cage ideas for HED?

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smilez_n_hugs

smilez_n_hugs

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 3, 2008
Messages
4,290
Location
Collingwood ON
I have decided that it is time to move my 3 old brothers out of the CN and into a large 1 level cage. Two of the three are suffering from HED so I am just looking for cage decorating ideas from some people with experience. Were there any specific toys, hidey houses, hammocks etc that your ratties really liked? I have seen pics of some of your oldies cages so now I am asking for a review of what worked/what didn't work etc. I can't wait to hear your ideas and just so you know the sky is the limit price wise for my babies :giggle:
 
Old man Barnaby had trouble with his back end because of the tumor pressing against his spine, I remember he was a big fan of Snack Shack logs. He didn't have trouble scootching up inside the thing, and he loved to just sit there and crunch and gnaw the night away. He would be occupied for hours with it, but not really have to move around a lot. It was big enough that he could lean on it for support without it sliding away.

Hanging things, like bird toys with wood blocks, weren't a lot of good, even hung down low so they were touching the floor. Watching him struggle to reach up at those things was just kind of miserable.

And in general, just lots of big spacious boxes and hideouts, with large doorways and enough room for a rat with limited mobility to get turned around easily.

Oh. Any kind of paper that he could sit and shred. He was easily entertained by just sitting and tearing up paper. Maybe your guys will be too. Maybe not.
 
My elderly ratties have hed.
They like having two CNs or an FN and CN attached to give them 6 feet of horizontal space.
They also like having the balconies low until their hed progresses too far to use them.
They like low hammocks that are touching the floor so they are easy to get into, logs etc they can lay next to and chew, cotton baby blankets to burrow in, etc.
 
I have the Superpet Multi-Level Ferret Home so they will be getting a low wide shelf. Snack Shak logs are definitely on my list and Auntie Chelle is going to make them a big cube with a huge door so that's a start. Thanks for the suggestions.
 
How bad is their HED? Could they do shallow ramps? I have one possible early HED girl, and with four shelves in my CN, the ramps are all very shallow and doable for mild/moderate he'd I'd believe.

As for toys, cubes hung low, cuddle cups, PVC pipes, tubes hung low, etc. You can make a ramp for, or a cutout for the litter box when they no longer can easily climb in.
 
They can do shallow ramps for now but they can't stay in the CN because I only have 2 shelves and I also have deeper pans and they already have issues getting over the cut out. As for the litter they were on aspen (so not really litter trained) but they obviously will be changed to fleece so I might try offering a litter box and see how that goes.
 
I've had two girls with HED, one of them got to be pretty bad before she passed but she was never overweight. I never changed their cage because their buddies did not have mobility issues but the girls knew their limits and stayed on the bottom levels. They both really appreciated large igloos, cuddle cups - especially firmer ones that didn't required a lot of effort to climb in, and low lying cubes. I always made sure I fed everyone on the lower level and gave soft food so at least the others couldn't run off with it. I use ceramic or glass baking dishes for litter boxes with a 1 1/2" side but somehow they always managed to get in and out fine. I'm sure you know this but keep an eye on their nails and trim them if necessary to help prevent bumblefoot.
 
We've been putting a dollar store blanket folded in half twice under one of my style liners for our HED boy. He spends probably 20-22 hours a day in the Pink Igloo(standard castle style thing) and the layers of fleece wick the pee away from him. It's weird to clean the cage - the top layer of fleece is dry, in fact most of it is dry, but the bottom layer and the tray itself are wet. Good for preventing sores. =)
 
Smilez-Oh I was thinking purchasing two extra shelves would work, but if they have trouble getting over the lip of the bass pan there's probably not much point..
 

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