Hello everyone!
I'm new to the forum and thought I'd give a hello before proceeding with the question. I don't have rats yet but I've been doing a lot of research into the little beasties so I can give them the best home possible. I live in Hollywood, CA and will be adopting a pair from one of the local rescue organizations or local pet stores. Keyword, adopting. Too many rats need good homes to warrant buying.

Anyway, I've been looking into cages and found that it's really hard to find anything that fulfills all the needs of a pair of rats without completely breaking the bank. Everything I've seen at the stores are really expensive but are still relatively small with wire floors or tiny doors or all sorts of problems.

My plan then is to build my own cage. I've attached images so that you can get an idea of it but I wanted to run the dimensions and materials by all of you so I don't create a danger.

The cage is 36" wide, 30" tall, 18" deep. The frame itself will be wood. For the wire I will be using galvanized steel hardware cloth 1/2" x 1/2". Someone warned that the zinc could be toxic but I haven't found any data supporting that. The bottom four inches will have plexiglass sides to prevent litter being tossed out. Also, the bottom will be plexiglass for ease of cleaning.

The shelves themselves are various lengths of wood covered in sticky plastic shelf liners to keep them waterproof. On top of that I'll be placing towels to absorb urine and make it easy to wash and change.

Assorted hammocks and climbing ropes will be made from old t-shirts, towels, etc. and hung throughout. Ramps between levels will be wood and/or dowel rods.

On the bottom level are the litter box, digging box, and food bowl. I'm going to try to litter train the rats but thought they might like to have additional stuff to dig through on the bottom floor. My plan was to use carefresh bedding in the litter box.

I was also planning on staining the external frame of the cage for aesthetic reasons. The way the wire is being secured to the frame means that the wood would be mostly inaccessible to chewing teeth. The smaller wood pieces on the inside of the cage are going to be left untreated and free from plastic (the ladders, dowel rods, etc.).

Does this cage seem like it would support two rats comfortably? I've used the rodent calculator and it suggested the size was fine but there was no way to add a function for multiple levels.

Is a wheel an absolute must? I'll let the rats roam free when I can but if they would really benefit I'd consider adding a wheel.

Are there any materials I should really avoid in cage construction? Obviously cedar chips and pine chips are no bueno for bedding but what if I used pine as the frame? (I'll probably just use what I can find).

Does wrapping the wood platforms in sticky plastic put the rats at risk? I've seen other cages online do it without incident. Would they chew the plastic? Do you think they'd try and chew the plexiglass?

Sorry for the really long post but I really don't want to put the rats in any sort of danger. I'd really appreciate your input on the topic!

THANKS!!!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28711656@N07/

I couldn't attach photos so here is the flickr link.

THANKS!

You may want to check out the other thread that's active about home made cages, people have some interesting things to say...

As for you cage, specifically-
Yes, I do believe rats would chew on sticky plastic, at least in a few places or when they got bored. How bad this would be for them is debatable, but probably not a good idea. I wouldn't.

You should probably look into buying a good waterproof children's non-toxic paint, and be prepared to coat that bad boy in many layers. On top of that, vinyl tiles have been used with great success by some members. Any untreated wood will soak up urine, is nigh impossible to properly clean and sanitize, and would have to be replaced every couple weeks.

If you do use untreated wood, pine or cedar are not a good idea. Rats have very sensitive respiratory systems, which are irritated to the point of sickness by the oils in pine and cedar.

Zinc is indeed toxic to rats (not sure where I could site that, but I do know it to be true), and should be avoided. Galvanized wire, by all accounts, is a pain the butt. It collects smells and so typically must be replaced every couple months (there have been exceptions), and is difficult to clean.

Wheels are not considered a "must," and some rats don't use them. However, the ones that do, get great mileage on them, and they're a really great toy. No matter how much out time you give them, there will always be a time when they'd like to be doing something, particularly in the middle of the night, and a wheel is a good outlet for that energy.

What is your price range, exactly? Have you tried freecycle or craigslist? Homemade cages often end up being much more expensive and difficult than the creator had counted on, and most people would have been better served by just buying a cage in the first place. Most, not all, of course.

Also, the dimensions themselves sound lovely and roomy, and all the toys are good!

I've been looking into craigslist and freecyle but haven't found any rat cages in LA (aside from a few tiny ones). Lots of birdcages though! I've priced materials and you're right in that the homemade cage will probably cost the same as a store bought. I'm looking to spend around $70 for the cage itself. I'm tempted to find a birdcage and just modify that. My goal is to maximize the pleasure for the rats while avoiding something that looks like Dr. Frankenstein's monster.

find yourself a birdcage and modify it. most birdcages now are powdercoated, much better for ratties.

ps: nothing wrong with frankencages... three of my boys live in one and they love it!!

Yeah, on one of the other postings we were talking about how very few of us have ratties that use their wheels for things other than sleeping on it. And don't get those big plastic rollie balls that are made for rodents to run around in - I don't know if anyone on here has had very good luck with those stupid things - once again, other than to make something for the ratties to sleep in.

Other than that, the other repliers pretty much covered it - no pine or cedar - they'll usually chew through plastic.

But it sounds like you'll have a good cage with a lot of things to keep them entertained!

And don't get those big plastic rollie balls that are made for rodents to run around in - I don't know if anyone on here has had very good luck with those stupid things

It's not a matter of having 'luck' with them, they're just plain bad for rats. Rats are too intelligent for the toy, they don't like being cramped up, they often get disoriented because their nose is telling them that no matter where they go and how much they move there's a curvy thing of plastic in front of them, and often times most people just don't clean it out very well and the rats end up with the sniffles from ammonia buildup. :(

I've read a lot about yuck getting stuck in the corners. What if I used the sticky plastic and lined the corners (seams) so that once a week I could just pull out the plastic. Also, if I build a cage I don't think I'll do wood floors. I'm thinking metal with a tile floor and/or felt. Do y'all think these precautions would ease the cleaning?