[jhatt87]

 

[jhatt87]

The silvermane is named Astrid, the white Rex is Marshmallow, the cinnamon is Snickers and the white/blue rex is Blueberrry. The kids named them, not me. Lol.
They are super sweet and love to explore during free time. This is the best cage I’ve had for rats, I’m very glad I picked one up.
Anyways. Thanks for looking and saying hello to the new girls!

Edit: I don't know the correct way to post photos. I prefer when it displays them more of a slideshow style, but not sure how to do that.

 

[jhatt87]

Astrid is a cool name! They look like a color progression very cute. Are they all sisters?
BTW, the cage but especially left side is a has pretty big drops, I'd suggest adding a bit more clutter you can use old fabric scraps, DIY ropes, etc! Or go to the dollar tree, baskets and dog ropes are great and cheap(It feels like everything not marketed for rats work better than rat stuff LMAO). Also a digbox(plastic tub, or a cement mixing tray, etc, would let the rats dig around , which they usually enjoy and can act as additional enrichment, kinda cushions falls and helps a bit with ammonia control (pine/aspen kiln dried shavings is really cheap in bulk).

Yes, they are all sisters.

I appreciate the help with the cage. I'll try to get some other stuff in there soon. I know the wife plans to make at least one more hammock or similar item and then I'll find other stuff to keep them safe and busy. Thanks!

 

[jhatt87]

I'd put the ramp back in so the rats can climb up to the shelf without needing to climb the bars and potentially fall off.

Do you just have an old fleece blanket on the bottom? Apparently fleece isn't great for odor control and absorbing urine. Fleece liners with a absorbent layer sandwiched in between is a bit better at absorbing urine. And many rats just chew the fleece up so it doesn't last too long. Some people put a cement tub or something similar in the bottom of the CN, either completely replacing the bottom wire grate with the tub or just setting the tub on top of the wire grate. The tub is filled with bedding. A smaller container can be put on the shelf. Target has a 28 quart container that fits but other similar sized containers work and you can repurpose what you may have at home.

Lots of instructions for DIY toys and rat accessories on Pintrest and other web sites Shadow the Rat has videos on both DIY toys and reviews of store bought toys.

Don't tell the kids but you can add another single CN to the top of your current cage to make it a huge double CN. Or add two cages to make a rat heaven triple CN 😅

I bought the cage used and it didn't come with any ramps, but I already have a plan for some diy ramps. As far as bedding, in the past I've done wood chips, paper and now the fleece, and I'm very happy with the fleece so far. No mess to kick out of the cage and the aren't chewing it (yet). No smell either since I've been changing it every week or so. I'll check out the websites you linked for some diy accessories. Thanks!