walk in closet turned rat cage

[unglued]

so my friend is moving into the basement of her house, and she has this walk in closet, it's not a huge walk in closet mind you, let's just say it's 4x3.5 feet (i didn't get measurements, someone is renting out the apartment and the room was full of stuff) but it would still be huge for a rat. she wants to convert it so that the rats can live in it, do you guys have any ideas for this?

so far we have
1. linoleum flooring(proper, not like the sticky tiles where pee seeps thru
2. eggshell paint for easy wiping or linoleum on walls
3. shelves going around, possibly melamine, but maybe the wire kitchen shelving too(with something put in to make the floors solid, suggestions?), with some sort of guard to keep the rats from falling, maybe cubes that attach and lock on to the wire shelving with a clip, or something similar
4. a split door(like a stable door) so we could go in without setting the rats freee, the top door would be mesh
5. some kind of ventilation/air purifier, which kind is good for ratty smell and general stuffiness?

feel free to suggest more ideas, oh, and my friend only has 4 males.

BTW this won't be done until the house is re-wired and the basement is fixed up, so don't go asking for pictures any time soon!

 

[Fidget]

Gotta make sure there's some cool air cirulation without major draft in the summer cause a closet could be like a coffin.

 

[jorats]

It's almost like ratties living in a small room of their own.
Any chance the whole door could be mesh? Like a screen door but better, cause ratties can chew through screens.
I would put up those closet organizer wire shelves and cover them with fleece, this would make for easier cleanup. Eventually, pee on melamine does cause an odor. You could also hang things off the wall, balls, baskets...
The air flow would be my only concern.

 

[rainbowbrat23]

Cool idea!

What about knocking a hole into the wall for a window? Put screen over it or something?

I dunno...

 

[jorats]

Oh ya... now that I think about it, I had to cover a spot in my dining room. My rats are tearing through the drywall. :shock:

 

[unglued]

i am thinking maybe just getting them a bigger cage and keeping it off the floor, not taking away from floor space, then the rest of the room will be a play area, so they can be let ou for around 6 hours a day. while people are home

however it is a basement so it's probibly all cement/brick (for a stronger foundation i would think?)

 

[mercurydust]

Oh ya... now that I think about it, I had to cover a spot in my dining room. My rats are tearing through the drywall. :shock:

Atleast you taught them a trade....Demolition! :lol:

 

[NezumiNeko]

Lots of shelves would be a necessity, and to hang hammocks, maybe you could put like bars, or dowels coming out of the wall, and put the hammock over them. Maybe for shelves you could try something out of organizer/neat idea cubes, and cover them with a solid surface.

I'm concerned about the ventilation. If it's just a solid walled room, it will be like a dark pit 24/7. Lots of windows.

 

[jorats]

Oh ya... now that I think about it, I had to cover a spot in my dining room. My rats are tearing through the drywall. :shock:

Atleast you taught them a trade....Demolition! :lol:

:laugh4: that they do very well.

 

[CardboardCastles]

it will be like a dark pit 24/7. Lots of windows.

I thought, since rats are nocturnal, that they prefer the dark?


I know my girls wait to be their noisiest most rambunctious selves after I've turned out the lights, and crawled into bed.

 

[jorats]

Rats are not nocturnal. They are crepuscular.

 

[MumsyRat]

They are crepuscular.

I had to look that up! For those up you who didn't:

Crepuscular is a term used to describe animals that are primarily active during twilight, that is at dawn and at dusk.

 

[NezumiNeko]

Rats are so lovable it's hard to imagine them happy in a dark, poorly ventilated pit.

 

[lilratsy43]

I have to agree with Yang, rats need night and day. I don't think they would be happy in the dark all day long. A closet would make a great play area for ratties though! I just think the ventilation and escape issue would make it tough for a cage....

 

[NezumiNeko]

It's like with humans, active during the day, but night is also a necessity. We would go crazy without any dark!