Your Rat's Home

Rat wheels and balls can be purchased at pet shops. These are good for exercise but the rat is an intelligent animal that may require more stimulation. We tend to let ours run around the ratroom floor, but this is only because this is the safest place in the house. Care must be taken to ensure the lack of danger to your pet like wires, high places and things that will be readily chewed. However, if your rat takes readily to the wheel or ball it is important to make sure that these are also safe. Solid wheels are best as a rat could damage her tail or feet on a wheel with rungs. A strip of cardboard woven between the rungs can sort this. If a rat spends a lot of time in the wheel/ball, you can expect her tail to become kinked in the shape of the toy.

It is necessary to furnish the cage with toys. Not all pet shops will stock toys big enough for full-grown rats, but with some imagination the cage can be made extremely interesting. PVC drainage pipes provide alternate dark areas to curl up in, and so do household items such as empty cardboard containers. Platforms, ladders and ropes all provide other forms of amusement. Hammocks will provide hours of comfy lounging for your pet. You can buy them ready made, but if your rats (like my little reprobates) chew and pee on their hammocks all the time you might be better off cable-tying flannels to the cage instead as these can be bought in budget multipacks. Fruit tree branches provide interesting shapes and surfaces, as well as providing something for the rat to gnaw on. Gnawing is essential to all rodents as their teeth grow constantly and if they are not worn down they will cause great problems, so gnawing is an activity that should most definitely be encouraged. In addition to these ideas, non-plastic parrot toys can be used. These offer opportunities for climbing, gnawing and lots of fun. You can often find far more useful toys in the parrot section then in the small furries section. You could go for a natural look for your pet’s home, using big flat rocks, branches and logs.

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