Toy and Play Ideas

[Good Karma]

Hi everyone, i would love to create a really good toy and play thread where everyone posts their toy ideas. I am aways looking for new fun stuff for my rats to do!

Here are a few of the toys and things my boys like:

Here you can see Gobo playing with a few favorites; in the far left is the 'pick-a-peanut' the green thing; i put pasta and other treats in there. He also has a sterilized bone, good for chewing and stuffing as well as that red ball that has a big dog cookie in it.

BIRD TOYS: I try to find other bird toys you can stuff food into along with the ropes and wood toys. I like making them work for their food instead of just eating it out of a bowl. I recently found one where the rats have to chew through wooden dowels to get at the treats inside - its great! In the dig box pic below you can see it and another bird toys that you can put stuff into.

TOILET PAPER ROLLS: I use lots of toilet paper rolls and stuff them with goodies and fold them up. My boy got really good at it so i now wrap the treat in paper then stuff it into the roll.

TREAT BALLS: I love the little ferret and cat treat balls you can get at pet stores. I fill them with dried fruit and the boys have to roll the ball around to get the treats out.

DIG BOX: always popular, but quite messy as you can see:
before:

After:

TREASURE CHEST: fill a box with fun little toys, wood pieces and so on. then i will sprinkle little treats in it to get them digging. They like to carry the toys away and play. The babies really liked this one, but they pooped in it! Gross!

What are your ideas?

 

[Godmother]

A paint roller tray so that they can go pea fishing and get as wet or stay as dry as they want to!



I love your treasure chest! I used to do something similar, filling the bin with old (clean!) socks and sprinkling in a few rice krispies. It kept them digging for ages.

Mine are very happy climbing in cardboard boxes. They used to have a decrepit old box in the play area. One day I looked inside and it was disgusting.... full of chewed up cardboard, lab block dust, remnants of old treats, abandoned rib bones. But they loved it!

And they love running through tubes. The clear ferret tube can stretch up to 20', and the coloured plastic tubes are fun to rearrange in different ways.

 

[Moon]

Oooh, the treasure chest is a really great idea.

 

[Good Karma]

My play place is just full of cardboard boxes with cut out holes. They love going in and out.

Dryer line tubes are great for the play place as well, cheaper than the ferret tunnels, but not cool colours!

I also got these big cardboard tubes at home depot - they're used for making posts, you full them with cement - they work well in the play place as well.

I have never done pea fishing! Must try...

 

[jorats]

Finally got pics of my play area... err... the rat's play area. lol

I also got this really cool cat toy/rat toy from a Paula, a member here. Her girls were not interested in it. Mine totally love it.

 

[Good Karma]

Here is my play place:

 

[Good Karma]

And here is Boober trying hard to get at the cookie in this ball:

 

[mamarat]

Wow that looks like fun, lucky ratties. Does Boober finally get the cookie?

 

[Good Karma]

hehe.. yes, the ball is always empty the next morning. You wonder how they get stuff sometimes....

 

[Riana]

I want an octoplay! *stomps feet like a spoiled child*

I wondered whether sterilized bones were okay for rats... I was thinking of picking one up for my boys. My dogs get the meaty marrow bones, filled with fun gristle and all that other lovely stuff that dogs love, and if there's one laying around on my floor when I have the boys out (Bo brings it to bed with him *rolls eyes* I chuck it on the ground once he falls asleep) the boys go right after it. I wouldn't give them one with all the cooked gristle and fat and such in it, but they certainly like it.

Bo also has this one tennis ball that he brings to bed with him. It's ripped of all fluff save for about half of a section, but the rats go nuts over it!

I have a large crinkle-bag that the boys like to play in. They don't use it as often anymore since they find their cage fun enough to crawl on when they're out, but occasionally they still use it.

 

[Godmother]

My ratties love bones from our steaks or roasts or chops. The only tough part is saving up enough so that there isn't too much fighting. With small bones, you need one per rat or there is a lot of strife.

I don't think you'd need to sterilize them. The ratties have any meat and most of the marrow gone in no time flat. Then they enjoy chewing on the bone for a long time to come. My Edith, the champion chewer, could demolish a T-bone steak bone over a week or so.

 

[NezumiNeko]

I have a little woven nest with a hole on it that can be hung on the cage, i filled it with cut up pajama pants, and my rats go crazy for it. Though, it's meant for smaller birds, and would be to small for male rattys. The best rat toy ever created has to be the paper bag! Fill it with paper towel, and maybe some treats, and be prepared for a night of shredding. Any kind of rat or ferret tube is good, its so cute to watch the rattys climb, for getting food the 'kritter kabob' is a good toy. My rats love to nest in cut up socks, and using fleece or old clothing its actually pretty easy to make rats cubes, hammocks, and triangles, and i don't even have a machine. A good 'maze' is a buch of plushies and clothing in a pile, filled with treats. (Avoid putting in plushies that you don't want to get pee on!) :mouse2ud2: Happy rat!

 

[chicky82]

just yesterday I gave my boys some yellow easter paper which is basically shredded tissue paper that i got at dollarama, I intended on easter pics with bunny ears that i made and everything but they were having none of that!! :evil:
So I just gave them the paper and it's not very happily torn up and peed on :lol: