Rats need a well-equipped cage to be happy and healthy. Your rat’s cage should have a water bottle, food bowl, and small litter box if you want to litter train your small pet.

Good exercise toys for rats include wooden bird ladders, hung vertically or horizontally; pieces of tubing to crawl through; solid-floored exercise wheels; ferret hammocks; balls made for cats; small nest boxes; hanging cotton ropes and plastic flower pots.

Rats need hard surfaces to gnaw on to wear down their constantly growing teeth. Provide hard dog biscuits, unpainted wooden blocks or rawhide dog toys for chewing.