Cages

16 Monday Nov 2015

Tags

fancy rats, pet rats, rat cages, rat community, rat owner, rats, ratties

Let’s face it, if you have rats, you need a cage for them. Cages can come in all shapes and sizes, however rats do need a lot of room. If you’re getting rats you should make sure to get the right sized cage! Remember that rats need a lot to keep them occupied, which includes a bunch of space to run around in! The first thing I’m going to say is don’t get a tank. Even if you go out and spend a lot on a tank that would be big enough for your ratties, wire cages are better! Why you might be asking? Rats need a good flow of air circulation throughout their cage that they don’t get when they’re in tanks. Using a tank as a nursery however is fine, as long as once the babes are ready to move out they do! So now onto cages!

Finding the right cage
If you’re rats are young, you may want a cage that’s tall so they have enough space to climb. A lot of rats like climbing, however if you have older rats, or rats with special needs, a cage that isn’t as tall would work wonders! (Anything from a guinea pig to a rabbit cage.)
Remember that rats are smaller and their cage bars shouldn’t be an inch apart. Make sure the bars on the cage are small enough that your ratties won’t be able to fit through!
Cages with mesh floors aren’t the best! Rats can hurt their little feet on them! If your cage does have mesh flooring, make sure you put a thick fabric down for them to walk on and make sure you clean the mesh good!

Popular cages

CritterNation $150-$250 You can get a single or double

CritterNation
$150-$250
You can get a single or double.

Make sure you get the right critternation as there are ones for ferrets!

The ruud cage
$170

Ware indoor 4 level hutch
$135

These are just a few popular cages, but there are plenty of them out there! You can even make your own cages! A lot of people buy shelves and organizing units, then put some chicken wire in there and you can have a cage in a few hours! Of course you shouldn’t make a cage unless you know what you’re doing. If you have any other info just comment and I’ll add it!

Toys

16 Monday Nov 2015

Posted by justagirlandherrats in Toys

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Tags

fancy rats, hooded rats, pet rats, rat community, rat owner, rat toys, rats, ratties

Rat toys are probably one of the most entertaining things to make- as well as buy. It’s always fun watching your little rodent friends play with small toys! The best thing about rat toys is they don’t have to be too fancy! They’ll end up getting chewed up anyway. (Especially if your little babes are like mine and chew on everything!!) Here’s a list of fun toys and ideas you can use with your ratties, and if you have any more just comment!

Places to get toys?

You can get rat toys from basically anywhere! A lot of them can be homemade as well. Some places to look for good toys for rats would be PetSmart, Petco, Wal-Mart, Target, and a lot of online sites such as Etsy, Amazon, and Ebay, you can also get a lot of them from your recycling and trash!

Small Cat Toys

Rats seem to love the crinkle balls and plastic balls with little bells in them, even if they’re for cats they make good rat toys! Also the little plastic mice seem to make good toys too. (as long as you’re watching your rats when they play with it.)

Dog Toys

Some people say rats like dog toys! Anything from rubber chew toys to Nylibones. Sometimes you can even give your little ratties plush squeaky toys! (As long as you don’t mind cleaning up any mess they make with them. :p )

Ferret Toys

Rats seem to love any type of ferret toy.

Bird Toys

Bird toys are usually what I get my girls, the wood gives them something to chew on and climb on. A lot of people get bird toys for their rats. My favourites are the ones with bells as they keep Reggie and MaryJane occupied for hours. Just make sure they are not made out of pine, or cedar wood. Cuttle bone, and calcium chews are a big no no too, as they can hurt rats’ bodies.

Toilet Roll

A good homemade toy is cutting a toilet paper roll in half and filling it with treats! Once it’s filled about halfway tape the top closed, and watch as your little furry friends try to open it! (Watch your rats when you do this to make sure they don’t eat the tape!)

Cardboard ball

This one is a bit trickier, but no where near hard. Take cardboard and cut a few pieces out, I only need three usually. When you cut them out use strong to bind the pieces together until they’re tight (make sure the inside is hollow.)

Once this is done make a hole in it, make sure the hole is big enough to put food in it, but not big enough for the food to fall out (I mash up bananas or use yogurt.) Next you’re going to put whatever snack of your choice in the hole, and give it to your rats! They should love the playtime and special treat that comes with it!

Fishing

Take a small stick and tie a string to it, next take any snack for your rats and tie it to the other end of the string. You can either put the stick on top of a rat cage, or hold the stick and play with your babes! (I use dried sweet potato treats)

Blocks

Left over chewy blocks from rats can be reused with peanut butter! Dab some peanut butter on a block and put it together with another block. Freeze the peanut butter to keep them together!

Nuts

Not only are they a tasty snack for your rattie friend but hard nuts are good for wearing those teeth down!!

Wine Corks

One of my favourites! When your mom drinks as much wine as mine, you gotta learn a way to recycle those wine corks! A good way to do so is give them to your ratties as a chew toy!!

If you have any of your own toy ideas, or toys to buy feel free to comment so I can add them!!