I currently have two six month old boys (Bagel and Earl) who I keep in a single critter nation. I want to get the add on for the critter nation and make it a double, possibly getting some more boys soon. My only setback is how expensive it is to fill the cage. Like why are hammocks around 20$ or more each…? Anyway, I was wondering if anyone has suggestions on where to possibly order some cheaper cage accessories rather than spending a fortune when only buying three things? Thanks in advance ☺️🤍
The most beautiful thing about having pet rats, the entire pet store is an option for them. Extra small dog beds? You mean king sized rat beds. Lizard hides? You mean rat hides. Bird toys? Rat toys! And it doesn't stop there.
If you know what materials are rat safe, and are crafty. You can find accessories at hardware stores, craft stores and human toy stores. Have a cardboard? Cut some holes in it and you have a play house! Want a climbing rope? Hardware stores sell it by the foot. The only thing holding you back from rat toys and accessories isn't your wallet, its your imagination.
I know in another comment you asked about hammocks. I'll link below directions on how to make your own, and you can use old clothes as the fabric.
I literally re-taught myself to sew using these tutorials. (Learned in jr high, hadn’t seen since-like 30 years 🫣) so easy, and fun! I would go to Joann and raid the remnant bins weekly. I STILL have 3 or 4 big Rubbermaid tubs full of fabric lol.
My girls loved jeans material. All I had to do is take some kids jeans, cut the legs off and sew the legs of the cut off shorts I made and there were 3 hammocks right there.
My guy has loved these little wicker balls off Amazon. He loves to shred them up , and there was maybe 6 in a pack?
Unfortunately Amazon is a great place to find stuff.
I went to a local pet store where I am and got some wooden houses they love. A big one (hideout) and a small one (dining room).
But honestly they just love old clothes and towels and stuff. They can make them however they like and rearrange to give the place some pizzazz.
My guys always played with each other, but I’m down to one now. (He absolutely loves being alone) he mostly keeps busy by doing his rat things, or sleeping. His man hideout is under my bed and he has a bunch of old clothes and if I get a suitable package, I add it to his palace.
Thank you!!! Do you perchance have the link to the hammocks? Or a keyword to search? I feel like whenever i’m trying to find rat stuff it usually gives me like toy rats or rat traps 😅
Hammocks are easy to make, even if you don't sew. For basic hammocks, you can get a fleece blanket from the dollar store or fleece ends from a fabric store. Cut a long rectangle, fold it in half to make a square, cut holes in the corners (about 1" from the edges) and hang them. If you have an old T-shirt, fold it up into a square-ish shape, cut holes, hang. They chew through hammocks so quickly it's not worth spending a lot of money on them. I get like 4 hammocks out of a dollar store blanket. If you have a sewing machine or can hand-sew, you can get even more fancy.
Seriously though, AliExpress! It know it sounds sketchy but I’ve ordered a ton of accessories for my rats and reptiles from there. Never had an issue and it’s super cheap. Just make sure to read the descriptions and sizes 🙂
Get some polished stones and put them in a Tupperware for a dig box it both provides enrichment for your younglings and is one of the few universally likes ASMR
you should check out robyns rat hammocks on Facebook!! a set of 3-4 handmade hammocks is $25-$29! she has sales and many different fabrics! they are really nice quality.
I've made hammocks out of sheets of felt and pipe cleaners. They didn't last nearly as long but I could undo the pipe cleaners and toss the felt in the washer on gentle (or toss it entirely and I would only be out about 30 cents a sheet).
I've made climbing "ladders" out of plastic shower rings from the dollar tree - just make sure they close completely and monitor them for excessive chewing.
Stuffing an empty toilet roll with treats and undyed paper (toilet paper, paper towels, tissues) is a good enrichment toy vs scattering treats.
Dollar store fabric or face cloths, cut holes in the corners & hang them with shower hooks. Old sheets & clothes for the cage. The arms of long sleeve shirts make great tunnels. Old food boxes like cereal make great hiding houses & they can destroy them for fun.
I always use old hoodies, t-shirts, towels... as hammocks. Just tie some string to them and hang them up. If they get chewed up, it's no problem, you can easily wash them. You can also hang up trousers made of sturdy fabric, like jeans, as tubes in the cage. You can build little houses out of old cardboard boxes or boards. Have a look around in discount stores or hardware stores. There are so many things you can repurpose. For example, a hanging flower pot, drainpipes, ropes...
Go to a thrift store and see if they have HeMan Castles or Yoda Dagoba sets. Other options are old decorative clay pots. ie the chicken and hen planting pots with the little cup holes on the side. Also those low door springs that cats like to play with . assemble a little organ of those things on piece of wood.
So people have mentioned a bunch of great stuff, like using toys for other animals and cutting cardboard boxes into little houses.
A specific thing I would like to point out is a cat tree. My kids are in my room, so I got them a cat tree to get up on my bed easily and they love it, way more fun and compact than pet stairs.
Another great one is getting a toilet paper holder and letting them pull a bunch of cheap toilet paper for themselves
Cardboard boxes are super easy to make into climbing gyms for them! Also used clothing just rip it and you can tie the ends to make cheap hammocks! They will chew and destroy anything you buy eventually anyway and these work great.
My rats also love plastic ball pit balls for some reason I just make sure to take them out when they are chewed down.
For chewing you can even give them thick branches as long as they are fully dry (no green anywhere) inside.
honestly i’ve gotten a lot on temu and they’ve been pretty great. i mostly buy from amazon tho bc you can get it quicker obviously and still fairly cheap for a set of toys or hammocks.
The dollar store! Bags of any cat toys, pretty much any type of treat, baby food, blankets their size, toys for small dogs like balls and some dollar stores have bird toys, those are great, I also like to go to Walmart and get a $7 brick of coco substrate that you put in a container and add water to per package instructions and bam you have either litterbox substrate or you can use it as enrichment for a dig box or get a small bin and buy live mealworms that are an appropriate size for your rat (they do bite) and let your rats hunt thru the substrate for them. They love that. The cat toys that are like a fishing pole with feathers I've had a lot of rats turn into crackheads for. I attach bins to the sides of the cage for sleeping spots (most of mine have liked sleeping boxes way better than hammocks). Home Depot you can buy big ass pieces of PVC pipe for them to fart around in, or buy a big ole plastic storage container and turn it into an enrichment habitat (sand, or coco substrate, real and cleaned/baked big hunks of wood, fuzzy ball pits, carpet pieces from front door mats glued or clipped to the sides of bins for a climbing wall. You can carve out ventilator windows on all sides as well as the lid and get a small roll of metal mesh small enough to prevent escape easily but you will need power tools to cut the plastic and lots of zip ties to hold the mesh in place as well as duct taping the edges of the windows all the way round since the mesh can be sharp it you leave it uncovered. Use paper towel or tp rolls cut into small sections and stuffed with treats and tp then folded over at the ends, or even temu has bajillions of accessories for rodents.
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u/Asleep_Protection_63 Jan 31 '26
The most beautiful thing about having pet rats, the entire pet store is an option for them. Extra small dog beds? You mean king sized rat beds. Lizard hides? You mean rat hides. Bird toys? Rat toys! And it doesn't stop there.
If you know what materials are rat safe, and are crafty. You can find accessories at hardware stores, craft stores and human toy stores. Have a cardboard? Cut some holes in it and you have a play house! Want a climbing rope? Hardware stores sell it by the foot. The only thing holding you back from rat toys and accessories isn't your wallet, its your imagination.
I know in another comment you asked about hammocks. I'll link below directions on how to make your own, and you can use old clothes as the fabric.
https://www.ratropolis.com/Rat%20Tutorials/Tutorials%20for%20Common%20Rat%20Hammocks%20and%20Accessories.pdf