Environment

Rats can become bored and depressed without enough fun and interesting places to explore and things to do. Imagine spending two to three years (the average lifespan of a rat) in a walk-in-wardrobe. Even with occasional breaks, life would be pretty boring!

For the sake of your rats’ health and happiness, it’s important to provide them with an enclosure that is as large as possible. A larger enclosure provides space for your rats to exercise, as well as giving them plenty of space to run and play with their toys. The more space you can provide, the more opportunities your rats have to express a wider range of natural behaviours – this means happier and healthier rats!

With a roomier enclosure, rats can exercise on their schedule, not yours. Rats are nocturnal and tend to be most active in the evening when it may not be convenient for your family to take them out for playtime.

Larger homes also increase the likelihood of peaceful friendships among groups of rats. More space means they will have areas for time out or breaks on their own; they will not have to compete for space or constantly bump into each other when playing with their toys.

Larger enclosures are actually easier to clean too because they prevent the build-up of waste and allow rats to separate their bathroom area from other activities.

Pre-made rat housing options in New Zealand are quite limited. Traditionally most of the enclosures that pet shops stock are far too small for rats and can be quite expensive. However, some of the newer designs coming in enable you to modify them, by buying extra pieces, levels and compartments that you can attach.

Ask an adult to help you search for enclosures online. You could also contact your local veterinarian, local SPCA or rat rescue who may be able to suggest some good enclosure stockists or design tips that you could then take to a carpenter. With a bit of imagination, you can certainly make your own entertaining, stimulating and spacious environment for your rats!

The base of your rats’ enclosure should be a solid surface. While it might seem like a good idea to have wire floors so that your rats’ waste falls through, serious damage can occur to a rat's feet if they have to stand on wire all of the time. Having their feet constantly pressed against wire can cause a painful condition called ‘bumblefoot’ where your rat's feet may swell and become infected. 

To prevent ‘bumblefoot’, you should look for an enclosure that has a solid surface floor. If you have an enclosure that has wire shelves or ramps, you can cover some or all of them with a solid surface to help protect your rat's feet. You can use plastic laminate from the hardware store (commonly sold for kitchen floors) and an adult can cut it to size for shelf covers that you can wipe clean, or pieces of carpet that you wash and dry regularly, you can even use cardboard that can be disposed of and replaced whenever needed.

If your family invests in a good quality enclosure, your enclosure will last for the entire lifetime of your companion rats.

With good care, the enclosure can be used for many more years if you continue to keep rats.

Ask your parents or caregivers to help you look for an enclosure that has sturdy plastic if you are choosing an enclosure with a plastic pan, as you will be able to scrub or bleach the pan without worrying about it cracking.

It is even better to look for the metal enclosure components to be powder coated or PVC coated, which will protect the metal from rusting. Keep in mind that PVC coated enclosures are susceptible to the finish wearing or cracking, but they will last much longer than a galvanized metal enclosure with no treatment applied.

When your family are choosing a rat enclosure, take a good look at the way the shelves and doors are organized. The enclosure doors should be large enough for an adult to reach in and take out your rats without having to squeeze them through a small opening. The shelves and ramps should be set up or movable so that you can adjust them, in such a way that there are no spots where your rat can feel cornered either by you reaching for them or by another rat in the habitat. 

Make sure that the door closure method is safe and secure. A good way to test this is by closing the enclosure door and giving several firm tugs on the bars in the centre of the door. If the door pops open, you can assume a smart rat with enough dedication will learn to pop the door open when they want to come out and play as well.

Some enclosures offer the addition of flip top lids that open the entire top of the enclosure in addition to doors, which provides another easy access point. If you have to reach in to an enclosure and bend your wrist around a shelf to reach any part of the enclosure, remember that interacting with your rat and cleaning that type of enclosure will be more difficult.

Think carefully about the size of your rats, the bar spacing that you will need will depend on the size of the rats that you plan on housing.

The bar spacing of your rats’ enclosure must be small enough for the type of rats you plan to house to not slip through.

An enclosure won't be much good if it doesn't hold your rats in!

Once you've selected the right housing for your rats, you’ll need to determine where in your home they will live. Here are some factors to consider:

• Temperature:
  Rat's housing should be located away from strong heat sources such as direct sun, wood stoves, fireplaces and heating vents. Rats cannot sweat when they become too warm and are particularly susceptible to heat stroke.
  
  Don't put your rat's enclosure in an unheated room, breezeway, garage or other chilly location. Place the enclosure in a draft-free area (e.g. away from doors and windows and on an elevated surface).
   
• Activity level:
  Rats enjoy being near family activity and benefit from more attention when they’re easy to see and hear. A family room or living room works well but make sure your rats have a place to retreat if they need some quiet time.
   
• Lighting:
  Rats are sensitive to bright lights (after all, they evolved as nocturnal animals), and this is especially true for albino rats. Place your rats’ enclosure away from brightly lit areas to avoid damaging their eyesight.

• Don't keep your rat's enclosure in the kitchen or in other areas where food is prepared; this separation will help maintain good hygiene and prevent possible exposure to zoonotic diseases.
   
• Make sure your rats’ enclosure is safe from other animals that may see them as prey. Enclosures on the floor are likely to increase a rat's stress, so look for an elevated surface to give your rat a sense of safety and a good view of his surroundings.
   
• If you have younger brothers, sisters or cousins, put your rats’ enclosure in an area where you can control, access and supervise your younger sibling’s interactions with your rats.

Bedding material is used to describe the type of material that is used to cover the bottom of the enclosure.

Rats spend lots of time sleeping and like to hide and sleep in dark, safe shelters.

Rats often have preferred resting sites.

Suitable bedding materials are wood chips (non-pine or cedar), cellulose based chips or shredded filter paper. Recycled paper cat litter is also safe.

Avoid dusty bedding materials such as sawdust, and any bedding which is made of pine or cedar as these can result in breathing and other health problems.

You will need to provide your rats with nest boxes that they can hide in to sleep. These can be store-bought such as large igloos, roll-a-nest beds or log cabin homes. 

You might try home-made nest boxes such as a cardboard box (although it may need to be replaced often), a flowerpot or jar turned on its side, or a section of PVC drain pipe (perhaps cover one end). There are many possibilities.

Once you have the bed(s), provide your rats with material that they can make a nest with and set up their beds. Some good suggestions are non-stringy fabric, shredded paper, paper towels or tissues.

Be sure to change the nesting material often. Ammonia resulting from your rats’ wee can be harmful, especially in a small confined area such as a nesting bed.

Rats love to get up high off the ground and lounge around. That’s why hammocks, soft sleeping tubes, and hanging hideaways are a must for all rat enclosures!

Store bought or home-made hammocks and soft sleeping tubes can be hung with safety pins, diaper pins, chains, hooks, or any other method that holds them secure. Lining the hammock or soft sleeping tube with a towel after it is hung will allow you to change the surface without having to change out the hammock in-between cleanings.

Nesting material is used to describe the material provided in addition to bedding material, which is given to animals for nest building and nesting behaviour.

Make sure you always provide suitable nesting materials for your rats. All rodents need nesting material to regulate their body temperature and rats also enjoy making nests. Suitable materials are hay, shredded paper, paper strips and paper tissues.

Provide your rats with a variety of different nesting materials to give them a choice over what they use so they can build good nests. Rats enjoy shredding nesting materials such as white tissue paper to create their own nests.  

Do not give your rats nesting materials that separate into thin strands such as cotton wool or similar ‘fluffy’ bedding products. They pose a serious risk to rat health and welfare – there is concern that this material can cause harm if eaten and thin strands that form in this material can be difficult to break. This material can lead to a rat becoming tangled up in their bedding and/or the loss of circulation in tangled limbs, resulting in amputation or unfortunately, euthanasia.

• Shelves & ledges:  Rats enjoy multiple levels in their enclosures. A few products that can add levels are movable platforms, hanging baskets, hammocks, tubes and tents.

• Igloos: There are two main types of igloos available for rats – the Rody Igloo and the Superpet Igloo. If you want to get creative, you can also make houses out of ice cream containers, lunch boxes or larger food storage containers. Then of course, you can always throw a full tissue box in the enclosure to provide hours of nesting fun and a temporary house to sleep in and then destroy!
   
• Rats love to climb: You can outfit your enclosure with such things as ladders, ropes, wooden bird branches, and climbing tubes. You will find many good climbing toys in the ferret and bird department of the pet shop. Take care to not use climbing toys in the enclosures of elderly or ill rats though.
   
• In the wild, rats forage and dig: Giving them a digging box is a safe way to let them indulge in this natural behaviour. To create a digging box, all you need is a plastic box, such as a litter box for cats or a low plastic storage box, and a bag of sterile potting soil. Make sure the soil has no fertilizers or other additives.
  
  You can add seeds to grow oat grass, wheat grass, millet, rye, or even use birdseed. Add enough moisture to grow the grass, but not enough to cause fungus or mould growth. Assorted rocks and a PVC tunnel partially buried create an even more interesting environment. For fun you can hide treats in the digging box for your rat. Your rat's digging box can either be in or outside of the enclosure. If you leave it in the enclosure, you will have to clean it and replace the soil regularly.

Also remember, rats can be litter box trained!  

It is a great time saver from cleaning, as well as a money saver, with less bedding to buy. It is well worth any time it takes to train your little buddies.  

This works based on the fact that many animals and rodents prefer to keep their home clean and toilet in one area. They like to go where other rats have gone as well. 

Below are the basic steps to take to litter box train: 

• Observe your rats and note what corner they seem to prefer to use for their toilet. 
   
• Place a litter box (this can be any kind of flat plastic or Tupperware-type container) in this corner and fill it with your chosen litter.
   
• Put some of your rats’ toilet into the box to make it obvious that it is a toilet area.
   
• Now, to make the box stand out as different, and so they can distinguish this area from the rest of their enclosure, remove the rest of the litter in the enclosure. Replace this with either a fabric enclosure liner, strips of old tee shirts or fleece, or a totally different litter type. 
   
• Place your rats in the box a few times and praise them. 
   
• Whenever you see them toilet elsewhere, gently pick them up gently and say a soft little “uh uh” and place them in the litter box. Then—very important, praise them. All animals train better based on positive reinforcement of good behaviour.  
   
• Whenever you see poo or wee not in the litter box, scoop them up and place in the litter box.  Keep the rest of the enclosure clean. 
   
• Now the fun part. Soon you will see your rats getting in and using their litter box. When you see them using it, praise them! You can also give them a wee healthy treat.
   
• Pretty soon you will see them getting better and better at using the litter box and your life will be much easier. 
   
• An additional benefit of being litter box trained is that when rats are out for playtime, you can have a litter box available for them and they will learn to use it out of their enclosure as well.
   
• Please remember you will probably not get 100% of their toilet in the box, as some of their toileting is used for their scent marking behaviour as well.  

Make sure you keep your rats’ enclosure clean and do not allow urine and feces to build up as this can cause health problems.  

Clean out the enclosure regularly once a week to prevent the build-up of droppings and urine. 

Clean out your rats’ home/enclosure when they are awake and not in the middle of the day – this is when your rats are sleeping and this disturbance can be stressful for them. 

When cleaning out the enclosure, leave a handful of unsoiled clean nesting material behind to keep some familiar smells within the enclosure.