What Accessories Should Be in Your Rats Cage

Rats like to climb, run, jump, hide and play. The more time they spend in their cage the larger the cage should be. You should get the largest cage you can in order to add health and happiness as well as years onto your rats life.

The cage should be big enough to include several toys, a wheel if they like to run in one, branches, ladders, hammocks, beds, ledges, food bowls and still have space to run and play.

Right now the cage I bought has 4 hammocks, 1 Lava Ledge, 1 large rabbit sized igloo, 1 wicker house, 2 fluffy cozy beds, 1 round plastic lookout Space Pod that hangs from the top of the cage, 2 food bowls, 1 ladder and several toys. I bought a large Ferret Nation Cage and made a few adjustments to it so it would be safe for my 4 rats.

Since there aren't a lot of toys made specifically for rats, I have bought toys made for ferrets, birds, dogs and cats. They all work very well and your rats will have a lot of fun playing with them.

What Other Toys Should be in Your Rats Cage

Plastic igloos - I like the clear ones because I can still watch what they are doing but they feel secure.

fiddlesticks flexible hideouts - I used to used these for my hamsters and they are so easy to move into different shapes that your animal will love.

Bird toys - A lot of bird toys like this one are very good toys for rats also.

Dog Toys like This Roller Ball - This Dog Toy is only 3.5 inches across so it's great for a rats cage. Fill it with some treats for your rat and let them roll it around the cage or hang it from the top of the cage and watch them bat it around.

Lava Landing, ledges and swings - I bought one of these Lava landing ledges and my rats love it! They use it to sit and clean themselves on and to sit on to just look around. They also chase each other around and use it for hopping to higher places in the cage.

Hammocks - As well as tents, tunnels and cozy beds, hammocks are a must have accessory in your rat cage. Rats like to cuddle with one another and have a place to take a nap and these hammocks are great for that.

Bird Ladders - These are good for making it easier to get to toys that are higher in the cage or hammocks that are hung higher up.

Lixit Critter Space Pod - I have one of these space Pods in Purple and my rats love it! I've seen three of them pile inside and take a nap.

What To Know Before Getting Accessories

The most important thing to remember is that each rat has their own individual personality and what one will like might not appeal to the others. If you have more than one rat in the cage, and you should always have at least 2 because they are social animals. I would suggest getting several different hammocks, beds ect...and waiting a few days to see which ones your rats are going to like and which ones they do not.

Each of my four rats likes a different bed or hammock and some of them don't like any of them and sleep wherever they want.

Whatever you buy for them, also remember they are animals that like to chew and will chew pretty much everything you put inside their cage. I once made the mistake of getting Marshall Ferret Hide-N-Sleep alligator and they had it shredded and thrown all over their cage by the time I got out of bed the next day. So you do have to be prepared for your rats to either not pay any attention to what you put in their cage or to tear it to pieces.

Sources:

http://www.ratfanclub.org/cages.html

http://www.amazon.com/Marshall-Pet-Products-FT-344-Hide-N-Sleep/dp/B00203SK0W

http://www.amazon.com/Super-Pet-Rabbit-Tropical-Hideout/dp/B000HHO26E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1295039448&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Super-Pet-Rabbit-Hideout-Colors/dp/B0002DJ4P2/ref=sr_1_4?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1295039341&sr=1-4

http://www.amazon.com/Pink-Parrot%C2%AE-Squiggles%C2%AE-Hanging-Medium/dp/B00061UTKE/ref=pd_sim_dbs_k_6

http://www.amazon.com/Wooden-Bird-Ladder-Size-24in/dp/B0006DQJS8/ref=sr_1_18?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1295039642&sr=1-18

http://www.amazon.com/Pets-International-SPET-LAVA-LEDGE/dp/B00176F466/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1295040151&sr=1-3

http://www.amazon.com/Super-Pet-Ferret-Sleeper-Hammock/dp/B0002ASAXW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1295040936&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Lixit-Critter-Space-Pod-Large/dp/B002X2NBNQ/ref=pd_sim_k_45