Tutorial: Play Area for Pet Rats

Hello!  This post is a guideline for setting up a basic play area for your pet rats.

Having opportunities to play outside the cage is a critical aspect of your rat’s well being – experts recommend a minimum of one hour of play time each day.  Rats need to run, climb, and be mentally stimulated, so it’s important to have an area that is both safe and fun.

Step One – choosing an area

Choose a safe place for your rats.  Avoid: objects with sharp end, objects with moving parts that might pinch an unsuspecting toe or tail.  Remove from the area: electrical wires and access to chemicals.  Also be sure there are no escape points – younger rats can fit through holes as small as ½”; mature rats can still fit in spaces around 1”.

Choose the largest area that you can.  Many people use their beds, or block off a safe area in a room.  In addition to spare bedroom play area, I have an air hockey table that works perfectly — It’s high enough from the ground that the rats won’t jump off, the surface can be covered with a thick blanket for easy cleaning, and is large enough to allow for an interesting play environment.


Step Two – Protect the play area surface.

Unless your rats are perfectly potty trained, you’ll want to line the area to avoid urine and feces all over the surface.  I have a thick, old blanket that I use to protect the surface of my table.  It’s soft and cuddly for the rats, and very easy to wash.

Below is a photo of the lined table.

Step Three – Adding Items

This is the fun part – deciding what toys to add in the play area to keep your rats physically and mentally stimulated.

Add items!  In this example, I have a variety of items the rats can crawl on, in, and under.  These items are typically easy to clean (plastic or cloth) or disposable items (cardboard boxes, paper).

Items pictured here include:

ITEM	USES
Cardboard boxes	Hiding / chewing
Brown postal paper	Burrowing / shredding
Water dish	If your rats will be in the play area for more than an hour, please give them access to water.
Milk crate with hammock	Climbing / sleeping
Wine rack	Climbing
Running wheel	Fun / exercise If you use a wheel, make sure to get the largest available.  Using a wheel that is too small can force your rat’s back into an unnatural position, leading to spinal injuries.  Wire wheels are not recommended because feet and tails can get stuck in the wires. Pictured here is a 12″ wheel sold by Kaytee; available for about $12.
Fleece	Nesting / creating a “cave” by draping
Plastic bucket (tutorial)	Hiding / quiet time
Bin with bedding	Sleeping / stashing treats / poo area (if litter box trained).  I use Carefresh bedding.
Cinder block	For climbing, with the added benefit of helping keep toenails short.
Dig bin (tutorial)	Rummaging for treats / entertainment
Paper bag	Hiding / shredding

This is only a small sample of the many, many items you can add to a play area!

Here’s my final setup on the air hockey table.  If you look closely, you can see a few rats streaking around!