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!

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!

U r all mad! (Totally ratphobic)

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.

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