Is the ferret nation 142 worth the $$?

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Most people LOVE their FNs!

I have a single FN (141) and although I do like it I am not adding on to it as I am waiting on the upcoming Critter/Rat Nation. No dates are firm, as far as I know, and it may be a bit of a wait but I have enough cages to keep me going until then.

The only problem with FNs is the huge bar spacing. Babies and small girls can easily get through if not modified with hardware cloth.
 
I love mine!!! I have a FN 142 and wouldnt trade it for anything. Although I will buy a RN if they ever appear. Bar spacing can be a pain for small rats, but its easily modified. I just keep youngsters in a "fattening" cage until they reach about 350 grams. That doesnt take long here. My baby weighs just over 600 grams and wont be a year until August. :D
 
I haven't heard of many sane arguments against the FN line. There are issues if you have smaller rats. The bar spacing, as noted above, has been known to be the only real issue some people have.

If you have smaller rats or if you intend to take in some babies to add to your horde, then the FN is not what I would recommend keeping them in.

When I take in newbs to the fold, I have a separate housing for them until they get about 350 grams or larger. Then intros happen and everyone lives happily in the FN.

Note: I do not have a rat that's smaller than 600 grams currently so the bar spacing issue is not a concern for me.
 
Abso-smurfly! Here is a picture our three story house....

l_f4d81681806049c15556f5b191b8d3ce.jpg


It is well made, the doors swing back all the way and/or are easily removed for cleaning or decorating, lots of room,and you can add another level if you need to. The only drawback is that the litter trays have a very small lip so poops and pea skins are easily tossed out. They are easily modified. I have also taken out the ramps....I had an older really big guy who had trouble with them...I screwed a couple of Chew-with-a-view ledges and made a stair case they seem to like better, and it takes up less room.

Hope this helps!
 
LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT!!! It is the best cage ever!

For awhile when i had my foster babies i was cleaning other cages as well - it reminded me how easy it is to clean and decorate the FN. It is definately worth the money!!
 
I have 1 FN and i have the 3rd level ordered. I would agree I LOVE mine so much and i think my ratties agree. ;)

I have 9 small females and 2 (neutered boys) The girls could get through the spacing so i modified it before i put anyone in it.

But after all that work it was worth the money.

Here is a picture of my FN when i first got it. Looked so plan lol
But you can see the wire mesh i had to use.
Ratties4-12-08037.jpg
 
I love mine too, although i have to admit there are some things that i'm not too happy with. The pans are plastic so if you have rats that like to chew...which most people do, you better hope they don't discover that the pans can be chewed through. I have this problem in one of my girls and I'm going to have to buy new pans at some point. Also the bar space is terrible for rats. I don't think its right to fatten rats up so they won't escape a cage...it poses alot of health risks. I had to spend alot of time modifying my cage so my girls could live in there...cuz even a full grown girl rat could escape.

Other than those two complaints, i love the cage though. its huge and the big doors are amazing. I guess there are pros and cons in all cages though and since it is designed to be a ferret cage, not a rat cage, i guess i can't really complain. I can't wait til the rat nation comes out!
 
We built our cage out of an old 4 drawer dresser. we gutted it and put wire mesh on the back.
There are 4 melamine shelves we use as floors with cut out corners so our girls can go from floor to floor. My husband made 2 doors that swing all the way open. I think the dimentions are 16 x 27 x 36. I think we spent around $100.00.


we have the doors open, trying to get the girls to come out and play.
 
Thanks, i found the dresser in the alley and my husb. masterminded the rest. We got most of the ideas from the Grotto.

i know it needs cleaning, but thats dee's job. lol
we now put on old blanket as flooring to catch the pee puddles.
the girls seem to be doing pretty good at using the litterboxes too.
its just easy to clean, pick up the blank and wash, double rinse.
dee has a spray bottle with water & vinegar to wipe down the shelves.
 
meghan said:
Ratlove - How do you secure your fleece onto the bottom trays?

I hold them on with Binder Clips which you can buy at the dollar store. I even got the colorful ones so it looks neat. :)

The binder clips seem to work the best and i have never had ratties mess with them.
 
I love both of mine...now if I had the 2 FN's as my only cages I would be ecstatic...

For pan chewers I had put up a post of a place in the US that makes metal FN Pans for the same or a teeny bit more than a replacement plastic one costs. :) I was planning on getting some until this new litter was sprung upon me. :laugh4:
 
My FN pans were destroyed, I made some new pans from Coroplast, but they were destroyed. Right now I'm using flat pieces of coroplast on the bottom - and luckily they haven't chewed them yet. I'm still looking for alternatives. Other than the pan-destruction I adore my FN!
 
I've only had my FN for a short while but I'm loving it so far. I have my adults in there (7 rats) and I adore seeing them sprint from the bottom level to the top and back down again! It's amazing to see how agile and quick they are!
 
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