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On this page I will tell you some of my favorite toy ideas. Some of which I read about on other site or in books others I adapted and made myself. Some of the toys are very obvious so I hope they are not too patronizing and if anything spark ideas for you to enrich your ratties lives.

Some of the toy on here are still just ideas which I haven't tried out yet so be careful if you decide to give them a go. When making toys make sure they are rat friendly, with no sharp edges or wire bits sticking out etc.

1. Water tray with treats game.

To play this you will need a shallow tray and your rat's favorite ratty treats these should preferably sink. What you do is very simple (most of the best rat games are!) your fill the rat tray with about 4cms of warm water - depending on the weather but obviously not too hot ! then place the tray in your rats play area and let them investigate.

Once all your ratties are around the tray show them that your adding treats. You should then have great fun watching your rats paddle around in the water like little raccoons trying to get the treats off the bottom of the tray! Perdie using the water tray to cool off in the summer.

2. Flower pot and window box beds.

Ok so technically this isn't a toy, but your ratties will love them all the same. Basically what you do is get a plastic flower pot about the right size for one or two rats and then you carefully pierce some holes in the back. You then thread wire through one hole and then back through another and fold and twizzel the wire on the back to form hooks (the amount of hooks you need depends on the weight of your rats and strength of your wire). The hooks attach the bed to your cage.

At the front of the bed cut out an entrance and if the sides of the entrance feel sharp then either sand them down or do what I did and cover them in duct tape. I also used duct tape round the back of the bed to hold my hooks in place and to cover the sharp ends of the wires.

If you have lots of rats why not try using a window box? but make sure the wire you use is strong enough.

Darla and Ozy in their flower pot beds, the beds didn't end up looking that attractive but they didn't care!

3. Fabric Tube.

Take a long piece of durable material about 60cm wide depending on how many rats will use it at one time and fold in half. Pin the two loose edges together and turn in inside out. Sow along the pinned edge and turn it round the right way again, there you have your tube !

Now watch your ratties run up and play and sleep inside it.

4. The Ball ! (a brought toy).

This is basically a large Hamster ball meant for ferrets etc. The reason I have included this in the list is because it is excellent for rats that don't have the freedom of the whole house to run around, mine used to be allow out on the floor until Darla chewed some of the computer cables ! (Dad was not pleased!!)

Rats don't always take to the ball straight away and when I first had mine they would scratch me every time I tried to put them in it. So I had to try a different way which was a lot less stressful for both of us. I would leave the ball open and put treats in it they would then associate going in the ball with treats. After a while when one was in the ball I would put the lid on for a few seconds and give them a treat through the air slit and then open the lid again. I would slowly work the length of time up until they happily enjoyed using the ball. They also enjoy going in together.

The 1st photo show the rats on the run together and the other shows them at a stand still.

NOTE: Always read the manufactures instructions, most companies recommend you supervise the ball and only leave them in there for 30mins at a time.

5. Blanket cave game.

This game is SO simple! get an old blanket and loosely screw it up into a ball allowing for entrances and caves etc. Then watch your rats have fun going in and out of the caves.

This is a great alternative to rats crawling up your cloths! especially your brand new cloths !

Perdie peeking out of from the blanket.

6. The play box.

This is another good idea for rats that don't have the run of the house. Basically you go to the supermarket and get the largest box you can find or alternatively if you can get you hands on those massive boxes TV's, computer etc. come in. Then put a couple of layers of newspaper in the bottom (lino would be a more permanent idea) and fill it with your rats favorite toys, alternatively you could have a separate set of toys for the box to make it extra interesting for your rats!

This idea has tones of possibilities for variation, e.g.. you could make a more permanent box out of wood or develop some sort of indoor run (like a rabbits) for your rats.

I used my play box when I first had it to introduce my two huskies to Darla and Ozy, because it was neutral territory! you could also put your rats in the box when your cleaning them out

NOTE = Rats can jump very high so if your leaving them unattended in the box make sure they cant jump out !

All my girls in the box together.

7. Plastic bags.

Plastic bags are quite an interesting toy because they make loads of noise when your ratty walks on them they can also go inside them. I have one in my play box. Alternatively your could try a paper bag?

NOTE = I wouldn't leave my rat with a plastic bad unattended incase they try and eat it and for this reason don't use bags which have had food in them.

8. Soil tray.

This uses similar equipment to the water tray game, but instead of water you fill the tray with clean soil or peat from a grow bag! I put one of these in my rats cage and it was really funny to see how they walked over it and dug in it!

NOTE = Only use soil that you are sure has no fertilizers or pesticides on, if in doubt use grow bag peat.

9. Hammocks !

Hammocks make brilliant beds or so I'm told. I tried making one once but it was a failure! So anyway an alternative to making one is to purchase one, which is what I will be doing in the near future. I found a site with hammocks at reasonable prices that come in a several styles and colours if you would like to take a look then follow the link = "All about my rats, Ratty Hammock's page".

If you have any ideas for games, toys or beds that you think would be good for this page then please email them too me.

Last updated 25th July 2001.

All photo's and some art work are produced by me, unless stated otherwise. When taking any of my own work for your web site then please acknowledge me by either including me as a link or adding my banner (which is on the links page) :o)

Disclaimer = I do not claim to be an authority on rodents or rats and any information on this page is just opinions and advice and is by no means a substitute for good books or veterinary advice. All the toys on the toys page are just ideas and may not have been tried out so it is up to you to implement them and judge there safety.