Splitting My Martin's Playpen

So, in a mere 6 days my little rat family is going to more than double.
I am adopting four boys from Peggy on my way home from Michigan this Sunday.
We are VERY excited!
I've been preparing like crazy... buying things, sewing things, making schedules. XP

One of my issues was my playpen. I seriously love this thing, this is where I put my rats when I clean their cage. I have a DCN and it takes me 2-2.5 hours to clean (I know, I'm a slowwww cleaner), so it's great to have something comfy for them to chill in during that time.

This was a problem though! I only have the half size playpen because a) not enough dollars to buy the large one and b) not enough room for it either!
So I figured I could make some sort of mesh divider and split it in half while I do intros. I couldn't deal with leaving one group in a tiny cage (I have no large extra cages) and luckily I also happen to work at a steel company. :3

So I simply asked my brother to recommend a type of mesh for me to buy so i could make some sort of divider.
Being the awesome and handy dude he is, he took it a step further and made the whole thing for me!!
I have some clear tape over it for the first day (I'll be cleaning the cage as soon as we get home) so I figured I'd block them away from each other a touch more to reduce stress. After that I'll be taking the tape off so they can smell/see each other better doing cage cleaning days. I figure that may help with intros.






It is a round hole perforated mesh, which my brother put a padded trim around. Then I just zip tied it in.
I think its pretty neat, I just thought I'd share.

I assume that's a metal mesh divider? Looks really nice. Congrats on the new additions. I have 5 "Wheaton" girls - their crazy, but the sweetest things! Very vocal for rats

Yes it's a perforated steel panel, something we used for railing infills in a past job. it's really difficult to photograph hahah.

Thank you!! These boys are wheaton hoarder rats too haha.
How's it been with the girls? A shock? XP
My girls need these boys, they are way too full of energy. O_O
Did you do intros yet?

Yes, I've started intros with Wally, Tucker, and Stewart my three bachelors. Wally & Tucker are starting to get along again. Stewart is scared of rats (lol) and when the boys get near the girls they scream and run - yes, scream its so funny. Yesterday thought the dumbo girl Attina attacked poor "I'm afraid of rats" Stewart twice so she got the time out cage.

Aww what a big baby!!
Sounds like a sassy little lady rat too.
I like that name btw, Attina, very cool!

They all scream when the boys get too close! Stewart has never lived with anyone to the best of my knowledge. He'll slowly walk up to another rat close his eyes and stand there. Its quite sad to watch.

XD I can't even imagine that... my girls were so nuts over Rocky. They smelled boy and just were totally in love! Who knows though, hopefully it'll be the same this time. XP

Aw poor Stewart. Does he like humans? Are you trying him with the boys and girls? Maybe he'd get along better with just the ladies.
One thing that helped with Rocky was a special food that he only got during intros... so he would at least tolerate the girls because he got soy blueberry yogurt.

I assume the mesh has very tiny openings - too small for a toe, a nose or tail tip to go through? (for when you, or they, remove the tape)
For those who are unaware, rats will attack and injure unfamiliar rats through bars if they can reach any part of them .... I find that they are actually more aggressive through bars then in person. This is why intro steps encourage cages near one another but far enough apart so that it is impossible for the rats to reach one another

Good luck with the intros and your new expanded family
sounds like you have a pretty terrific brother

As I said, I covered the holes with clear tape so that wouldn't be a problem, as I already assumed it could be. Although as I also said, I am hoping to eventually remove the tape as intros progress. Honestly, now that I think about it, I probably won't because it will be quite the task to pull all that tape off.
The holes are about 1/4" diameter, incredibly small. The most that could fit through would be perhaps one nail. This is why I am lucky to work at a steel company, this isn't a typical "mesh", it's a perforated product.

Velo said:

XD I can't even imagine that... my girls were so nuts over Rocky. They smelled boy and just were totally in love! Who knows though, hopefully it'll be the same this time. XP

Aw poor Stewart. Does he like humans? Are you trying him with the boys and girls? Maybe he'd get along better with just the ladies.
One thing that helped with Rocky was a special food that he only got during intros... so he would at least tolerate the girls because he got soy blueberry yogurt.

Click to expand...

Poor Stewart was "rescued" from a feeder bin to be put in a tank with a cardboard box. He didn't get affection because she was "allergic" to him. So he tolerates us, but isn't the most affectionate. He snaps at food/treats when we hand them to him. He doesn't bite or attack other rats. He is better with the girls, but we had him out with Lovee our old man a few days ago and they seems to be a pretty good match, but Lovee lives with three girls that came from the same house as Stewart.

Aww that's quite the story. Sometimes people think they are helping and they just... aren't.
I'm honestly so sick of the "allergic" bit. Seems like most of the time it is just an excuse for why a cage is so dirty. I am allergic myself, so I know that some people definitely are, but normally it seems like a cop out, especially when you see a filthy tank. :/
Rant over haha.
Hey at least you have plenty of options for groupings then! Hopefully he'll fit in somewhere eventually.

You wont need that with these boys. They went right with 2 boys that where here. To get a girl. Oh hell no, they are going to be stoked and humping like mad. LOL

Lol I'm cool with humping I can deal with that
I'll take your word on it! You know I'm skeptical but I'm also persistent haha
I can't imagine these girls not completely loving them, they are total fangirls

I put my girls right with my 3 bachelors on my bed (neutral area) that's where they have their play dates now. However, not so innocent Attina is learning what the time out cage is for.

Lol my girls would jump off my bed so fast it would make my head spin.
I think I'm gonna try the tub first, I've obviously never tried to do an intro with 7 rats at once so I need to feel "in control" and being able to hover over them helps.
So you're doing 8 rat intros right now, right? Only one naughty girl out of that many isn't too bad!

Yes and she just started being a butt head. Wally the a**h*#*& is in the group and he is starting to mello out to his brother Tucker and no longer attack him (long story) or anyone else. If the girls would just stop their whining!

Hehe yup girls can be a pain. At least Theia doesn't pee all over me any more, only took her a year to stop that ha!
It sounds like it's going pretty good though, I hope you're successful soon.

I do believe we will be raising siblings... My girls look like the boys you're getting..... This is Nala and Flora

OMG
THEY ARE SO CUTE
HOLY COW THEY ARE CUTE
I think you're right! I forgot about that! They are all Wheaton rats at the least. :3
Duke definitely looks like them!



Oh also the playpen divider worked great haha.
The girls sure love to hiss at the boys though (in the cage). They somehow see shadows from the other half of the DCN and just hiss and hiss. Such snots.
The boys got to run around the ratroom last night, and Pika was up on the top half, standing on top of the Snak Shak log, staring down at us.
Being jealous even though she had just been out and about for the past two hours.

He definately looks like Nala! We took apart the DCN today and scrubed it down and then gave everyone a bath so they all smelled alike (and not like pee) and put them all together. We haven't done the "proper" intros, but they have been playing together. So far only problem seems to be Stewart. He's never lived with rats and is quite timid, shy, and afraid of them. He also has gonads and well, he wants the women and they want none of that! They yell, snort, sound like cows, squeel, and are just plan noisy!! He doesn't try to hurt them - in fact, most the time he's just standing there and their yelling like their in a rat ball fight. Maybe, their telling him off - mean girls. Fingers crossed