[rattikins]

I want to give my girls stuffed animals for Xmas, but even the ones at the pet store (for dogs) say that the moment it rips open to discard it, and those are meant as CHEW toys.... seems weird to me.

My girls are chewers, so they might tear them open, but is the stuffing "toxic" or something.... ??

 

[Sami]

I think they say take them away from dogs when they rip because a dog might think the stuffing is something to eat. No toys should have toxic stuffing, even if they're meant for kids. (Or adults who love toys, like myself.)

A rat might get its paws, or fingers, or in the worst case even its neck round up in the stuffing, so I wouldn't give them a stuffed animal. You could make one yourself out of a safe fabric like fleece and not stuff it, or fill it with a treat, or even cut out good-sized bits of fleece to stuff in it, then it'll be ok if they chew it up and get inside, I think.

 

[OnlyOno]

i'd worry about the fluffing, agreeing with above posts that it could pose a hazard. a friend's guinea pig died of a blockage in her intestines from a ball of yarn. those kind of materials are indigestible, and even though most rats won't eat it, there's that tiny possibility too.

 

[twilight]

[align=center]What about finding rattie recipes online and making some yummy treats for a present? I'm sure that would be a big hit.[/align]

 

[ration1802]

I make sure all of my 'lone' rats have a teddy bear - so far, although they chew them, it's the fur of the bear they chew rather than the stuffing. All I do is, for example, they chew open an arm - I remove the stuffing from the arm so it's not exposed.

I've not had any problems - but, I guess there is always that risk