# Favourite rat toys?



## RubyReckless (Oct 25, 2011)

It's 10 days until we collect our first pair of rats. Our second hand Tom cage has 2 grey plastic shelves, 3 wooden ones, a large clear orange-ish plastic tube and a grey tube, a small water bottle and a small ceramic food dish. I've had a look at the cages thread (all 40-odd pages!) and there are so many different set ups. I was a bit overwhelmed!
I gather that for starters we shouldn't have the cage too overly crowded with stuff while the girls get used to us, but where should we start? What do you consider the basics for a rat cage; which toys or accessories are your biggest successes? Were there any you considered a total waste of money?
Obviously individual rats will have preferences, I'm just hoping for an idea of what to begin with.
Thanks in advance for any advice.


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## Guest (Nov 16, 2011)

For basics my lot have a wheel, a few hammocks, a sputnic or igloo and a few jingle balls and then you can add from there


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## simplysardonic (Sep 1, 2009)

Mine love pinatas made from loo roll tubes, filled with a few treats, closed at each end & tied up with string, then hung up in the cage


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## Guest (Nov 16, 2011)

simplysardonic said:


> Mine love pinatas made from loo roll tubes, filled with a few treats, closed at each end & tied up with string, then hung up in the cage


That's a fab idea, I must steal it


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## simplysardonic (Sep 1, 2009)

B3rnie said:


> That's a fab idea, I must steal it


Its very good for lazy rats who are inclined to get chubby, as they really have to work for their reward


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## Argent (Oct 18, 2009)

Get a Sputnik! They are seriously the BEST rattie beds and the one thing that have been most used by ALL my rats, just about every rat loves their sputnik  And they come in a great variety of colours these days, used to be green/yellow, now you can get pale pink, hotpink/purple, black/red etc ^_^


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## simplysardonic (Sep 1, 2009)

Argent said:


> Get a Sputnik! They are seriously the BEST rattie beds and the one thing that have been most used by ALL my rats, just about every rat loves their sputnik  And they come in a great variety of colours these days, used to be green/yellow, now you can get pale pink, hotpink/purple, black/red etc ^_^


I'll second that, mine love theirs:thumbup:


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## xkimxo (Jan 4, 2010)

I completly agree with what everyone has said above . I know you asked for stuff to get you started but i thought id just share toys in general that my rats like and maybe give you future ideas .

As simplysardonic said loo roll pinatas are great i make them too and also i get small paper bags double them up, fill them with treats and sew them up (you can just fold them though). Mine also like those big cardboard tubes you can buy, they are about £2.99 but to keep costs down i buy extra large postal tubes in bulk and cut them up. I also get till rolls from work which a bit of chain or rope fits through and hang it up so they can pull it around, the same works with loo roll too. Any kind of box a rat can fit in that i find around the house i also put in their cages, 12 pack beer boxes are good  Also large plastic milk cartons can be cut so rats can snuggle inside and you can hang one around the cage too. A box of tissues is massive fun for rats. I also have wooden blocks on a chain they can chew on, they cost about £3.99 but i buy massive parrot toys like this one Happy Pet Bamboo Supersize Wooden Parrot Toy S / SIZE | eBay get some wire cutters to cut up smaller and some clips and then you gets loads out of it - that exact toy its just £12 in the range too 

Sorry if ive gone a little overboard here but im always trying to think of new toys and ideas for my lot


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## simplysardonic (Sep 1, 2009)

xkimxo said:


> I completly agree with what everyone has said above . I know you asked for stuff to get you started but i thought id just share toys in general that my rats like and maybe give you future ideas .
> 
> As simplysardonic said loo roll pinatas are great i make them too and also i get small paper bags double them up, fill them with treats and sew them up (you can just fold them though). Mine also like those big cardboard tubes you can buy, they are about £2.99 but to keep costs down *i buy extra large postal tubes in bulk and cut them up*. I also get till rolls from work which a bit of chain or rope fits through and hang it up so they can pull it around, the same works with loo roll too. Any kind of box a rat can fit in that i find around the house i also put in their cages, 12 pack beer boxes are good  Also large plastic milk cartons can be cut so rats can snuggle inside and you can hang one around the cage too. A box of tissues is massive fun for rats. I also have wooden blocks on a chain they can chew on, they cost about £3.99 but i buy massive parrot toys like this one Happy Pet Bamboo Supersize Wooden Parrot Toy S / SIZE | eBay get some wire cutters to cut up smaller and some clips and then you gets loads out of it - that exact toy its just £12 in the range too
> 
> Sorry if ive gone a little overboard here but im always trying to think of new toys and ideas for my lot


Thankyou for that absolutely amazing idea:thumbup:


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## xkimxo (Jan 4, 2010)

simplysardonic said:


> Thankyou for that absolutely amazing idea:thumbup:


Its a great moneysaver as one tube cuts up into about 5 of the shop sized ones


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## RubyReckless (Oct 25, 2011)

Wow, those are all great suggestions, thanks! We're going to the local rat club's show on the weekend, so hopefully we can pick up some stuff there. I love the large postal tube idea! 
Aren't the edges of a cut down milk carton a bit sharp for the rats? I think home made toys will be great for us because the kids can get involved in making them, and the rats are supposed to be my son's pets.


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## xkimxo (Jan 4, 2010)

I use sandpaper for smoothing stuff down like milk cartons, its also great for wooden toys that get peed on alot and dont clean up very well i just sand the pee stains off


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## RubyReckless (Oct 25, 2011)

xkimxo said:


> I just sand the pee stains off


Ah, the joys of pet ownership
:lol:


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## crazymaisey (Nov 12, 2011)

Great ideas here! I'm getting ratties soon so I'm writing all of this down


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