint roller tray if you have one) and some frozen peas or corn.
Below are instructions from the Dapper Rat's page, even though I think it's pretty self-explanatory.
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.
All you need is a shallow dish that your rats can play in and splash in (you can use a baking tray, a bowl, or a paint roller tray if you have one) and some frozen peas or corn.
Below are instructions from the Dapper Rat's page, even though I think it's pretty self-explanatory.
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.
ratty pinata...
Ratty Pinatas are so much fun! You can buy all natural ones (that are actually for birds!) in pet stores. I tucked the little pieces of paper deeper into the holes, and filled my pinata with lots of goodies including little bits of apples, peaches, sunflower seeds, frozen veggies, fresh veggies, little bits of bread, dried pasta, or whatever little goodies I could find around the pantry. I hung it up a bit high so my girls would have to stretch a bit to reach it, and boy did they have fun. When we woke up in the morning it was open and all the goodies were gone. The good thing? Surprisingly, the pinata was fairly intact, so I was able to use it a second time before it was beyond repair. The good thing? This wouldn't be too hard to make yourself.
These instructions, again, from the Dapper Rat.
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
These instructions, again, from the Dapper Rat.
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
hammocks...
Rats love hammocks! They will use them all the time, snuggling in pockets, hanging in tubes, and wrestling in sacks. My best advice is to make them yourself, store bought ones are expensive and rats chew them up too quickly.
1. A quick sew-free 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. You can use binding in cool colours to sew along the edges to make tougher hammocks. The rats can lounge on top, or burrow inside the pocket when it gets cold, which is incredibly cute. Polar fleece is a soft, warm fabric to use and is mine of choice.
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. Or, make a tube out of your fabric of choice, and hang it up the same way.
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. This makes an interesting change from the normal ramp, and is best for homeade cages.
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 or little ratties will pile in for ultimate cuteness.
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.
Always have extra on hand for times when your girls had a chewing party the night before.
1. A quick sew-free 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. You can use binding in cool colours to sew along the edges to make tougher hammocks. The rats can lounge on top, or burrow inside the pocket when it gets cold, which is incredibly cute. Polar fleece is a soft, warm fabric to use and is mine of choice.
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. Or, make a tube out of your fabric of choice, and hang it up the same way.
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. This makes an interesting change from the normal ramp, and is best for homeade cages.
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 or little ratties will pile in for ultimate cuteness.
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.
Always have extra on hand for times when your girls had a chewing party the night before.
fake trash bin...
A trash bag is perhaps one of my rats' favorite exploring area. But, god knows whats at the bottom of that bag and they always come out covered in a mysterious liquid. But, just because I love to give them everything their little hearts desire, I made a fake trash bin for them to skuttle, sniff, and pee all over. Very easy.
1. Take a trash bag and fill it full of pieces of cardboard, bunched up newspaper, tissues & toilet paper, goodies and treats like chicken bones and yoggies, empty plastic soda bottles, smear some jelly or something tasty on a few pieces of scrap in the bag, cheap paper back book for chewing and peeing, little jingly toys, fabric scraps, and anything else you can think of. Put the back in a snug fit box but leave the garbage bag open. Throw in the rats and let them go. Tying up the garbage bag once their in ads some fun and excitement. I guarantee this will keep them going for ages.
1. Take a trash bag and fill it full of pieces of cardboard, bunched up newspaper, tissues & toilet paper, goodies and treats like chicken bones and yoggies, empty plastic soda bottles, smear some jelly or something tasty on a few pieces of scrap in the bag, cheap paper back book for chewing and peeing, little jingly toys, fabric scraps, and anything else you can think of. Put the back in a snug fit box but leave the garbage bag open. Throw in the rats and let them go. Tying up the garbage bag once their in ads some fun and excitement. I guarantee this will keep them going for ages.
simple things..
Rats often love the notoriously simple things the most. Below are some ideas.
- toilet paper rolls
- drawstring sac with toys & snacks inside. Add rats.
- empty snack packets
- blankets or towels
- box of paper and treats
- tub of water with frozen veggies
- dirt to dig in
- paper sacks
- tissue box
- anything with newspaper
- the kitchen cupboard (can you imagine all the scents and tastes in there!!)
- playing tug of war with anything
- ping bong balls
