# Rat enrichment ideas



## Tapir (Mar 20, 2010)

i thought it would be goo to post all your ideas for rat enrichment here!

Pea Diving
Shallow fill a litter tray with water and sprinkle in peas and sweetcorn and watch as the rats fish for peas! some of the braver rats might even wade into the middle

Ropes
Simply hanging up rope, maybe with wood tied on, offers climbing and chewing for rats

Food Tubes
Get a loo roll cardboard tube and cut little holes in the side. thread some rope through. get a slice of bread and make a pea, sweetcorn, fine bean and carrot "sandwich" then knead the cooked bread so it goes like dough again and stuff inside the tube. you can also use mini sausages and cooked beef.

Kibble Tubes
Get a cardboard tube and stuff with ripped up tissue or paper, and tip their serving of rat nuggets/kibble inside and watch them dig through for their dinner

Digging box
Get a litter tray and fill with compost. next sprinkle mixed seeds and let them grow a bit. sprinkle treats in and watch the rats dig for their food!


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

I have lots of strange things in the rat cage they include the things youve mentioned , peg baskets, cag scratching posts, upside down stools, lots of hammocks, flexi tubes fastened to the side of the cage, cargo nets, empty cardboard boxes for hiding in, each cage cleaning they get a box of tissues which they love to pull out and scatter or make into a nest. They also have a wodent wheel now but Ive had to order new fronts as theyve chewed them To be honest they generally play with each other though and they get more fun from the cardbard boxes and tissues than anything else.


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## simplysardonic (Sep 1, 2009)

thedogsmother said:


>


Ooh I like your flexible tubing  may I ask where you get it from & is it purple or dark blue?

Box of Asda Smartprice tissues- remove top, place in cage, let rats demolish at leisure

Roll of Asda Smartprice loo paper- hang from top of cage so it unrolls easily, let rats demolish at leisure

Pinata- use a piece of kitchen roll, an old (clean!) sock or small box (eg old Smarties box or raisin box), suspend from roof of cage, let rats demolish at leisure

Fruit tree branch eg apple or pear- ensure it is clean, place in cage, let rats demolish at leisure


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

simplysardonic said:


> Ooh I like your flexible tubing  may I ask where you get it from & is it purple or dark blue?


I got some green ones off ebay I think its called flexi tube, with postage it was £5 per tube, the purple ones came from Tescos when they were having a special pets promotion and it was £2 a tube, you can also get it from some pet shops, our local one charges £2.50. I just fasten it on with cable ties.

Ancol Tuff Tube Expanding Toy Tunnel for Small Animals on eBay (end time 27-Jun-10 20:30:13 BST)


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## simplysardonic (Sep 1, 2009)

thedogsmother said:


> I got some green ones off ebay I think its called flexi tube, with postage it was £5 per tube, the purple ones came from Tescos when they were having a special pets promotion and it was £2 a tube, you can also get it from some pet shops, our local one charges £2.50. I just fasten it on with cable ties.
> 
> Ancol Tuff Tube Expanding Toy Tunnel for Small Animals on eBay (end time 27-Jun-10 20:30:13 BST)


Ooh thankyou  never seen it in our local pet shops, must see if I can get it in purple to go with their new purple hammocks & accessories:thumbup:


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## Donna3939 (Nov 28, 2010)

Another important addition is COMPANY!!!


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## Argent (Oct 18, 2009)

My boys have a wire bird feeder in their cage now (the ones with the big spaces rather than the tiny mesh ones), I put their veggies in it, especially fun with a big chunk of carrot and they all end up swinging on it to get at the carrot!

Whole nuts in the shell (an occasional treat) Give 'em a walnut and you can watch your group have a game of 'rat rugby' XD

Also, I managed to save an interesting box over Christmas - my mum bought a set of cheap drinking glasses which came in this shallow box with 6 holes in it (for the glasses to sit in!) I've stuffed the box with straw and paper, and now I put their dinner in it, give it a good shake so it sinks to the bottom and they spend ages now digging around to get their dinner! So nice to see them all hard at work, four big fuzzbums sat in a line working on finding their food


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