Rat Digger & Bio Bin

You can easily and quickly order a digging bucket for your rats at DRD Rodent Shop!

Rats are excellent climbers, but did you know that they are also great diggers? It is true! In the wild, rats mainly live in underground burrows, which they occupy or dig themselves with their family members. Give the animals a digging box and you will be amazed at their digging skills, they really enjoy doing it!

Are rats ground dwellers?

Our tame Rats are descended from the brown Rat and that is a real ground dweller. We can also recreate a natural habitat at home, but often the Rats have a cage with bars which makes digging actually impossible in the enclosure itself. However, there is a nice trick to let the rats dig, the digging box.

Natural digging pit or play digging pit?

We distinguish between digging buckets, one is a natural digging bucket that is designed in a natural way and the other is purely for digging and playing.

Natural digging box: Consists of a box filled with sand and possibly (fresh) plants. Note: only use plants that are safe for the animals. The plants in this category are all specially grown for animals and do not contain fertilizers or other chemical additives.

Bio bin: The bio bin is actually the same as a natural bin, but goes one step further when it comes to living plants.

Play box: This is aimed at playing, comparable to a ball pit, but filled with rat-friendly and playful ground covering such as pieces of cardboard and sizzle. It is fun to scatter treats in a play box and offer the animals enrichment and challenge in this way.

Which substrate is suitable for the Rat digging bin or bio-bin?

The digging box is a box in which diggable and "rat-friendly" ground cover can be placed, so that the animals can dig. Please note! It may not be dusty ground cover such as Chinchilla sand or other dusty types of sand. Rats have very sensitive airways that can quickly become irritated by dust. The ground covers in this category are safe for rats and can be used in a digging box or bio bin.

How do you work with a Rat Digger?

To make a natural or bioactive tank for Rats, it is best to take a base of coconut fiber (30 cm) and mix it with coconut chips so that you get a nice mix. 1/3 coconut chips and the rest can be coconut fiber or humus .

A digging box for a Rabbit is very suitable as a digging and playing box for Rats, but not as a natural digging box. For a natural or bioactive box, where the animals can actually dig tunnels, a Curver or glass box or terrarium of at least 1 meter long is needed so that they can really dig.

Mixed ground cover for a fluffy effect?

It is good to mix the soil with coconut or moss, for example, this way the whole thing becomes fluffy and the tunnels stay in place better. In addition, recent research has shown that the animals really like this! As a top layer we recommend the Coconut & Coconut or a forest litter . The animals can root around beautifully in a top layer. Don't forget to sprinkle some treats around, then they also have something to do and they are rewarded for the hard search.

A bio-bin for rats with fresh plants?

Fortunately, Rats are animals that tolerate a higher humidity better than a too low humidity. Due to the often sensitive airways, a higher humidity can even help with any complaints. It is wonderful to see how Rats behave in a natural environment with plants, the animals really enjoy it! Most Rats leave the plants reasonably alone and often nibble on them if they really like them or if extra moisture is needed.

Rodent grass is supplied in seed form, you can sprinkle this through the ground and the blades will come up by themselves. Mixed food is also very suitable for this. If you use mixed food for your Rats, sprinkle a little through the digging bucket. The moisture will cause the many seeds to germinate and then the Rats will have fresh plants that they can eat. It is nice to know that newly germinated plants contain the most nutrients and are therefore very healthy for the animals!

Bugs in the Rat Digging Box?

A bioactive tank also includes small animals. This can be a bit worrying at first, but these small animals feed on pee, poop and natural fungi. They help to keep the tank clean, so to speak. If the balance in a bioactive tank is good, it actually does not need to be cleaned anymore, because everything regulates itself. It is important to spray some water around in the bioactive tank every now and then, so that the plants can grow and everything stays alive. In addition, good humidity is very important for bio activity!