Cage Types: Please give me your input!

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MiniFrog

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Sep 20, 2007
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bridgewater, nova scotia
I really need to get my ratties bigger cages, since as they grow, I feel bad for them, the don't have as much room as I would like them to have. Anyways, I was going to do a grotto cage, since they looked like fun for them, and because the cages looked like they would not shed shavings/litter on the floor. But after someone made a comment about the grotto cages not being that good, I did some research, and now I want some input from you guys as to which cage type of cage I should go with. I found this site: http://pxrats.com/albumcages.html but it only has one person's input. And to anyone who replies, I give a big thanks!
 
A good cage should have a base of 30 x 18, then add some height for levels.
I personally love Martin's cages

The R695 or the R699, excellent cages for all size rats, good space, lots of room for toys. Make sure you get powder coated.

I also love the Ferret Nations
But if you have small rats or petite females, they can and most likely will escape. These cages have tons of room and so easy to clean.

I use to have a bookshelf type of cage and after about 3 months, the smell became unbearable.
 
I still love love love my Martins R-695. I told my bf I would sell it as a condition of getting the Ferret Nation cage... well.... It is still here. I couldn't bring myself to sell it! I love it too much! And I do plan to go back to it when I only have 3 or so rats again. Or if my addiction gets out of control when we get a house and I need a second cage. Could go either way. LOL

I think the R-699 RUUD would be too hard for me to clean, since I am the type who needs to be able to throw the wire cage into the bathtub once a week and spray it down. Some people (Joanne ;)) have no problem using buckets of soapy water and scrubbing to clean though. I'm probably just lazy. LOL

Do you have all of your rats together, or are they separate?
 
Grotto-style cages are great, they're just a lot of up-keep. They're constant maintenance, and if your rats have a tendency to move/tunnel under towels, or chew, they're not such a good idea. Especially if you're anal about all the towels being perfectly straight like I am :p Although I loved my homemade cage, and it was great for the two years I had it, nothing compares to my FNs!
 
They are seperate by sex, so 3 in one tank and 2 in the other. And the tanks were more than big enough before, if they would only stop growing lol!! The boys are chuby, even though they do not get any different diet or exercise than the girls, :roll:
 
If you have no plans to neuter the boys, perhaps two R-680's or an R-680 and a R-685 if you would like two different cages. :)
 
SoA, I :heart: your cage it looks like so much fun and easily accessible, you could sit on the floor, open the doors and have rats crawling on you in an instant :bliss:
My cage is up on my dresser up is over 2 feet tall on top of the four foot dresser so it's hard to reach the top sometimes (I'm 5 foot 2ish)
My bookcase would make for a neat cage, I just have to get rid of my books, hmmm.. :think:

*runs off to measure bookcase
 
I actually made the cage from scratch, since any bookcase I've seen is way too small in width/length for anything more then a temporary cage. I sold that cage in December, though. I upgraded to a Ferret Nation, and then attached (with some big modifications to both cages) another Ferret Nation, making it a double-wide :)

Though, the homemade cage WAS great for free-roam time! The rats would just pop right out without any problem.
 
I love the martins rat cages.
As jorats said, a base of 18 x 30 is good.
You can also special order a cage with a larger base such as 24 x 30.

The R695 and RUDD are my favorites. The levels can be closed off to make them into separate cages.
If you go with a martins, I would suggest powder coated, extra large doors and a pull out tray ... and get all the balconies.
 
I love my Martins 695, but I got hooked on the Ferret nations because of the ease of cleaning.

On the web somewhere there is a collapsible cage that I may get some day for a travel cage.
 
I am using one of the big Superpet cages for my 3 girls (cage calculators say it can hold 4). It's pretty decent and certainly easy to clean with it's deep pan to keep all the bedding in place (if you're not keen on having a fabric only cage, that is)

Everyone hates the plastic grooves on the shelves, and I do too. But, I pin fabric in place over top and that keeps the "pee grooves" in check. I love that every cage clean I can move the shelves around to keep things interesting.

The only REAL problem I have with the cage is the huge bar spacing. But this is a common issue in terms of cages. My girls are big enough that they can only get their heads and shoulders out, and they only do if I am holding something extra tasty. If I had a mixed sex household, though, I would not trust the barspacing.
 
I also love the Ferret Nations
But if you have small rats or petite females, they can and most likely will escape. These cages have tons of room and so easy to clean.
Click to expand...

Abby is a bit smaller than the other 2 females, but not too much, I mean she IS roughly a year younger, lol.

So these FNs, are they 2 seperate levels? Meaning, could I have one sex in the top, and one in the bottom without them mxing?

Also, are there FNs on Martins, or somewhere else at a decent price?
 
Martins (see http://www.martinscages.com) custom makes cages for animals. All the rat cages they make are custom made by them.
The bar spacing is good for rats of all ages, including babies.

If you decide to order a martins, you might want to run it by a few people as a number of people on this forum have had experience with different martins cages.

Many people make modifications to their FNs (Ferret Nations) as they were not designed for rats and the bar spacing isn't good. There have been some reported deaths.

Both the FN and most martins cages for rats, can be divided into two cages.
Whatever cage you decide to purchase, make sure it is powder coated.

good luck
 
SQ said:
I love the martins rat cages.
As jorats said, a base of 18 x 30 is good.
You can also special order a cage with a larger base such as 24 x 30.

The R695 and RUDD are my favorites. The levels can be closed off to make them into separate cages.
If you go with a martins, I would suggest powder coated, extra large doors and a pull out tray ... and get all the balconies.
Click to expand...

Is there enough room for my 5 rats if you seperate the levels? Also, does anyone have pictures of their martins cage with their rats in them, so that I can get a better idea of size?
 
While technically speaking 5 rats could fit into a 695, after you separated the sexes, I personally don't think either group would have enough space.

Your best bet would be to either get the RUUD [which is a 695 and a 680 stacked] or to stack another model of cage. I have 2 680's that are stacked on top of each other, similar to the RUUD. It's a bit shorter, which works for me, but still tons of space for my 3 girls. The 680 can hold up to 3 rats, so it'd work well for either groups. I also adore the 680 because it has a huge door, which you can fit a 12" wheel through with no hassle. The 695 has a much smaller door, so getting a wheel in there can be tricky.

In this picture of the 680's stacked, you can actually see 3 girls on the shelves [2 on bottom, 1 on top] and how much room they would have in each section.

IM001338.jpg


And a single 680

IM001138.jpg
 
A R695 will hold 5 rats but as javakittie said, half of it would be a bit small for 3 rats.
The doors are small, that is why I suggested the modification of extra large doors - which are large enough to fit a 12 in wheel through.

You can also order R695 cages with larger bases. If you are getting it with a pull out tray, you can order a cage with a base of 30 in x 24 in (holds 7 rats) or 36 in x 24 in (holds 9 rats); instead of the usual 30 in x 18 in base.

2cagessidebysideQuicke-mailview.jpg


My previous two R695 cages hooked together ... home to the infamous gang of 10
These cages have normal size doors, flip top lid and drop in pan.
(Slide in pan is so much easier for cleaning.)

A RUDD is a bit high, but if you were to get one, I would suggest powder coated, extra large doors, all balconies it is supposed to have, pull out tray for easier cleaning.

I have a RUDD with the above modifications, plus 2 extra doors on each full level and an extra large base 30 in x 30 in. If I was going to do it again I would get a base of 36 in x 24 in so it would fit through a door.
But I have 13 rats at the moment ... not all of whom live in my modified "monster" RUDD.
 

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