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GRNDPNDR

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2013
Messages
197
Location
London, Ontario
I've come to discover that I can get a 2 level (63" tall) CN from Amazon for $270 shipped free if I'm willing to trial Amazon Prime.

So I've decided that if things are panning out well financially in the next couple of weeks, I'm going to buy a CN for our ratties.

My long term goal is to get our 4 boys neutered and have both our males and females together.

Will a double level CN be large enough for 9 rats? if I'm not mistaken the 2 levels can act as either one big, single cage, or they can be divided off to be 2 separate cages, is this correct?

is it ok to have males and females separated, but so close together? Initially I'm thinking of buying the cage, and using it as two separate levels, one section for boys and one section for girls, until all the boys are neutered. but as I'm sure most of you are aware, our girls are top notch escape artists.

Would the girls be able to chew their way through the separated levels to get in with the boys?? Does the 2 level CN have some kind of metal separator?


That's all for now I guess, I'm sure I'll have other questions.
 
The CN has a separator, it looks like a ramp/ladder (it is between the two levels). You hook it up with an S-hook, I'm sure some determined rat could push through. Off the top of my head, however, I don't think that would work, with males on the bottom, as even the scent of the males might put the females into heat, if I'm not mistaken.
 
I have a Ferret Nation, and there is no way for one of my boys to push open the connector ladder. It is very securely latched with zero space between it and the regular flooring. I can't really describe it well, but could take a picture if you like. It would be safe, I just can't comment on having males and females that close together. I think my boys would go crazy if they smelled a female in heat; they have enough tussles between them as it is with having three little boys living beneath them.

I believe I did read somewhere that you could have twelve in a double, six per level. I wouldn't be comfortable having that many in there, I would say nine would be my limit. My two boys seem to like the cage to themselves as they are very different in personality and need some alone time often. The babies don't seem to use as much of the cage, as they sleep together often, so I think it depends on your rat's personalities as well. Hope this helped. :)
 
I have 5 in mine and it seems about right. 3 was too few and they barely used the bottom level. I think my personal limit would be 7. I would want to get the add-on level and have a max of 10 in a triple CN.

If they were very determined and chewed through the plastic pans, all that separates the levels is 1/4" bars. If they hung upside down I guess they could make it happen.
 
Sheldon said:
I have 5 in mine and it seems about right. 3 was too few and they barely used the bottom level. I think my personal limit would be 7. I would want to get the add-on level and have a max of 10 in a triple CN.

If they were very determined and chewed through the plastic pans, all that separates the levels is 1/4" bars. If they hung upside down I guess they could make it happen.
Click to expand...

I'm confident that one of our girls would find a way through.

So long story short I shouldn't keep them together until the males are neutered and it's one big colony, because I know my girls..... they would get through.


How about a 12" wheel, it doesn't look like there are many places to put a large wheel, but our girls need one, no matter how much space they have. They're avid little runners.
 
The s hook is so hard to latch on most of them that I have hard time doing it. There is no way for a rat to get through that. You can also ziptie the ladder up with the s hook still connected. I put a piece of coroplast under the pan that has the cut out. I have boys in the top and girls in the bottom of most of my cages and we have never had an escape from them.
 
If you decide to keep males and females on separate levels, definitely make sure to reinforce the opening between levels with a sheet of coroplast (as others have mentioned). A friend of mine has had two incidents where girls chewed through to the lower level.
 
$270 seems quite expensive to me even with free shipping. When we divided our's we got a cheap pavers brick from a home improvement store put that on top of the pan over the hole and put the liter box on top of that. You will need to get another full size pan unless you don't mind using the one with the cut out for the opening, but then the will beable to see each other.
 
I found mine on kijiji for a steal, lots of people try and get rid of them. I've only had 2 in a full FN at once but i agree with the scent thing might drive them nuts-o's, and yes my s hook divider is super tight no rattie escapes I sometimes can't even undo it. I also put a giant rock there so my boys dont just sit there sniffing at each other.
 
The levels inside each CN unit have three places you can attach them and I have my 12" wheel on one of the levels with lots of boxes under it! No problem fitting the wheel in :)
 
No wheel issues for me either. I have one in each level and there is plenty of vertical space still to hang stuff from.

I find the s-hook easier to latch and unlatch using my thumb of my right hand to push the edge up and use my other fingers placed in the level above it. If you have a liner on the ramp it makes it much more difficult.
 
You will love it! I cannot be of much help, as I just have a single CN. But its the best thing! So easy to clean and its huge! Its also pretty much escape proof! If you end up getting one, get a rubber mallet. Makes it much easier to get it together.
 
That's where I bought my DCN and how much I paid, I believe. We Canadians pay a lot more for things... I find typically that items are at least a third to a half more expensive on sites that originate in or ship to Canada than on U.S. sites that ship only to the U.S. Or else we get nailed in shipping and duty at the border. :(
 
Here's what I'm trying to figure out about housing both sexes, is the division between the two levels a metal grate/bars/top of the cage, or is it just a plastic divider?

If it's metal separating the two levels then I could put both our colonies in there.

If it's plastic, the girls will chew through. They would chew through even if there were no boys above them....they chew, it's what they do.

dspch911 said:
$270 seems quite expensive to me even with free shipping. When we divided our's we got a cheap pavers brick from a home improvement store put that on top of the pan over the hole and put the liter box on top of that. You will need to get another full size pan unless you don't mind using the one with the cut out for the opening, but then the will beable to see each other.
Click to expand...

Are you kidding?? If I could buy this in a store it would cost $400+

Anywhere else I've seen it has also been about $300+taxes and shipping.

Amazon.ca has it for $239, and if I take a free trial of Amazon prime then I won't pay shipping and can cancel my trial before I have to pay for it.

Otherwise shipping is $140 minimum for a 100Lb package.

$270+$140 = $410..... I think I'm getting a decent deal if I trial Amazon Prime.

littles said:
I found mine on kijiji for a steal, lots of people try and get rid of them. I've only had 2 in a full FN at once but i agree with the scent thing might drive them nuts-o's, and yes my s hook divider is super tight no rattie escapes I sometimes can't even undo it. I also put a giant rock there so my boys dont just sit there sniffing at each other.
Click to expand...

I've been checking but no one around here has one and I don't see any listed on kijiji. to be honest I'm not sure I'd want a used one.

noodlebutts said:
The levels inside each CN unit have three places you can attach them and I have my 12" wheel on one of the levels with lots of boxes under it! No problem fitting the wheel in :)
Click to expand...

How sturdy are the bars themselves? Our wheel has a removeable stand so the wheel will attach directly to the bars but our current cage is a little weak and the wheel wobbles like crazy when they run.

Zygadena said:
That's where I bought my DCN and how much I paid, I believe. We Canadians pay a lot more for things... I find typically that items are at least a third to a half more expensive on sites that originate in or ship to Canada than on U.S. sites that ship only to the U.S. Or else we get nailed in shipping and duty at the border. :(
Click to expand...

Everyone seems to forget this when they go on about how great a deal is, and that it had free shipping.

Canadians rarely ever get or qualify for free shipping if it didn't come from Canada.
 
At the division between the two layers there is both a metal grate (same bars as sides and top of cage) and a plastic tray on top of that. If they chew through the tray (and my Peanut spent a lot of her time chewing holes in her tray, so they might) they can't get past the metal grate.

I did experience one problem when I had to house my two females separately in the DCN (Peanut was very aggressive towards Layla and I never did manage to get them on friendly terms). Layla lived in the top cage, and as she was very interested in Peanut she would manage to get her feet down between the outside bars and the side of the plastic tray, and Peanut could reach up and bite her (she bit her once). Once I realized this was happening I bought the scatter guard and attached it to her plastic tray and this prevented her from reaching down to Peanut. It was a pain to work around, however.

Back to the plastic tray... Peanut managed to chew quite a few holes in hers and I did eventually buy a replacement. It wasn't very costly. I think I got the extra tray, scatter guard, as well as some extra shelves and an outside ramp, from ferret.com
 
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GRNDPNDR said:
Here's what I'm trying to figure out about housing both sexes, is the division between the two levels a metal grate/bars/top of the cage, or is it just a plastic divider?
Click to expand...

The two levels in a CN are separated by metal bars and the ladder between the two levels hooks up so it can be made into two separate cages. Even girls can not get through the bars.
But rats can nip, grab or bite unfamiliar rats through bars if plastic were chewed through. Flower Town Chin in Ontario sells CNs http://www.chinchilla.ca/product.php?catID=1, and metal flat sheets for each level and metal pans for CNs http://www.chinchilla.ca/product.php?menuID=2&catID=2, as well as different accessories and Harlan Tech 2014 lab blocks
http://www.chinchilla.ca/product.php?catID=7

As I am sure you are aware, 2 unaltered sexes are an accident waiting to happen as rats are very motivated and people are not perfect 100% of the time.

The CN bars are very sturdy. I have 12 inch silent spinners attached to the bars in my CNs and bars do not bend or wobble etc

The double CN can hold 10 rats.

Hope this info helps
 
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The petsmart cage looks exactly like the CN cage .... sounds the same from the description too.
As for the opening in the 2nd level, it can be on the front in the CN too, it just depends on how you set it up
 

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