[madeittothemoon]

My roommate has three rats, and she's getting a new cage for Christmas. She asked me to ask you guys what kind of cage would be the best. (Keep in mind that she might want to get more rats in the future). Any advice?

 

[rat_ratscal]

ferret nations or martin's, i use a large bird cage and added levels but im sure she wants something nice

 

[madeittothemoon]

She was even thinking of having her boyfriend build something for her. I was thinking a Ferret Nation would be best, since it's so easy to clean, but I don't know if there's anything better out there.

 

[Berks]

I have to agree, the FN offers enough room for lots of rats, their toys, and that floor space they need to romp around. Not to mention the ease of cleaning, and rearranging the cage. The only down fall is the bar spacing if you have small females or babies but it is easily fixed with mesh wiring and does not look bad at all. If you have the room for it and its within your price range I think its a wonderful cage.

 

[twitch]

an alternative to the FN is cat cages. the bar spacing will need to be covered unless she has big boys but most cat cages are large enough for 11 or more rats which is on par with the FN. they tend to be cheaper as well. the whole front does not open up like the FN but you can easily find doors that are large enough to fit your entire body into. its what i'm using now and i love it. there is so much more room and the cage itself only cost me $90. much cheaper then the FN. there's different styles though and some are more suitable then others, you'd have to look around a bit to find the one best suited for her.

 

[rat_ratscal]

an alternative to the FN is cat cages.

when i was looking on a website i saw it said cat cages and i thought it was a spelling error

 

[twitch]

nope, they exist. most of them are pretty large too. the one i have even folds up and down so it makes for easy assembly and storage when not in use. mine holds 11 rats, the FN holds 12 but my cage was $90 whereas the FN can be over $200. i think i got a pretty good deal with it. and either way i would have had to cover the cage so its equal that way.

 

[sunbirdx]

I have a Super Pet Ferret cage, and I have to say, I am pretty pleased with it. It is the "Delux my first home multi-level". It would probably be ideal with larger males. It came with hard plastic shelves and plenty of room for the girls to climb, it has a front door and the whole top opens up, as well as two side doors. The only problem with it is that the spacing of the bars is too wide, and we had to wrap the whole cage up in wire mesh. It looks fine and the rats love their monster cage. I will try to post pictures of it later.

 

[tattered_teddy_bear]

I have a superpet cage for my boys thats a breeze to clean, but my smallest LOVES to squeeze out, superpet just came out with a new cage for exotic pets that has smaller bar spacing, great for ratties.

 

[reachthestars]

Well, i'll put in a vote for the FN . I love it, and cleaning is a breeze.

 

[madeittothemoon]

Twitch, do you have any pictures of the cat cage? I would love to see what you did to it to make it rat-friendly!

 

[twitch]

i don't have any pictures of the current set up yet. i need to see how the disposable camera pictures turn out. but here's how i had it set up 2 years ago when i had very large fat boys that couldn't get through the bars.

this was how it was set up before i put the boys in it. in retrospect i did not utilize the space well and i really love having liners now. much easier to clean

it actually looks pretty different now. its covered with hardware cloth so the small girls i have can't get through. i have liners down (though we're still have some trouble getting the velcro to stay properly) and there's a whole different set-up to th shelves. but the dimensions on this beast is 4 feet tall, 3 feet wide and just shy of 2 feet deep.

i'll post a picture of it as it is now once i get them, but for now that picture can give you a pretty good feel for it. i could have easily added a lot more toys then what is shown, i just didn't have any at the time. it really doesn't take much to make it rat friendly.

 

[amybunny]

I use a Feisty Ferret cage, that I love so much! The rats love it too. I think it can hold 6-7 rats, I currently have two in it (one more to add in a week), and they have soooo much room.

 

[madeittothemoon]

AmyBunny, I LOVE that cage! It reminds me of a FN, but smaller (and cheaper!) How is the bar spacing? Would it have to be covered in hardware cloth for girls?

 

[Cassi]

I have the ferplast jenny and think its awesome

 

[amybunny]

AmyBunny, I LOVE that cage! It reminds me of a FN, but smaller (and cheaper!) How is the bar spacing? Would it have to be covered in hardware cloth for girls?

It will not need to be covered for the ladies ! You can find this cage at PETsMART or get it offline.


:wink:

 

[madeittothemoon]

Ooooh, I'm really wanting that cage now!

 

[amybunny]

Ooooh, I'm really wanting that cage now!

It is really a great cage, you just need to modify it by:

1. adding tiles, coroplast, or extra layered fleece to the middle floor, as it is wire and has large spaces.
2. add more shelving in there by getting wire racks from WalMart or something, that are meant for a pantry.



Easy modifications, and you have a great cage! I am going to buy another this summer once I move into my own place, and see if I can connect the two cages together!

 

[ledzepgirl16]

I have a superpet cage for my boys thats a breeze to clean, but my smallest LOVES to squeeze out, superpet just came out with a new cage for exotic pets that has smaller bar spacing, great for ratties.

I LOVE superpet cages...we have the 2 foot by 2 foot that's 36" high for ferrets, with 4 rat ladies in it. They love it...but the babies can get out, and they can't all go in there anyways since 6 is the max according to the cage calculator. (We have 4 girl babies) Do you have a link or anything for that new superpet cage, and do you know the dimensions?