[krdefo]

I have three little girls who I'd like to invest in a larger cage for. Between work and a new semester of school I know they won't be able to have as much out of cage time as I'd like them to, so I want to make up for it by finding a larger cage. Plus, I just don't think the one I currently have is doing it for them, nor do I have any room to increase my rat family. It's about 30 x 14 1/2 x 30 1/2 with a full shelf on top, a half balcony, and then the bottom pan.

I've been searching around online and at various pet stores, but I haven't been able to find any rat specific cages more than just two or three inches bigger than what I already have. I noticed that a lot of you are using Ferret Nation cages, which I'd love to have. The spacing in the bars is too big for my girls though. They'd also have a difficult time climbing on the vertical bars, which they love to do in their current cage (although they can't climb very far, since it's short, and they refuse to climb on any rope or ladders I try to give them). Have any of you found ways to make the FN or other ferret cages rat-friendly? Or do you all just have large rats?

I've also been looking at the two newest Marshall cages (the Ferret Penthouse and Ferret Townhouse), but I'm afraid the spacing will still be too wide (I can't find the actual measurements though and am just judging by pictures), and I'm not entirely sure how well the plastic shelving and ramps will hold up. Any suggestions?

 

[amandahoney]

i know we don't have exactly the same cage in mind, but they're similar. i keep my four girls in two superpet ferret cages, stacked one on top of the other (overall dimensions: 30"x18"x48"). i got them, and another which i gave to a friend, secondhand for $90, so i couldn't possibly pass them up- but the bar spacing is 1", and none of my girls have a problem sqeezing through. i simply covered it with hardware mesh, and i haven't had any problems with it, except that it's not very attractive to look at. as for the plastic, if you had some serious chewers it might be a problem, but mine haven't seriously attacked it yet.

 

[Mana]

I'm getting a Ferret Nation soon (ordered it Saturday! yay!) and I have at least two girls that would be able to escape, plus I'm adding two baby girls to the family in a couple weeks. It seems pretty common to cover FNs in hardware cloth (I found green coated stuff at Home Depot), and since my ratties are all climbers and I don't want to deny them that, I'm going to be covering the cage from the inside. Plus I think that looks nicer!

FNs have plastic pans on the shelves and the bottom, but most people cover them with fabric.

 

[krdefo]

Would zip ties work to hold the hardware cloth to the bars? I know what little chewers rats are.

So most people make slipcovers for the pans, or they just use old towels instead of bedding? That was another question I meant to ask, since I've never used anything but Carefresh. I've heard of people using towels, but I think my girls would just rip them up and shove them around so that they don't provide any ground cover anymore. Plus I can't quite figure out how to get them completely litter trained, and I doubt that towels or fabric do much for soaking up odor.

 

[JennieLove]

I find towels to be the best thing I have ever tried so far. I wasnt sure about it at first, with the odor and soaking issue, but they actually are better than you would think. I never use just any old towel though, I went out and baught new towels just for them, and I swtich towels every other day. Of course they would chew the towels up, their rats...lol, it doesnt hurt anything though, just buy some nice cheap towels at walmart or the dollar store. I used to attach the towels to the cgae, but it seemed like that MADE my boys want to chew it up even more, lol. So as of now I just set the towel in there and it covers the entire floor, the move it around, but I dont see a problem with that seeing how they enjoy it. I find them all bundled up in it sleeping at times, and ever morning I just adjust it again so its in place.