[menagerie mom]

I have been doing some research on rat cages so I have a pretty good idea of what would work ideally but I wanted to check with you all about a few things...

I have two cages not being used that I had purchased for my guinea pigs. I understand rats require more height than width but until I can afford one of the Martin 685 or 690 I wanted to make do with what I had.

I have a super pet style cage with a small platform on one side that measures 39x18x16.5 with 1 in bar space. And a Marchioro cage 32x15.5x19.5 with 1 in bar space.

Size wise I feel either would do for two 5 wk olds, but my concern is the bar spacing. I am thinking of getting some galvanized fabric to wrap around it but if someone else has another suggestion please let me know.

I have an online handcrafted accessories for small pets store on Etsy called the ThreePiggies so I have plenty of hammocks, cuddle sacks, burrow bags, potty pads etc...to fill up their cages for weeks. Toys and comfort won't be a problem.

Will post again about food, litter training, and water bottles.

Thanks for any advice on the cages!

 

[Isamurat]

That bar spacing will be too big, possibly even for adult does, never mind pingy babies. Using wire mesh does tend to work fairly well though. You could also stack the two cages on top of each other, removing the top or the door, and covering any remaining bars with lino or similar so that the rats have a comfy place to sit. This would make a kind of Frankencage which are very useful to give lots of space whilst you wait for the perfect cage. They are harder to clean but as youngsters climbing is especially important as it helps them grow muscle tone and become fit little babies.

I would also be careful not to use too many enclosed beds at first. Babies do best with open hammocks etc, this encourages them to face the world and not hide from it. Giving you more confident bold babies and adults and helping you bond faster.

You could also make them some ropes out of platted fleece from offcuts from your business. These tend to go down very well if stretched taught between two sides, some young rats will even climb up hanging verticle ones (especially if you hide a few treats in the platted bit)

 

[menagerie mom]

Again, EXCELLENT ideas and advice! Thank you so much!!!!!

 

[menagerie mom]

So I broke down and went ahead and got a rat appropriate cage from PetSmart. It was a starter kit which I pretty much gutted out all the extra stuff like the wheel and shelves. Instead I added a couple of fleece hammocks I had in stock in my store, and my daughter made some fleece ropes. Very eclectic looking! Just like my family!

I didn't add any sacks or hidey huts because I read it is best to have open style hammocks so they adjust to the outside world. Though I might put one of my signature 'pillozy's' in there as a comfy open bed. Plus I am using paper pellets for now until I get an idea of how they do their business. Decided to just go with the flow (pun intended) and not bother with the litter training. I got so much poop already from my other pets, what's a little more!