Is it good cage?

[Saskia Hoogesteyn]

I got a hairless rat back in September. She is my first rat, was an impulse buy (sorry) and I knew nothing about rats. Stopped at a pet store on my way home and got a cage (Kaytee). As soon as I got home, I started investigating, and, oh, surprise, you can't keep just one rat alone or they'll go crazy. Got a second rat a few weeks later after waiting from a specific littler from a breeder, (both girls), but now the Kaytee cage seems too small. Got a second cage (Ferret Nation 181 by Mid-West), got home with it, added bedding, toys, hides, everything, put the girl inside and in under 1 minute, the younger rat was out, I guess the 1" bar spacing is too big for her (She was born on November 3, so, she is about to be 3 months old), she is quite a large girl, in fact she seems bigger than the hairless that we got first, but I guess her head is smaller, cause the hairless doesn't fit between the bars. My question is. Will this cage ever work??? Should I wait until SUGAR (second rat) grows a bit more? or should I pick a different cage?? (bummer, this one was quite large, we took our time finding it and putting it together for them) The girls are still in the Kaytee but I feel they need more space ASAP.

Help, please

 

[SQ]

Can you return the Ferret Nation and get a Critter Nation …. same cage but the critter nation has the small bar spacing you need.
The girls may grow large enough for the FN, or you can cover the outside of the cage with hardware cloth,
but that is not a great solution. You would be much happier if you returned the cage and bough a CN instead

You may find this thread useful https://www.ratshackforum.com/threads/reference-thread-read-only.35894/

 

[Saskia Hoogesteyn]

Thanks for taking the time to reply. The thing is I got the cage for under $50 at OfferUp, so, can't return it and my husband isn't very happy about the idea of spending $120+ in another cage I was really hoping to make this one work cause I got a deal for it, but I wouldn't risk the girls escaping. I guess I'll sell this one and try to find another one.

 

[Dena]

I know a lot of people use the farret nation. It may be too big now, but should be ok when your girls get a little bigger. Just put mesh on the outside, with zip ties (you may have to replace them fairly often) and check the spacing once in a while. The farret nation is better than the Kaytee or a small cage, and certainly better than a tank. If you have to, you can make it work.

 

[ratnewbie]

that is a great deal on a cage, as someone mentioned before, an easy solution for this is to wrap hardware cloth around the cage until your girls get bigger. i haven't had to do this myself, but I've watched many many youtube videos where they did this because the same thing happened. the bars are too large and their smaller babies are getting out. i really hope this helps!

 

[SQ]

Thanks for taking the time to reply. The thing is I got the cage for under $50 at OfferUp, so, can't return it and my husband isn't very happy about the idea of spending $120+ in another cage I was really hoping to make this one work cause I got a deal for it, but I wouldn't risk the girls escaping. I guess I'll sell this one and try to find another one.

If you resell a new cage …. you may be able to get enough for it to cover most of the cost of a critter nation cage - they are the same cage but with different wire spacing.

Or as I mentioned, cover the outside of the cage with hardware cloth.

Your rats may or may not grow large enough for the Ferret Nation wire spacing. Before the critter nation cage was created, many of us used the ferret nation for our ratties, including our girls, and it worked fine.
I never covered my cages with hardware cloth but others did, they reported that it worked well but was difficult to keep clean.

One consideration that I recently became aware of as the result of the experiences of people I know online, is that small bar spacing is not only important for the safety of pet rats in order to keep our pets in, but also to keep other animals out …. such as mice and predators (such as the ermine) that can get into homes.

 

[Dena]

Mackie, my smallest female, is still so tiny, and she's almost 2. She's about the size of a 3-4 month old baby!

 

[Saskia Hoogesteyn]

Thanks for all the replies!!! I am thrilled that this forum is so active, I am in a couple of forums and a simple thread by a newbie in most places wouldn't get so many responses.
I had not considered the importance of a smaller bar spacing in order to keep predators out.... I keep the rat cage in our laundry room, and sometimes I take them out to the patio foyer for them to get fresher air and sun. And a few days back I found a cat there!!! I live in a house and many of my neighbors have cats, and it's not impossible for them to get in my house.
I have posted the cage in OfferUp, I am trying to sell it and will get a new one.

 

[SQ]

TI keep the rat cage in our laundry room, and sometimes I take them out to the patio foyer for them to get fresher air and sun.

Just so you are aware, people are encouraged to keep the rat cage in a busy room in the house so there is a lot of interaction and they are part of the family.
Rats become easily stressed and both stress and scents can cause illness, requiring immediate vet visits and weeks of medication
There are many dangers outside (predators, parasites, temperature, skin cancer, etc) so if you do need to take them outside, please never leave them unsupervised regardless of the enclosure they are in.

 

[Saskia Hoogesteyn]

Thanks, SQ.
No, I never leave them unattended outside, If we are making a BBQ or something in the yard, we take them out with us, but we never leave them alone. The only place I leave them alone sometimes is my bedroom balcony because it is completely COMPLETELY metal-mesh covered from floor to ceiling, and I lay some toys and snacks there and they have space to walk, explore, etc while being completely safe in a 10 x 5 space. The laundry room is not a separated building, it is a space between the living room and the yard, but it is inside the house, not outside. And also, I have 3 kids who love them and take them out to play pretty much every day, we even have the rats' blankets, which we lay on the living room floor for them to play with us. I'd love to put them in the living room but I have a 1 year-old and when SALLY (the hairless) first got home he put his fingers in the cage and she nip at him and my husband got very angry, I am the animal person in the house, not him, so, he told me to put the cage somewhere where it would be out of reach for the baby and the laundry room has a door that I can close so the baby doesn't get to them, that is the only separate room in the house (other than the bedrooms or bathrooms). But they are not "outside". The incident with the cat was cause one day I put them in a foyer that divides the house and the yard, it is a middle space which is after the laundry, it is covered in mesh and has a mesh door, but the mesh has a rip and the cat got inside. I won't make the mistake of putting them there again, because it feels like, even when it is "inside" it's easy for animals to enter. I have found several toads there, as well as lizards and that cat once.

Thank you so much for your concern, I really appreciate it

 

[Lookup]

Hi Saskia. I enjoyed this thread, and I don't have anything to add, but I wanted to say hello and welcome!

 

[Saskia Hoogesteyn]

I was able to sell the ferret nation!! Now I have a blank page for a new cage for my girls. Since SALLY is a hairless, I would prefer something with a deep tray for her to dig into the bedding. I was thinking about the critter nation, but the bottom tray is pretty flat, giving almost no space for a thick layer of bedding. What do you think?? Are there any other cages with a deeper bottom tray that would be a good choice for my 2 girls??? Forums are great places to get first-hand advice from experienced owners.

 

[Saskia Hoogesteyn]

Would this be a good choice: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001W8S4M0/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
??? It specifies that the bar spacing is 7/8" , that is a tad less than an inch.... not sure...

 

[SQ]

Hairless rats have eye issues and get debris in their eyes
ask Lilspaz68 about the best type of bedding to use with hairless rats

as for Critter Nation cages, many people in the US buy a deep cement tray (Home hardware store?) that will fit the bottom of the cage, other people buy 3 in deep metal pans made to fit the cage


That is a horrible cage …… the base is way too small, the metal grid would need to be removed or covered with a solid surface, and if the grid were removed rats could easily chew through that bottom pan and escape

 

[Saskia Hoogesteyn]

I like the idea of adding an inner tray to the Critter Nation, I was actually wondering if they sold any on amazon that would fit. I am terrible at crafts lol, I prefer to buy things already made. I am going to look up "Deep cement tray" on amazon or home depot, THANK YOU!!

 

[SQ]

yes are welcome ….. people in the USA can likely tell you where to get one (I believe their edge needs to be slightly trimmed), they are not sold here in Canada.

People also buy deeper metal pans like this one https://www.chinchilla.ca/detail.ph...Bottom_Tray_3_in._High_-_Midwest_Nation_Cages This is in Canada but I know people in the USA buy them somewhere in your country

 

[Saskia Hoogesteyn]

I finally got the Critter Nation!! I found a pretty good one in OfferUp for $75 and the girl even delivered it in my home, so, couldn't ask for more. Even as she said she had disinfected it, I did it again just in case with my wonderful eco-friendly disinfectant, and set up the girls. For the time being, I put the bottom tray of the Kaytee cage inside the Critter Nation for them to have some bedding, and just put newspaper in the bottom of the whole cage. They won't stop climbing and sniffing around! I now have to get it furniture, hammocks, etc. any recommendations???
I am going to start another thread about the bedding, which is a subject of concern for me.

 

[Dena]

I would be careful with them in the laundry room, only because of the scents in laundry detergent, and bleach irritating their lungs. I put mine in the entryway of my house, and put baby gates across to keep the little ones away. I also have my bunny free roaming in the same area. It's my rat room. Well, I guess bunny room too. Maybe if you keep them in the laundry room, turn on the exhaust fan when doing laundry, or remove them....

 

[SQ]

There is a thread on CN cages that may be helpful