I’m a big believer in making toys rather than buying them. After all, they’ll be chewed in no time anyway.

This invention is called the Triple Decker Ratty Condo.

The end result is to have three cereal boxes stacked with trap doors cut between the levels.

Here are the steps.

1. Start with the bottom box. Cut a square in the top of it big enough for your ratties to fit through.
2. Put the next box on top of it and draw around the square you’ve cut so that you make a mark on the bottom of the next box. It doesn’t have to be exact. It’s just an approximation.
3. Cut a three-sided square in the bottom of the second story box along the lines you’ve marked. Fold the square along the remaining edge so that it makes a trap door that fits inside the square of the first box.
4. Do the same steps with the top layer box but try to make the trap door in a different location.
5. Finally tape all the boxes together to make them a little more stable. I just used a few loops of scotch tape in locations that wouldn’t be exposed.

My guys loved it! They entered on all different levels and went through the trap doors.

You could make as many levels as you want, but I think more than three will be very wobbly, especially with cereal boxes.

If you end up doing this with regular cardboard boxes instead, just make sure you either freeze each box for 48 hours or you wait a few months before using it. This is to prevent your rats from getting mites and lice that sometimes come in cardboard boxes that have been sitting in a warehouse before being shipped to you.

Happy ratty condo!