New here, wanted to share my setup and my lil fellas...

[nain]

Hi all,

I am new here (I have been registered on here since a while but I have not posted yet)

I have 2 male rats Ben and Jerry, I got them as a gift in Jan 09 when they were 2 months old... I got them a rabbit hutch today, they are really excited and they have spent the entire day exploring the habitat... They are too big to escape from the cage and they dont even try (lucky me)

I will be adding accessories soon, but I am looking to make some DIY toys and accessories instead of buying some...

I dont plan to add any more rats to the cage since I want these 2 to be happy

Here are some pics









P.S I am happy to be here and I am looking forward to being a part of ur forum !

[lilangel]

Hi And welcome! Nice set up. For DIY stuff you can make extra levels by using coroplast from any hard wear stores or find someone getting rid of signs lol

for toys and such the http://dapper.com.au/ has many ideas.

Your PEWS are very cute.

Also in your cage id take off that grid like at the bottom can hurt little feet's or cover it up with fleece at all times. (you can also get bubblefoot that way always being on mesh or bared levels)

[nain]

Thank you for replying.. I have the option to add the tub that is below inside the cage and to fill it with bedding.. i shall do that in a few hours, right now they are sleeping on top of the platform and I dont want to wake them up...

Since when I have got them I use newspaper as bedding, they dont eat the paper at all (I got them in jan 09)

I was wondering if I can use clean hay as bedding, I doubt if they will eat it since they are very picky about what they eat....

I also have a noob question, how long do pet rats live?

I made a ferret tunnel for them, I shall upload pics when i add it to the cage

[jasugar]

Thank you for replying.. I have the option to add the tub that is below inside the cage and to fill it with bedding.. i shall do that in a few hours, right now they are sleeping on top of the platform and I dont want to wake them up...

Since when I have got them I use newspaper as bedding, they dont eat the paper at all (I got them in jan 09)

I was wondering if I can use clean hay as bedding, I doubt if they will eat it since they are very picky about what they eat....

I also have a noob question, how long do pet rats live?

I made a ferret tunnel for them, I shall upload pics when i add it to the cage

Pet rats live about 3 years. Not very long when you fall in love with them.

PVC pipes are great alternatives for tunnels.

[nain]

3 years is quite a short period ... My rats are already 1 year and 6 months old (approx).. Bummer

Pvc pipes is a great idea! Thank you

We get aquarium tubes here, large ones, acrylic and translucent, maybe I can use one or two of those instead..

I shall try to make a hammock and a cube today. I have really bad stitching skills so lets see how that goes.. 

[Stace87]

Pet rats live about 3 years. Not very long when you fall in love with them.

3 years is quite a short period ... My rats are already 1 year and 6 months old (approx).. Bummer

Not to disappoint more, but 3 years would be VERY old for a rat and it's very lucky if they reach that age. The average is about 2 years. I recently read on another forum the average has been found to be 21 months.

[nain]

Thanks for the information... I guess good things always end soon

Does anyone on this forum keep hamsters?

I made a rat tube for my lil boys, i have terrible sewing skills

Here are some pics...

[Stace87]

Does anyone on this forum keep hamsters?

I used to. Probably had around 20 from around the age of 4. I have rats and gerbils now though. My Mam still keeps hamsters and currently has 2 - a syrian and a dwarf (not sure if winter white or campbells) that has 3 legs. The 3-legged boy was where I volunteer and now has a home with her.

[nain]

I really like all small animals. I would like to keep sugar gliders, some day maybe.. I actually have two empty 65 gallon tanks that I used to use for my fish. I was planning to get 2 male hamsters (Russian dwarfs) for one of the 65 gallon tanks. i was hoping someone would guide me since all of you are so helpful

As of now I am making a cube for the rats, it should be done in a few hours....

[Stace87]

I'm a member of Hamster Fanatic Forum and have found people on there to be really helpful when I've posted about ailments of my Mam's hamster. I'm also on Hamster Central and Hamster Hideout, but have found the forum I've linked to be the most active.

[nain]

Thank you! I shall join the forum you mentioned...

Pic of the cube, Jerry is sleeping inside it right now 

[AvaAdoreSmashing]

You really need to cover the bars they walk on to prevent bumblefoot.

[Toby]

great set up. love the tubes but would be better without the bars at the bottom.

[Lauren_22]

You really need to cover the bars they walk on to prevent bumblefoot.

Actually walking on bars doesn't cause bumble foot. Rats can get bumble foot in wire floor cages or solid floor cages, the cause is walking around in unsanitary conditions which can happen in any type of cage. Many people who have Martin's cages don't cover their shelves and they opt to wipe them down multiple times a day to keep it clean.

However, you do need to cover the floor or remove the bottom grid simply because of the spacing of the wire. Because the openings are long there is the potantial that their foot could slip between two bars and be broken or sprained.

[nain]

I have just added the tub to cover the bars, I am sorry I dint add it earlier, my bad

I have one last question for now, do rats need wheels like hamsters do?