The new dusty cage and other habitat questions

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AYA

AYA

Member
Joined
Feb 6, 2019
Messages
12
Location
Slovenia
Hi.

I registered only to warn you not to order from Zoofast. The communication from them is poor, but that's not the main reason. I can take slow responses pretty well.
I decided to warn everyone everywhere to avoid them, if you don't want to pay for old dirty items marketed as new.

Here are photos of what they sent me and charged as new:


Cage bottom that supposed to be new:
http://shrani.si/f/3r/eB/DzOpKgR/img4405.jpg

I'm pretty sure that's urine mark
http://shrani.si/f/1l/gi/4C1hOhNS/img4406.jpg
http://shrani.si/f/1C/fc/eYkpMAL/img4407.jpg

Part of the cage, where top wired part connects to the bottom. Interesting, that there's no dirt at the part, where the cage should be fastened.
http://shrani.si/f/29/MH/3gZp5HW4/img4410.jpg

Scratched dirty bottom. Someone for sure dragged that on the floor while using it.
http://shrani.si/f/M/EY/3s53668o/img4411.jpg

And the cherry on top.
Stains on the ladder
http://shrani.si/f/1F/IE/2dSX1Z7x/img4412.jpg
 
Oh man... I'd be upset too. But honestly, that looks like it could just be a dirty warehouse or even a leak. If it's urine, it would have turned a hard white. But I don't blame you for wanting to return it.
 
Maybe try using Dawn dish soap to clean that off. It may not remove the stains, but it should at least make it safe for use. That would be my only concern.
People on here would recommend a vinegar or bleach solution as well. I'm personally not a fan of using extremely diluted bleach on anything my animals can touch. Vinegar just ends up making me sneeze really bad.
 
Thank you for your reply.

A bit of an update:

I cleaned and disinfected everything. The dirt came off quite easily, so I think you're right. It had to be just dirt and dust.

I also wrote to the owner an angry email, and he offered a full refund. Of course I won't accept it, as I found out the cage is otherwise as it should be. I maybe jumped a bit too fast, but that really did look like an urine stain at first.
Now I feel bad for my angry reaction. Oh well...

Also, my girls seem happy with their spacious new home.
 
Thanks for the update. I know urine isn't fatal, but you never know what's lurking and I always say it's better safe than sorry. I'm glad that the cage ended up being okay. It was a good learning experience all around.
 
It looks like you put a lot of work and thought into your cage setup

Concern: The things in the bottom look dusty as looks like a lot of small particles - bedding looks dusty - hopefully I am wrong because dusty bedding etc can irritate the lungs and cause illness

I am unfamiliar with your cage, how large is the base? Horizontal space is very important

As for items ... a 12 inch diameter solid wheel
large hammocks
a space pod
tubes - hung on the side
another litter box or 2 on the levels - litter boxes contain a different type of litter then the bedding used, such as unscented pelleted paper based kitty litter
at least 2 sources of water, one of which needs to be a water dish that can not be upset

cut the paper towel tube (or toilet paper rolls) lengthways because rats can get stuck in thin tubes and injured etc

you may want to look at the posts in the habitat section for ideas
also look at the links in the Reference Thread https://www.ratshackforum.com/threads/reference-thread-read-only.35894/
 
Thank you very much for your advice.

The bedding is Bunny Nature Bed O'linum https://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/hay_and_bedding/other_bedding_small_pets/233481
I've read it should be fine for rats. Should I remove it just to be safe?

The cage is this one: https://www.ferplast.com/gb/furet-xl-10700.html
80 x 75 x h 86,5 cm, which translates to cca 31 x 29 x 33 inch.

There's also a straw woven hammock - no particles are falling off that, and some hay woven hideaways. Some hay stems (I'm sorry, I'm not sure how those are called) are coming off that. Maybe I should remove that. I saw some people are using hay even for rat's bedding so I thought it's safe.


I'll for sure add some tubes. I have some already and I wasn't sure if I should add those. I also have a spare litter box and a spare water bowl. Consider that done. The paper roll is already gone. They weren't interested in it anyway :)

A space pod is already hanging at the top, but for now they're not interested in it. They mostly hang out in the highest located hammock.

I hope I'll find the wheel large enough. I've read that some people advise against it. I was already thinking to get one, but I didn't because I really don't want my ratties'd hurt their backs.

Again, thank you very much for your advices. It helps a lot.
 
I've just changed the title as it was misleading and unfair to the seller. I hope you don't mind.

I've found a running wheel, the only one which should be large enough.
Before I order it, I'd like to hear from experienced owners, if it's good enough.
https://www.zooplus.de/shop/nager_kleintiere/spielzeug/laufraeder/607051

The diameter is 33 cm. That would be about 13 inches, and the width is 8 cm, which should be about 3 inches.
I like the natural look of untreated wood.
What do you think?
 
When they discover that hanging pod, they will surely sleep in it. Unfortunately, I seem to have large rats, so I can only ever fit one rat in a pod at a time, but I always see them in use.
I can't really tell in the photo, but are we sure they can reach the pod? I have a little rope toy that my rats use to climb up into the space pod. I have lazy boys who don't generally like to work all that hard to climb into sleeping spots.
 
the wheel sounds large enough
rats pee on everything and wood absorbs urine :(
rats chew things so make sure it is safe
is the surface smooth? because they need to run on it

I know nothing about that particular wheel, make sure you can easily return it if it is not what you want
 
Last edited:
I did add the long tube, that leads from the bottom to the pod for easier access. Sneki seems to be a bit afraid of it. She refuses to go through. Although, she's a keen climber, so accessing the pod isn't a problem for her. Dumbika is fine with the tube and loves going through it, but still ignores the pod. Oh, well...


I guess the wheel should be fine at least until I find the plastic one, that's large enough. It has a cork surface. This should be safe, right?
 

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