# Playtime idea with an egg carton!



## Nieve5552 (May 20, 2014)

I thought Id just post a blurb about a playtime idea.
I introduced an egg carton to the rats the other day, they showed a bit of interest and chewed a bit
Think its good, because its something safe and completely ok for them to chew and shred and its free 
First I opened and laid out the carton, and let them do whatever they wanted. When they lost interest, I put some treats (oats, puffed wheat, bran sticks etc) in the egg compartment for them to find. I did the same using the bottom of the egg carton as well, where the gaps are narrower.
Then the next day I ripped off the little towers that separate the eggs and threw them towards the rats while they were sitting around/resting. Theyd chase and pounce on the carton cones and carry them around like a prize haha this was pretty entertaining.
Today, they had zero interest in pouncing on the carton cones. I turned the carton upside down, and scattered some treats inside it through the holes in the bottom. The rats had a difficult time trying to stick their heads in the narrow holes, it really got them occupied 
I also put a treat inside one carton cone and stacked another one underneath it, so that if the rats wanted the treat they had to chew open the cones or unstack the two cones. I think they had fun trying to get the treat out



























Thought Id just put the idea out there since its so easy and cheap  


Also, turns out theres food that Chamois and Wolf like even better than peas!! (excluding meat)
Today I gave them some cooked white rice with quinoa. I have a rice cooker and adding quinoa to rice is healthy and gives it a different flavor and texture. I've never given white rice to them before (only been giving uncooked brown rice) and they got some today with their daily portion of peas, and they went for the cooked rice + quinoa first! Interesting..


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## mimsy (Jun 8, 2014)

Mine loved any cooked grain or pasta best. Noodles are fun to watch them with too.

I keep a giant stack of egg cartons, since we have chickens. In the winter they don't lay so we save up store cartons. I ended up with just a way too big a stack and had been giving them to the rats too. I've hidden treats in them, stuffed it full of hay, put shredded paper in them, small toys ect. It's nice that some of the best toys are things you may already have around your house.


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## jlhummel (Oct 23, 2014)

Cool. I don't eat whole eggs so I don't have cartons...however I do get drink holders at the drive thru quite often and those are made of the same stuff and great toys as well. Sometime I fold those and hide stuff in them for them


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