[ledzepgirl16]

Hi all....I am still trying to make up my mind about a cage. I almost have my mind made up, I'm down to two...

Anybody had either of these/have any opinions?

They are both made by Prevue/Hendryx, and the prices are totally reasonable. This one is $185. The dimensions are 35"L x 35"W x 56".

This one is $193 and holds one more rat (20 instead of 19), but as I only have 12 and don't plan on getting more, either should be sufficient as far as space goes. Its dimensions are 42"L x 31"D x 55"H. Both have 1" bar spacing, so hardware cloth will probably be needed for a while.

I am leaning towards the corner cage. Both have a lot of potential for adding fun stuff, but I think the corner cage is more interesting. Let me know what you think!

 

[calories]

corner cage. i absolutely LOVE it but i was never able to get it.

 

[Phobie]

Oh wow, a corner cage! I could do with one of those.

 

[daisy184]

loving the corner cage..gonna look for that in the uk!. brill idea that.

 

[Kimmiekins]

I was awed by the corner cage awhile back, but finally found someone who has it (with rats). They said it's horrible to clean, the space isn't all that usable, and the ramps are majorly steep. :\ You'd have to add more shelving as well.. 'course that's easy.

No clue about the other.

Personally? I think for the cost, you could find something better. Maybe not that holds so many rats (though you can always combine cages!), but...

 

[Phobie]

$185 does seem an awful lot for it, and I agree with the usable space issue, looking at it I don't think it would be as easy as a normal square cage.

 

[reachthestars]

I worked in the local petstore when we brought in that corner cage. I personally think the bars are wider than 1", as I was able to get my (relatively small) hand almost all the way through. I briefly concidered it, but I wasn't impressed with the tiny shelves, steep ladders or the doors.

 

[madeittothemoon]

I think the first one seems better... but if you're looking in that price range, you might as well do a FN.

 

[ledzepgirl16]

Haven't really been able to find an FN for the price that would house even close to that many rats. The ones I found in the $185 range could really only comfortably fit about 8-10 rats. As far as getting a cage that holds less rats, not really an option for me, because of the number of rats that I have. The whole purpose is to "consolidate" all the rats together in one cage, instead of having to clean 3-4 cages. So downsizing the cage would defeat the purpose for me, since I already have a cage larger than any of the FN's I could find within the $185 range.

Confused...why would the corner shape make it harder to clean? This could be an issue...

Planning on actually adding a whole other level, not just a ramp. A lady who currently owns the corner cage said she did that easily and it really helped utilize the space.

 

[glindella]

~240 (shipping included) gets you a three story FN, jorats had pics of a three story set up I think

 

[ledzepgirl16]

That's a little out of my range, but possible...but what are the dimensions?

 

[glindella]

36L 25W 24H for each of three individual cages that get stacked, so without the stand with the rollers it would be about 6ft tall. Stand is ~ 14 in with a shelf

 

[ledzepgirl16]

Hmmm....I'll consider that one. But it still has less square footage than the corner cage (barely...2 feet, I think? This according to the cage calculator, lol, I'm a fool with math). I have seen the stackable FN cages and I like the idea. But...lol, still leaning towards the corner cage. What's the bar spacing on that FN, Glindella?

 

[glindella]

The three story is 6ft tall by 2 feet beep by three feet wide, so its a giant cage. (72inx24inx36in) with just the cage excluding the stand.

I believe its an inch bar spacing, I only have boys and I've never had an issue, but if you have girls or young'ins you'll need to cover the bars.

The doors open completely and you can take them off the cage so its a dream to clean.

 

[ledzepgirl16]

Ok, those are the dimensions I used to figure it up...lol, good to know I can still do basic math. :lol:

That stinks about the 1 inch bar spacing (I have a few young ones and would have to cover it, at least for the time being). You almost had me sold. :wink: I'm really getting frustrated with the fact that after you spend a pretty substantial amount on a cage, you have to spend $20 to cover it with hardware cloth. But usually if you look specifically for rat cages, they are too small. :x

 

[CaptainFlow]

Check around for Sugar Glider cages. I know I found a bunch on ebay that even factoring in shipping were quite reasonable, though I'm not sure they got big enough for 8 rats... but typically they're much larger than the average cage marketed for rats, and the bar spacing is always 1/2 inch since suggies are tiny.

 

[glindella]

You could cover just the top or bottom section and leave the "trapdoor" closed until they get big enough to stay in then allow them free range of the whole cage

 

[AlexzRose]

Eh those cages seem pretty sucky.

I'd say go with an FN 142 or something.

I got my FN from ferret.com for only $154.00 plus $6.99 for shipping. I thought that was a steal.

 

[ledzepgirl16]

I looked up the FN 142 already. Not big enough. If anything, I'd go the route Glindella suggested and do the stackables. Glindella, do you happen to know where to find the stackables for a decent price? I looked around a bit and they were ranging about $100 each, and that would add up to...well, lol, $300. I'm sure they can be found for a better price than that, right?

BTW Alex, define "sucky." :wink: I'm really looking for more specific input than that, like those who posted things like "I knew somebody who has that cage," or "I think the bar spacing is more than 1"," etc...you get the idea. Something that actually helps me make an educated decision.

 

[ledzepgirl16]

Check around for Sugar Glider cages. I know I found a bunch on ebay that even factoring in shipping were quite reasonable, though I'm not sure they got big enough for 8 rats... but typically they're much larger than the average cage marketed for rats, and the bar spacing is always 1/2 inch since suggies are tiny.

Good idea, I hadn't tried this yet.