[lizzydeztic]

Went to Walmart and got some fleece and more toys. They LOVE it!

 

[lilspaz68]

Looks like a lot of fun.

 

[JennieLove]

LMAO! I love that 3rd picture! xD

 

[lizzydeztic]

she's a silly thing. that's dre.

 

[reachthestars]

LOVING the cage . You have two girls? Have you ever thought about giving them a hammock or two? It's not hard to 'make' one yourself, just cut a rectangle of fleece and hang it up with some safety pins .

 

[Nazarath]

I love your cage, i just might steal it lol. As well as those little cuties in the cage

 

[lizzydeztic]

reachthestars: yeah, i've tried a few times but all they do is play tug of war with it. i'm planning on getting a bigger cage soon enough so i'll try again.

naz: aww thanks sweetie. i know i saw them and fell in love. i really want a dumbo rat though.

 

[DonnaK]

reachthestars: yeah, i've tried a few times but all they do is play tug of war with it. i'm planning on getting a bigger cage soon enough so i'll try again.

When I first put hammocks in our cages I put treats in them, to encourage them to get comfy while they ate their treats, rather than just seeing it as another chew toy. It worked well. Of course, they do still chew, but both our rats have given up their beds for the hammocks, now

 

[lizzydeztic]

awwww i'll give it another go. their igloo takes up SO much space but they love it, i'd really like to take it out to make room for their wodent wheel so i'll give it another shot. thanks dear!

 

[lizzydeztic]

oh another question, i'm sorry. do you know how to get them associated with their wheel? i've tried everything from sticking cheerios in there with a little smudge of honey to stick. all they do is push their extra bedding into it. they loved their wheel at the pet store but it was an inappropriate wire one.

 

[twitch]

the wodent ones are pretty in closed. what about a wire mesh one? they're safe but the sides are more open. maybe they don't like to run in it when it feels more like a hidey hole being all in closed like that?

 

[tasha]

I've heard wire mesh is bad for bumblefoot. Don't know for sure but that's funny about them making it into a bed.

 

[Vixie]

I'd say just avoid wire wheels in general.

Risks involved include bumblefoot, ripped nails, broken tail tips, or twisted limbs.

Wodent Wheels and Comfort Wheels are the best. (No local store sells Wodent Weels here, so I get the comfort wheels and find they get wobbly and very noisy, but better than a hurt rattie).

Some rats just don't take to wheels, my boys had let dust collect on their wheel so I just took it out and gave them more toys, while my girls fight over who goes next and sleep in their wheel. I'm thinking of upgrading them to a second story-part of my FN cage and give them two wheels.

Just another tribute to how unique each rat is.

 

[DonnaK]

awwww i'll give it another go. their igloo takes up SO much space but they love it, i'd really like to take it out to make room for their wodent wheel so i'll give it another shot. thanks dear!

You're welcome! Good luck with it.

As for the wheel, both our girls just got in and started running, within a couple of days. We have big plastic wheels, like this one. We find we have to fix them to the cage to stop them moving and dragging on the cage sides, but both our girls love them.

 

[DonnaK]

so I get the comfort wheels and find they get wobbly and very noisy

Noisy as in squeaking? If so, you could try a little olive oil in the bit where the rod slides through the wheel. I wipe the rod with a tiny amount on a tissue, once a week, when I clean their cages, and never have any noise from them - other than the pitter patter of tiny feet, of course :lol:

 

[Vixie]

so I get the comfort wheels and find they get wobbly and very noisy

Noisy as in squeaking? If so, you could try a little olive oil in the bit where the rod slides through the wheel. I wipe the rod with a tiny amount on a tissue, once a week, when I clean their cages, and never have any noise from them - other than the pitter patter of tiny feet, of course :lol:

I don't really mind that hiss-like noise. It's just the sides of my girls' cage isn't really that sturdy, so the wheel wobbles and bangs against the wire when they really get going. That and just the design where it only gets support from that one bar on one side gives it the tendancy to warp and droop and whatnot.

It's just not a top-quality wheel. I really liked how the metal wheels had support from both sides but of course, mesh+ ratty feet = owie. I've learned to sleep through it, though. -shrug- :lol:

 

[DonnaK]

They aren't the best design, are they?

I'm not sure which you are using, but we scrapped the ones that just attached to the side of the cage and replaced them with the ones that have a metal stand. I then attached the metal stand to the side of the cage with a well placed paper clip, and we don't have any problems with banging, now. The stand covers well under the bedding and we haven't had any problems with it.

 

[Vixie]

The cage I have my girls in is a temporary until I get my boys fixed and some mesh sheets to place on the sides(my Maromi is an escape artist) of the FN cage I bought recently.

It doesn't allow the height for the metal stand. Now that I think about it, my mom might have thrown out the stand. -shrug- It's not a big deal to me now, but at first it was irritating.

 

[lizzydeztic]

they liked the wire ones at the pet store but won't even look at their wodent wheel.