I got a rat cage today!

[Ratmaster]

Today when searching craigslist for a cage i found a Super Pet Habitat Defined Rat Habitat for sale. For $20 i got the cage, a water bottle, a random assortment of toys, 2 food bowls, a bag of bedding, a bag of food, multiple bags of treats, some cage cleaning spray, and a carrier. Now i have a few questions of course before i get my rats to make sure this cage is safe.
1. One of the toys is a rubber dog toy...is this safe?
2. There is a bag of lab blocks food and a container of seed food. Should i use the seeds as treats instead of food?
3. For those of you with experience in this cage, i was wondering if its a good idea to remove one of the shelves to make more room? Have any ofyou done this before?
4. Lastly, i am going away for christmas. Should i wait to get rats or is it ok to get them now? I do have a trusted pet sitter but want my ratties to be comfortable even though christmas is still months away.

Thanks everyone! I would have posted pictures but my ipad wouldnt load them :/
I hope i didnt post this multiple times... My ipad wont send this post. Ugh !

[LightningWolf]

Actually, that will not be a cage you can use for many reasons. 1. it is too narrow, it needs to be at lease 15 inches(14 inches you Can get away with with females) Also the wavy ramps, most rats don't use ramps but rats who do often have difficulty with those types of ramps. The plastic shelves will also need to be covered in fleece to prevent urine pool up. Personally I don't like cages that has Only half levels but that's just me. Sorry, need to find a new cage.

1. I would say no as it's rubber and most rats won't even play with it

2. yes you can use the seeds as a treat but personally I would throw it away and just buy seeds as that would be healthier and most seeds in seed mixes rats won't even eat

3. Once again I recommend you find a different cage.

4. Wait till after Christmas unless you can bring them with you.

[masquerademegan]

I'm going to have to agree with the post above me..that cage may be labeled for rats, but is not suitable for them. Many rat starter cages aren't suitable. I recommend to everyone seeking a cage to at least get a single Critter Nation, as it is suitable for rats and will likely save you from having to buy a new one in a few months. It seems like a hefty price now, but it does save money in the long run. I got my double CN for nearly the same amount I paid for my Super Pet My First Home for Exotics! (Thank you, CL!)

1. I'd clean it well - as far as I know, rubber isn't a hazard. Rats don't swallow what they chew on, usually.
2. Seed mixes are never food. Use it as a treat - I buy a small bag of seed mix to put in pinatas for my rats.
3. You should look into a different cage..although I don't think it'd make a difference. I'd just leave the shelf.
4. How trusted? Experienced with rats? I went to New Jersey for a week and left my rats in the care of my dad...oh boy, that was a mistake, lol. He can take care of the dog and cat just fine, but he did not do well with the rats. If you're one bit worried, wait to get rats. If your sitter can handle the rats, then that's fine. Remember rats need daily interaction, so your sitter can't just give them food and water - some handling will be necessary as well.

[Ratmaster]

Oh all of the rat cage calculators said it would be ok for two rats( i dont plan to get more...if i do i know a bigger cage is needed) i know cheaper isnt better, but looking at this in person this was a great deal. I would love to get a CN but because i live with my mom it needs to fitin a certain area and she doesnt like the idea of fabric(dont know why). If only the CN came without a stand and a deep bottom. I will look into another cage though. Before this i found the most amazing cages only to find out the bar spacing was an inch!
On the topic of my trusted sitter, she and i are reall close and she agreed that when i get the rats she will come with me. She comes over almost every weekend and i think it will be easier to care for the rats if they bond to her it will be easier if she pet sits. That way she can easily play with the rats without to much worry.

[LaTortue]

I agree that its not an appropriate cage for rats. If they had just made it deeper then it would be more acceptable, but it really is way too narrow. You actually don't want anything with a depth of less than 18" for any rat cage, for a couple of small females you could get away with 16" I suppose, but that would be the absolute minimum. I would go ahead and hold onto the cage--having an extra one is always a good idea and can be used as a hospital or travel cage, and even somewhere to put the rats when you're cleaning their cage. A lot of the other things you got can still be used in whatever other cage you end up getting--the water bottle, food bowls, bedding (as long as it isn't pine or cedar), and the toys. As far as the food, what brand of lab blocks are they? Most of the ones available at petstores are very poor quality and not anything you want to be feeding your rats. The seed mix is most definitely not appropriate as a regular food, but it is ok to give very small amounts every once in a while as a treat. And for what its worth, I have a couple of squeaky dog toys made of rubber for my rats and haven't had any problems with them, but I'm not going to say they're definitely safe, if you're not sure then don't use them.

ETA: The Petco Rat Manor, which would be a good size for two rats and is one of the better cages at rats that are sold in stores, is on sale with free shipping at petco.com for $63.22.

[masquerademegan]

Fleece, for me, actually smells less than bedding (if that's the issue). Perhaps it's because I'm more motivated to clean it...my room had a slight odor to it before due to the rats, but now it's not even noticeable. My CN doesn't have the stand right now because the wheel broke - I've heard people say it shouldn't be put together without the stand, but I don't know why. And you can buy spill guards for the CN so bedding can be used.

I'd recommend a Martins cage. They're pretty popular and are good cages. Just remember to buy one in the rat section and that the roomier it is, the better. Oh, and Craigslist is your friend! I'd never buy a rat cage anywhere else now - I found many CNs and FNs for less than $100 during my search for a cage.
Good luck

[RatGirl06]

I recommend the Ware Natural Wood Cage For Rats at PetSmart and it is $56.99. It has plenty of room for two rats (the cage calculator at Ratty Corner said up to five!).

[Ratmaster]

Well i will have to look for a new cage then. I dont reall mind since the stuff i got with the cage is worth more then i paid so it isnt a big deal. I didnt know the ware wood cage would work...i looked at the reviews and they said it was wa toshallow. Interesting...anyway thanks forall the suggestions!

[LightningWolf]

Yeah I wouldn't do the ware wood cage mainly cause of the wood.

The Rat manor which I have is decent, I like it, not sure if it would be everyone's first choice, but it can hold up to 3 rats (My 3 guys, well when I had 3, would stay only on the top section, it was funny but they were so content relaxing which each other).

Super Pet My first home for Exotics is recommended, there are also Super Pet cages that will work. the Multi-level Ferret cage (it's purple and green) is 2 ft by 2 ft by 3 1/2 feet and can hold up to 6 rats (12 square feet). But it has 1 inch bar spacing, but you can get hardware cloth to wrap around it.

You can still litter box train them, you can just use Newspaper or paper towels in replacement for fleece (You can go to the scraps section and get maybe a yard or two from fabric that people decided not to buy, that's how we got all of our fleece).