Need help!

[la_marée_haute]

I am really really not good with judging this sort of stuff. Would either of these cages be suitable for 2 male rats?

1
2

Thank you! Any help will be appreciated.

*Edit* Oh and by the way, I already have a cage for my future boys, of course. But they will definitely out grow it eventually, so I'm preparing to buy something bigger. What I have right now is a very large bird cage with two levels, and then connected to that with a big PVC pipe is a big 78 litre tub. All of that space together right now would be enough room for them, but it's pretty unsightly, and probably will be difficult to clean, so I'm just searchign for a standard ferret/rat cage with at least two levels, that isn't to expensive.

 

[Bronwyn]

I'd say yes and yes. Hanging things like hammocks will allow for more useable space.

 

[MumsyRat]

I like the first one better.

When it comes to rats bigger is not necessarily better. I moved 3 of my boys into a huge ferret cage a little while ago and they don't like it. They stay on the 3rd level 95% of the time and go to the bottom only because their food and water is there. If I open the door to give them a free time they head directly to their "time out" cage which is a small 12 x 18 cage. They will hang out in there quite happily for hours - even though the door is open and they can go anywhere they please. When I do my weekly cage cleaning on Monday I plan to move them back into their old house.

 

[la_marée_haute]

Thank you both!

Bronwyn - I'm way ahead of you. I've purchased a hammock and I've made 2 spares so far.

Mumsyrat - That's interesting! I can't wait to see my boys' personalities coming out. :wink:

 

[user 78]

While the first one is a little better overall, you'll need to do some modifying. The shelves have too big a bar spacing length wise, so you would need to cover those with something to make it either solid or with 1/2" square spacing. Same goes for that base, since it appears to have the same wire, and then the pull out pan. The gap would be way too big to remove the wire floor, so you would need to cover it in something. You can usually get something like hardware cloth fairly cheap in home improvement stores.

 

[jorats]

The first one is 24" x 16"... while that's good for babies, it's absolutely unacceptable for adult rats. Rats really do need a lot more space.
The second one is a better as far as space goes. 27" x 17", while I still consider it smalll, it's better than the first one.

Mumsyrat, I totally disagree with you. Bigger is always better with rats.
Some rats don't like change and will then head for a place they've always known, that little tiny out time cage. But given time and having filled the cage up with lots of mental stimulation like hanging stuff, colourful stuff, I'm sure your boys will get used to it.

 

[user 78]

I don't know if this is within your price range, but I did a quick search and it's a very decent size. Also has a stand [in case you have other animals] and is a really great size.

http://tinyurl.com/2ncpcv

 

[SQ]

Rat cages should have at least 30 in x 18 in horizontal space and also need height for various levels and hammocks.
The bigger the cage, the better.
It will need to be powder coated as galvanized wire will absorb urine, dirt etc and also contains zinc.

There are cage calculators on the internet which will give you the max. number of rats a cage will hold. Rats need a min. of 2 cubic feet of cage space for each rat.

looking forward to seeing pics when you get a cage set up

 

[Bronwyn]

I don't think I used the cage calculator correctly. :lol:

 

[la_marée_haute]

Thanks everybody.

javakittie - No, it's not really in my price range. I could save up for it, but it would take a LONG time, and this auction ends in 4 hours. :?

Anyone have an old spare they'd like to kindly give to me? LOL :roll:

 

[la_marée_haute]

Hi again, everyone.

Someone has offered to give away an old bird cage to me. I asked for dimesions and this was the response:

width is 30 inches across 32 inches hight it 38 i may be little off as was using a dress makers tape

As I've said, I am never good when judging by inches and centimeters, etc, LOL. :lol:

For all I know this could be as big as the bird cage I have attached to the tub right now, which is way too small. But I don't know. What do you guys think? Too little?

Oh and this person is sending me a pic tomorrow, if that makes any difference.

 

[user 78]

762mm x 812mm x 965mm

I'm assuming the 38 inches is how long it is? If so, that's a marvelous cage! The minimum most of us suggest is 30" x 18" [762mm x 457mm] so f that cage is 30 x 38 that's fantastic. See if they can give you the size of the bar spacing?

The pic will definitely help, since you'll be able to see how much space you can modify and what all can be done with it.

 

[la_marée_haute]

762mm x 812mm x 965mm

I'm assuming the 38 inches is how long it is? If so, that's a marvelous cage! The minimum most of us suggest is 30" x 18" [762mm x 457mm] so f that cage is 30 x 38 that's fantastic. See if they can give you the size of the bar spacing?

The pic will definitely help, since you'll be able to see how much space you can modify and what all can be done with it.

Oh yay!!! Thank you!

And it shouldn't matter about the bar spacing, I have a big roll of bird wire if needed.

The pic hasn't come yet but hopefully it will soon. I'm excited now!

 

[la_marée_haute]

In the last reply, this guy said that he's going to give me ALL of his cages for FREE. Whuuhhh?! And that he's also going to drive 4 hours down here to bring them to me! This sounds too good to be true, lol.

He said that he has kept 4 girls in a cage at once, too. :shock:

I should probably ask about powdercoating, but I'm not going to get picky. If they aren't, then I'll just make sure that my rats have PLENTY to chew on, and I think I can deal with the urine thing. Lol. We have a mini "rodent room" at the moment, so it's not like people are going to walk in expecting it to smell awesome. :roll:

Now I'm just still waiting on the photo.

 

[jorats]

Wow... that's a really nice person to do that.

 

[user 78]

Wow, hey! That's really great!

 

[la_marée_haute]

Wow... that's a really nice person to do that.

Indeed!

 

[Melissa]

Aww, you have darla and her baby as your icon. :heart:

 

[Bronwyn]

Those two looked really familiar. :lol:

 

[la_marée_haute]

Who? What? OH! I got that pic from Google, haha. Does someone here actually own those rats? Lol. If so............. :shock: They are too lucky.