New Experiences In the wild, rats are constantly exposed to new smells, sights, sounds, and experiences. You can try to recreate some of this for your pet rats. Though you need to be very careful that nothing you expose them to is dangerous. For smells, you could use extracts, spices, perfumes, foods, anything with an odor. Just dab, spray, or rub a tiny amount somewhere in their play area for your rats to discover. Keep in mind they have an excellent sense of smell, so a little bit will go a long way. You can also find new and interesting objects to bring in for them to smell and explore. These could be pieces of leather, hunks of dog or cat hair (left over from a grooming session), rabbit fur, sheep skin, horse hair, leaves, rocks, twigs, etc... If you have a travel cage, you could take your rats outside for a SUPERVISED visit. Keep them locked inside the cage, and just let them enjoy the new smells, sights, and sounds. Be sure that the weather is mild. Stay away from days that are too cold or too hot, and don't have them sitting in the direct heat of the sun on a warm day. You don't want them to get heatstroke, or catch a respiratory infection from the cold. You could also use their travel cage to bring them around to different locations within your house once and awhile. Such as setting them on the coffee table as you watch t.v. Be sure to keep them supervised. Not all rats will enjoy being exposed to new experiences. If your rats seem more frightened or stressed by the activity, then stop doing it.