cage toys

[stig8694]

hey all,

during ratty cage cleaning time yesterday, i ended up getting rid of a bunch of the play things that i had in with my 2 girlies...  some of them were just useless, some they didn't play with, and some they had completely destroyed (as ratties often do).  so now i'm looking for ideas!  what do you have in your ratty cage?  what do they seem to absolutely love?

it looks so empty in there right now... they're both huddled up on their big hammock, one on top of the other.  every time i walk over there they look at me like "moooom... what the heck happened in here?!".  it's heartbreaking, lol!

so... hit me with ideas!  be creative!  i'm all ears.... standard, not dumbo 

[Corrina]

This is going to sound kinda funny but my rats LOVE toilet paper rolls after they are empty, or even better if they still have a little paper left on them. It keeps them busy for awhile.  They love anything they can hide in or chew on, like the tubes that you can buy in various colors at pet stores, in the rodent section.  Mine also love the wooden chew toys that I buy them that are shaped like various foods.

[peacepony]

Bird toys are always good too. Ropes to hang across the cage and dangle down. Just make sure that they aren't the kind that have the mineral treats for the birds on them.

[vixen]

i have a big blue fabric basket that they have to jump to get into. i like to make them have to do an obstacle course in order to get what them want, so having to jump to get to sleep is good for me. i also gave them a rope and a stuffed rabbit that they like to walk all over and shove into their nest. i give them toilet paper rolls too, but since they're boys they cant fit in them...they just carry them around. i also give them tonnes of nesting material to keep them busy and if you hide their food around their cage, it keeps them busy looking for it.

good luck with your cage!

[my_rattys]

I find that tin foil tubes (no tin foil on obviously  ) they LOVE! espeacily if you hide treats in the middle so if they cant fit they spend hours trying to get the treat! mine always end up chewing halfway down to get it! (a lil' project for them ) hope this helps!

love and kisses from my girls!

[BlueMoon]

I have a small hanging flowerpot thing in my rats' cage... it's easily washable, they don't chew on it, it sways back and forth when they climb into it, they love sleeping in it, and the holes in the bottom are convenient for pee drainage.

[Dearpie]

Feather duster!!  They LOVE them!! I buy several at a time from the dollar store ... they prefer to chase it around while they're inside the cage and I fluff it at them from the outside.  Eventually I put it inside where they literally attack it like a dog, and then a great game of tug-a-war ensues!! GREAT FUN!!

[RNPaulie]

My boys have those little cat and ferret balls with the bells inside, all different sizes.  Make sure you get the ones with the holes in them( they love to pick them up with their teeth and fling them down the ramp)  One of Oliver's favorite toys is a tennis ball--he picks it up and carries it like a dog!!!  The cat toys with the feather and string are a big hit too.

[RachelW]

- pringles tubes
- tissue boxes (or other similar sized boxes)
- string or rope
- small cardboard boxes with treats inside (i get the paperclip boxes from work!)
- a plastic cat ball with a bell in
- soft toys but only occasionally as they don't last long!
- a tent I made like an upside down hammock

Basically I throw in anything I think isn't going to be dangerous or toxic! None of it lasts long before it's either destroyed or stinks of rat pee.

[brandy]

I have decided that rats don't want things to play with, they want new and interesting places to sleep.  I've been keeping all the small cardboard boxes I use (hot pockets, hamburger helper, pringles tubes, 8-pack of soda, etc) and putting them in there. They love to squish into the flat ones, sleep on them instead of the wire cage floors, and of course chew them to bits.  But they start to stink after a few days b/c they get pee-soaked, so I have to change them out pretty frequently.

The one actual toy I have in there is one of those hanging rats you can get at petsmart - it has holes in the bottom of it. You fill it with food (large enough not to fall through the holes) and hang it up, and they get to pull the food out of the bottom. I dunno if they enjoy it, but it sure keeps them busy! Another thing I've done (and should do again, it's been a while) is to take an old sock or a square of fabric, put some tasty treat in the toe or center, and tie it up so they have to rip it open to get to the food.  But beware - if you don't have one for everybody, there will be fights over it!

I'm considering getting a wodent wheel.  I'm goign to be out of town a lot of weekends this semester, it might help relieve their boredom when they can't get out of the cage for two or three days.

[knuckles]

I tried the sock thing last night and they ripped it apart so fast.

[Evil Gummy]

I tried the tube with the treat in the middle..they pushed it down the ramp right away and knocked the treat out! I was like, "NO you're doing it wrong!" 

[Suzan]

I know that this is going to sound really lame, but I had a rat that adored the larger sized lunch bags. I would open them up for him and he would spend hours playing in and around the bag. Eventually he would chew it all up and I would have to replace it. He would do everything in those bags;hid, play, eat and sleep. I am smiling know just remembering him in action. Sometimes when he was half asleep in the bag he would kind of stick his nose out a chew up portion of bag in or to figure out what was going on out side his cage. It was too cute.[

[vixen]

I have a small hanging flowerpot thing in my rats' cage... it's easily washable, they don't chew on it, it sways back and forth when they climb into it, they love sleeping in it, and the holes in the bottom are convenient for pee drainage.

i probably have the same one as you...did ya get yours at wal-mart?...anywho, i took my flower pot down because when it would swing, it would hit my boys in the head.
they did not like it.

[Dearpie]

I just recently got one of those flower pots that lay on it's side, and the rats love it.  They also love happy meal boxes, but these aren't necessarily toys, but hidey spots.  They do like to drag things into them though!

And have you thought about just replacing what they had originally with the same things?  They seemed to like their old stuff so well! 

[knuckles]

I like to put the "empty" bag that the dog food part of their food comes in, in the cage.  They love to use it as a hidey hole and to rip it up for nesting

[BadRattitude]

We just went to petsmart & meijer the other day and spent about $100 on new rat toys.  Here's what we bought :

Cat balls and cylinder shapes with bells in them
2 cat balls and 1 ferret one that you put treats in
1 hanging cloth tunnel
1 tree branch that hooks on the side of the cage
1 rawhide bird ladder
1 hanging peanut to put treats in
1 terra cotta flower pot
1 cardboard tube w/ cotton fluff in it
several bird toys w/ wood chews, bells, mirrors, etc. on them
carpeted square with pompom on a spring
dog rope w/ball on it
rope dog toys

we also have :
several igloos
a snap together house
a hammock
another branch
a huge rat wheel
cat tunnels made of cloth
large tree cross-section w/ holes in it for hiding treats
another ferret ball
several hanging plastic tunnels
a section of pvc pipe
houses made from gladware
hanging toys made from leftover baby teething toys (hard plastic ones, not the water ones)
1 hanging rat to put treats in
more rope dog toys
other bird toys

hope this helps,
Bad Rattitude Rattery

[nimue_draganawolf]

One of my girls' favorites are ping pong balls.  I found this really cute pack at Walmart (they were $1.50 for six I think) and they are painted to look like basketballs, soccer balls, and baseballs (two of each).  You could always get regular ping pong balls, but these ones looked cuter.   

[Kendra]

Practice golf balls.  They look like tiny wiffle balls.  Each of my rats wants them in a certain place in the cage.  One will move it to their prefered spot, then, a few minutes later, another will move it to their spot, etc., etc.  *hehe*  Feather cat toys are a big hit here, too. 

[fearlessella]

All of my babes have hammocks of course.  Diego has not figured out what it is yet though...  I have a rope ladder with wooden rungs, but mostly it has been used for chewing.  I have 2 cloth ferret tunnels on order.  2 bird rings with ropes all over them.  I also use toilet paper rolls.  & the cat balls with bells in them.  Those get used for the first few days & then get buried.  Then when their cage gets clean they get to use them again for the next few days.  I am more good ideas though.  Thanks!  Chelsea

[nakedrats]

My ratties have a home made rat sized "habitrail".  Home Depot sells PVC pipe cheaply and will cut it to size.  Foot long sections hooked together at interesting angles by different joints (http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US/diy_main/pg_diy.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0771689025.1094578358@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccdadcmhihjdelcgelceffdfgidgjj.0&CNTTYPE=PROD_META&CNTKEY=Super%20Categories/Building%20%26%20Remodeling&MID=9876&pos=p03)
 make for a great playground that my ratties love.  The cut ends are sanded slightly to get rid of sharp edges and ventilation/gripping holes are drilled in the sides.  To extract rats at the end of playtime, the pipes slide out of the joints easily and either holding upright or poking an arm into a section is enough to remove a reluctant rodent.  Soak in bleach and sit upright to clean.

[AngelZOO]

Most of what I use is bird toys, or some type of tissue box or shoe box large enough for them to play in and destroy with in a matter of hours.
I don't like using the 'wooden' toys, incase they are made with anything such as pine.

Toshi loves furry mice... the type for cat toys... but um.. he kinda.. enjoys it a little too much and kills it rapidly as if it were his pray. It's a little scary, so... I don't give him those.