# Toys & Stimulation For When You're Gone



## KennaBoo (Sep 22, 2015)

Hello everyone!

I was wondering what you all have done to help mentally stimulate your rat(s) when they're in their cage and you're not around. 

Recently I've been very busy, I've been keeping up on her cage cleanings and of course feeding her, giving her medicine, and changing her water out for fresh stuff. But by the time I get home I'm exhausted and as soon as I sit down when I get home, I'm already falling asleep. So I haven't had much extra time to play with her for free range time (I still take her out and let her crawl on me/chill on my shoulder whenever I can) but setting everything up for free range time has become such a hassle lately with my busy schedule and since I'm so tired when I finally get home that I feel she needs more stuff to do and mental stimulation. 

What do you use as toys (Homeade or store bought) so they're not bored in their cages while you're gone? 
Thank you so much, I appreciate it a ton!! Have a great day/night everyone!


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## Thor (Oct 1, 2015)

Yeah! I would like to know to. 
I have 3 boys and they will sleep until the sun comes down! I have tunneling and lots of chew stuff, I have cat play balls and stuffed animales. I also have bridges and ramps but they wont play with anything.


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## ratbasket (Apr 26, 2014)

My girls don't play with toys all that much, they mainly enjoy exploring new things, food puzzles (putting food in a box), their 12" wheel, and climbing.


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## mimsy (Jun 8, 2014)

I have several big boxes of toys and save cardboard boxes and newspaper as well. I've got multiple huts, plastic tubes, baskets ect as well..more than could possibly be used in the cage. Always in the girls cage is two wheels. I have 7 girls and several like to run the wheels.

I switch out toys often. Their favorites are wooden blocks. We trimmed a huge branch off our pear tree and my husband cut them into hundreds of small blocks and drilled holes in them in case I want to make toys or hang them. I then dyed them with food coloring just for fun. Had to dry them in the oven for many hours.

They have a lot of hanging bowls that they are rather obsessed with putting toys in. I throw in crumbled newspaper to shred. Cut toilet paper rolls into rings. Have tons of little toys I pick up at thrift stores or dollar tree. They like those little furry pompoms that are used for kids art. I get the big ones. They will pile em up in a hut for a soft place to sleep.

I hang millet in hard to get places so they have to climb to get to it. cheerios on a string work as well.

Interesting new fresh foods is a highlight for them. I keep lots of fresh produce and try and add something new regularly. Freeze dried peas are also a favorite, so hiding them in something that have forage for is good.

Nuts in hard shells-like brazil or hazel nuts. Takes them a long time to get into one of those and they love them.

Food related foraging items are probably the biggest hit with almost all rats, since most have favorite food items.


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## KennaBoo (Sep 22, 2015)

Those sound like really good ideas! Can you use empty cereal boxes, and boxes like that for toys and hide-aways to, or would the dye in them be dangerous for your rat?


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## Thor (Oct 1, 2015)

Are wheels recommended? I read somewhere that it wasn't good for their backs. It was because the wheels aren't large enough it caused them to arch their backs and tails in order to even keep their tails inside the wheels.
I had a small wheel when they were small but they never used it, then I read someone say they were bad and didn't think of ever getting another one - not that I could ever find the right size here anyway. :triumph:


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## KennaBoo (Sep 22, 2015)

I read that too Thor! 

I actually bought a Rat Starter Kit cage and toy set when I adopted my girls. It came with one of those big wheels that are completely flat so their backs are not arched or curved. I think those kind of wheels are okay though because it doesn't arch their backs at all and my rats seem to enjoy it.
I don't have a picture of the wheel, but I think they're safer for rats than the regular ones you see everywhere, lol.


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## mimsy (Jun 8, 2014)

Wheels are one of the healthiest things you can give your rats! Just like us, exercise is good for them. With that said, not a single one of my boys will use one. However almost all my girls love them.

They should be 12" wheels or larger. 

Lastly look for obvious safety issues. Some have rather large openings where tails or toes could get through to moving parts which can cause an injury. I think favorites are the silent runner and wodent wheel.


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## MinorRobot (Aug 13, 2014)

some enrichment I like to do:

-I collect a bunch of different cardboard boxes (cereal boxes, beer boxes, boxes from the mail w/o the tape). When I have enough, I put them all in one level of their cage (usually the bottom cause it's easier to clean later). I cut some holes in them, sometimes I fill them with different materials, sometimes I'll tie them together with hemp or yarn and attach them to the cage. Then I just let them go nuts. Usually good for a couple days entertainment.

- In sort of the same vein, I will tear up a bunch of paper of different textures and fill the botttom section. Sometimes I put pvc pipe or a small box/hidey house underneath.

- box of kleenex. keeps them occupied for a day maybe.

- hard to reach food is always good, I have one of those balls you put treats inside and they have to roll it around to get the treats. You can also make balls out of cardboard tubes and put treats in it. I like to do something with their food every night, even if it's just putting it in a cardboard tube or hiding it around the cage.

- add new branches/hammocks/nest boxes. My rats always spend a lot of time checking out new stuff I add, which I try to do on a regular basis. Plus it gives them something new to stuff with garbage 

- wheat grass, the live stuff. I buy it at the health food store. I take it out of the plastic and they have fun nibbling and tearing it apart.

- dig box. I made one and filled it with potting soil (organic and safe). I put it in an plastic cage bottom from a small cage I had laying around. It was a big hit. Horribly messy, and Paula ended up chewing the plastic bottom into oblivion (maybe a cardboard box would be better?) but they had a blast.

- check out pintrest! if you look up rat (or ferret) enrichment there's some pretty cool stuff!


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## KennaBoo (Sep 22, 2015)

Okay, thanks for all those great ideas! I'll definitely check out Pinterest for some ideas to! Thank you!!  By the way, did you have to bathe or clean your rats at all after they would use the dig box?


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## MinorRobot (Aug 13, 2014)

Nope! Their paws got a little dirty but they cleaned them on their own. My rats are wild roof rats though- I never give them baths. Is that standard practice for domestic rats? If it is then I don't know. But based on my rats they stayed cleaned no problem.

I did have to sweep, though.


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## KennaBoo (Sep 22, 2015)

I bet, I'm sure it was messy! 

As for bathing rats, I've heard some people do it. Though I myself haven't because my girl doesn't really enjoy water. She's pretty clean anyway, so I'm not worried about it. Except for the occasional times where her littlle hands smell like urine, but what can you do? Lol


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## rats-alive-at-55 (Jul 16, 2015)

Reading this thread has reminded me that I want to put my wodent wheel back in the cage next time I clean it. I'm not sure they used it when I first got them 2 months ago, but now they are much more comfortable with the environment and they might want to use it. Each time I clean the cage I move things around and take out old toys, hammocks, boxes, baskets, ropes, etc. and put new things in. Every couple of cleanings I actually move the 1/2 shelves around as well. I've been making different hammocks and things to try out. I tried a corner hammock in the lower level and they chewed it down. Haven't tried it in the upper level yet. Until this last cleaning they always slept in the triple hammock I made. This time, for the first time, they now sleep in a plastic dome. Some of them have been sleeping in a hammock with a hidey hole that I made. When I go to the thrift store, I look at items to see if my rats might like it or use it. Some items shouldn't be chewed on and those I save for out of cage play time when I can supervise. You can make rat 'houses' with small cardboard boxes and cut holes between them or just let the rats chew their own entrances. When I put fresh food in the cage, I will often hang it from the top so that they have to work at it to get to eat it. I also use paper towel rolls to make 'puzzles' they have to figure out how to get the food out from in them. I have a 5 gallon aquarium that I will be putting inside, with a ladder inside, for a digging box. I'm going to use aspen bedding, coconut fiber, and paper for the digging box. Hopefully, the 5 gallon sides will be high enough that there won't be a huge mess. LOL I've added branches to the cage, cardboard tubes that I zip tie to the cage bars, ladders and wooden shelves that I can reconfigure to add interest. The bottom of my DCN is a concrete mixing tub from Home Depot/Lowes that I have filled with aspen bedding. I throw food down there for foraging, which they love to do. I added a wooden shelf around two edges of the tub because I had to cut it to get it to fit in the cage and didn't want them to chew it up. I have a couple of hanging wooden blocks but mine don't seem to want to chew them. I have lightweight cat toys they like to carry around. the other day I put in a ping pong ball and one of the rats played 'push the ball out of the PVC pipe every time I put it inside', with me. I will tear strips of paper towels, toilet paper, kleenex, or brown packing paper and stick them into the bars, hanging half in and half out. Sometimes I will put in a big handful of shredded blank paper. They will redecorate their cage/bed with them. Fun!

C in C

<:3( )~~~


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## KennaBoo (Sep 22, 2015)

Those are some great ideas as well!  What kind of cats toys do you use by the way? I'm wondering which ones are safe for rats to chew and play with and which ones are best left to actual kitties, lol. I'm also curious which ropes are rat safe, and if cardboard boxes like cereal boxes and such is okay for your Ratties, or if the dye will harm them. Any insight on that would be great, thank you all!


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## mimsy (Jun 8, 2014)

I use cereal boxes and such. Most rats chew them up, but don't eat them, though there can always be that weird one. As far as cat type toys that I use-any of the plastic type balls and the pom poms I use. I don't use ones with stuffing, cause I have no idea what they used in them. Most likely not something they would eat, but I worry about Styrofoam, for some reason several rats I've known will eat that yucky stuff. I also don't use rubber or foam type toys, in off chance they did eat it, that kind of stuff collects hair internally and can cause a blockage. Never seen it in rats, but seen it in a few ferrets, so I just play it safe. (ferrets are not rodents and not meant to chew for sport, but they have a tendency to sometimes eat things they shouldn't)

Ropes-look for natural ones such as sisal, cotton or hemp. With cotton ones, just watch for long threads if they chew it up, you don't want a thread wrapped around a leg or something cutting off circulation, or causing a panic. If you use fleece in your cages and they get chewed up a lot you can also cut those into strips and then make fat tight braids of them that work as ropes as well. Or you can wrap a dowel with them for another climbing toy.


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## KennaBoo (Sep 22, 2015)

Perfect! Thank you so much! I went to the Dollar Store the other day looking for possible toy items for my sweet girl but wasn't sure what would be safe and what wouldn't be (I would much rather wait and find out for sure, then buy something and regret it) it just wouldn't be worh it. So thanks a bunch!


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## Thor (Oct 1, 2015)

Well I have just received my order from ratrations ( someone here recommended it) and as you can see I baught I flat wheel so they are safe for their backs. My boys are very very lazy so I don ' t actually think they will use it but... I hope they do because it was 11 pounds!


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## KennaBoo (Sep 22, 2015)

Good luck with it! I hope they enjoy it


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