Food Hiding In the wild rats need to constantly hunt and search out their own food to survive. This keeps them active and their mind challenged. When put in a domestic situation their food is provided for them so they loose that enrichment. One way to combat this is to hide treats which the rats would then have to hunt down to enjoy. Zoo's have been using this technique for years now to help fight boredom in their captive animals. During their play time, hide little treats all around the room for them to seek out. Be sure to constantly change up the locations you choose every time so that they can't predict where the treats will be. In the picture above we've dabbed little smears of a treat paste on various objects in our rats' cage so that they can have the fun of hunting them down and enjoying the spoils.