Enrichment

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Enrichment

Enrichment

Written by Rachelle Bish, Jellybean Rattery

Wheel
Rats do not need a wheel, but if you choose to get one they do have specific needs. Rats need to have a straight spine while running, so any wheel needs to be large enough to allow this. In general, females require a wheel that is at least 14” in diameter, while males need a 16” diameter wheel. Wheels smaller than this can cause spinal damage over time. The wheel needs to be a solid track, with no holes, bars, or mesh. Holes can cause broken toes and tails. Saucers are also not appropriate due to the way they curve the spine.

Hammocks & Other Cloth Hides
Hammocks, tunnels, cubes, tents, pouches, and more! Rats LOVE these things. They provide lots of agility and climbing enrichment, as well as cozy places to hide and sleep. It is important to get them made out of the proper materials though. Hammocks should be fleece where the rats walk on them, but can have an outer layer of decorative quilting cotton or flannel. These fabrics are safe because they don't contain long, strong threads that can get wrapped around limbs and cut off circulation, or catch toes and break them. Some people also make hammocks and pouches out of macrame rope or crochet!

Chew Toys

All sorts of chew toys can work for rats. You can buy pre-made, pet-marketed chew toys or make your own! I recommend avoiding too many dyes. Ensure you are using only rat-safe woods when making your own. Raw, untreated, unpainted pine beads are cheap and easy to find. Wicker or rattan balls are a big hit. Finger traps, safe fabric squares, bamboo sticks, apple sticks, tasty treat sticks, dry penne or other thick pasta, and more can all be added to chew toys and hung in the cage. I've also heard of chew toys made with cheerios and other dry foods, plastic buttons, and straws.

Foraging Toys

Rats are incredibly smart animals and are very entertained by rewarding puzzles. Most bird, small dog, and small animal foraging toys will work for them, or you can make your own. You can also get small snuffle mats for free roam (supervised playtime only.) Some examples of homemade foraging toys are:
The cardboard roll toy - Stuff a toilet paper or paper towel roll with treats, stuff each end with paper, then twist the sides of the roll closed. This can be tossed into the cage as-is, or hung on a rope.
The "treasure chest" - Stuff a tissue box with treats hidden among all the tissue. Be sure to remove any plastic from the box.
The swinging skewer - Use a bamboo chop stick or similar blunt-ended stick-like object and place chunks of fruits and veggies on it, then hang it in the cage.
The foraging cup - Use a small bathroom cup, fill it with treats, then cover it with a small square of burlap and use a bit of twine to tie the fabric over the top of the cup.

Investigation Toys

Rats may enjoy messing around with unusual/interesting objects such as small plastic balls, bell balls, or bells on strings or other toys.

PVC Pipes

PVC pipes can make for very interesting and creative setups. You can simply set down or hang up a straight tube or create PVC complexes and mazes. Just remember to take them apart and wash them often!

Baskets and Ledges

Many kinds of baskets make great platforms, swings, and sleeping spots! I highly recommend Kaytee Lava Ledges. Various sizes of plastic baskets, small wooden trays, large plastic bowls, and more can be creatively repurposed for our rats. The Dollar Store is a treasure trove for these sorts of things! Avoid baskets with holes that come to points. Diamond or triangle shaped holes can catch toes/tails and cause breaks, cuts, or degloving.

Boxes & Cardboard

Cardboard shipping boxes, food boxes, rolls, and tubes are excellent enrichment for our rats! Not only do they provide interesting hides, but rats love to "renovate" them and add their own entrances, or shred them up into nesting material. You may want to cut the sides of small rolls like toilet paper and paper towels rolls, as some rats have been known to get stuck trying to climb through them!

Bridges and Balancing Toys

Ladders, bridges, thick ropes (like dog ropes), cargo nets, scarf holders, and more can be used to give your rats paths through the cage that are interesting, enriching, provide balance and agility practice, and make a safer environment by providing fall breakers.

Clutter Toys

Rats LOVE clutter and it makes them feel safer. Having lots of clutter will help your rats feel more secure while also providing interesting things to mess with and play with. Some ideas include ropes, fleece streamers, fleece or rope braids, fleece fringes, and more.

Nesting Material & Toys

Our pet rats love to nest, but we need to be sure the nesting material we are giving them is safe! Fleece squares are a great option, because it does not produce strings that can get caught around limbs or cause blockages if swallowed. Be aware that fleece does not absorb liquids well and does not neutralize ammonia, so it should be washed and replaced if soiled. While it cannot be given as part of their diet, hay makes a good nesting material when properly monitored. It does mold easily, so it should be replaced often. Crinkle paper and shredded cardboard are also beloved nesting materials, and make for good nesting enrichment toys which I'll detail below. Once again, they do nothing for ammonia control and should be spot cleaned when soiled.

Nesting material can be further enriching by placing it in a toy. You can take fast food cup holders, fill them with nesting material, then attach them to the side of the cage so the rats have to pull the nesting material through the slats on the bottom. A tissue box with the plastic around the opening removed makes for a crazy fun nesting toy - your rats will love tearing it apart. You can hang up a roll of toilet paper from the side of your cage and let the rats unravel it. Placing fleece squares and streamers on top of the cage so the rats have to pull it through the bars can be fun.

Hanging Gear

What hanging gear you use should be carefully considered for safety. Many owners have encountered tragedy when using metal pear shaped shower rings, and I do not recommend their use. Instead I can recommend pipe cleaners, plastic C-shaped shower rings, plastic chain links, binder rings, curtain clips, and lanyard clips. Pipe cleaners make excellent extenders to get decor to hang at the distance you'd like! I recommend extra strong pipe cleaners to be on the safe side, especially if you have large, heavy males.

Photos provided and used with permission