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Toys and Fun Ideas for Rats

183K views 134 replies 114 participants last post by  Ravens_Ratties 
#1 ·
please only post if you have something to contribute, such as toy ideas, improvements on existing toys, photographs, etc. any chat will be deleted. thanks - the mods

There's always been a big to-do about rat toys, I haven't found a store yet where I could walk in and find all my rat needs, especially toys, in one place.

Rats Are very smart indeed, so they need constant stimulus.

You can buy an assortment of bird toys, ferret toys, cat toys and dog toys.
These toys include but are not limited to:

Dangling Bird toys that are not made of pine or cedar wood, These toys should also not be made of cuttle bone or calcium chews, as these can be binding to rats body.

Cat toys that have chase able parts, like kitten play mats are almost always enjoyed. Some rats will also roll and play with jingling, or crinkle balls are also a big hit.

A lot of rubber dog chew toys are fun for ratties, as well as edible Nylibone chews made for dogs.

Most Ferret made toys are very much loved by rats, I've never gone wrong with one yet.


There are also an assortment of home made toys that rats are keen to enjoy.

* Pop sticks- If you go to the craft store, or save your own, you can soak your Popsicle sticks in Juice over night and then let them dry. They shred up easy but it's a lot of fun.

*recycle Blocks- If you take those old chewing blocks you spent money on but no one will touch and you put a dab of peanut butter in between them (or your pop sticks) and then freeze them you'll have a block that everyone will fight over Very Happy

*The Sock- You know those mismatch socks you cannot find the brother of? Fill the toe of one with healthy hard treats, tie it off and tie it to the side of the cage, Your Ratties will spend much time trying to desperately open and remove it's yummy insides.

*Nuts- Hard nuts still in the shell are a good work out for some under used teeth.

*Pinatas!- Rip up some paper in long strips. Find a used up paper towel or toilet paper tube. Get some small yummy, dry healthy treats together

Take a large bowl and add about a cup of flour, start adding Juice until the mixture is about as thick as pancake batter.

Dip the paper into the mix, squish off any excess back into the bowl, And place over one end of the tube, keep doing this until the whole side of the tube is covered, let dry.

Put the dry, covered side of the tube down, add treats (the amount is really up to you but I wouldn't fill it more then half way.) Cover this side of the tube with the dipped paper, Let dry. Tie a string around it and hang inside the cage. Add rats.

*Pasta ropes- I use old blanket shreds and lace uncooked pasta on it like a necklace and hand it in the cage

*Egg hunt- using plastic Easter eggs one can create a fun and reusable toy. Fill one half of the egg with dry treats and give to your rats. They'll attempt to chew it and open it for it's tasty insides

*Rat bag- Brown paper bags for lunch can get a sprinkling of treats added and given to rats. Who will shred until hearts content.

*Cork them up- Old wine corks are pre-flavored and are a tone of fun to shred.



A few places to find other great toy ideas include :
http://www.dapper.com.au/toys.htm
http://www.suzsugargliders.com/nosewaccessories.htm

Originally Written by: kenRakuu--Thanks

Other Good additions (original writer's names in parenthesis)

My new little rat loves water, so for rats that love water I guess try:
KIDS BATH TOYS! (jemmas)

My boys love old blankets. They spend hours running in and out and then settle down for a snuggle. And ladders... anything they can climb is a plus.(elizabethrae.)

Some of you have probably already heard of this website, but I'll post it anyway :)
http://www.dapper.com.au/
If you click on "The Ratty Fun Pages" there is a range of home made toy ideas, and how to make them. So yeah, check them out :D (ShadowPhoenix)

ICE CUBES :D especially if you break them into funny shapes or put them into molded trays. (kinsey)

Here's something I did. I took one of those plastic cat toys covered in holes with a little bell inside and tied a long strip of fleece to it. I then took cheerios that I broke into one-quarter size pieces and stuffed it 1/3 full or so, then hung it from one of their ladders. They have a lot of fun pushing it around and trying to grab onto it long enough to get a piece out. (Crasher)

mine like playing with empty toilet roll tubes with ttoilet paper stuffed in little balls inside...they love nibbling them and shreading the paper. (Maddy)

a lot of baby/toddler toys are really good for them too. Like I have a bunch of brightly colored links, and a teething toy hanging up in our cage, and not only does it make the cage look more festive, but they love to push the teething toy around on the links. (Lynxie)

Cardboard boxes are the greatest thing ever if you ask my guys...I made them a multileveled condo and they love it...only problem is they poop all over the place inside of the rooms and it's really hard to clean it up. (Drasar)

Digging boxes-All you need is a large container, some sterile soil, and some seeds! You first germinate the seeds (fun ones are parsley, oat, wheatgrass, etc, anything not on the forbidden food list really) according to the package, then you replant them in your digging box and let it grow a little longer. Make sure your digging box is high enough to prevent dirt from being kicked out. Your rats should have a blast pulling up and eating the sprouts, as well as digging, as they are burrowing animals. (smesyna)
 
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#3 ·
Another take on the rat pinata is what I call "papilotes"!

Take a white sheet of paper and a toilet paper roll, roll the roll in the paper and twist one end closed...fill with good yummy treats and twist that end closed also.

U can throw in the cage, or tie with a string to the top of the cage!

Guess a nice twist would be to use colored paper and hang all over like lantern's, and what I did was to leave some empty to get the rats to use their sense of smell!
 
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#4 ·
I make rat pinatas too, but a little differently. I put some food inside of a paper towel, gather it up, and tie around the paper towel (so it makes sort of a ball shape), and tie it to the top of the cage (leaving it low enough that they can get it). They love them. And the best part is I only have to use their normal food so you don't worry about giving them too many treats.

This may not work if you only give your rats lab blocks though (mine get a mix of two different rat foods, plus blocks for some of their treats--which they love!)
 
#8 ·
I haven't yet let my rats play with this but I'm hoping they will like it, it's a hold over from when we had ferrets. It's a ball pit/box. Its nothing more than a box filled with plastic play balls (can also use plastic easter egges). Mine has a big cardboard tunnel that leads to the opening. Will post a pic when I get a working camera.
 
#10 ·
I hang my boys' old white undershirts in the rat cage with binder clips to make a 4-opening pouch-like hammock. They *LOVE* this. And the best part is that my kids are always staining their undershirts, so I have a constant supply of them and never have to worry about washing them. When I clean the cage, I just toss it out and hang up a new one.
 
#12 ·
This may be the best thread EVER! I've been trying to come up with ways of amusing my girls, lol. They're waiting on the giant cage I'm getting them for Christmas, and are bored out of their minds. So far I've been giving them cat toys(Sushi likes to line them up in neat little rows, which is too much for Popcorn. She waits until the balls are almost lined up and then bowls through them. Driving Sushi suitably insane of course, while Momma and their sister just watch and roll their eyes, lol). They love the crinkle ones. Go absolutely insane over them. I can't wait to try the fruity pinata though! I'd like to try out the peanut butter thing, but am somewhat paranoid about it...
 
#48 ·
Peanut better is 100% safe, as long as your not giving them to much at once and try to have it organic and unsweetened. I do it all the time, my breeder was the one to show me it in the first place. As long as there is water near by they will have absolutly no problems with it :) hope that changes the paranoia
 
#13 ·
I made a digging box using a black plastic tub I found in the dish drain rack section of my local Walmart. For "soil" I used Eco Earth by Zoo Med (found in reptile section of pet store) since it is safer than potting soil. Then I sprouted some cat grass and bird seed and transferred to the dig box. I am still growing the seed/cat grass so my ratties haven't gotten a chance to explore this box yet but I just know they are gonna love it!
 
#14 ·
I have heard this one somewhere, put your rat on your back and the way he or she moves will determinate your own movements, for example, if he goes forwards, go forward, if left or right, turn in the corrispondimg direction, etc. If good thenthey shall figure out how to move you around. :eek:
 
#18 ·
#19 ·
Since I just got a huge paper bag full of shredded paper from my folks, and since tomorrow is cage cleaning say and I don't feel bad giving them a messy toy, I took an empty tea bag box and stuffed it with the paper shreds and sprinkled Reggie Rat in it and shut it. They're currently going bonkers over it lol they seem thrilled.
 
#20 ·
I used to stick little cardboard boxes that were given to me by a nearby bakery into the cage, closed and filled with little treats. They would have a fun time trying to open it, get the treats then sleep in the box ^_^
 
#23 ·
I took an old shoe box, and cut an entrance hole in it, and stuffed it with tissue paper and treats, and put it in my cage. They went bonkers pulling the tissue paper out of the hole, and scarfing down the treats. Now some are sleeping in the box, others are still shredding the paper and stashing it in their hides!
 
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#24 ·
@Twistedrattery
I bought a dog toy just like that with the rope already attached, my boys did not like it very much but yours very well may :)

As for toys i do, I get a bag of in shell nuts from the store and toss them a few, they thoroughly enjoy prying open the nuts and digging out the good stuff.
Also, my family eats a lot of corn on the cob, so once everyone has eaten what they want off the cob, i am still left with the fleshy stuff that attaches the nibblets to the cob, so i drill a hole through the sid of the cob and string it up in their cage, its kinda like a variation of a pinata, my boys adore it :rolleyes: hope this helps
 
#26 ·
Treat pinatas are easy, inexpensive, and fast to made...they're always a hit with my ratties!

Just take a cardboard tube (like the kind you would find on toilet paper), fold one side in so that two points are sticking up, then fold those inward so it creates a "bottom" (a hole at the bottom is acceptable, but adjust it as needed so that the treats do not fall out.

Drop some favorite treats into the open end and fold it as above - leave the pointed ends out for right now.

Use a pen (or something similar that is small and pointy so it makes a hole small enough for string without damaging the toy) to punch two holes at the base of the top's more pointy folds.

Thread a piece of strong string, thread, or elastic "string" (idk what it's called exactly) through the holes and tie it through one time once you fold the pointed ends down like you did above with the bottom (like you would when first starting to tie your shoe), and tighten it.

Tie to a side bar or hang from the top of your rat's cage, double or triple knotting to ensure it's security and making it more difficult to chew through.

Cut any excess string, and let your rats enjoy! ;D
 
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