Complete Darkness

[Zoe]

Okay, I set up my rat rack yesterday, and all the tubs are opaque litter boxes (couldnt find anything else suitable). And anyway, I poked some holes in them (a lot of holes!) but it's not by any stretch of the imagination bright in there during the day. So I am concerned that it will mess them up to be in near-darkness all the time.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Poke more holes? Cut a square out and cover it with mesh??

Thanks!
Zoe

[Matt_K]

Zoe, i think it would be in your best interest to not go with the mesh. The rats will find their way out in no time. You could always drill more holes, but the problem with this, i find, is that its just a starting point for your rats. They love to chew and can chew through some of the thickest materials in no time.. I have my rats in the back room of the basement in home made cages, the lights are off 90% of the time. I only turn them on when i go in there for cleaning and feeding and just for general checks.. They havent slowed down productivity or sped up. Maybe someone else could share their lighting experiences.

[Linds]

My rats spend most of their time, much like Matt's, in total darkness. I also house mine in opaque litter boxes. They are in the far corner of the basement which has no windows and I only turn the lights on to feed and clean. They consistently produce litters of 12-18 on average. I agree with Matt in that making any holes, etc are not the way to go. Once you give them an edge to chew on they take it from there. What kind of design is it? I've never seen a rodent rack that would require any holes to be drilled in the tubs

[Zoe]

Mine so, and already have holes. Too late I guess!

Matt made the shelves so bloody tight! Lol matt, jk. But they are tight!

Zoe

[Zoe]

btw, how would they breathe without air holes??

[Matt_K]

Zoe, i told you, those damn tubs and that silly lip at the bottom You may be able to get away with just the holes you have in there now, monitor them though. Im sure you wont have any problems, those tubs are pretty damn durable

[Zoe]

Lol! I think my biggest problem right now is not all the tubs have water bottles, and the ones with water bowls are really humid and they stink. Blerh. Cant wait till petsmart restocks.

Zoe

[beth wallbank]

Zoe try lining the mesh buckets with 1/2" stucco mesh. That way you can cut a bigger vent hole into the buckets and the rats wont chew through. We lined most of our rubbermaids with it and there isnt any more work cleaning the buckets that without. We soak them then use the garden hose to rinse the excess off and it works fine.

[Linds]

Zoe,
I just saw a pic of your rack. That's really not suitable for housing rodents in. They will be on their way out in no time, as well as you will have some wet, humid, excessively stinky cages to deal with. At one time I did try to house some rats in a tub with no open topl, but loads of holes all around it. No matter how many hoels you make they still don't get enough air. As well as rats have sharp little nails and will kill the melamine. One of the key factors in keeping rodents is ventilation. At least one side should be completely open, as well as their shouldn't be any place for them to start gnawing their way to freedom on. I'd save it while its still in tact and use it for snakes before the rodents destroy it.

[Christina]

We use a wire screen purchased at Home Depot.
It comes in sheets the holes are big enough that a water bottle spout can go through.
All we did was cut it to size.
We keep our rats in litter pans as well. We just used metal the metal screen on top and made sure there was enough space between pans for ventilation and water nozzles.
Christina

[Zoe]

Thats a bummer - do you have any pics of your rack linds, so I can see what it would look like?

Zoe

[Linds]

This is my rack

<img src="http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/504/22ratrack.jpg">

[stkkts]

Im guessing you have never been in the sewers of NY. But down there, rats (Probably amongst the biggest you would ever see) live, eat, sleep, and breed in complete darkness. Plus the air is foul and stagnant. Im not saying to keep them in inhumane filth, littered with bacteria, but I dont think light, or lack there of, should be a concern.

[Zoe]

Wow Linds, who built that and what did it cost?

[Linds]

I built it with the help of my dad. The wood totalled about $30, the tubs came to around $45, hardware cloth was about $10, and glue and screws were a couple bucks.