will my rats need a digging tub? what else do my rats definately need?

[juicychops]

been doing my research as getting our first rats in the next week or so and from what i have read so far is that i should have a tub/litter tray of soil available for them to dig in - maybe grow grass in and hide treats in.

do you do this? if so, is it better to have a small version in the cage or a bigger one outside the cage for them to use?

is this a necessity?

what else is defo needed for my rats' cage? its a furplast Jenny so plenty of space to fill with stuff!

[Jojobump1986]

Wow, my rats never had that! I used to fill boxes with shredded paper - the cross cut type, not the long stuff they can get tangled in - & throw a handful of treats in. They had a whale of a time bouncing around in there! Made a huge mess though!

Hammocks are good - you can either buy them or just use cheap/old tea towels. They'll get chewed up anyway so there's no point spending too much!

I used to use the forum on this website for advice & ideas.

As long as they've got food & water & somewhere cosy to sleep you can start trying out other ideas as you go along. Have fun!

[sookiesucksvamps]

U r all mad! (Totally ratphobic)

[TheNebulousBoojum]

Rats are very intelligent and get bored easily, so they need their environment to change to keep up the interest level. Little problems to solve! Mine had a run as well as the cage.
Handle them every day too.

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

Have you never cuddled a rat sookie?

They remind me of guinea-pigs with added velcro (and whippy tails).
Our local petshop used to let the DC cuddle the animals when it was quiet. DD was quite taken with the rats' tails