[Jmeee]

As some of you may or may have not read, I am going to be two rats within the next few months. (Well, as soon as I get a job.) And since i'm mostlikely going to be making minimum wage ($7.50 where I live, and i'm sixteen.) i'll need to be as cheap as possible, but still make sure everything is rat friendly. But I got to thinking, and I figured that I could turn my bookshelf into a rat cage. I've seen it done before, and i'm sure that it would be fairly simple. So, can anyone explain to me what i'd exactly need to do to make everything a great home for them?

Ignore the clutter. O___o I never use this, and i've had it since I was about two.

 

[crapola]

this might help...
http://www.dapper.com.au/grotto.htm

 

[Jmeee]

Oh, perfect! Thank you.

 

[CaptainFlow]

At least minimum wage IS $7.50. I grew up in Oregon and minimum wage there just went up to $7.80. I got a job that I still go back to on breaks, and after 3 years of periodic work make $9.25. Now I'm looking for a job in North Dakota, where the minimum wage is $5.15! Tell me how someone can live on that?! So basically I've been jobless, because my time is worth a lot more than $5.15 an hour, and I'd rather spent it on homework or with my friends than slaving away for a crappy wage. (And yes, there are better paying jobs out there, but the lack of car in a place devoid of anything resembling reasonable public transportation makes getting to a job off campus a major problem).

 

[Jmeee]

Oh wow, And I thought $7.50 was bad. >_< Good luck finding a better paying job, CaptainFlow. D= Maybe try Best Buy? My boyfriend was recently imployed there(his first job) and his starting was was $9.25. I dunno if thats likely in all states, but its worth a try.

 

[Rattiegma]

Yeah, minimum wage is (I think) like $5.50 here now...or something like that. But when I first started working, I was paid $5.15 for like 3 years! It sucked! lol

 

[Jmeee]

Wow, that really sucks. >_<

So, I measured my soon to be cage, and it was bigger than I thought.
Height: 28"
Width: 28"
Depth: 24" (12 on top, 12 on bottom.)

According to one of the rat calculators, that can hold five rats. O___o I wasn't planning on getting that many, but hey, its nice to know that its an option. =D Cause, i've heard many stories of just walking into the pet store to get feed, and falling in love with a rattie. ;D

 

[CaptainFlow]

Unfortunately, two shelves at 12" does not equal 24", unless you plan on taking the bottom level down and using it as a base. Which might actually be a really good idea, and use hardwire mesh or something to make the other half of the cage, so it would be half wire and half shelving unit...

But 12 inches is not really deep enough. Especially if you plan on getting boys, some of them get to be longer than that, and so they'd have some troubles turning around comfortably. I think the minimum recommended is something closer to 16 inches for any one side.

 

[Jmeee]

Ohgod. O___o I'm so glad that i'm doing research. It would have sucked to make that, and then realize it was completly wrong. Thanks, CaptainFlow! Blah. Wow, now i'm not sure on what to do.

What exactly do you mean by the first paragraph? I'm semi new to all this. >_<

 

[Jmeee]

Woah, so, boys can be as long as a one foot(12 inches)? O_O



**Ignore that. I had a mind fart, and wasn't thinking. Tails! DUH!

 

[CaptainFlow]

Sorry, I feel like I speak in code sometimes; since I want people to understand me, I feel like they will. It's ridiculous.

What I mean is that if the depth of one shelf is 12 inches, even if you have two, stacked on top of each other it's still just 12 inches for the depth, not 12 on top and 12 on bottom. That could be used for total area, but not depth, which is a totally different measurement.

But that sparked a stream of consciousness, thinking that perhaps if you still really wanted to use that bookshelf, you could in fact take down the second shelf and attach it to the one on bottom, to make an actual depth of 24 inches. Then you would have to use some kind of mesh (hardwire cloth or what have you), to make the rest of the cage, and it would stick out from the side of the book shelf. So part of the cage would be book shelf, part wire.

Better?
In fact, lemme draw you a picture, cause that's easier and more entertaining... brb

 

[CaptainFlow]

Woah, so, boys can be as long as a one foot(12 inches)? O_O



**Ignore that. I had a mind fart, and wasn't thinking. Tails! DUH!

Yeah, no, really, some boys get abseloutely mammoth and can reach 12 inches NOT including tails.
Even my smallest girl (who is quite a petite little lady) is almost 8 inches long, not including tail.

The pink represents where you would have to make out of hardwire cloth or whatever. Notice that 12+12 equals 24 inches. So you would have to take out the shelf and use it as the floor.

If this is what you were planning all along, my apologies for getting confused. If not, well6ttyt (Lola's contribution), this is the only way you can make a 24 inch depth.

 

[Leala]

Sorry, just have to say love the drawing :lol:
Also that's an excellent idea *eyes bookshelf*
Maybe.. Just maybe..
I'd definitely be shot :lol:

 

[AZratkeeper]

males can get big i use to have one his name was cheeseburger and he was about 13" long without the tail

 

[mopydream44]

I think captain's idea is good but definitely do some research on how much the material will cost because homemade cages usually end up costing more than people think.

 

[animalhugger]

o man, only 5 bucks for minimum wage? i thought 8 was bad. thats what im getting now, but in april or may, minimum wage is going up 10 bucks (where i live, windsor, ontario) and in 2009 it will be 12 bucks. i think its going up 2 bucks until 2010 i think. my boss told me that, so im not lying, which many people think i am. i cant wait =]

i wanted to make my bookshelf into a cage, but i really want an FN instead.

 

[Jmeee]

Oh, now I understand. XD I think that would be perfect! Now, I just have to find some place to put it. O___o Heh. My room isn't very big, so I guess i'd need to do some re-arranging.

But yeah, i'd definatly research how much it was going to cost. I think my dad would help me out with that, as well. But, if making it would cost more than just buying an actual cage, then I may just do that. But we'll see.

Wow, $12? I wish we had that down here in Cali. XD