By Ashley H.
March 22nd, 2025
Enrichment for Rats
The best way that I have come across to talk about enrichment for our pet rats was coined by Jemma at Isamu Rats. I think that by focusing on the natural behaviours we are encouraging from them, we can truly see the positive impact on them. There are 8 sets of behaviours, and I will go through them individually to explain and provide examples of each.
Socialising
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In my opinion, this is the most important form of enrichment for rats. Rats are social animals and become incredibly stressed when housed alone. Pairs are also a tense social dynamic and they do much better in groups of 3 or more. They rely on their cage mates for warmth, grooming the places they can’t reach, a sense of safety, and social relationships.
Foraging
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In the wild, rats are opportunistic foragers, they gather their food from lots of different food sources. Therefore, we must replicate this in captivity. The first way to do this is by feeding a balanced mix full of a variety of ingredients. Rats are omnivores so the mix can include a range grains, seeds, fish, insects, meat, vegetables, leaves and flowers. The Shunamite diet is a set of principles that lay out how to make sure your mix is balanced. The second, is to feed this in interesting ways and not out of a bowl. Methods can include foraging toys and scatter feeding.
Running​
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Running is an excellent way for rats to stay fit and agile. To ensure they can express this behaviour there are two things you can do. The most important is using a cage with ample floor space, the bare minimum is 80cm by 50cm but bigger is better. You also can provide them a solid based running wheel, the minimum size is 12 inches but larger wheels are better for bigger rats. Adult females tend to need 14 inches and adult males tend to need 16 inches.
Nesting + Burrowing​
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Rats live in complex burrows in the wild, and so we need to replicate opportunities to do this. By providing a variety of materials to nest with they are able to choose what to use and make their beds cosy as they see fit. A deep layer of substrate will also allow them to make tunnels and burrows. This can be a range of substrates. Just make sure it is dust-free and that any soft wood shavings are kiln-dried.
Digging​
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Rats are excellent diggers and use this ability to foragers and dig tunnels. For this reason ,a deep layer of substrate that is diggable should be provided at the base of the cage. I recommend at least 15 cm. You can also provide other digging opportunities in smaller dig boxes or trays with a range of substrates for a good variety of textures.
Gnawing + Chewing​
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Like other rodents, rat teeth are constantly growing. They should be provided with safe things to chew in order to help keep them trimmed. These can be wooden accessories made from safe wood or specifically designed chewing toys. It can also be edible chews like shelled nuts and yak cheese.
Problem-Solving​
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Rats are very intelligent animals and can solve complex challenges to get food and other resources. Encouraging them to think with activities like trick training and foraging activities is really important to keep them thinking. New experiences can also be enriching when introduced carefully.
Climbing，Balancing，and Jumping​
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Unlike other fossorial animals, rats are also great climbers. The length of their tails indicates their natural abilities. So their cages should reflect this with a decent amount of height to allow for climbing and balancing. Care should be taken to ensure the layout is safe and has enough fall breakers but they should also be challenged physically with different levels of difficulty.