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ideas needed for toys/games for my pet rats?

I have 2 male rats, Bruce and Max, who seem to be used to the usual toys I've made for them, so I'm looking for new ideas for some games or toys I can use in the cage or when playing with them. I've already tried sock tunnels, hammocks, box houses, ladders, bridges and having them wade into a shallow dish of water for frozen veggies on hot days.

Public Comments

1. Build an obstacle course for them.
2. Empty toilet paper rolls work well.They love crawling through them and chewing them up.You can also get wood blocks with holes in them....hide some treats inside.Bones are a great toy for rats(cooked only)....they love to gnaw on them and it's good for their teeth.
3. Yahoo "rat toys" and you'll get a bunch of websites with ideas. I have a male rat as well, & I did that when I first got him (he's almost 2 years old now) and I found a lot of ideas. One was actually pretty neat - something about planting a certain type of grass, letting it grow a little bit & releasing them in it. Apparently they'll go crazy, aswell and you can burry some treats & watch them dig for them. My rat won't play a long, he's too weird lol. He doesn't eat ANYTHING outside of his cage, not even SUGAR! Rats are supposed to LOVE sugar.
4. I used to have rats and they loved fishing for frozen peas out of a shallow water dish. Do you put small river rocks in the dish? I used the kind you can get at Wal-Mart (in the fish department) and the rats would have to lift them up and move the rocks out of the way to get to the peas. They even took a few rocks up into their cage. Here are some other ideas: Mmake them popsicles (put some fruit juice into an ice cube tray) on a hot day -Take an empty toilet paper roll, put some treats inside, and fold the edges up so that the rats have to chew through it to get to the treats -www.thatpetplace.com sells lots of really neat toys and snacks at a pretty reasonable price. I liked buying bird toys for my rats. There are a ton of bird toys that also appeal to rats. -If you have the space and money, buy them a scratching post (for cats). I never had the space in my tiny apartment, but I imagine rats would love climbing up the post, hiding out in the little cubbies, etc. -I know it's a little cold now, but in the springtime or summer you might want to let them go "swimming." I used to fill the bathtub up with lukewarm water (about two inches deep) and let my rats play in it. Some of them were deathly afraid of the water, but the rest liked it. -Put an old towel, sheet, or dirty clothes in a laundry basket and let your rats play in it. I hope some of these ideas are helpful. Have fun with your rats!