I thought I would start a thread where people can give ideas of home made stuff for their ratties to help out those who can't buy stuff.

I made hammocks from:

1.  Cloth baby diapers
2.  The leg of an old pair of jeans
3.  An old tub sock
4.  Wash cloth
5.  Fabric samples (drapery type fabrics)

They worked great.

What do others use or what have you found that did not work well?

I was also well known for using any box that would fit.  When one got pee soaked I would switch it out for a new one.  Oatmeal boxes seemed to work great.

That is a great idea!!!!

And it is too home made because the darn baskets were not designed to hold ratties.

I will have to try that one.  Thanks for sharing.

That means they love it...   

You can make tubes out of Quack Oats canisters. 

I have been looking at the cloth Easter baskets.  If anyone finds cute not-so-Eastery cloth basket, please post where ya found them.

I use towels and wash rags without any trouble (so far).  My favorite is to sew an old wash rag together with some flannel or fleece and make litle blankets they can throw around the cage.  Great for lining the dollar store bins and baskets too.

Cat/Dog toys also = Rat toys

If you have room in the cage or freerange area, fill a large box with packing material or crumpled paper and let them dig and explore.  Keeps mine busy for a long time.

I use those dollar store baskets, too - just zip tie them to the sides of the cage, toss in a fleecy blanket, and instant rattie bed! PVC tubes aren't expensive and can always be re-used. Another BIG hit is hanging wicker baskets! You can get these at dollar stores too. Just toss in a piece of fleece and there's another ratty bed

Then Dearpie should be honored, because they destroyed one of her new hammocks the first time it was in their cage.  And I mean DE-stroyed.  Nothing left to salvage. 

boxes, boxes and more boxes.  cut holes in various places, tape them together you have have a great "castle" for the bRats to play in.  just make sure and place the holes so you can reach all corners of all the boxes for when playtime is over.

I love getting stuff for the rats at garage sales.  Baskets are great, toddler toys are good too (who still has a barn??)  I use old clothes to make hammocks and tubes. 

Target has bandanas for $1 that make great hammocks (my boys have all kinds of cozy ones and that dumb bandana is their favorite! lol). They had mini Easter fabric baskets like y'all have been talking about for $1 too, but they looked too small for ratties to spend time in. My Target also had plain little purses with Captain Jack Sparrow and I forget what the other one was... for $1. They aren't fabric they're sort've slick, so they'll be easy to clean. They had tiny butterfly shaped bowls for $2 in another section that would be perfect for fresh foods.

My kids love toilet paper tubes (been meaning to make a fun one that they have to break open for treats inside), oatmeal containers, tissue boxes (their favorite and mine!), any type of used fabric (dollar store blankies, bandanas, jeans, fabric scraps, dish towels, etc.), and I made a digging box with a plastic container (it's wide and round, originally had brownie bites from Walgreens in it--double bonus ), some cleaned rocks (to try to keep their nails short), and paper from our shredder. I usually put their food and any dry treats in the digging box so they have to dig through to find it. A salad bowl from a fast food restaurant would work for a digging box too.

It's not really homemade but mum made this great little igloo by cutting a door in an old salad container/large lunch box. Unfortunately I ddn't see what she cut it with, though I'd say it was a sharp carving knife. More unfortunate is I left it back at her place 

My version is to cut doors in icecream containers. I even made a corner litter pan out of one.

Peg baskets are also fun. I use rectangle pot mits that are on sale as a mattress inside as I don't have a sewing machine.

I make hammocks by putting grommet holes in washclothes. Next I'm going to try a double decker one by using a handtowel.

Finally pavers, tiles and rocks are LOVED by ratties, great for their claws and hold fabric down.

And lets not forget full toilet rolls or boxes of tissues  so messy

The Dollar Store is such a great source for rattie toys. OK it does cost a few dollars but you can buy a lot for a few dollars there. You can find cute baskets and blankets that you can convert into hiding/sleeping places. As for chewing toys I got Styrofoam balls, cork pieces, wooden dice and rubber balls. You can save corks from wine bottles and hang them on a thin rope or something. Keep the boxes that you would throw out, cut holes in them, connect them and you have a maze for the rats.

The paper mache is a great idea! So it hold together with just water? I heard you can also use corn starch, right?