Goosemoose Pet Portal

Hello, I was wondering if anyone had any rat toy or game ideas, or any links to some. I already have a few, which are:
http://www.rattycorner.com/funstuff/toys.shtml (http://www.rattycorner.com/funstuff/toys.shtml)
http://www.dapper.com.au/toys.htm (http://www.dapper.com.au/toys.htm)
http://www.ratsauce.com/toys_games/index.php (http://www.ratsauce.com/toys_games/index.php)
http://www.interlog.com/~audiotre/games.html (http://www.interlog.com/~audiotre/games.html)
These links were useful to me I hope they're useful to you. Also I have some ideas of my own, feel free to use them(I only have one):
Put on two shirts and place the rat under one of them and tuck the shirt in.

For a splurge, my rats adore the Octoplay: http://www.ferretstore.com/mr-00300.html (http://www.ferretstore.com/mr-00300.html).

For cheap toys my rats like paper lunch sacks and a throw blanket that they can play under.

"Hand tag" is also popular at my house. (Chase a rat around with one hand, like it's another rat. Make sure to let your rat catch you sometimes.)

That looks like a fun toy! A little expensive, though. Thanks!

I am a big fan of Hand tag, or hand wrestling. It's so cute to have them actually play with you like you are a little rattie.  :BlueDumboSmile:

Also for toys they love to climb on my bookshelves and windows, along with anyhting else. I think bird latters are great!

um.... hmm... other than the normal chew toys and hammocks, that's all I can think of right now.  :P

That's awesome!!  I'm totally buying one for my rats!!

Something I do for my girls is take a box (I use a waffle box or pop-tart box, etc) and keep both ends open.  Then I just take an old-tshirt and put one of the sleeves over one end of the box.  (Is this making any sense?)
So the girls run into the box and instead of running out the other end they run around in a tshirt. 
Here's a picture where you can sort of see what I'm talking about.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a233/Tater1022/Rats/100_1795.jpg)  Aggie's peeking out of the door, and the black thing on the left side of the picture is the t-shirt.

I also cut a door in an upside-down shoe box.  Boxes in general are always fun.  You can get creative and duct tape some boxes together to make long tunnels etc.
The girls in a shoebox:
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a233/Tater1022/Rats/100_1813.jpg)

Pea-fishing is always a favorite...
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a233/Tater1022/Rats/agfish2.jpg)

Thanks! That's a great idea!

my rats love my old goggles. they are the mask kind with the thing that covers your nose as well as eyes, and the band on them broke. i hid treats under them and the pushed the googles off the edge of the platform, ate the treats, managed to get the googles so the rubber on the sides is up, and now they love to sleep on top of them!

also, you can wet peanut butter with water (so it doesnt get stuck in their throats) and put it around the inside of a toilet paper tube. then get nuts and other small treats, i even use cat and dog food and treats, and stick them ot the peanut butter.

My rats LOVE the little bird toys with mirror and jingle bells. I hang them just low enough so they can walk underneath and hit the bell with their backs. I've watch them looking at themselves in the mirror too, it is so cute.  ;D

Cool! Afer your reply I got them some bird toys :P

Chase the blueberry (or whatever rolly treat your rat loves):  I roll a blueberry across the kitchen floor and watch five rats all dash for it.  The one who gets it runs off to enjoy his prize while the other run back to me to do it again!  It's a blast,

PVC pipes and dryer hoses are fun for ratties (you can also see that I layed out the room with those foam linking mats):

(http://pic14.picturetrail.com/VOL529/4334567/9135255/129513159.jpg)

(http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h238/wonderrodent/rat%20toys/DSCN5893.jpg)

(http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h238/wonderrodent/rat%20toys/DSCN6339.jpg)

I make my girls little pillows filled with treats:

(http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h238/wonderrodent/rat%20toys/DSCN5924.jpg)

Ideas for a playpen:

(http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h238/wonderrodent/rat%20toys/DSCN6341.jpg)

(http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h238/wonderrodent/rat%20toys/DSCN6343.jpg)

(http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h238/wonderrodent/rat%20toys/DSCN6342.jpg)

(http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h238/wonderrodent/rat%20toys/DSCN6344.jpg)

or made with hinges:

(http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h238/wonderrodent/rat%20toys/DSCN6340.jpg)

(http://pic14.picturetrail.com/VOL529/4334567/9135255/135184356.jpg)

Hubby and I made our girls a climbing post:

(http://pic14.picturetrail.com/VOL529/4334567/9135255/129557429.jpg)

(http://pic14.picturetrail.com/VOL529/4334567/9135255/128029920.jpg)

I bought plastic baskets you can stack on top of each other. I fill them with toys and sometimes I hide treats. They love climbing around:

(http://pic14.picturetrail.com/VOL529/4334567/9135255/129513098.jpg)

I also make them cardboard mazes. I connect cardboard boxes of different sizes, make holes through them and sometimes fill them with toys, shredded paper, rags etc.

(http://pic14.picturetrail.com/VOL529/4334567/9135255/129514171.jpg)

A favorite for most ratties - kleenex boxes and toilet paper rolls:

(http://pic14.picturetrail.com/VOL529/4334567/9135255/129513690.jpg)

My girls like to dig around in baskets filled with blankets (or when I fold the laundry):

(http://pic14.picturetrail.com/VOL529/4334567/9135255/129513595.jpg)

This is a rubber ball (for dogs). I put cheerios into the ridges:

(http://pic14.picturetrail.com/VOL529/4334567/9135255/129513776.jpg)

I got a wee bit creative this morning and put together something of a toy. My babies liked it.
It's industrial toilet paper tubes held together with twine.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v53/jorats/Stuff/smNewtoy4.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v53/jorats/Stuff/smNewtoy3.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v53/jorats/Stuff/smNewtoy2.jpg)

One of my rats will actually tug-of-war with me with little pieces of string, etc.  Kinda like a little doggie.  :BlueDumboSmile:

My rats like rawhide dog chews. Only keeps 'em entertained for awhile, though.

Feather dusters from the dollar store are GREAT FUN!  Especially if you run it along the outside of their cage, while they chase it from the inside ...

I just put a golf ball in front of one of my girls .... ooooh the fun she's having with it!  She pulls it backwards, into her cave:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/Dearpie/Rats/golfball.jpg)

I reach in and pull it back out, with her attached to it, her little hands just wrapped around it:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/Dearpie/Rats/golfball2.jpg)

then she rolls it backwards, back into the cave again!
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/Dearpie/Rats/golfball3.jpg)
Very sweet.

My boys LOVE that game (...and ok, my dad and I love to play it with them lol)!  Except in our house, it's reffered to as either "Rattie Wrestling" or "I'm-A-Gonna-Getcha".  Sometimes the boys even try to drage our hands into the cage to play!

I can't wait to play fish for peas. My girls are still jumpy so I have to wait for them to calm down.

Also those cat toys with the stick and then a cloth "ribbon" or feathers...my Ezri goes nuts chasing it!

Your set-up is fantastic, wonderrodent! I feel like such an unworthy parent by comparison.  ;) My boys have the usual bird-toys and chew sticks. They get paper-towel rolls when we have them; they just seem to like taking them apart. Humans make great toys too.

Bandit: Let's see who can get down Mom's shirt the fastest!
Smokey: Whee!
Me: Hey! :o Geez...! Cold little rodent feet!

I discovered one night that Basil loves to play with any feather cat toy. She would chase it around my room and pounce on it them naw on it like she was a cat herself! She even chases around the cats and they run away in fear. She also loves to play tag and hide and go seek. She is so fun! My other rats dont do this... I geuss it all depends on the personality. Shes just a really hyper, bouncy little fur ball who loves to socialize.  ::)

is there any other free type ideas out there for rat toys? I don't have a petshop near by and would like to add something fun an special for the holiday for them to play with.

A full tissue box (cheap one will do) is always fun to watch. They go nuts getting at the tissues and climbing inside despite the squish. It's messy, but you can ue the tissues as bedding after.

Also everynight I set up a big box castle in the bathroom and let them go crazy in there, or I set up a few boxes and tunnels under my covers and the rats go absolutely sillyfied. Very fun! (just means I wash my sheets a bit more than I used to... not a bad thing as a uni student).

Good fun can be had from making tunnels and ropes out of old jeans and trackpants.

Paper bags are good cheap options though not if you sleep close to the cage! Soooo noisey at night. It's also good to tie their nightly dinner up in a paper bag filled with other bits of paper etc and make them work for their dinner.

And I've found the little guys love drawstring. I always pull these out of my pants after getting fed up tying them every toilet trip so I give one end to the ratty and they run off with it and fold in into their hidey hole corners or drag it around like you would with a cat and they hop after it generally making a mess and racket in the process. Some pants you cant remove the drawstring so everytime you visit the cage these little hands are reaching out and taking you prisoner. Same goes for shoelaces...

Finally toes and cleavage are always good free fun... and WET HAIR! Though be warned... rats + long wet hair can get nasty  :BlueDumboSmile:

Awww...everyone has such great ideas! I'm a new rat owner, so I don't know much yet. I let them play with toilet paper rolls and run in and out of pvc pipes. 

The websites were really interesting but I was wondering is it okay to give the rats boiled eggs and chicken bones or could it possibly be a choking hazard?

 ???

Rattus_norvegicus,

If you actually read the webpages listed in the first post, there are tons of ideas with free things, or things you already have around your house.

As for your food questions, please do a search for Forbidden Foods and you'll find what they are not allowed to eat.  Otherwise, just about anything in moderation in fine.   Also, next time, try not to hijack a toy thread with food questions. 

Well, in fact, the reason I asked about foods is because that's precisely the ideas the website gave!

Ahhh ... sorry about that, but yeah, we're not going to send ya to webpages with more mis-information!  LOL   At least we try not to! 

My girls love it when I get a small container and smear it with apple sauce (or mashed paw paw)  sprinkle it with seeds and refridgerate till kind of set.  Then you put the container in with them of a night time and watch them clean it up.

Also I play with them in a softdrink box filled with screwed up paper.  I'm still using stuff from christmas.  Alternatively old towels/ rags work well.  Is great to see them digging around and hiding treats in there.

Thanks for the links, Blink! (Hoho...I rymed! :hyper:) I can't wait to try all those ideas and see what my ratties like. ;D

My girls like this toy house thing from an old farm set that I put in their cage, after cleaning it of course. :3

Oh ho oh ho! Those pictures of the ratsroom..Wow. That looks fun..
My rats love feathers, they chase them and chew them.. But it would be good if you either bought clean fake feathers, or somehow washed bird feathers you find very well, so they don't get any viruses or diseases..

WOW! wonderrodent  :shocked2: that play setup is amazing! It looks like you started off with a cat tower? it looks like SO much fun!  :hyper: i would LOVE to have something like that for my 3 boys! any blueprints layin around, maybe?  :yelcutelaugh:

Care  :BlueDumboSmileTongue:

I came up with a new thing..A box hammock! Lol, I tied a box up by four strings, one on each corner, then I tied them to the top of the cage, they really like it up there.
I always tried to make normal hammocks for them, but they never cared about them.
So it's good that they actully like it, that means I'm making progress.

 :BlueDumboBigEyes:
I have many things I use for toys like right now there is:
(http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k35/rat_lover23/RatsToysandCages012.jpg?t=1165539570)
My bathroom with some toys...I do fishing for peas there.

The my old cages in the backgroudn with their old castle:
(http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k35/rat_lover23/DigPics121.jpg?t=1165634371)

And now since I have my new guiena pig Kiwi in my room, they go on this table:
(http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k35/rat_lover23/Picture008-1.jpg?t=1172817622)

And they love to eat some bread as a treat while they have playtime:
(http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k35/rat_lover23/Picture004.jpg?t=1172817644)

they also like to play in hay:
(http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k35/rat_lover23/rats012.jpg?t=1172817691)

Thats all the pics I have on this computer.  I have many toys, they really love chube tunnels and they like to play with inyatas I make them out of cardboard rolls and papers. :balloon:

oops, I forgot to say that the cage that is green with empty water bottles was housing my boys who had four water bottles, two you couldn't see, and the bottom two were empty because they just ran out during the photo...nothing to worry about.  I filled them up afterwards.

I just replaced the table with a martins playpen.  Well, I couldn't afford a martins playpen, and I really wanted one, so I bult my own for about $20.  Well, my playpen really isn't decorated much and the set up really does suck...but for some reason the rats love it ;)  They love the boxes and stuff.  There are some poop scattered around since I just put my guinea pig in there.  She is only semi-litter trained, btu the rats are trained 99% to use their litter box.


Well, heres a picture:
(http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k35/rat_lover23/002.jpg)

and
Here is the door:
(http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k35/rat_lover23/004.jpg)

and
here is a side view:
(http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k35/rat_lover23/003.jpg)

(There is an electrical cord in the picture, but they cannot get to it, adn I move it away during their playtime in it.  I make sure they cannot get into any danger.)


I used 1/4 inch hardware mesh to build it.  I used, as you can see in the picture, cable ties and tape for the door(it was sharp!)

So thats it.  I can have much meor better pics soon, I just have to catch up on my hw since I was gone 2 days with a weird flu.

I just went to goodwill and looked at the younger kids toys and found a tower toy for balls to roll down and it has all kind of openings and the bottom is a 4 way tunnel just their size. $3.25. They love it!

Wow! Some awesome setups here! Almost makes me feel like I'm depriving my baby with my lack of imagination lol. I can't wait to get home and start trying out ideas.

Seems so many of you let your babies run freely. I've always been afraid to do that for fear they'll crawl behind a tight spot and I won't be able to get them.

I also see a lot of people using bird toys.. I THOUGHT this would be a good idea but at the same time I was a little concerned about them chewing and biting off something that'd be unsafe... (ie.. the wooden ladders..) but I do see some people use stuff meant for birds... would anyone advise AGAINST that?

I can't say, I never used em' before. I mainly just fill their cage with cartons with holes in them, they seem to like them.... I just gave them a hard boiled egg though, it's so cute and funny.... :BlueDumboSmile:

The Blowing Game. Spanky LOVES IT!

(http://a509.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/44/l_f25b685372d93934f57a938fcd3ab614.jpg)

like this? (http://a809.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/88/l_3afb2b086378404a0f186d7d43b29b48.jpg)

We went down to Lowes and bought an 8' length of perforated black PVC drain pipe and a bunch of different fittings (T's and Elbows). We cut the tube into different lengths, washed them all thoroughly and made a multi-level maze inside our Rattie Playpen (aka Kiddie Pool). I set it up for them today and they went completely bonkers running thru it :BlueDumboSmile:. Because the pipe is ridged, it makes it easy to climb and since the joints rotate, I changed it up every 10 minutes or so. Every time it was like a brand new maze so they would start all over again with the crazy's. Too much fun!  :yelcutelaugh:

Here's the setup for my ratties' free-roam time.  It varies each time, but generally always looks something like this.  I take off 3 of the 4 FN doors in the front, and put cat play gyms there.  Makes for easy in/out access, and also a nice place to be for ratties that don't really like being ALL the way out of the cage and on the floor.

(http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u19/petlove0/Rats/June%202007/June237.jpg)

(http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u19/petlove0/Rats/June%202007/June235.jpg)

(http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u19/petlove0/Rats/June%202007/June233.jpg)

A few of mine like 'feather sticks' (as in the cat toy). One of my boys, Patrick, actually pounces on them.  :)

try it.

succubusofangels, that is a crazy room! my own bedroom isn't that color cooridinated! I'm so jealous, both that my rats don't have anything that great nor do I have anything that great!!!!

My girls won't go pea fishing. O'Malley doesn't like peas (i'm going to try corn though), and Morgan tried once, but as soon as her nose touched the water she sneezed, and looked at me: "I know you'll give me some without sticking my head in there, are you crazy??"

This is more of a perch than a toy but my rats love it!... Take a dog rope toy, the kind that is knotted and frayed at the ends, and tie it into a wire cage.

I go to the craft section at walmart and get those littl 88 cent wooden cars/planes/trucks/trains. They're nothing but untreated wood, and since they have wheels, the girls like to push them around while they chew...Incidently, my bun loves these too

Hi guys,

I hope that my posting is correct here. I sometimes give my rats a selfmade paperhouse which is made like this:

1) Take a balloon and make it wet
(http://www.rat-nose.de/jpg/bastel_ballon.jpg)

2) Then put 5-6 layers of wet toilett paper around it and let it dry for 2-3 days.
(http://www.rat-nose.de/jpg/bastel_ballon3.jpg) (http://www.rat-nose.de/jpg/bastel_ballon2.jpg)

3) Cut a hole into the paper and remove the balloon.
(http://www.rat-nose.de/jpg/bastel_ballon4.jpg)

4) Let ratties sleep in it or let them destroy their new toy at once  ;)
(http://www.rat-nose.de/jpg/bastel_ballon5.jpg)

Wow. My boys don't want to hang out with me anymore. They want to go live with WonderRodent!  :confused:
Maybe it's a little white trash, but they've been thinking a new size of cardboard box it where it's at!
M.

WOW SoA the stuff you do for your ratties is crazy  :rattysmiley: Thats so cool. I'm still working on ideas for toys there are some really good suggestions. I have old medicine bottles (Plastic) could I use those for my rattie to play with

Hello everyone. I just signed up to goosemoose and this is my first post :)

I have some ideas I thought I would share for toys, hammocks etc That I use for my ratties.

I buy old towels, blankets, fabric, etc at yard sales ALL THE TIME. Its super cheap so I dont feel so bad tossing them away. Also, I use my daughters old clothes that have stains on them and are too small for her.

I have found that paper bags are like crack for my rats. They LOVE them. the crinke sound makes them batty. I have a martins rudd and its big enough to put in a goodsize bag. Its usually devoured and flat within the day, but they love it.

 Does anyone have any other ideas? I try to be creative. :)

Welcome to the forum! Hope you like it here!   :wave2:

M.

I see bird toys in a lot of cage pics (plastic chains, perches, etc.). Are there bird toys that your rats actually play with?

I had a girl who LOVED the bird kabob but I hung one in the boys' cage and they don't even touch it.

 :)

Whe I got my Martins Rudd in the mail, it came with a bunch of shredded paper in the packaging. Well, my rats loved the paper more than the cage so I bought a paper shredder (FOR THEM) lol and they lol it when I give them a big pile of shredded paper. very worth the investment!

For those of you that have the Octoplay (Octopus) how do you clean it?  I would love to buy one but I have little pee girls  :BlueDumboBigEyes:

I'm sure it's machine washable, in the gentle wash. I wouldn't dry it though, just air dry! I honestly don't know though, I don't have one!

I just machine wash/dry.  It holds up fine in both  :)

Scubbs that is beautiful!!!    :bow:

Here is one of my ideas:
First,take a toilet paper,or paper towel roll,
(I had mine with no paper on it,but I suppose it doesn't matter too much)and poke two holes near the top,
on opposite sides.Then take some yarn,loop it through the holes,and for the bottom,take a small play-dough cap (the REALLY small ones)
wedge it on the bottom of your tube. (use the upside-down side;the side where there's a plastic lump,you could say)
After you hang it in the cage,(don't cover the side of the tube where the string is)put your ratties favorite snack foods in,and when they pull the cap off,they'll get a tasty treat!
(to make it even more fun,take some bells,beads or anything for that matter,and tie them to your hanging string.)

ah!!!
nice! I've been looking for rat toy ideas.. both are awesome! I like the idea of the TP tube treat game.
I think I'm going to take a plastic pop bottle w/ treats and make it kind of a 'lever game' where weight on one end will dispense a treat out the bottle neck.

i just made them a pop case house

I'm going to merge this thread with the stickied thread all about toys/games for your rattie!  We'd like to keep such ideas all in one place for these ... thanks!!

Wow,these cages look amazing!~

Don't know if anyone's ever seen this website:  http://www.theagilerat.com/

I found it once while I was doing a search for rat something-or-other.  Haven't actually tried it yet but sounds cool! :)

i don't know if anyone's said this, but i bought this wood chewing blocks (3 per pack) with a hole in it with a preplaced almond nut. it kept them busy until they got the nut. only down fall was they were dyed and the girls urinated on them so you could used them over and over until there was none left.

Recently passed rat Buddy used to love to carry around a plastic cat ball with a jingle bell inside it. My girls (Emmy and D'Arcey) like to play in pots of soil, so they will be getting sterilised potting soil in a pot for Christmas.++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++******************************* <---- that message is from D'Arcey. I want to plant bird seed in the soil for a snack... for them, not for me.

Heh,everyone on here have really good ideas! Those cages look quite fancy!

My boys love pea fishing, tho I've only did it twice. Better do it some MORE :BlueDumboSmileTongue:

I've tried pea-fishing,but Lightning fell in the water,and now she's too scared.Poor thing.
Luckily,the water wasn't high at all. :)

heres some store bought toy ideas
-->http://www.petbrags.com/profiles/blog/show?id=1002763%3ABlogPost%3A22725

My husband and I worked lights for a concert last week, and we got little 8 oz water bottles for during the concert. I took the empty bottles home, pulled off the labels, stuck a few yogies in one, and tossed it in the cage. Kept my girls occupied for about half an hour! lol. They loved it and it was hilarious watching Whimsy drag the entire bottle around the cage. The finally figured out that if they tossed it down the ramps a few times, eventually the yogies would fall out.

that's so adorable! I had an idea of my own about the octo-play thing, and I figure it shouldn't be too hard to make yourself. Just a little MORE work...

All you need is a wooden wallboard rat house, a napcin, clear coat and a paint brush. Lacquer the house and then remove the colored layer of the napcin and carefully stick in on the house. Then lacquer the house again, let it dry a few days and lacquer it again - from inside and outside ouf course  ;)

(http://www.rat-nose.de/jpg/bastel_serviette.jpg) (http://www.rat-nose.de/jpg/bastel_serviette2.jpg) (http://www.rat-nose.de/jpg/bastel_serviette3.jpg)

 :wave2:

That looks adorable! How is it from a safety standpoint? Is the lacquer safe to chew?

Sorry for my late reply, I was offline for a couple of days 'cause I've changed the provider...

Of course the lacquer is absolutely safe. I don't know how to say that in English, but the same lacquer is used for lacquering children's toys. It's an acrylic lacquer.

 :wave2:

I've found that gloves make good toys. Your little ratties can chew on them,and then they'll probably end up using shredded material as bedding. ::) :cheeky: Leather is probably best.

Here's my labyrinth made of cardboard boxes

(http://www.rat-nose.de/jpg/bastel_laby.jpg) (http://www.rat-nose.de/jpg/bastel_laby3.jpg)

 :wave2:

I tried Fishing for Peas in the bath tub last night. Lightning tipped the dish over,and then rolled the peas around. lol Maybe they're getting too old..

You guys have such wonderful ideas for playing. I have cloths dryer vents all knotted up and sprawled around in one room for my little creatures to play in. They are little box trained so they can run for long periods of time. We have so much fun together. They actually fetch and being me things back when I toss them.

I am going out and making some of these toys that you have today. Thank you all.

Anytime. :) (The part about your rats fetching stuff is cute! My girls are lazy. :P )

Hmm my rats fave free toy at the moment is my cat reaper lol and that cat actually plays back. Walmart has dollar cat toys that my rats love I recently got one of those cat wands a stretch rope and a feather bell toy on the end its fun to fish for rats they love to chase it around good way to get em to run around and lose a lil weight. Ferret jingle balls and tubes are always a big hit. As for free toys pepsie boxes,paper towel tubes with a lil paper towel left on it or toilet paper tubes with a lil paper on it,boxes of any kind. Just experiment if it looks like your rat may like it try it. I also will take a balloon and wrap it in flour/water coated paper towels let it dry for a few days cut a door and remove balloon and walla rat hut.

I recently made a homemade rat toy as follows:

Take an empty, clean cardboard egg carton (I used a half-dozen sized carton, but any would work)
Place several different types of treats or toys in the compartments
stitch the carton shut with twine or yarn
Watch ratties tear it apart to get the treats!

My girls were pretty quick to rip it up, but it was highly entertaining to watch!  Plus they used the torn up carton for bedding after devouring the treats!

Let me know if anyone else tries this and has success!

Lauren

I cut the sleeves off a shirt that was too stained to even give to goodwill and pinned them to the cage for tunnels.  My ratties love them:
(http://www.goosemoose.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/26221/normal_sleeve_tubes68.jpg)


I also put together paper bowls like little flying saucers and hide treats in them with kleenex:
(http://www.goosemoose.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/26221/normal_paperbowlsaucers68.jpg)

I think it would be best to tie them together with string though, these are stapled and I don't think it's a good idea.

Hey guys just wanted to let you know today I picked up a bunch of easter eggs and some rice. I filled the eggs with rice and threw a bunch in the kids' cages and they LOVE them! They roll them around like crazy and so far none have been busted open even when Lucy threw it off the 3rd floor. LOL. Oh and I also went to walmart and got them a bunch of 88 cent bird toys (like little mirrors with bells, etc. etc) and they love those and SO cheap! Just some ideas!

I always love cardboxes for floortime (I let them run on table!)
This table is next to my bed and they would run to me for a treat after exploring. I change the setting of everythings daily. :) Tis' one of my best loved one.

(http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y71/WeiYang__1/IMG_3722_640x480.jpg)

I've been feeling really guilty about my girls lately so I've been trying to think of some good toy ideas....well came up with a GREAT one out of the blue this morning.

BF had a 3-pack of Kindereggs last night and when I went downstairs I saw the little yellow plastic capsule thing...you know that the crappy toy comes in :) 

I stole that and put some rice in the bottom, snapped it back together and tossed it in the girls cage....

It took Cricket all of about 3 seconds to go nuts over it!  It's great because they can't chew on it, and probably never get it open because those things are impossible to open.  She rolled it right up the ramp to the top level  :BlueDumboSmile:

Might need to get two, though, she won't let her sister play with it...

*Edit* I stand corrected....they can chew it. 

I heard that, if you get lots of toilet paper rolls, like 20, and put the hole face up.... then put a treat in 3 of them, rats love it  :toothy4:

If you take TP rolls, fold over one end, pop in some treats, fold over the other end, cut a tiny slot in it so they can smell what is inside, then toss inside the cage then stand back and
watch the insanity ensue  ;D

Ponismom, I don't know if you are still around, but it looks like you have either that fluffy beeding sold at petsores, or stuffing for sewing stuff.  Either way, that stuff isn't safe.  It can be deadly if swallowed, and has been know to severely injure tails, ears, and limbs (t least on mice and hamsters, but I'm sure the samme applies for rats)

What I did that's inexpensive was I took a two liter coke bottle and washed it out and cut off the top where the spout is. It makes is so it's almost like a little cave and they LOVE it. The only downfall is you have to wash it a lot because it gets dirty fast.

wonderrodent.... I want your rat room!!!!  I guess I'll have to wait until the youngest child is 18 (she's 9 right now) and "try" to take over that room (Hubby has his own plans).  Either that or buy a bigger house.............
Anyway, totally awesome, fun room!!!  Thanks for the idea!!

Scubbs... your room is awesome also!   How I wish I had an extra room for my boys.  For now they have to make do and be content with playtime on the bed or couch or in the bathroom.  Poor, neglected babies.....

none of my rats will go in the wheel i bought. they just hide under it
i tried leaving it in the cage for a couple of weeks but they never use it.

as for housing... my boyfriend and i just built a few rat huts out of popsicle sticks and fabric. they really seem to love it, although i thought they would chew on the wood but they don't at all... other than that, my cages are just not big enough for some real fun stuff yet. I will probably splurge for a really big cage this summer when i start working. for now i have two boys in a decent sized rabbit cage (it's about 2' x 1.5' x 1.5')(although we let them run free most of the time...) and my girl is in the bigger rat cage (about 2' x 1.5' x2.5')

I may just have a weird rat but he loves chasing shoe laces and a lazer pointer! ha its entertaining (but you gotta let em win or they loose interest...obviously)

Someone already mentioned the kinder surprise eggs, but I sometimes give them the toy inside too, if it is suitable for them. They get the halves of the little egg parts, and the toy, and my one rat Daisy spends half the night picking them up and putting them in their "proper" place, as well as  flipping over the igloo, and pushing as much bedding as she can through the bars and onto my floor. She is my little housekeeper.

I have two "playpens" in my room. One is under my desk, with a window screen across the open front part so they can't get out when I am watching, and the other is part of the box my parents huge new tv came in. The box is used mostly as the "time out" box for when my hyper little Pepper won't stop bugging the other rats.

I have lots of boxes stuck together in the play pens, as well as one huge box filled with shredded paper that is a favorite.

Some of the rats I have had int eh past LOVED socks, but only if my feet were in them. They would chase me all over teh room to try and catch my feet, tackle them, and give my toes little love bites.

Some of you guys have the best playrooms! I am so jealous! I better not let my girls see them, or they will wish they could live there!

I came up with a new toy idea! You know those old-fashioned toys,Weebils? (Or whatever they're called,those balls with something on top of it,you know,they can never tip over no matter what? Sorry,hard to describe it..) Well,we've got a small version,and at playtime last night,I set it on the floor,and Lightning pushed it around,obviously enjoying herself.  :rattysmiley: She couldn't figure out why it didn't fall down.. :wink5: ::)

Sometimes if my girls look bored (usually because I've been working too much to play  :() I give them a bunch of treats - yoggies, dog biscuits, cereal, chopped carrot and apple - and roll them up in an old sock. I then tie the top of the sock up with wool and tie it to the top of the cage so that the rats can only reach it on their hind legs. It takes them ages to get it open and it makes their dinner time just that bit more exciting! It gives a useful home to all those odd socks the dryer spits out!
Although this activity does come with a warning!!!
Right now I am lying in bed with my laptop and three naughty rats, one of which, keeps biting my feet which are in thick socks! Hahahahaha!! there are no treats in these socks Bertie!

Our two little girls go bonkers over the little watter bottle toy and also nuts or yogies tightly wrapped up in a piece of brown paper bag.

Then there's hazelnuts, which unfortunately you can't get all the time...

More fun for my mice,but I filled a napkin with treats,and tied the top,and hung in the cage. Voila~,a Pinata!

Hey,

I'm hoping you imaginative people can help me out here. I work in a computer shop and deliveries always mean plenty of new toys for the rats. I get loads of boxes which Finn and Nero are happy to pee all over for me, shredded paper which they turn into bedding for me by making huge nests but other than that it's mostly plastic or foamy stuff which I don't give them because I'm guessing it's not good for them.

Since I've taken over more responsibility in the shop I've noticed that the little pieces of card that we get attached to the back of our receipt books are always hanging around. They're small pieces of thick card, about 6"x4". What can I do with these? If I just put them into the cage they just ignore them, walk all over them and pee on them. But I'm fed up with them going to waste and want to do something with them. Any ideas?

I'd also like to share a new treat I found for my rattles. While I was on holiday we visited this big garden place and they had a shop there. I picked up two bird boxes made out of coconuts. They've got little thatched roofy bits and a chain type thing to hang them from. At the moment the boys aren't too keen on actually going inside them because they swing, but last night there was a bit of a squabble which broke out when Finn got into one and wouldn't let Nero get in with him, so I think they're going to get popular.

I found small little wind chimes at the dollar store that my rat kids love. I have to take them out of the cage at nigh tho. Or I can't sleep. You can find all sorts of fun stuff at the dollar store. :)

(http://i534.photobucket.com/albums/ee346/jollyjumperalbum/petstages.jpg)
My rats playing 'hide & seek'  :heart:

Once I gave my rats an old cracked tennis ball filled with treats. They absolutely adored it! they were rolling it around for ages trying to get the treats out!  :thumbsup2: