Enrichment

There are far too many items out there to list individually, but enrichment doesn’t have to be expensive. Take a trip to your local dollar store or walmart and you can find some great items to put in the enclosure. Here is an example of what an enclosure should look like. Rats LOVE clutter and they love to forage, so scatter feeding in a cluttered cage is how they thrive!

Here is a list of items I keep on hand to put in cages every cleaning:

Tissue boxes (leave tissues inside!)
Boxes, boxes, and more boxes
Tunnels
Hidey huts
Chew sticks
Toilet paper rolls (cut into pieces, stuff with a treat and fold ends over)
Space pods

Here is a list of items I would avoid:

Unsafe wood chews (toxic woods)
Dyed chews or bedding (outside of vegetable dyed)
Wheels…IF you feel so inclined to get a wheel it has to be VERY very large. The rat’s back should not curve when running. In my experience, I have never had a rat utilize the big wheel but I know of others who have. Avoid wire wheels at all costs.
Anything with loose threads