Making free range time more fun

[hairless_love]

I'm looking for suggestions on things that make free range time more fun for your rats. Some things that I already use are: Cardboard boxes, paper bags, toilet paper rolls filled with treats and stuffed with paper towels on both ends, and hiding treats in random places in the free range zone. I tried pea fishing but my guys didn't seem to get it...Gir drank the water but that was the closest anyone got.  If anyone has any advice on teaching rats to pea fish that would be helpful too!

[chiropteragirl]

My rats love it when you take a laundry basket, and fill it with fabric scraps and treats. They like burrowing through the scraps, peeing everywhere, hiding, sleeping, and eating the treats!

[Twixter]

I'm not sure how to teach a rat to fish for peas. Mine did so with little prompting. So I can't be much help there.

If you're willing to search around on google for a little bit, do some research on rat agility. They've got great ideas for agility equipment for your ratties and teaching them to use them. Jumps, hoops, tunnels, weave poles, etc.

You could also get a bunch of carboard boxes and tape them together, making doorways into eachother and second levels and such. The ideas with them are endless. Just make sure they're always stable enough for your ratties to play on.

The laundry basket idea is great too.

[hairless_love]

If you're willing to search around on google for a little bit, do some research on rat agility. They've got great ideas for agility equipment for your ratties and teaching them to use them. Jumps, hoops, tunnels, weave poles, etc.

Ooohhh that would be sooo much fun!  I wonder if any of my boys would go for it...

EDITED TO ADD LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mrJ_3ta35A You have got to watch that!  What a smart little ratty!

[fluffy pluffy]

Does anyone still sift through Rat Toys and Games,cause I sure do!   
I get all my toy,& playtime ideas from there,great thread. Though,that's all I can think of.

[gracie]

None of the girls I've ever had enjoyed pea fishing until... Recently I put a handful of mixed frozen veggies in a pan of water (corn, string bean pieces, peas, endemame, and chopped carrot). It turns out my girls just don't like peas! Celeste still isn't too interested, but Rosey goes crazy over the corn and endemame. I know corn is more fattening and needs to be used less frequently, but at least they have this play option now. It is an especially good way to get them cooled off in the summer. Maybe this will work for your ratsomes too?

[melissaf]

I think it will depend on what your rattie's interests are and what their rattie friends are doing. I made this huge rat "castle" out of about 10 cardboard boxes attached with ways to travel between all boxes a few months ago. I think I spent more time putting it together than my rats have inside of it. With my current ratties, they are mostly interested in hanging out under my furniture (the table their cage is on, sofas and beds) or in narrow places (behind the doors between the door and the wall, behind bookshelves). If I am laying on the floor with a blanket, they also are usually interested in running under the blanket. I had some rats that loved hanging out in boxes filled with shredded paper with dry food stuff tossed inside. They'd dig around and hide in it for hours. My current rats don't seem very interested in that. Sometimes I'll also play rattie "fetch" in a way. When there is an item the rats really like (like a pretzel, pieces of paper for bedding or something shiny), I'll put it someplace, let the rats find it and take it back to their cage and then I'll take it out of the cage and hide it again. Mostly my rats really like trying to do new things. Every time I think they have discovered all they can in my apartment, one of them comes up with a new trick, like jumping onto chairs and scaling up vertical surfaces like my bookshelves.

[Troter]

ugh, yeah, I know whatyou mean about the cardboard castle! I made this AMAZING (haha) cardboard maze, and it was set up so I could totally re arrange it. But after the first couple times, they just tried to jump out I never put them in anymore, because trying to catch them as they jump out is NOT fun.

I like the idea of filling boxes/laundry hampers with stuff for them to dig in. I know at least one of my boys will love it.

[hairless_love]

None of the girls I've ever had enjoyed pea fishing until... Recently I put a handful of mixed frozen veggies in a pan of water (corn, string bean pieces, peas, endemame, and chopped carrot). It turns out my girls just don't like peas! Celeste still isn't too interested, but Rosey goes crazy over the corn and endemame. I know corn is more fattening and needs to be used less frequently, but at least they have this play option now. It is an especially good way to get them cooled off in the summer. Maybe this will work for your ratsomes too?

Ohhh....good idea! My boys do LOVE corn!