Cages.....

Martin's cages supplies wonderful cages for rats (and other rodents).  www.martinscages.com  Wire cages allow the most air to flow through the cage.  Fresh air is good.  I am opposed to fish tanks being used as cages, they don't promote air flow...not even ones with "cage toppers".  Also, make sure that you get a cage where the bottom isn't wire, it should be solid.  Rats can get their feet and legs stuck in the wire bottom ones between the solid part and the wire. 

Housing in the Cage

Boxes and Oatmeal Containers

Take a small box, cut the flaps off of the bottom, cut some holes in as windows and doors.  Wa-la, instant rat house.  I replace mine once a week.  For oatmeal containers, just put the container in and the rats will design the closed end to their own liking. 

Wooden Houses  

Wood might seem natural, and a good thing for chewing, but it has a lot of potential problems. Wood gets soaked with urine, and the small never comes out. It can never really be cleaned or disinfected. With wooden chew toys, you can throw them out every couple weeks, but you'd hesitate on that expensive nest box--even though it is filthy and smelly. When wood is wet, it has a tendency to grow molds (which will make you and your rats sick) or provide a hiding place for lice and mites. On top of all this, mosy wodden shelters made for pets are actually made of pine or cedar, which we've already covered the dangers of.

Plastic Igloos

Plastic igloos are available at most any petstore.  I personally think that they are a little expensive, but they are easily washable.   Some don't like them because of a lack of free-flowing air (ventilation).   This can be overcome easily by drilling more holes in the sides.

PVC Tubing

Simple PVC tubing from a hardware store can make a wonderful, inexpensive home for rats.

Boxes

Cutting boxes is a simple and fun way to give your rats a home.  Your rats will chew on it, which is fine. Luckily it is easy to replace...and there is no cleaning involved!

Directions.  Take Box; cut bottom and side flaps off, cut doorways in                          presto....rattie house.

Oatmeal Containers

Don't throw those cardboard Oatmeal containers away.  Give them to your rats to make a house from.

What does your rat like to do as much as eat?   Play! 

It is important that rats get the proper amount of exercise.

To make sure your rat gets enough exercise you can encourage him to play little games. Some rats like to play with a little ball or will want to just chase around. You can train your rat to come to you on command. Always reward with a treat.

Rats can be allowed to roam indoors around a room that has been rat proofed. Rats like to chew and will chew things such as wires, furniture, books and anything else that looks chewable! If you allow your rat to roam free in your home you need to keep an eye on the rat to keep it from chewing something you do not wish it to chew.

Rats should not be allowed to roam outdoors.

Some rats, particularly, males may decide to mark their territory. If your rat does this you should cover your furniture or carpet area where the rat is with a blanket while the rat is roaming free. You may also, before letting your rat out, put a paper towel in their cage for them to mark.  Then remove the paper towel and place all around the room where the rats is allowed to roam.  The scent already being there deters the rat from marking.

Exercise Balls

In complete honestly, most rats don't like exercise balls.   You struggle to put them in and once they are in they just sit there.   However, for the ones who do like it, it is so much fun to watch them explore your house....chase your cat/dog around.....come to you.  Warning, some of them head straight for the stairs.  I haven't figure this one out, but I actually put up a barrier now.

Swimming

Not all rats like this, but unfortunately you don't know if yours does until you try it and they hate it. Use a bath or large container, it's a good idea to try shallow water (warm or tepid) first to see their reaction, rather than throwing them in at the deep end. You will soon know it they dislike it, because they will try to jump or climb out.

Stairs

You can use the stairs in your house for rats to exercise, its amazing how fast a rat can get to the top. Be careful if you have open sided stairs, a rat may get too exited and fall off the side (or be pushed by fellow cage mates).

Rope climbing (see also toys)

Rats can climb horizontal and vertical ropes. You can supply these in their cage or set up one outside their cage. At first they may need to be encouraged to climb up or along with a treat.

Some of the Main Areas for Concern are as Follows when rat proofing:

Cabinets

Under your kitchen and bathroom cabinets. There is usually a gap that your rats can easily get into, and there could be an opening in the wall you are not aware of. You can easily purchase thin wood and screw it into the kick plate on the bottom. All cabinets should be secured using child proof locks, to avoid any accidents, and exposure to cleaning chemicals. The best locks that I personally have found are the magnetic ones, there is no give for the rat to squeeze through, or force the doors open.

Washroom

Carefully inspect your washroom area, rats are notorious for crawling under the washing machine and finding their way up into the machine. This is extremely dangerous as the rats exposed to the inner mechanics of the machine, can easily get stuck and injured. Rats have also been know to get into the dryer house, walk through the tube and find their way to the outside or get stuck within walls. When accessing your washroom, the best way to prevent any dangers with 100% certainty is to ensure all the rats are either in their cage or secured in a room.

Window screens

Always ensure there are no tears in them and they are fitted securely. Keep in mind rats scratch and knaw, so it is definitely wise to keep your windows closed while the rats are about.

Under or behind the refrigerator, oven, dishwashers, doors, etc.

BEFORE running the dishwasher or turning on the oven, ALWAYS check inside thoroughly and ensure no rat has made their way in. Always keep the door or room to your washer/dryer off-limits to your rats at all times, as they are more than capable of climbing around underneath and inside which could have a tragic ending. Refrigerator and ovens need to be lowered to the floors so no rat can get underneath, as well as have all sides blocked from access. If you have doors that have a large enough opening for a rat to crawl under, you can add a door sweeper or weather stripping to keep them out. You might also consider adding a carpet protector in front of your doors, as these little fuzzies love digging, especially in front of closed doors (they think if they dig long enough they'll find a way onto the other side).

Beds, couches and recliners

A box spring is an extremely dangerous place for a rat, that will surely lead to tragedy. An easy way to combat the problem is to staple a sheet pulled tight or a carpet protector to the bottom of your box spring. Recliners are great to have, but if you're going to own a rat it really has to go or be modified. A rat can get caught in the moving wires, clamps etc., without you realizing it. Fortunately, it is easy enough to convert a recliner into a stationary chair. Couches/sofas posses another problem. To keep your fuzzies from getting into your couch from underneath, follow the same suggestion for your box spring above. If you have rats that dig their way through the cushions on top, you can try using a throw cover, but be prepared to join the majority of rat owners who are now futon owners. Another point to keep in mind is if they get under your couch which is low to the ground, they might decide to use a corner as their litter box. Always inspect the sofa cushions, rats are notorious for getting under or into them. They can easily get caught/suffocate, or get seriously injured if sat upon. If possible keep them away from sofas, recliners, chairs, etc.

Wires

Some rats love to chew on wires, which is obviously quite dangerous. To help avoid this situation, you can try and keep all the wires together and utilize a plastic wire protector which the wires will run through. Another option to try is to spray or apply bitter apple spray or gels to the wires as the taste will usually discourage this behavior.

Open railings

If you live in a split level home and your rats are allowed full access, open railings can present a big hazard to your rat. You can either restrict your rat only to the lower level by using a Plexiglas guard, or you can purchase fiberglass or Plexiglas sheets to intertwine between the spindles to protect your fuzzy from going/falling through.

Bedding

Many animal/rodent studies show that while using pine and cedar shavings as bedding (or liter), the animals' liver enzymes are high.   What does this mean? Well, in layman's terms, the liver is working extra hard to clean the blood....and is having difficulties because of some toxicity in the body.   This can actually lead to liver problems in your rat....generally undetectable until it is too late.

A comprehensive article on beddings and their hazards:  http://www.bio.davidson.edu/Courses/anphys/1999/Cook/Text.htm

Compare Bedding/Liter Choices

The dust content, dust generation, ammonia production, and absorption properties of three different rodent bedding types.

Potgieter FJ, Wilke PI.

Animal Unit G 20, Faculty of Medicine, University of the Orange Free State, Bloemfontein, Republic of South Africa.

Vermiculite, pine shavings and unbleached eucalyptus pulp contact bedding were compared for dust content, dust production (as a result of animal activity), moisture absorption properties and ammonia production. The percentage of dust particles <300 microm found in pine shavings and vermiculite was 18 and 8 times greater respectively than was found in eucalyptus pulp. The lowest ammonia levels (<1-1 ppm), measured on day 7, were obtained using eucalyptus pulp. Although the ammonia levels obtained for vermiculite compared very well with those of pulp, high levels of dust, up to 5 times more than pulp, were experienced with vermiculite. Pine shavings were associated with the highest ammonia concentration (1-3 ppm), but produced approximately 50% less dust than vermiculite. The water absorption properties obtained for pulp were between 35% and 76% higher than those obtained for vermiculite and pine shavings respectively.

Enzyme-inducing and cytotoxic effects of wood-based materials used as bedding for laboratory animals. Comparison by a cell culture study.

Torronen R, Pelkonen K, Karenlampi S.

Department of Physiology, University of Kuopio, Finland.

Enzyme-inducing and cytotoxic effects of wood-based materials used as bedding for laboratory animals were studied in a cell culture system. Mouse hepatoma cell line, Hepa-1, was exposed to acetone extracts of hardwoods (alder and aspen), softwoods (pine and a mixture of pine and spruce) and cellulose materials. Cytotoxicity and induction of cytochrome P450IA1 (aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase) and aldehyde dehydrogenase were measured. Both softwood and hardwood extracts were shown to contain inducers of these enzymes. Pine appeared to be the most potent inducer and softwoods more potent than hardwoods. The softwoods and alder were clearly more cytotoxic than aspen. The two bleached cellulose materials were found to contain inducers of aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase. Unlike the wood beddings, the extracts of the cellulose materials were not found to be toxic to the cells. Hepa-1 cell culture system was found to be a rapid and sensitive method for screening and comparative purposes.

Testing for possible effects of cedar wood shavings and diet on occurrence of mammary gland tumors and hepatomas in C3H-A-vy and C3H-Avy-fB mice.

Heston WE.

C3H-A-vy and C3H-A-VY-FB mice transferred from our colony to the laboratory of Dr. J. R. Sabine in Australia had a markedly reduced incidence of both hepatomas and mammary tumors. Sabine and co-workers (J Natl Cancer Inst 50: 1237-1242, 1973) attributed the low incidence of tumors in their laboratory compared to the high incidence in this laboratory to the fact that we routinely use red cedar shavings in the bedding, whereas they use sawdust, predominantly Doublas fir. Results of tests in this laboratory showed that the difference in occurrence of tumors could not be attributed directly to either a difference in diet or bedding. There was no evidence that the cedar shavings were carcinogenic. The animals in Australia on bedding without cedar shavings were not as healthy as our animals, in that they did not grow as well and were infested with ectoparasites; apparently these factors caused the reduced occurrence of tumors.

Bacterial counts associated with recycled newspaper bedding.

Hogan JS, Smith KL, Todhunter DA, Schoenberger PS.

Department of Dairy Science, Ohio State University, Wooster 44691.

Bacterial counts associated with recycled newspaper, wood shavings, and pelleted corn cobs used as bedding for lactating dairy cows were compared. Chopped newspaper and pelleted corn cobs had similar gram-negative bacterial, coliform, and streptococcal bedding counts. Staphylococcal counts in pelleted corn cobs were greater than in chopped newspaper. Conversely, gram-negative bacterial, coliform, and staphylococcal counts in chopped newspaper were greater than in wood shavings. Coliform and streptococcal counts did not differ between chopped newspaper and wood shavings bedding materials. Teat swab counts from cows bedded on pelleted corn cobs were greater than those from cows bedded on chopped newspaper for gram-negative bacterial, coliform, Klebsiella species, and staphylococci. Streptococcal teat swab counts did not differ between cows bedded on chopped newspaper and pelleted corn cobs. Cows bedded on chopped newspaper and wood shavings had similar gram-negative bacterial, coliform, and Klebsiella species teat swab counts. Streptococcal and staphylococcal teat swab counts were greater from cows bedded on chopped newspaper than those from cows bedded on wood shavings. Teat swab and bedding counts were correlated. In general, bacterial counts in bedding suggest no advantage in using chopped newspaper over pelleted corn cobs or wood shavings in reducing exposure of teats to environmental mastitis pathogens.

Incidence of pup mortality in the rat with particular reference to nesting material, maternal age and parity.

Norris ML, Adams CE.

Mortality and hence the proportion of young weaned was markedly affected by the type of nesting material but not by maternal age or parity. With paper tissues for nesting purposes 476/791 (60%) young were lost compared with 216/1182 (18%) with woodwool. Similar results were obtained in 2 additional series. The proportion of young weaned was also affected by litter size; in general, pup mortality was heavier and took place earlier in the large litters (more than 9 young).