Advice for Dig box?

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Kitsa

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 17, 2011
Messages
232
Location
Indiana
After my scare with Sly I've decided to attempt to finally make that dig box I've been promising the ratties. Have the bottom of an old cage that's going to be scrub down that is just the right size.

Been reading and re-reading about dig box's and do believe i'm ready but its always nice to get advice from people who actually have them.
Only have a few big questions. What are good places to get soil and what does everyone put in their box?
 
You would want sterialized soil with no chemicals, fertilizer, etc in it.

I have used a box of old socks and they searched/dug for cereal
 
I tried using sterilized potting soil one time, without any fertilizers in it....
my rats seemed to be afraid of it and we ended up with a muddy mess LOL

I use fleece scraps and also this crinkled paper bedding (Eco Bedding) they love playing in that stuff and searching for hidden treats etc

I'll have to try the old socks idea too! I bet they'd love that, my rats seem fascinated with my socks
and love to bite the toes of them :roll: :lol:
 
Have you seen this article?
http://ratbehavior.org/DiggingBox.htm

An experimenter named Boice let 10 rats go in a pen in his backyard in 1977 and studied them for two years. He found that domestic rats built tunnel nests identical to their wild counterparts. http://ratbehavior.org/norway_rat_ethogram.htm#Digging

For as much as my rats have always seemed to like to be up high as possible in hammocks, it seems that rats are really burrowing animals.

My own personal rule is that I never allow my rats anywhere where I can not see or reach them. (They have hidey places, but if I need to I can uncover and pick up the rat - for safety reasons).

Please keep us updated on your digging box for rats. Because they have the potential to be very messy, not many rat lovers seem to use them, but for the rat, 'underground' in a burrow is probably the happiest place on earth.
 
ratkin412 I've read the article before. It was quite interesting, I have an old aquariam that I would put the kids in when it was time to clean cages but everyone has outgrown it now. I can probably turn that into the dig box and use the bottom from the old cage as a pool.

Tried last year to get my group used to water but it never worked, now that I have the ex's rats though it might be worth the time to see how they react.

I think i'll stick with soil everyone. Socks are something I lose all the time and don't have any to spare, the kids love soil anyway.
Used to have a cage for outside and would let them run around in the grass while the cages were being housed off. The girl would go and dig and scratch the ground for awhile and later find a spot, smash the grass down and fall asleep.
Don't do that anymore, know better than to risk them escaping and getting lost or worse.
 
A great idea I read was using a chinchilla bath as a box. I know you said you had an old aquarium which is great too. I'd definitely recommend freezing the soil first like others have said. You'll have to let us know how it goes.
 
Mine love a bowl of paper shreds from our paper shredder...although they tend to drag it into all their tunnels which makes laundry day kind of messy. BUT they do love it.
 

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