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RATTIE ENRICHMENT Galleries

Rats Hunt Feathers : Rats are natural hunters and play with feather wands like cats and dogs do with similar toys. I think rats taught them how to do it. The slideshow is snapshots of Bonny at the height of a hunt. She can be seen in two of the videos.

Rats Hunt Feathers

Rats are natural hunters and play with feather wands like cats and d ...

Updated: Jan 31, 2010 12:38pm PST

Rats Stash Stuff : Rats are great stashers! It's most fun when they do it with you. "Stash" is the opposite of "Fetch".

Rats Stash Stuff

Rats are great stashers! It's most fun when they do it with you. "Sta ...

Updated: May 19, 2009 8:38pm PST

Rats and Evil Bandaids : Rats will save you from the evil bandaids.

Rats and Evil Bandaids

Rats will save you from the evil bandaids.

Updated: Nov 14, 2009 9:53pm PST

Rats Stash from YouTube : Videos of rats stashing, discovered on YouTube, deserve a gallery. Stashing is an incredibly important form of enrichment for pet rats. Stashing is the opposite of fetch: You give the rat something and you never get it back. Hee hee. Various titles for these rats: Stealing Rats, Rascals, Naughty Rats, Thieves, but, mostly and best, BAD BAD RATS. Help your rat be a bad rat by providng opportunties to stash. Through stashing, rats feel productive and successful. If rats can't stash, their stress level will rise. POPCORNING stasher rat! Soooo cute! Large tubes of stuff you don't want rats to have, they want. If you give your rats any kind of free-range time, you must lock all fluids, drugs, medicines, liquids, foods, and solids, in a steel safe with a 10-digit combination. This video is cute, but the warning is clear - keep these things away from rats. The action is at the end of this short clip. You don't remember throwing your tea bag out? The comment on YouTube notes how important it is to make sure the tea is cool. I would gently take back the tea bag, as well, because I don't think eating tea leaves is recommended. Toast crusts will do just fine. Toast crusts? Forget that, how about YOUR DINNER? Rats will stash large and awkward things, and race an incredibly long distance to get where they need to go. If you put a treat in the stash thing, the rat may not stash it. Balls! They belong in the cage, say the rats. Plain old paper is actually pretty boring. How about let's get the MAIL! These rats look distinctly like they have criminal intent. They are sneaky, coniving, bad rats. Shows just what lengths a rat will go to steal stuff. In this case, bird seed on the far side of the planet. The comment cautions not to let rats and birds interact, and apparently this rat got to do this routine only once. Stashing Halloween candy is a given. Wrappers don't matter, of course. And this kid tries to wrestle the candy back but the rats keep firm toothy grips on their prizes. Rats prefer to be efficient and grab a very big mouthful before heading off to stash the pasta. Um, perhaps this doesn't belong as the rats here have decided to munch instead of stash. How about peppermint sticks? This is NOT A SQUIRREL. This is a RAT. The comment seems to imply the rat is wild, but he appears to have berkshire (white underbelly) markings, so I'm not sure. He is not exactly stashing but then he needs to eat when he can.

Rats Stash from YouTube

Videos of rats stashing, discovered on YouTube, deserve a gallery. S ...

Updated: Feb 13, 2010 2:25pm PST

Rats Num-Num Coconuts : Rats Love Coconuts! Recipe for Coconuts and Rats: Prepare one coconut: Take fresh whole coconut, scrub well. May scrape holes lightly to clean them slightly, but do not puncture holes in coconut holes. Take one rat, place in private, solitary cage. Add coconut. Allow to mix well. Expect first few times to be long trial-and-error process for rat to figure out the importance of coconut holes and how to work them. Allow rat to have at it for upwards of 30 minutes or more. Expect rat will expend lots of energy discovering and digging into the coconut holes. Rat gets to work hard to figure out a difficult puzzle. Good mind work. Good body work. Consider the small amount of coconut the rat will eat to be a fruit treat for the day, perhaps the same as one grape. Remove coconut when play time is over. Store in refrigerator for another play date, for upwards of 10 days. WARNING: Rats cannot share coconuts. One coconut per rat, and one cage per rat-coconut pair. This warning comes from experience! Do not leave coconut in cage with rat over night, or rat will (1) successfully make a huge hole in the tough coconut shell and gorge on the fattening meat, thus becoming a fat rat, and (2) tip the coconut on its side such that the milk pours out all over the cage floor, making for a big cleaning job, and then (3) drink that milk and become an even fatter rat.

Rats Num-Num Coconuts

Rats Love Coconuts! Recipe for Coconuts and Rats: Prepare one cocon ...

Updated: Jul 12, 2009 12:31pm PST

Jump, Rats, Jump! : If you're careful not to let your rat fall, they can be excellent jumpers.

Jump, Rats, Jump!

If you're careful not to let your rat fall, they can be excellent jump ...

Updated: Jul 18, 2009 5:17pm PST

Rats and Pumpkins : Rats will naturally explore and seek out the strangeness and textures of pumpkins, the seeds as well as the flesh. A big pumpkin with its big aroma is utterly enticing. The rats' curiosity and foraging instinct are stimulated, making pumpkin play a great enrichment opportunity.

Rats and Pumpkins

Rats will naturally explore and seek out the strangeness and textures ...

Updated: Dec 21, 2009 10:50am PST

Rats Enjoy Swimming : Some careful introductions and you might have yourself some water rats. The best examples I've seen are from YouTube, Whiskey and Womble's Place. And, from, A Place for All My Gorgeous Rats:

Rats Enjoy Swimming

Some careful introductions and you might have yourself some water ra ...

Updated: Nov 29, 2009 12:17pm PST

Rats Play : Examples of pet rats playing with humans

Rats Play

Examples of pet rats playing with humans

Updated: Nov 03, 2009 5:39pm PST

Enrichment YouTube Videos : Various enrichment activities for pet rats, discovered on YouTube. Alternate title: Rats are BAD! Rats are natural gardeners. If you set up a plant and soil for your rats, be sure the soil is STERILE, with nothing added. And check on the web to make sure the plants you offer are not poisonous. For example, tomato leaves are deadly. How about digging and chewing the carpet? Hee-hee. Rats open containers. After Pancake steals the nuts lid, and stashes it under the bed, notice the hole in the underside of the mattress. Pancake has a bit of a problem noticing the yummy contents of the nut container, but her human finally helps her out. But then where does that nut go? Back to that hole I mentioned on the underside of the bed. Some bad language at the end, but try to forgive that for the excellent bad rat antics. Treat balls! Sometimes called soccer games. A bit of food in a small ball can do wonders for pet rat morale. Pet rats hunt through a toilet paper maze. Digging into piles of stuff, in this case paper pellet bedding. Diving in a pint glass. Make sure the glass can't tip. Jumping, snuffling, relaxing, boggling, exploring, grabbing things off a pole, pool play, can they figure out that mirror (no), climbing stairs, climbing legs, climbing ropes. MAKE SURE YOUR RAT LEARNS TO CLIMB SAFELY. It takes practice. Tired rats. Sweet boggling at the end.

Enrichment YouTube Videos

Various enrichment activities for pet rats, discovered on YouTube. ...

Updated: Nov 29, 2009 12:24pm PST