Rat enrichment can be a fun way to use your creative energy. Whether you’re looking for something new or just getting started, we hope you’ll find inspiration from our ideas. Here are a few of our favorite ways to enrich our rats’ lives!

1- Train them to do tricks

Training isn’t just for dogs! Rats are highly intelligent animals and can be trained to do many different types of tricks. They can jump through hoops, turn around, drop balls into little hoops, and lots more. Let your imagination run wild!

We love to make hoops out of hard plastic bracelets (the kind for young children) or the cardboard circles of old painter’s tape rolls. There are all sorts of circular objects that can be repurposed for training. For hoop jumping, start with the hoop low to the ground. Lure your rat through and give them a treat. They learn very quickly!

Plastic golf balls are a great size for teaching your rats to play rat basketball. Teach them to pick up the ball and then put it in a hoop or other designated location. They look so cute shooting little tiny baskets!

Treats can be used to teach them to turn or spin or any other movement you can think of. Just lure them into the desired behavior and then reward them!

2- Dig Boxes

Dig boxes can be lots of fun for rats! There are various ways to make them, but the idea is that they have a substrate that they can dig in to forage for treats or make tunnels. We like to make them out of sterile dirt and plant edible plants for them to nibble on. Some great choices for edible plants are parsley, oregano, basil, and mint. You can also sprinkle some seeds or dry treats into some shredded paper or paper bedding and let them search for them. Foraging is a wonderful natural behavior that stimulates their minds!

3- Mazes, tunnels, and new spaces to explore

Toilet paper rolls, Pringles cans, oats containers, and even the leg of an old pair of leggings make wonderful tunnels. We have stacked old soda can boxes and cut holes in old shipping boxes to create a network of tunnels and boxes. My kids have used popsicle sticks to make tiny ladders for them to climb. Just connect boxes and tubes together and watch them go! Rats are amazing jumpers so they usually have no trouble getting from one area to another. It’s so much fun to watch them explore their new play areas!

4- Fishing for peas

This is a fun one! You can use a small bowl or a clean paint tray to hold the water. Paint trays are great because they have a gradual slant down into the water. Some rats like water more than others, so this allows them to decide how much they want to go in the water. Sprinkle some fresh or frozen peas into the water and let them try to fish them out! This is a summertime favorite when our garden is producing lots of fresh peas. They look so cute nibbling on their fresh, healthy snacks!

5- Varying their diet and offering new and exciting treats

Rat block is essential to your rats’ health, but let’s face it, eating the same thing day in and day out gets boring. At NL Rattery, our rats always have access to their rat block to ensure proper daily nutrition, but we offer other various foods as a form of daily enrichment.

We create a seed mix that we love to sprinkle into some bedding or scatter around an area for them to find! Our mix consists of whole oats, flax seeds, chia seeds, pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, and whatever else we happen to have on hand. Feel free to include a small number of chopped walnuts, almonds, or other nuts/seeds. They love them!

A fun way to offer this is to crumple it up with some paper and place it inside a toilet paper roll. Close off either side of the toilet paper roll and watch as your rats try to figure out how to open it!

Fresh fruits and vegetables make wonderful healthy additions to your rats’ diets. Berries, grapes, broccoli, carrots, and bell peppers are all favorites here. Variety keeps things interesting!

For more information on what foods are safe and what foods to avoid check out: Safe Foods For Rats: The Ultimate List.

6. New nest boxes and materials

Rats love to nest. We love to repurpose old tissue boxes or even smaller shipping boxes for our rats to build their nests in. If you offer new nesting materials your rats will be quite busy! Put a fresh box of tissues where they can reach it and watch then pull tissue after tissue out and carry it over to their nest. This works well with toilet paper rolls too! Shredded paper or bits of cardboard can work too. If you prefer to wash and reuse fleece is nice and snuggly and can be added to any type of small container that can be cleaned.

7. Rotate or offer new toys

Bird or rabbit toys can sometimes be useful for offering new ways to climb or something novel to chew on, but not all toys have to be expensive. We love to make our own! Just made sure any materials you use are safe if ingested because rats love to chew. We have used popsicle sticks to build little houses, platforms, and ladders, and even a paper bag can be played in and crinkled. A crumpled-up piece of paper can be quite entertaining! Strips of fabric can be braided or tied together to make ropes to climb and balance on. Tie them from one side of a cage to another to watch them in all their acrobatic glory!

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New to rats?

READ: Bringing New Rats Home: Tips for a Smooth Transition

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